Canada offers many excellent immigration programs for people from abroad. This includes three federal programs under the Express Entry system and dozens of programs under the provincial candidate programs.
Potential immigrants looking to start a new life in Canada are often surprised to learn how competitive the immigration system is. For example, hundreds of thousands of people apply for federal immigration programs every year. However, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) selects only a few thousand applicants and sends them an Invitation to Apply (ITA).
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The good news is that candidates can increase their chances of being selected if there is a valid job offer from a recognized Canadian employer.
It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible either.
There are several factors that can increase your chances of getting a job offer from a Canadian employer. This could be your specific industry, exceptional skills, current job applications, networking skills, etc.
If you currently live outside of Canada, you may be wondering about the different ways you can get a job offer in Canada. This guide explores seven helpful tips on how to get a job offer outside Canada.
- Connect with employers on LinkedIn: Research and connect directly with hiring managers on LinkedIn. Adapt your CV to the Canadian style. Present your knowledge convincingly and professionally.
- Canadian-style resume: Organize your work experience chronologically. Include volunteer experience and relevant professional social media profiles. Use the correct keywords for every application. Make sure your CV is no longer than two pages.
- Use provincial job bank websites: Search for job openings on the Government of Canada Job Bank website. Filter vacancies by profession, location, language, and working conditions. Personalize your application for each vacancy.
- Apply for jobs outside major cities: Look for jobs in smaller cities due to less competition. Consider cities near major centers for potential business locations.
- Apply for on-demand jobs. Identify occupations that are in high demand in specific regions. Focus on job categories with many available positions—discover the jobs you want in your chosen field.
- Learn French: Knowing French is a plus, especially in Quebec. Use online resources like Duolingo and Mondly to learn a language. In your CV and motivation letter, you prove your knowledge of the French language.
- Visit Canada with a tourist visa: Buy a visitor visa and visit Canada. Apply for the job in person and demonstrate your language skills and understanding of the business environment.
Difficulty getting a job offer outside of Canada
Before we discuss how to get a job in Canada, it’s important to understand some of the challenges that come with it. It is true that employers generally prefer to hire Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada for job openings. This is for the following reasons:
1. Implementation of positive LMIA
Canadian employers seeking to hire foreign nationals to fill vacant positions must complete a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and verify that there are no Canadian citizens or permanent residents available to fill the position.
The hiring process can take a long time, so employers often prefer to hire local Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Some Canadian employers are willing to go through the LMIA process if the foreign candidate has exceptional skills, making them a much better option than local Canadian candidates.
2. Knowledge of the Canadian business environment
Some employers may avoid hiring foreign workers if they believe they are unfamiliar with the Canadian business environment. This problem arises in jobs in human resources departments that require personal skills and an understanding of how to do business in Canada.
3. Assistance in obtaining a work permit
Foreign workers who wish to work legally in Canada must obtain this work permit with the help of their employer. Some employers may not want to spend time helping their potential employees with this work, so they prefer to hire a Canadian citizen or Canadian permanent resident.
4. Guarantee that the employee remains in Canada.
Some Canadian employers may choose to hire Canadian citizens and permanent residents instead of foreigners because they are confident they will remain in Canada. Foreign workers who come to Canada on a temporary work permit must leave Canada when their status expires. This means that there is no guarantee that you will continue to work for your employer in the long term. This uncertainty prevents many employers from hiring foreign workers.
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Potential foreign workers can overcome the above challenges by following these tips:
1: Connect with employers on LinkedIn
Most Canadians apply for jobs through websites such as Onlinewhile alive NeeGlass Door. Foreign workers can also submit their resumes to these sites to apply for jobs. However, if hundreds of other applicants apply for the same position, their applications will be considered less.
A possible solution to this job search problem is to connect directly with the company’s hiring manager on LinkedIn.
To do this, you need to study the company and find out which employee is responsible for making hiring decisions. Then you can find that hiring manager on LinkedIn, connect with them, and immediately explain why you’re a great candidate for the open position.
Some hiring managers prefer this approach because it saves them the hassle of sorting through hundreds of resumes to select the right candidate.
Foreign employees taking this approach should ensure that their resume is tailored to the Canadian style and that they present their skills in a compelling manner to this hiring manager.
Check out this handy video guide from the site. Heide Austin Create a strong LinkedIn profile and increase your chances of getting hired.
2: Adapt your CV to the Canadian style
In the tip above, we mentioned that you should adapt your resume to the Canadian style. This approach gets you noticed by Canadian employers because your information is presented in a way they are familiar with.
Before contacting Canadian employers, make sure your current resume is in Canadian style.
Things to include in your resume
Some of the most important details to include in your Canadian resume include:
- Your work experience is displayed in chronological order (from oldest to newest).
- Information about any previous volunteer experiences.
- Links to all relevant professional social media profiles, such as LinkedIn.
- Keywords for every tailor-made application.
Length of CV
Most Canadian resumes are a maximum of two pages. Unless you have decades of work experience and are applying for a senior position, avoid a long resume.
In most cases, it is useful to have a’master’ resume documenting your entire work history. You can then create smaller versions of this resume with work history information relevant to the job you are applying for.
3: Use the provincial vacancy sites
Foreign workers can also apply to the government to work in the province of their choice. Canada Job Bank website. On this vacancy page, you can filter vacancies by type of profession, location, employment conditions, working language, employment, and salary.
For example, if you have two years of work experience, speak good English, have a university degree, and are looking for a full-time sales job in Vancouver, then go to the Advanced Search page and enter “Sales” in the Job Title field. Then you can choose:
- “Date” as defined in the Terms of Service
- “English” is the language of the work.
- “Full time” during office hours.
- “British Columbia” and “Vancouver Island and coastal area” among principalities and territories
- ‘Sales and service occupations’ by job category
- “University” under education or training
- With “1 year to less than 3 years” of experience.
You can then click the ‘View Results’ button at the top of the page to find jobs that match your criteria. Once you have read the job posting that interests you, you can complete the application by clicking the ‘View Application Method’ button at the bottom of the page.
4: Apply for jobs outside the big cities
Many foreign workers expect to find work in Canada’s major cities, such as Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal. However, job openings in such cities also attract Canadians from other parts of the country.
A single job posting in Toronto can receive hundreds of applications from potential job seekers. This will reduce your chances of ever getting an interview for such a position. The good news is that vacancies outside major cities are less competitive.
For example, a job posting in Hamilton, Ontario, might receive dozens of applicants. Employers who apply in small towns have a much better chance of getting an interview. Hamilton is also just an hour’s drive from Toronto. This means you can live in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) while working in a smaller, cheaper city.
5: Apply for the jobs you are looking for
As previously mentioned, it is not uncommon for job postings to receive dozens or even hundreds of applications from potential job seekers. The reason for this is that the supply of employees is significantly greater than the demand for employees. Such scenarios are rare in “demanding” multi-position jobs.
Please note that these tough jobs vary by province. For example, in 2024, there will be a huge demand in British Columbia. Truck drivers are also in high demand in Saskatchewan in 2022. Before potential foreign workers apply for a job, they should research which professions are “in high demand” in their chosen provinces.
6: Learn French
The two main official languages in Canada are English and French. However, most of the country speaks English. Quebec is the only province in the country where French is widely spoken.
Many job openings in Quebec require applicants to speak French. This discourages most foreign workers and Canadians from other provinces from applying for jobs in Quebec. This also gives French-speaking foreign workers an advantage when applying for provincial jobs.
Foreign workers who want to increase their chances of finding work in Canada should consider learning French if they have the time and resources. Many free online resources, such as Duolingo NeeOrally, help you understand the language and learn to read, speak, and write French within a year.
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7: Visit Canada with a tourist visa
Potential foreign job seekers who struggle to find work online may have a better chance of visiting Canada. visitor visa and apply yourself. Once you receive your visitor visa, you can enter Canada and start looking for work in person. Once you’ve compiled a list of potential employers, visit their offices and try to talk to their hiring managers.
Applying for a job using this method will give you an advantage over other foreign applicants because you can personally demonstrate your language skills and understanding of the Canadian business environment.
Foreign workers can also spend their visit at job fairs across the country. There are many public employment fairs and industry job fairs held throughout the year. Attending a job fair can help you better understand which jobs are in high demand and connect with company employees who can help you find a job.