Employment

Starting a new life in a different country presents a lot of challenges for new immigrants. Newcomers must overcome obstacles such as learning a new language, understanding culture, and knowing about the marketplace. These are just some of the challenges. In my opinion, we must be open minded at the beginning and try to get a job that can give you some money to cover your own expenses and contribute to the development of this wonderful country.

The most important thing when starting to look for a job is to understand the Canadian resume. For example, in Venezuela, where I am from, it is normal to have between ten to twenty pages in the resume, even more. In Canada, my resume has just two pages, and to get those two pages I had to go to an Employment Counsellor and read some material with key phrases to have a completely new and different resume. The government offers help for newcomers, they provide excellent service. Do not hesitate to use it. They are very helpful. I do not recommend going to work agencies. They have different ways to get a job (sometimes not the right jobs), and they are not from government services.

Another way that can help you in your job search is attending job fairs. There are numerous job fairs around GTA at different locations. Just choose the one closest to you. In my experience, working in different occupations that are not related to my original profession, has helped me to understand more about the marketplace in Canada. And this experience added to improving my English language skills. I am sure it will help me find a position according to my experience, but every step is necessary in this new life.