SarahMar

Hi, newbie here. I am in the process of trying to immigrate. I turned 47 during lockdown so lost my last age point which means I now need to have a job offer in order to qualify.
I want to work in Eastern Ontario, ideally Ottawa or along the St Lawrence.
Can anyone recommend the best way to find a job in Ontario?
I have been using Job Bank and Career Beacon but despite applying for over 100 jobs, have heard nothing.
I work in admin/marketing.
I know it's a difficult time with COVID, but if anyone had any advice, it would be gratefully received.
Many thanks.
Sarah

DigitalGhost

I'll be honest, unless you have some very specialist skills to offer or are in a profession of extreme demand then your chances of securing employment from abroad with no work permit are not good. The fact you have a preference in terms of location won't help much either. Ottawa is growing when it comes to tech companies but I'm not too sure regarding admin and marketing.

In terms of sites, I would recommend Indeed. I've never found the Job Bank to be particularly useful personally, similar to its public sector equivalents in the UK. Monster is just full of scammers these days and the likes of Kijiji and Craigslist will normally just bleed you dry. Others will argue the case for LinkedIn but I'm not a fan personally and remain unconvinced.

Good luck. I'm not trying to be a downer but you are likely going to need all the luck you can get.

christmasoompa

Hi Sarah, welcome to BE.

Unfortunately, applying for jobs online isn't likely to result in anything unless you're in a job that's in demand. Have a look at our Job Hunting Wiki for info on how to go about finding a job offer from a sponsoring employer - https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Categ...Hunting-Canada

I'm going to be honest and say that I think your chances are very slim. We have people on the forum in Canada, and with Canadian experience, who've looked for a long time for admin jobs without success and that's without needing an employer to pay money and wait months to hire them. Plus of course, Covid may effect things with more Canadians looking for jobs. To maximise your chances you would be best broadening your search area, as you've got quite a narrow one in mind. Is there any specific reason for that or do you just like it there? If you can search much further afield you may have more chance.

But all you can do is try, ideally pick up the phone at the least, and get out there when possible. What are you scoring on the CRS, any other way of getting your points up? Any other route to a visa?

DigitalGhost

Just to give you a recent example, I am a tech professional currently specialising in an area of high demand and a PR of Canada and it took me 3 months to secure a job offer in Canada remotely from the UK. It was the old sods law thing of you wait for ages and then two come alone at once but I was able to leverage immigrant support services, free resume reviews and private job fairs to aid me in my job search and get those two offers. These are services that are only available to pre-approved and recently landed immigrants and so you wouldn't be eligible for them.

Now obviously everyone is different and I'm not saying any of this to deter or disparage you. I'm a believer that if someone truly has hope and wants something then they should go for it however, as per Christmasoompa's comment above, I think you need to manage your expectations realistically and maybe also look at alternative routes. Immigration wise, FSW is very highly coveted, can arguably be one of the hardest targets to hit in the world and certainly isn't for everyone.

SarahMar

Thanks for the reply. Forgive my ignorance, but what is FSW?

christmasoompa

Federal Skilled Worker - one of the programs that comes under EE (the program you were applying under?).

SarahMar

Thanks for the reply christmasoompa.
I have 62 points, improving my French would give me an additional 4 points but I cannot see any way to get the additional 1 point needed to apply, other than a job offer or a PhD which is not a quick option!
My bf lives in Montreal so I would like to be not more than a few hours from there. I appreciate what you're saying about picking a place, but there are 100's of jobs in just that area so I don't know how I would filter jobs in a larger area, but I'm not counting them out.
Cheers
Sarah

christmasoompa

Ah, ok. So that's just the FSW points score, but then after that even if you were scoring enough, it's a two stage process so there's a second points score to get PR - the Comprehensive Ranking System. https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigr...d/crs-tool.asp It's usually tougher to meet that point requirement (around 470 or higher) than the FSW points score, so even if you managed to get to 67 points with a sponsored job offer, what would your score on the CRS be, would that be enough?

If you have a boyfriend in Montreal, then is marriage an option? Sorry for the personal question, but that would be your easiest route over by a mile. What is your highest level of education?

SarahMar

Sorry, I get the two points systems mixed up. I would need a provincial nomination, but then I would have more than enough points. I have a Masters degree, full work experience etc. My immigration agent told me that I would be fine if I can just get a job offer.
Marriage is not an option unfortunately.

christmasoompa

I’m sorry, but I think your immi consultant is leading you on if s/he is telling you you ‘just’ need a job offer. If you need provincial nomination then that means a job offer but from an employer prepared to pay the PNP fee, plus do an awful lot of paperwork, and wait months for you to start work. Ontario is the most onerous PNP for employers and I think finding an employer prepared to do that for an admin based role just isn’t realistic, particularly with so many Canadians out of work. Quebec’s immigration is easier for employers, but you’d probably need better French.

Sorry to be blunt, but I think you could waste a lot of time on something that is highly unlikely to happen.

What’s your actual NOC code? Have you any other experience in other jobs? Does your OH have any contacts that may be prepared to sponsor you? Would you have funds to do further study and/or support yourself without working for a year? Any experience of running your own business?

scrubbedexpat091

Indeed is pretty popular in BC, can't speak of elsewhere of Canada, one of the most useful job sites I have found, the government run job banks are pretty useless I have always found, but they seem to to work for some, but indeed has been my go to site for the last few years and 100% of my job the last 5 or so years was through indeed.

Everything from low skill to middle skill with some higher skilled jobs thrown in, seems to cover a variety if bases.

Siouxie

+1

I know many people who work in 'admin' who have years of Canadian experience and still can't get a job. Even for Admin jobs employers generally want certification (from a Canadian institution), without it you will be competing against college leavers who are certified - any experience overseas isn't likely to be of any relevance when job hunting here, unless you have a niche profession that is in demand.

Could you give a breakdown of your CRS points? It concerns me that your (hopefully registered) Immigration Consultant is encouraging you to go down the PNP route for Ontario, more interested in gaining your money than enabling you to immigrate, I suspect.

As Christmasoompa mentioned, it's an expensive long drawn out process - the employer would have to show that they have advertised throughout Canada (for months) and that no Canadian or Permanent Resident was able or willing to perform the duties / take the job (and potentially give reasons why they didn't want to employ another candidate already in Canada).. for an admin or marketing position (unless you are in a niche market) this is highly improbable.

DigitalGhost

You don't need to name anyone here and in fact please don't but does the name of this immigration agent begin with the letter B by any chance?

I'd agree with the other comments on here that it does sound like they're trying to spin you a yarn for a quick profit. If you are truly eligible for a Canadian immigration stream then this forum will be all the help you need. Agents and lawyers are normally only required if your case is complicated such as a criminal history.

DigitalGhost

I think it's huge across the country tbh. I was offered two jobs around the Christmas period, one in Ontario which I accepted and another in Atlantic Canada and I found both through that website. I've also found the last two jobs I held in the UK through Indeed.

The job bank is a waste of time IMHO since it's more closely tied to the NOC than you're likely to find in most real world recruitment circles. The UK DWP have a similar job portal that is also similarly useless.

DigitalGhost

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I'm not being funny but at your age and with your work background, that's your route. The only likely alternative that could work would be a study permit but that would cost a fortune.

My partner is a specialist doctor and more than 10 years your junior and it took her nearly a year of networking and applications to score a job offer here that came with a sponsored work permit. The alternative would have meant me sponsoring her but she is too independent for that.

I'm sorry to say your options will be far more limited. The advice you're receiving here might seem cold and blunt but really people are just trying to avoid you being potentially bled dry for money and time by an immigration consultant.