Hi all

Like many of you I expect, me and my family are off to the Leeds expo on Saturday and as we have never been to anything like this before, I wondered if anyone has any top tips to get the best out of whats on offer.

We know the possible prospective employers we want to speak to, so thats fine, but what I want to know is, is it easy to obtain rough guides for prices of rental properties in different districts, costs of transporting our personal bits and bobs and other moving and initial expenses? Unfortunately we have to drag our two young children (4 years and 7 months) around with us as we have no childcare options here and want to do the most efficient information gathering possible!!!!!!

Hi Julie, i am sure someone will be along to help soon, we are too going to the expo on saturday thats myself hubby and 12 year old son and we dont know what to really expect either, there is mixed reviews on here some saying that they are a waste of time, one thing i would say is to take plenty of cv's or should i say resumes, maybe all BE members should wear a badge eh?

Julie

I was going to go to speak to employers and shipping companies, etc. But at £15 a pop I don't see the point. I could speak to these people for free at home.

but for those going over on WP I can see it being helpful

The publicity from it is very vague. I haven't seen anything concrete about who is going to be there and the timetable of seminars is just repeated sessions from the High Commission, Alberta and Ontario.

The Expos are organised by www.workingin.com whose website seems to highlight how easy it is to emigrate, eg. the coming legislation changes for skilled workers on their website is viewed as:

This proposed law change is beneficial to anyone planning to apply for a job under the skilled migrant category.

...which isn't quite the reality of it. I emailed them to find out who the 'representatives from other provinces' were as listed on their website but they haven't replied.

There is a long list of industries in demand, but then a much shorter list of the jobs on offer which are mainly construction related.

So, I just don't know what to make of the Expo at all really.

Well, we're going to the London one in a couple of weeks, the worst that can happen is we've wasted a few quid, small fry in the overall cost of getting to Canada.
If anyone wants to meet up for a post-expo beer then let us know

I was hoping it would be a more job-focussed version of the Emigration Fair. It's just that it's a very long drive for us so I was wanting a bit more detail on who is going to be there as we are specifically interested in a couple of provinces and looks as if our industry, ie. IT, isn't going to be represented from what I can see.

If there are CHC representatives there and you want to consult with them then my top tip is get there for when the doors open and make a beeline to their stand before you go anywhere else.

As the day passes the queue will only get longer and longer and longer

I intend to visit the Expo at the weekend armed with CV's, my question is should I attach a generic covering letter?
As I wont know what companies, industries and potential jobs are going I would have to use a generic letter which is not personal to the employer in anyway.
But as I will be personally handing them over and potentially have a chat this would be personal.

So would you say I needed a cover letter?

No, it is not customary to provide a covering letter when you hand a resume to someone in person.

The covering letter is a stand in for you. Its purpose is to provide some context when you are unavailable to speak for yourself. But, when you are there in person, you don't need a stand in.
x

My partner was going to go to the London Expo, but as there seem to be no representatives from any manufacturing companies/industry representatives it seems a waste of time and money really. Good luck to all who are going though.

Like 'timballs' from what I can see there isn't any companies there looking for IT people (my job). But then IT is used by just about every industry so we'll go and have a look anyway.
The fact I'm being railroaded into there by a family member who has already landed a job in Canada, might have something to do with it as well

I think it would be fun to try and guess just who it is there from BE!!! I am going along with my son, but as he is 6'3" tall and I have red hair, we would be too easy to spot

I did a google search on Leeds Expo and it did list all the people that are going to be there, but I too found it fairly vague, so I was not sure about th trip.. long way from the top end of Cumbria, but hey, why not.

Tell you what I'll wear the badge I got for my birthday that says V.I.P. on it and see how many of you speak to me

Good luck everybody... I'm only there on the Sunday by the way. I gather it will not be so manic!

Thanks for your responses!!!

I too will be easy to spot - unhappy baby stuck in buggy, grumpy four year old and over-excited husband - oh and me looking slightly frazzled.

That said, I am looking forward to it.