JonboyE

I understand that. It feels like being on the outside looking in. As you say, it is having time to think that is one of the problems.

Job hunting should be a full-time job in itself. You can't rely on an agency to find you work. Those that do exist find candidates for employers, not jobs for job seekers. You may not have the Canadian experience that other candidates have, but that doesn’t mean you are not the best candidate. The onus is on you to market yourself effectively.

It is often said on here that it is who you know, not what you know. It is a nice, trite, phrase but it is rubbish. What you know counts a great deal. You need to be clear about what you know, what your skills and experience amount to, and present this to an employer in a way that answers the only two questions the employer has in mind: how are you going to solve my problems and how are you going to make me money? The answer will be different for each and every job.

As for the who you know that is entirely in your hands. It is true that many companies will seek to recruit from their contact bank before advertising a vacancy externally. Your aim is to get on the contact list of the person(s) who make hiring decisions. I know the whole idea of networking makes the average Brit get clammy palms, but this is North America. This is how it is done here. People are receptive as long as you keep the golden rules of networking in mind:

1) Never ask someone for something they can’t give.
2) Give more to your network than you take out.

The thing is to keep in mind that you are not asking someone for a job, you are seeking an employer where you can solve their problems and make them money.

So, rather than sit at home and contemplate the I can’t get a job until I have Canadian experience and I can’t get Canadian experience until I get a job conundrum you have to:

a) Make a realistic self-assessment of what you can offer an employer. What problems can you solve and how do you make them money? You may be able to solve different problems for different employers. Identify them all.
b) Put together several resume templates that address the employers and problems you have identified. I say templates at this stage because every resume you present to a contact or potential employer should be individually tailored for their eyes. A resume is not about you. Frankly, potential employers don’t care about you. All they care about is what’s in it for me? So answer that question.
c) Now you have established what problems you can solve you need to work out which employers have these problems. You will need a lot of research. Some of it can be done online, but for the most part you will need to get out and speak to people. This is part of the dreaded networking, but it is the easiest part. You don’t break golden rule 1) above because everybody knows something.
d) Having established which employers you can solve problems for, and make money for, the task is to get that proposition in front of the people who make the hiring decisions. You have to find out whom they are and find a way to do this. Unsolicited resumes are the least effective. LinkedIn can work but personal referral is the most effective. If you can’t manage to meet these people in person then meet the people they know. If you can start a conversation with, “I was talking to Gord at XYZ company and he suggested that I contact you…” then you have kicked the no Canadian experience problem into a crocked hat.

Anyway, that is all better than sitting at home moping and feeling sorry for yourself.

• MilleF – this is not aimed at you, it just seemed an appropriate place to post this and it is easier to say “you’ rather than “job seeker” all the time.
• An aside on the solving problems bit. Employers want problems they know about solved. Telling them they are years behind the way it is done in Europe, when it seems to be working well enough for them, is not going to get you hired. At the very least, wait until you have your foot in the door and have earned some trust.

UKFAMTOCAN2013

A very balanced reply. Thanks

MillieF

Completely and utterly...couldn't agree more...I wasn't being critical of your response, it's just that I can fully appreciate the spirit that Adrian R would be posting in...of course I know fully that nothing would be aimed at me or any of the other posters. Just sometimes, you can see perfectly well where in the long chilly winter, posters who are perhaps in less than ideal situations do tend to get a little down. Adrian R, is thinking many of the thoughts that I'm sure we all have.

Some excellent advice, and many thanks. Lots I am sure that will be taken to heart. The problem is...it's a bit like losing weight...we all know how to do it, and what must be done...but on the bad days you need to hide under the duvet!.

I think the vast majority of us arrive here in a spirit of positively bursting positivity...and that can mostly be quietly kindled...but I'm sure there wii be the odd lead ballon day too.

I rejoice with posters who are hitting the world head on and win, but I can certainly empathise with those who are finding it a somewhat uneven road.

AdrianR

And so this thread is brought to a neatly optimistic conclusion...

I admit to a certain cynicism in my comments regarding the whole 'Canadian Experience' issue and, to a certain extent, they are borne with the frustration that comes from having been a Hiring Manager in the past.

Certainly, JonBoyE has hit the nail on the head very firmly indeed.

dormy

Its also a locational issue; in a small city like Halifax the property management business is very insular and there are limited companies. They have all worked for years with each other, belong to the same networks and organisations, basically all know each other well. It is hard to break into a small circle like that, most employers will already know a lot of the applicants and often they know what they are getting, so its no risk to them. Try to get onto the bottom rung again, and the cream rises quickly.

It was the same in the Hotel industry for me, took me 5 years to work my way back up, then was head hunted but had to move to a much larger city to a position I would never have been considered for in Halifax, as I was not a long term serving member of the old boys brigade.

Kaye5

Jonboy - I copied your post to my OH who I suspect is one of the "clammy palmed" ones.

Good post.

iainmac2

Hello - I moved to Halifax last June! Loving it so far.

Tangram

Glad no-one has been shot yet.