Moving to Canada for a Job
For a while now Canada has been a go-to location for many who wish to start their lives fresh. If you are one of many who has the same desire, all we can say is – good choice. Moving to Canada is not easy, however, it is far from impossible. Many have tried, and if they were persistent they would succeed, especially if you are moving to Canada for a job.
There are two things that come to mind when we start talking about Canada – apologizing and lakes. The first means that you will meet some of the nicest people in the world in Canada. They use the phrase “I’m sorry” more often than Brits do. Yeah, I didn’t believe it either until I saw it. The latter, the lakes, means that you will have an abundance of gorgeous vistas and amazing fish. But before you go on, ask yourself, is a job worth relocating for?
Moving to Canada – General Info
Most people who pursue a life in Canada hoping to kick-start their career usually don’t get disappointed. If you look at Canada from a bigger picture standpoint – it doesn’t look that good. Less than 5% of land in Canada can be farmed, and the insane amount of fresh water they have cannot be used for hydropower or irrigation. Due to all this, you would expect that the country is in financial peril. This is not the case. The unemployment rate is just measly 6.5 percent, and it continues going down. The economy is growing. There is a lot of work and you might be able to find something perfect for yourself.
Industry to Seek a Job In
There are several highly potent and dominant industries in Canada. When moving to Canada, you should keep in mind what type of a career opportunity you could pursue. The largest sectors you can hope to find include:
- Rental, leasing and real estate
- Production and Manufacturing
- Oil extraction and Mining
- Healthcare
- Public Administration
Salary
Canada is not small, hence the minimum salary you can hope for will vary depending on where you wish to go. In case of, for instance, Ontario the minimum pay per hour is $11.4, which will see changes as of this month when it will be increased to $14. Furthermore, in 2019 it will be increased to $15. The minimum wage in Alberta will be matching this one, increasing to $15 by the end of this year.
Quebec has a little less of a minimum wage ($11.25), however, if you wish to pursue a career in science this place will be perfect. One of the best jobs you can find, in terms of pay, would be:
- Judges
- Physicians (with specialization)
- General Practitioners
Cost of Living
Canadians take a large amount of pride in their comfortable lifestyle. Moving to Canada will basically mean if you’d get a proper job, that you will be making more and spending less. The wages are rather high but the cost of living is far cheaper than in most other places. Basically, with a steady Canadian check every month, you’d be living better than with a steady job in the UK. In comparison, Toronto is far cheaper than London. A one-bedroom flat will cost you a whopping 1600 pounds in London, whereas the same one would strike you for 900 pounds in Toronto. So if you would be, for instance, moving from Miami to Toronto you would see an increase in the quality of life. And a huge change in climate. Not to mention relocating from some third world, Eastern European, countries.
Moving to Canada – Finding a Job
We’ve been talking about good jobs and nifty life conditions in Canada, but if you wish to move there and yet have no job offer yet you’ll need to find one yourself. How?
The safest possible way is to do it remotely. First, search for a job, get a few offers doing something interesting, and then go to the moving to Canada bit. This just avoids the risk of you moving there and not being able to find a job for months. Oh yeah, you don’t call it CV in Canada… It’s resume.
Where to Look
Ok, the best bet you have is to grab your resume and start tailoring it toward each job you’re applying for. Do not go and make one generalist resume and send it everywhere. Change it a bit each time you send it to a new employer, making it fit more for your future employer needs.
The first thing you can do, remotely, is visiting the job boards. These are not fully reliable, but they are a start. The biggest ‘problem’ is getting the working visa, so even if you want to scout the job boards you will still need to establish communication with a company you wish to apply for. Reason being – they need to participate in the work visa you are to obtain.
The three job boards we would recommend are JobBank, Indeed, and Monster. JobBank is the official, Canadian one, maintained by their government. Indeed is a freelance one, with the option of getting offers in both English and French. And finally, Monster is less of a job board but more of a career guide interface where you can drop off your resume for other recruiters to find you.
Moving to Canada – Conclusion
Many people turned their lives around by starting a career in Canada. It has an incredible amount of legit opportunities, in numerous sectors that can have you kickstart your life. On top of that, the country is gorgeous (especially if you love winters as much as I do). Nobody is frustrated since they are living quality lives. This reflects on the everyday interactions you have. They may be overly apologetic, but I chose that over grumpy, ill-behaved people any day. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing a long distance move from Miami, or Ukraine. Should you do it? I say most definitely yes.