If any of you who will be looking for a job in Canada are interested in getting a professional Canadian resume, I should tell you that my sister, who lives in Vancouver, and who previously prepared resumes and gave job search assistance for various companies, is now setting up her own business on the Internet.

If you are interested in getting in touch with her - please send me a pm with your email address and I will forward it on.

I think things are done differently in other countries and from reading these posts it sounds like having a good "Canadian" resume would be a good idea.

Hi

I've been in canada for almost 3 years now. During the first year I wanted nothing more than to move back to the UK! However I knew in my heart that I had to make the most of the oppotunity, so stuck it out!

It seems that most of the people that go back don't really give it enough of a 'go'. They leave within a month to a year. It takes a lot longer than that to really know a place and get settled in.

Remember the reasons why you left in the first place.

I still have strong ties to the UK and intend to go back eventually, but the last time I went back I just wanted to leave!

As for Toronto, I find it a very safe city. I have no problems walking alone at night. Plus if you get a bus after it gets dark, the bus driver will stop where you ask them if you are a woman. On the subway the have DWA's which are designated waiting areas, if you stand there it is well lit, with a phone, CCTV and when the train stops you are able to get on the carraige with the guard.

I find Toronto kind of small, but thats because I am from London originally. Still lost to do though! Plus I love the weather here. For example today its bloody freezing, but the sun is out, blue skies abound and the snow is pretty! It makes me feel happy, unlike the dank dark UK winters.

Int.

This really is a whinge-fest isn't it?

Nobody forced any of us to come to Canada and if anyone came with their eyes shut, well - more fool they. Canada owes us nothing but in fact has a lot to offer, nice people, a great welcome, a much better standard of living and the scenery is awesome.

The people who really have a hard time here are those from places like Roumania, Syria etc (plenty of those here in Montreal anyway) who speak neither of the official languages and who have qualifications recognised nowhere at all. They struggle really hard but seem to make a go of it. Those of us from western Europe have it pretty easy by comparison.

Try meeting Canada at least half way can't you ? In our six years here we have never once met any of the problems and attitudes some people are banging on about - and we have to deal with the bureaucrats in French.

By comparison to this relaxed, liberal country the UK is a social mess that has never recovered from the Thatcher years ..... some of the entitlement attitudes being expressed on this list probably can be laid at her door.

Relax - Canda is good. Make a life for yourself and go away and stop harrassing the natives. Please.

Here, Here, could not agree more with you.

Do you have to be so rude? I am entitled to my own opinion, right? And you are right, this country is perfect for immigrants from Romania, they have never seen anything better. And about Canada not owing us anything, well, I don't know. They charged us a hefty landing fees, they created an illusion that our qualifications would be good enough.

In any case, I am not insulting anybody personally and you are. Is it your Canadian way? Don't you dare calling me a whinge, I put a lot of work into our 'Canadian dream'.

Alexandra, you’re right. One thing that really turned me off about Canada was Canadians’ outright refusal to accept any form of criticism about their country and the way things were done. Criticism often resulted in hostility and rudeness from those it was directed towards, which is what I am seeing here. And I’m speaking as a Canadian!

Applicant, I agree with just about everything you have said.

My wife has dual citizenship as she was born of English parents in England and then the family moved to Canada at the age of two. We were very fortunate that it was so easy for her to move over here to the UK when we got married.

She arrived here in the UK at the end of 2000 and she has had no difficulty in finding and keeping employment based on her experience of employment in Canada. In the two positions that she has worked not once were there doubts over her lack of "UK Experience". In fact her accent has always attracted friendly interest and even encouragement from employers.

So I certainly do puzzle over this apparent attitude from Canadian employers looking for "Canadian Experience". I can understand a difference in qualifications and perhaps a need to re-qualify in certain areas but I 'd like to understand why there is the problem. It sounds like discrimination although I'm assuming it isn't. But doesn't this attitude actually put employers at a disadvantage when their bias towards "Canadian Experience" could mean that they aren't getting the right person for the job? I'm just musing here as I'm just trying to make sense of it.

We are planning on moving to Canada later this year and this problem does concern me. Fortunately we have family and friends over there that we can look to for moral support but the job hunting worries me because of what I've read.

Alexandra - I'm as British as you are but happily looking forward to throwing away my UK passport once the lengthy citizenship process is completed.

Sorry if you took my comment personally but you are being incredibly negative about your experiences here, you know. If we are talking about personal experiences I work for a moderate sized company that has hired somewhere around 40+ UK emplyees in the last 20 years, every one of whom has stayed here and none of which has experienced anything like the stuff you seem to have been faced with. I return to my earlier comment and wonder if this is an Albertan thing because it just does not seem to be like that in Quebec.

Is your field of expertise perhaps one that is reasonably well supplied by the local talent? Whatever it is that has caused your woes, I'm sorry but other people who have posted here seem to be doing OK so some of your generalisations do seem a little wide of the mark.

Anyway, why should Canada operate the same as britain does? It's not a colony any longer and makes its own way in the world - pretty well too looking at the state of the economy and the standard of living. Come to Quebec .

I am not expecting Canada to operate like UK, I am just expecting it to operate fairly. Maybe Quebec is different, but all the same, UK is our home. By the way, I didn't mention quite important part: neither I nor my husband are English. I am Russian and he is Iranian. He lived in UK over 20 years, and I moved there when we got married, 12 years ago (let's leave alone romantic stories ).

My point is we were not born in England, but we feel British, and maybe it was worth it moving here to finally realise where our home is and who we are. And we are just that: British. And proud of it. And when we move back (hopefully beginning of September), we will accept Britain for what it is, because this is our country. Canada could never become that for us, it's too hostile.

When I think of London, my previous jobs, and especially people, it's just so truly cosmopolitan and accepting. Very much unlike Canada.

I guess I can empathise with Alexandra - it can't be very nice moving your entire wordly possessions half way across the world, all excited about the future, nice reasonably paid job and then wham, everything falls at your feet 3 months later. She has a right to feel negative - I know from personal experience that it hurts when you're a career minded person and you see your career prospectives being squashed before your very eyes. Here in the US I'm a professional person, unable to work at all. My spouse visa allows me to study not work and as I'm only a part qualified Accountant and not fully qualified I don't have a degree and would find it nigh on impossible to get a work visa of my own. The company promised greencards but that has never happened so we're cutting our ties with the U.S and moving to a country that has given us both visas and not only that permanent residency (so we don't have to renew visas every 3 years), so for us the future is far more flexible and any job in my opinion is better than no job. Therefore I have started from the very bottom (can't get much lower) and can look forward to seeing a positive outcome in anything. I have been lucky however as my husband has been able to maintain a reasonably steady career throughout. It sounds like Alexandra's husband is also struggling to find well paid work so for the both of them life must be a struggle and it is gonna be hard to be enthusiastic about your future in that situation. She can either carry on and pray for things to improve or use 'damage limitation' which is to return to England telling employers that they went to Canada to do a 3 month project and then travelled a while before returning to England. Many people take time out to travel and it steers things away from looking like it was a failed operation (just pretend it was always meant to be temporary!). I wouldn't ever encourage people to give up and leave and I think giving things more time is a good idea but at the same time I know how it can sometimes be hard getting work back in the UK after a long period of time abroad. The blanks in the CV will be crying out in years to come!

Why is everyone so dependent up on employment? What happened to entrepenureal spirit (and spelling). With all the cash everyon has made from the proerty boom in the UK there are plenty of ready made businessess for sale in Canada.

PS Id rather live in a neghbourhood of potheads than lager louts anytime! (I dont partake of either)

I think I agree with this being a wingefeast. Alexandra, I think most people sympathise with your situation, and agree that you have dealt with unfairly. However, not everyones experiences have been the same as your own, there have been many positive transfers and experiences to Canada. Canada does not have an employment culture like the UK and anyone expecting tea breaks and 9 to 5 employment with no danger of being layed off for non-performance or lack of work, is going to be disappointed. ( and before you say it, no, I know that this was not what you expected).

I, like most people reading these threads understand your bitterness, particularly as such a important and lifechanging decision, that you both made which incorporated all the dreams that you both hoped to be fulfilled, turned sour at the reality.

Your experiences have been a excellent word of caution, but let your bitterness and anger go now. It didn't work for you and I for one am sorry, Canada was clearly not for you. BUT Many of us still hold our dreams, hopes and aspirations, and If we get scared at every horror story then we will never make the leap, possibly to our detriment.

I for one will go into Canada without expecting the country to change to meet my needs, and with luck, experience and God's good grace will manage to find the new life I am looking for, for myself and my young children.

Live in peace and let others have their dreams. Move from this place now, and look forward to a better future. Remember all experiences good and bad, in life should be valued.

Regards and best wishes

I think I agree with this being a wingefeast. Alexandra, I think most people sympathise with your situation, and agree that you have dealt with unfairly. However, not everyones experiences have been the same as your own, there have been many positive transfers and experiences to Canada. Canada does not have an employment culture like the UK and anyone expecting tea breaks and 9 to 5 employment with no danger of being layed off for non-performance or lack of work, is going to be disappointed. ( and before you say it, no, I know that this was not what you expected).

I, like most people reading these threads understand your bitterness, particularly as such a important and lifechanging decision, that you both made which incorporated all the dreams that you both hoped to be fulfilled, turned sour at the reality.

Your experiences have been a excellent word of caution, but let your bitterness and anger go now. It didn't work for you and I for one am sorry, Canada was clearly not for you. BUT Many of us still hold our dreams, hopes and aspirations, and If we get scared at every horror story then we will never make the leap, possibly to our detriment.

I for one will go into Canada without expecting the country to change to meet my needs, and with luck, experience and God's good grace will manage to find the new life I am looking for, for myself and my young children.

Live in peace and let others have their dreams. Move from this place now, and look forward to a better future. Remember all experiences good and bad, in life should be valued.

Regards and best wishes

You are right to be optimistic about your move to Canada Sukhi.

Apart from first nations people - Canada is obviously made up totally of immigrants and while some of them came generations ago - immigrants are arriving all the time.

If they all had bad experiences and went back where they came from - Canada would be running out of people by now!

I feel that I have to remind to those who calls me a whinger, that I did not start this thread with a purpose of talking about our situation, I just needed some help in terms of moving costs, pets, etc. People ASKED me about our experience, so I told. I hope your experience are/will be different. And for the last time: I do not whinge. I had a lot of experiences in life that were worse than this and still survived to tell the tale. However, I reserved the right to my opinion, and what I said does take place everyday. Before moving, we've read such stories as ours and never believed them. We thought that for us everything will be different. It wasn't.