Originally Posted by steve666

That's like saying the problem with computer repair stuff is that anyone with access to a computer can do it.
What databases? Oracle??
90,000,000 rows...

There's another thread I read a few moments ago from some guy who can't get a job in IT no matter how he tries, yet someone else who answered him is turning down interviews. Must be the way individuals are going about things over there.

Originally Posted by dbd33

Not for that stuff, can't help at all, sorry.

Originally Posted by NorthernTracker

hi dbd33, any luck on z/OS environment? application programming for that matter?

a good starting point would be great!

thanks a zillion!

Originally Posted by dbd33

I need a contract z/OS systems person, a capacity planner for a large DB2 implementation who can also do the run of software implementations under z/OS. Capacity planning will be a challenge as they currently write nothing to SMF. Obviously it's a job for someone old, someone old and Spanish speaking would be perfect.

That's it for advertising. I'm dbd33@hotmail.

Originally Posted by dbd33

Obviously it's a job for someone old, someone old and Spanish speaking would be perfect.

Originally Posted by NorthernTracker

gee!!! i should have taken that systems training... sad to say i'm not into systems but more on applications.

any available MIPS for that?

Originally Posted by Bleech

That's blatant discrimination against all the young non Spanish speaking programmers

Originally Posted by dbd33

More people than work, I'm afraid. Even I have had to diversify to keep the wolf from the door; I now do Cobol as well as Assembler.

Originally Posted by NorthernTracker

so how's a conversion from application to systems sound like?

Originally Posted by RecentLander

Hi,

From my experiences so far I would advise to do one hell of a lot of homework..

From the comments made in the thread I raised and from conversations with other brits here in Vancouver it seems that building a network of contacts seems to produce results.

From what I can tell so far this is how a lot of jobs get filled. How this gets done as a newcomer is a very good question. Some people have advised going to user groups etc. I don’t know what the success rate is with this approach is so maybe some others on the forum can quote some experiences/stats for you.

The other aspect apparently is “the big sell” banging on doors and punting yourself. Some of the contributors to my previous thread have stated they've been successful this way, however I don’t think they explained the finer detail of how they targeted the companies they had interviews with.

It’s probably worth asking them to enlighten you i.e. Did they have specific in demand skills ? Did they already have contacts in these companies ? What type of “pre-sell” investigation did they do on the company?

I don’t mind sending you my CV as an example of one that’s achieved no success at least it would be a reference point from which you can work away from. (PM me with you email address and I’ll send it over)

I’ve spoken to other a number of other brits that are experiencing the same type of problems as me so my advice to you is do a comparison of the two end’s of the spectrum and hopefully you’ll get some answers.

Oh and if you do find some answers tell me as well as if this keeps up I’ll have to go back to blighty.

Originally Posted by DaviesHN

I strongly believe there are many more jobs out there than when I first arrived 3 years ago, and it's more of a marketing exercise now - of yourself!

More specifically I was accidentally employed for a PHP/MySQL job, I think in general a lot of the large corporations tend to go Microsoft and also recruitment agencies. Because of the free nature of this beast it appeals more to independents & smaller companies not willing to pay recruiters.
It might be obscure but check the jobs on http://vancouver.craigslist.org/

My standard reply from the Brits2Van Yahoo group:------

IT job search can be very frustrating and the websites cover a multitude of different skills.

Firstly you need a killer resume and a relevant cover letter with at least one researched fact for each company. Workopolis below has plenty of resume tips. You can even type ‘resume’ and a particular skill into google & poach a format you like from someone in a similar profession.

Resumes ideally have your skillset in the first half page, sometimes people don’t read any further. Also say you at least have permission to work in Canada ‘loudly’, either as PR or have a SIN (rather than saying work-permit as that implies temporary.)

You could reply to ads on the following websites, you could even profile companies who advertise previously & mailshot them for future jobs.
http://working.canada.com/vancouver/index.html ‘ads from local papers
http://www.bctechnology.com/scripts/search_form.cfm
http://www.bcjobs.ca/index.cfm
http://jobsearch.monster.ca/

However replying to ads is not the most effective way to find an opening, you’ve got to get networking.
http://www.workopolis.com/content/re...etnumbers.html
http://www.fwt.bc.ca/netwrk_cat_ducharme.htm
practice ‘An elevator speech -a 20 second natural sounding introduction as to who you are and how you benefit others’

The most useful site TechVibes, check out the companies tab & search for companies with a familiar profile. Note: this has more than just IT companies in here.
http://www.techvibes.com/job/searchjob.asp?city=1

Access the hidden job market before they need to advertise
http://www.bctop100.com/hitech.htm
http://business.superpages.ca ‘you get websites with many entries here

If you need some more advice join the job search workshops run by Landell. I understand they are very good and it will also give vital tips, confidence & therapy.
http://www.landell.com/JSP.htm

Concentrate efforts in major recruitment times 2 weeks after 1 Sept, Xmas, Easter. Avoid the quiet recruitment times July, Aug, Dec. Don’t waste time on irrelevant applications.

Remember it takes an age for Canadian companies to get back to you.
Helen

Originally Posted by Airseir

Hi,
I am in a closely related field - Application Devlopment Manager. I work in the Web development area - I lead programmers but we work with the Microsoft World using .Net 2.0 .Net Ajax C#.

Lots of opportunities but a lot depends on where you are wanting to land. Some areas have a great advertising style while other areas are more word of mouth and personal references. Small town and small cities have a lot of start up companies and boom and bust style operations where they are taking staff on and laying them off. Cubicle world is over here - if you like that style and there are lots of opportunities for going freelance or even starting your own business - all depending on where you go.

Are you planning on changing your life style and landing in a certain place or are you happy to go where the work is?

Originally Posted by cov-canuck

If you're referring to my post, then a) yes, being in Canada is a definite advantage unless you are in one of those extremely rare positions that they have difficulty filling fromthe local pool (I'm in software testing, OH is in desktop support/networking, so not exactly hard to fill positions). b) We deliberately did our research and came to the GTA, where we know that tech jobs are abundant (because they really are...we probably applied to 80+ jobs each that matched our experience and skill sets) and c) nope, never worked in Canada a day in our lives. No Canadian experience whatsoever. Nor was the phrase "Canadian experience" ever mentioned to either one of us. It seems less important in tech jobs, the skills are worldwide transferable.

We each turned down several interviews, OH starts his job this morning, I start mine on Monday (I'm a she by the way). Good benefits, good salaries, not too many hoops to jump through (just arranging references, etc.). I'm going to go sort out a second car today, and we bought a house yesterday...it's been a busy few weeks! As of this moment, we've been in Canada for a month and 3 days.

Oh, someone asked how we targeted the companies we "cold called". OH went through the Microsoft Gold Certified Partners list on the MS website. He viewed each companies website, if they had a suitable open position he applied for it, if they didn't have an open position but stated that they always accept resumes, then he sent a speculative resume asking about any open positions they may have in the near future. I went about it slightly differently, I literally went to www.yellowpages.ca and did a search for Software and the areas I was looking at. I then did the same thing...checked out each company website, applied for positions or sent a speculative resume. It is the 21st century version of knocking on doors. It is time consuming, but they always say that you should approach looking for work as a full time job in itself. This was as well as combing all of the standard job sites. It may seem like a redundant process, but we are still turning down interviews now (since we've already signed our contracts), so it must've worked!