Friends,

One of the things that a lot of yet-to-land immigrants are preparing themselves for is the prospect of a "Labour Job", no matter how qualified or well-placed they are their country of origin. Thanks to sites like Canadiandesi, people now know that it is'nt a piece of cake to find jobs in their respective fields as soon as they land. And unless you have a lot of money that you don't mind spending while looking for your dream-job, you may have to do an odd job to sustain yourself. I think prospective immigrants have a rough idea of the kind of labour jobs they'll have to do once they get here (stuff like telemarketing, security jobs, bank jobs, packing and handling jobs, jobs on the auto assembly line etc)

But it'd be nice if we can create one topic where people can post their personal experiences doing labour jobs. I think this would give newcomers a very precise idea of what they're in for and also acquaint them on choices they have in odd jobs.

So if you are an immigrant who's already landed and have experience doing an "odd job", please post your experience here for others. I'm sure you woud have had some tough experiences and some humorous ones as well, please post both. For the sake of consistency, please post in the following format

Landed in Canada on - MM, YYYY
Qualification - Civil Eng / Mech. Eng. / IT Professional etc etc
Time you waited before taking up an odd job - XX Days / Weeks / Mos.
How you got the job - Cold calls / Agency / Self etc etc.
Type of Job - Please be descriptive regarding your job function
Personal experiences doing the job - Stuff about what your first day was like, how much time it took you to get adjusted and some notable and funny experiences.
And now? - Are you still doing the Odd job OR did you find a job in your field OR did you change fields etc?

I know this might be a bit lengthy or cumbersome to write, but it will be a big help to our bros. and sisters who still haven't arrived here.

Unfortunately (or fortunately rather) I haven't yet had a chance to do a labour job in Canada, so can't write much about it myself.

Hoping to get a good response from others though.

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Orginally posted by BlueLobster

I think prospective immigrants have a rough idea of the kind of labour jobs they'll have to do once they get here (stuff like telemarketing, security jobs, bank jobs, packing and handling jobs, jobs on the auto assembly line etc)


Unfortunately (or fortunately rather) I haven't yet had a chance to do a labour job in Canada, so can't write much about it myself.

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I've used the word labour job and odd job interchangeably. There is a whole bunch of people (engineers, IT professionals, ex-VPs of banks in India) who are either working as tellers or customer service in banks, making anywhere form $8 to $12 per hour.

Also, if you notice, I've used the word "Labour Job" in quotes. I'm just using this as a generic word here (one which people are familiar with), it could imply any odd job.

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Chandresh

Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!

Quote:

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Orginally posted by chandresh


Professioanl qualification : B Com CA from India with 15 years of International finance, accounting and banking experience. Now having the additional North American professional qualification of CPA!

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Chandresh, I appreciate your frankness and courage in sharing your experiences. The point to note is not the paucity of jobs but the attitude of the people towards new immigrants and the mirage called 'Canadian experience'.

Keep sharing the stories and best wishes for finding a suitable job in your own field.

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Shibu

Wow!! Thanks for sharing this so frankly, Chandresh. I've read it thrice already but I'm still having difficulty digesting the fact that someone so highly qualified is going through this. Sure, you read stuff about other immigrants in the newspaper sometimes, but coming from a fellow-Indian, this is just heart wrenching. My knowledge of the accounting job scene is zero, but I will try to speak to some friends and forward you some leads if I do get any.

You're right about the part that the higher qualified you are, the tougher the market becomes for you here. Because if people hiring you are less qualified, they have this fear that you'll somehow take their job and leave them jobless (which is never your intention!). One has to be really careful in presenting his/her qualifications.

Yes, I consider myself extremely fortunate that I've never had to do any job that was not related to my field, at least so far. But I've seen my share of layoffs and tough times in Canada. I've been unemployed for 10 mos. at a stretch and know what it feels like waiting for those calls. Luckily, I was single at the time and had reasonable finances to survive, so somehow made it through without taking up an odd job. Also had very good and supportive friends which made all the difference. I can never forget their gratitiude in my time of need.

Some things I've learnt while job-hunting.

1) Always maintain your good humor while giving interviews. It is a sign of confidence like no other. And it will help you jump many a hurdle. It also allows you to steer the interview in the direction you want it to go.

I'm an IT guy and I moved here from the U.S. in 2000 and the first interview I went to, I was asked about Canadian experience by a recruiter. I smiled and told him "Sorry I dont have any, I didn't know Canadian programming languages were different from the U.S. ones!" He was taken aback a bit but smiled and got the point. And I grabbed the opportunity and told him how I was confident that with my skills I would be productive from day one in any country in the world, the only requirement was that English was spoken at work. Then I smiled again and asked him if they spoke English where he was planning to place me. He started laughing and never brought up Canadian experience again. Also forwarded my resume to his client.

Agreed, it was cocky and could've backfired. But the first thing you do going into an interview is study the interviewer and then take calculated risks.

Modesty in interviews is a virtue in India, but the culture here is different. Here they want to hear big things. Well, give them what they want. One more tip, don't address the interviewer as "Sir" ever. Call him/her by his/her first name without any hesitation at all, even if he/she is a desi.

2) Prepare for the general non-skill related questions that are asked. E.g. why haven't you been working for 6 mos.? It's a deadly mistake to say that you've been looking but haven't found anything, even if it is the case. You must come up with a better way to present the situation. The thing to remember here is that this question really has no bearing on your ability to do the job. And besides, the interviewer already knows the market situation before he asks you this question, so it is more of a conversational question where he is judging your presentation rather than content.

3) Walk into offices and ask to see someone in HR. In most cases, you will not be allowed to. Fine, but hand over your resume to the receptionist then. And follow up by calling them again and again.

4) Join the library and read in your spare time. This may sound trivial but it helped me more than anything while I was job-hunting. I read a whole bunch of different books when I had time. One I highly recommend is Edison's biography by Matthew Josephson. It injected a sense of confidence in me like never before and kept the dejection away.

5) If you have the time and a bit of money, indulge in some other activities that can help take your mind off the job-search during the weekend. It could be something as simple as catching a good movie in the theater or going bowling or hanging out with friends.

6) Play the lotto 649 or Super 7 once in a while. Give me a call if you win, you owe me some.



It probably sounds simplistic and also its easier said than done, but I've always found it easier to deal with problems while keeping my high spirits about me.

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