What else can I do?
 

Hello All,

I hope you are very well and having a lovey day.

I am posting in this forum as I feel in a loop and I am not sure what to do next.

My wife and I are planning to move to Canada. I am an Organisational Development Consultant (Human Resources) and she is working part-time and studying with the Open University (one year to go).

We have an active express entry candidate profile with 409 points, which seems not enough to be selected at the moment. I have also registered and currently working towards a CHRP (the Human Resources professional programme in Canada) - again one year to go and hopefully we'll be gaining more points when completed.

I have applied for over 70 jobs in the last few months, sent follow up emails, called up hiring managers and nothing. The answer is always the same. I am not sure what I can do differently / more / less of. How can I get a work permit if no company is prepared to help me with that?

I am wondering if I am missing something. Any ideas / suggestions are very much appreciated. We are very flexible and would be prepared to live anywhere.

Thanks a lot in advance,

Giulia

Re: What else can I do?
 

The biggest problem is that most Canadian companies will file job applications like yours in the round bin next to the desk, they will, rarely, get any further, and that you are not there to talk face to face you will have great difficulties.

Re: What else can I do?
 

At 409, you're not too far off the required points, so might get lucky later this year if they drop a bit more.

But how have you applied for these 70 jobs, just online? If so, that might be where you're going wrong, and something to try would be to get out to Canada and network like hell. Have you read the Job Hunting section of the Wiki as advised in your last thread? Loads of useful articles and info in that.

Good luck.

Re: What else can I do?
 

Thank you very much for your replies.
Yes, I have applied online for all these jobs. For most of them I tried to get a contact and either e-mail them or call them to follow up and show interest.
Networking is a very good idea. Will need to organise a trip to Canada soon :)
Thanks for these information.

Re: What else can I do?
 

yes, visit where you want to live. In the run up to that trip google the companies there that you are interested in and contact them. See if someone in your line of work will meet with you for a coffee and a discussion. Stress you are building your network. Also, contact recruiters and meet them too. With every contact you make see if you can add them to linked in. Networking is very important here, as is showing interest in an organization.
If it helps, put yourself in a hiring managers shoes, you get a number of resumes for a role and one is from abroad. How seriously would you take that resume?
Also, assume they know nothing about the emigration process, so know all you can so that you can explain it to them.
Good luck

Re: What else can I do?
 

Latest draw today is 415 points, so only 6 points off where you are. Any way of you getting points up a tiny bit more to give yourself a better shot i.e. your spouse taking IELTS etc? Or have you already got the absolute max possible? If so, when will your points drop due to age, or is that not applicable? Hopefully you'll get an ITA before they do.

Good luck!

Re: What else can I do?
 

Is your resume in the Canadian format?

Re: What else can I do?
 

Do neither of you speak French? Have you taken the TEF?

How about one of the Provincial Nomination Programs? You can apply to various provinces, and if they like the look of you they accept you as a nominee and you get 600 extra express entry points. I am simplifying, but that's it in a nutshell. Some provinces have target occupation lists, so you can only apply to them if your occupation is in the list, but others have open applications.

I haven't checked this specifics since last year, but as of 2016...

Nova Scotia - has target occupation list

Saskatchewan - has target occupation list but its a big and varied range

New Brunswick - was targeting IT folk and French speakers

PEI - anyone could apply, no target occupations

Northwest Territories - you needed to have worked there for 8-12 weeks

Manitoba - had to have a "connection" to Manitoba, is family there. Limited number of free for all spots to apply for the chance to do an "exploratory visit" which would then count as your connection to Manitoba. Cannot have friends or family anywhere else in Canada as this would disqualify you.

Ontario - need to score over 400 express entry points and they pull out people to invite. It used to be everyone with over 400, but they fill up their spaces quickly and there was a $1500 PNP fee which you would have to pay. They also have a French speaking stream.

Yukon - need a LMIA approved job offer

BC - need an LMIA approved job offer

Alberta - were targeting engineering folks already in Alberta on TWPs. Otherwise needed an LMIA approved job offer and needed to be working in Alberta.

Quebec - have their own immigration scheme outside express entry.

Nunavut - no PNP scheme

Re: What else can I do?
 

Grr, sorry that should have said do either of you, not neither.

Re: What else can I do?
 

You can eddit your posts Raindrops- you have about 2 hours to do so- see little edit box at the bottom i think :cool:

Re: What else can I do?
 

To be honest that doesn't make any difference. It's not being in Canada that's the problem; I get a lot of overseas applications to roles, and if they're not already eligible to work in Canada I don't consider them. The only exception to that, is if they have a very specialised skill set I'm struggling to find.

Re: What else can I do?
 

Can I? Thanks Stinky, I never realised :o

Re: What else can I do?
 

I will be very lucky if I get a job in Canada, right now I'm in India!

I have good experience in cooking, driving and gardening!

Re: What else can I do?
 

Hello! As others above have said, the points are dropping significantly and I believe it will hover around the 400 mark for a while now. As for how you could get more points, are you definitely maxed out with English scores? If it's IELTS you have taken, making sure you both have L-8, S-7, R-7, W-7 will hopefully boost you.

Definitely network if you are able to. Even a friend of a friend who knows someone with a job may help.

Re: What else can I do?
 

You may want to start you own thread.

If you have a horticultural degree or trade qualification, are an experienced truck driver, or a trade certified chef, give it a go.

Re: What else can I do?
 

This is correct It was my unique biomedical research experience that the University wanted, and was therefore willing to wait over nine months (while I obtained my PR status) before I could join them.

Re: What else can I do?
 

Most universities, even now, will wait for that special person, and easily jump through all the hoops required to prove that there is no qualified Canadian candidate ....... and my info is up-to-date (still connected to a university!)

It's easy to do ............ advertise in Canada in journals directed at the subject area as well as advertising overseas so citizens studying or working overseas also get a chance to see the ad as well as foreign subjects. Then bring in 3 or 4 people to interview, including your special person, and prove that she (or he) really topped everyone else.


Graduate students and post-docs are always welcome, and most of them depend upon a supervisor getting grant money to support them through their study period.


I rarely comment on how easily we got into Canada from getting a position at a university to passing the PR tests, because it was so long ago and bears no resemblance to what is needed today.

Re: What else can I do?
 

Since your familiar with the overseas university recruiting, which university were you recruited. I was University of Toronto (retired).

Your right about grants, I had to get into the old boy network and have the right people as collaborators on the grant application before I got the research grants.

Re: What else can I do?
 

I accompanied my husband .......... and he wasn't recruited

He just wrote to the university in January, said "this is my training, this is what I'm interested in, are you interested in me"?

Interview in February (ie, within a month), job offer at the interview, personal interview at the consulate in Denver CO in March, acceptance at the interview. Crossed the border into Canada at Peace Arch on August 22 1968 ...... without any papers! There had been a several week long postal strike in Canada, so our immigration papers had had been returned. The Immigration officer told us to just go ahead, cross the border, go to the university the next day to pick the papers which would be waiting for us (they weren't!), and go to Immigration in Vancouver.

Went to Immigration in Vancouver, said "no papers. What do we do?". Supercilious Indian-officer type of official said "go back to the border, cross back in to the US, and re-enter Canada". Which didn't make any sense 'cos we still didn't have the papers!

Drove back to the border, parked on the Canadian side, walked into the office there, told the officer what we were supposed to do .............. he walked into the back room and returned with an envelope ready to be mailed. Our papers! He handed them over to us, and said "goodbye'!!


The university actually didn't care what his training was (biochemical) ........ they were more interested in the fact that he loved teaching

He was even told he had too much education ...... only allowed 21 years and he had 24 ......... so the Consul lopped 3 years off.

They weren't even interested in my training (genetics) ............. I was the spouse, and I answered no questions at all.


The faculty had a grant waiting so he could start to set up his lab, the department also provided some money, and he managed to get an application in by October for a grant from NSERC (as it then was) that was awarded in March (no collaborators). He had hired a technician and started to equip his lab by mid-October. His first graduate student started in September 1969.


I myself became a research technician .... bit of a tied wife :( ........ but I enjoyed the work and not having the responsibility of having to apply for my own grants.

OH still has an office out on campus, and we have close contacts with scientists there, especially when new ones are hired. We hear all about the advertising that has been done and how many have been called for interview.

UBC was the 3rd university to offer him a position in a space of 3 days, the other 2 were in the US.


I told you our process bears absolutely no comparison to what happens now!

Re: What else can I do?
 

You'r right the old days were so different in the immigration process compared to know.
I went with my UofT job offer letter to the Canadian consulate in London for an interview for the PR visa. The lady who interviewed me and OH, cut quite a few corners in the immigration requirements to get us the PR.
As you say the immigration in old days bears no resemblance to the present PR process.

Re: What else can I do?
 

I don't think the Scotsman who interviewed us cut any corners ........... he just didn't allow OH 24 years of education!

Re: What else can I do?
 

I know that I have drifted off topic once in a while but this joint senior moment of reminiscing has maybe gone a little bit to far......OP needs up to date information not from several decades ago

Re: What else can I do?
 

Of course she needs up-to-date information.

Why do you think both geoff and myself said that our experiences bore no relationship to what happened now???????


Neither of us was suggesting that the OP should pay attention to what we said happened to us. I was asked a question, and answered it ..... and yes, I probably should have sent a pm to geoff, but I didn't!


Have you never gone off topic???


mea culpa


I shall now consider myself well and truly told off, and try to ensure that I don't cross the line again :nod:

Re: What else can I do?
 

I said in my post above that I was guilty of this- I this just that things we're getting a bit olde worlde. Read into it what you will.