Finding Job Opportunities-Canada

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Who does what?

Canadian Company Capabilities

  • To start getting some idea of which companies operate in which industry sector, in which region, and so on, you might start by looking at the Canadian government's website on Canadian Company Capabilities.
  • It is a goldmine of information, and will provide you with the names of employers in the sector in which you're interested.
  • The link to the Canadian Company Capabilities website probably is the most valuable piece of information on this page.
  • Until they start exploring it, readers often don't appreciate what a wealth of information is available from that website.
  • You can search the Canadian Company Capabilities website for quite precise information.
  • For example, you could use it to search for companies that have between 50 and 100 employees, that operate in the acoustical engineering field and that are located in Vancouver (just by way of example).
  • You can use the Canadian Company Capabilities website to find out the NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) code that is most relevant to you. Once you know what that code is, you can use it to refine your searches even further.
  • Another very useful piece of information you can glean from the Canadian Company Capabilities website is a list of industry associations that is relevant to you. When you find the website of an association that is relevant to your line of work, its member list will be a Who's Who of prospective employers.
  • Please see the Real Life Example section, below, to see how actual forum members have been led through the process of using the information in this article to identify potential employers.


Chambers of Commerce

  • You also might request information from the Chambers of Commerce in the cities in which you are interested.


Business Magazines

  • Various provinces' business magazines also are packed with useful information.
  • Do a Google search for BUSINESS MAGAZINE + NAME OF PROVINCE.
  • You will find a free online magazine that will bring you up to speed about the business climate in your destination province and give you many company names.


Provincial Governments

  • Provincial governments all have websites about economic development, and these also are extremely useful sources of information.
  • Just do a Google search for ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT + NAME OF PROVINCE.


Towns and Cities

  • Towns and cities very often have economic development websites too.
  • Do a Google search for ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT + NAME OF TOWN.


Yellow Pages

  • Some forum members have reported success in using the Yellow Pages. Look up the category in which you're interested (e.g., construction) in the city or town in which you're interested.


Newspapers

Job Websites

Alberta

  • Jobs in Alberta - The employers listed at job bank usually are familiar with immigration procedures.

Agriculture

Atlantic Provinces

  • Although Career Beacon lists jobs all across Canada, it is especially popular with job hunters in the Atlantic Provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador).

Aquaculture

Biology

Construction

Engineering and Related Fields

Environmental Sector

Forestry

General

Google

  • Google - Sometimes it's amazing what a good old Google search can bring up.

Health and Medicine

Hospitality Industry

Information Technology

Logistics

Mining

Nursing

  • In addition to the Health Careers website mentioned above, check the BE Wiki called Nursing-Canada to find more websites that list nursing jobs.

Oil & Gas Industry

Pharmaceutical Industry

Police

Retail & Wholesale

Science & Technology

Truck Driving

Universities

Utilities


Employment Agencies

  • If you already have authorization to work in Canada, it would be a good idea to include employment agencies in your job hunting mix. They sometimes know of vacancies that you would not be able to find out about from anyone else.
  • Whether or not an employment / recruitment / placement agency can assist you to find employment if you do not already have authorization to work in Canada depends on whether or not there is a red hot demand for people in your occupation in a given region.
  • If you are in an occupation that you know is in high demand in a certain region, by all means contact recruitment agencies as part of your job hunting activities. They may very well be able to introduce you to a prospective employer who is willing to do the paperwork associated with hiring you (applying for a Labour Market Opinion or applying to the relevant Provincial Nominee Program).
  • If you are not in a high demand field, do not yet have authorization to work in Canada, and come to the country on a recce trip, by all means line up interviews with a couple of employment agencies. Use those meetings to gather information, such as the types of qualifications employers in your field look for, the salary you could expect to earn, etc. But don't assume that the agencies will actually be able to line up work for you.
  • ACSESS (Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services) is the industry body for the staffing industry in Canada, the UK equivalent is the REC. ACSESS has a website were you can search all of their members and is one of the best places to find reputable employment agencies. The web page can be found at ACSESS Jobseekers Agency Search

Never pay an employment agency

  • If an employment agency finds a suitable employee for an employer, the employer pays the employment agency a commission. An employee should not have to pay to be placed in a job.
  • Be very wary of agencies that charge you money for finding you a job.
  • Note that in some provinces it's illegal for an agency to charge a job seeker a fee for finding a job that's located in that province, regardless of where the agency and the job seeker are located.


Real life examples

  • See post #13 in the forum discussion thread entitled hello to everyone!. This illustrated the use of Google to find potential employers for a heavy-duty equipment mechanic.
  • See post #2 in the thread entitled Electrical Contracts Manager. This is an industry with a small number of players, or at least it is in the region about which the original poster was enquiring. Although the Canadian Company Capabilities website is a fabulous resource in most instances, this was a case in which other information resources seemed to be more useful.


Identifying individual people

  • When you send a resume and covering letter or when you phone a company, it's ideal to communicate with an individual in that company.
  • You may be able to find out from the Linked In website the name of the person who heads the department that is relevant to you.


Phoning and Face Time

  • Using the Internet and other impersonal sources of information is just a start.
  • Once you have identified some companies that look as if they might be a potential fit, you need to phone them or, better yet, visit them for face-to-face meetings during a recce trip to Canada.
  • Even half a dozen companies will do to start with.
  • Phone those companies, pick their brains and, on the basis of the information they give you, phone more companies.
  • Personal contact is very important when you're looking for employment in Canada.
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