In the case under review, the move to the province of Manitoba in 2015 was accompanied by a clear plan to find work as an agronomist, yet sending dozens of resumes in the Ukrainian style produced no results during the first five months. What changed the situation were free two-week job search courses for permanent residents — after them, three interview invitations arrived at once.
When the education plan did not work
Before moving to Canada, a plan A was prepared: finding work as an agronomist in one’s field, with researched job openings, requirements for confirming education, membership in the agronomists’ association, and expected salaries. In parallel, there was a plan B — landscape design, for which there was recent work experience.
After arrival, documents confirming education and the application to the agronomists’ association were submitted right away, and an active search for a first job began. The problem turned out not to be education or language — English was at an intermediate level at the time of the move, CLB 8 — but the approach to the search itself: resumes were sent out by the dozens, almost a hundred in the first five months, in-person visits to employers’ addresses and small talk were practiced. In Canada, this approach, which works in Ukraine, produced no results.
When the thought of returning arose
Five months without a single response, against the backdrop of attractive job offers from Ukraine, led to serious thoughts about going back. During this period, the option of abandoning the move to Canada entirely was considered.
Job search courses for permanent residents
The turning point came from the advice of an acquaintance whose wife had also struggled for a long time to find work earlier; she took free courses for permanent residents at Red River College and found a job quickly afterward. The courses lasted two weeks, with classes held daily from 9:30 to about 14:30.
Of the roughly 50 participants in the group, only two were recent immigrants — the rest had been born and lived in Canada their whole lives. Among the examples was a local woman with many years of experience as a nurse who, after being dismissed, also could not find a new position on her own and turned to the same courses. This shows that difficulties finding work in Canada concern not only newcomers but are a general feature of the local job market.
What the courses changed
The courses explained that job searching is also work, whose result depends on how well it is done, and which, like any other work, requires rest. Participants were taught to choose a profession, sort job postings, write resumes to local standards, and pass interviews.
After the courses ended, a new resume brought three interview invitations at once: one for a crew leader position at a landscaping company, and two for positions in the agronomist field. Following the interviews, a job offer as an agronomist came in, which was accepted as better matching the preferred position, salary, and prospects.
What it gave in the long run
The skills gained in these courses were later used repeatedly: when moving from Manitoba to British Columbia, remote work in the new province was found two months before the move. It is not only about the technique of searching for vacancies, but about understanding how the Canadian job market works and about an approach to building a career in general — this knowledge applies in any country, not only in Canada.
Comments
Reader experience is useful, but it is not advice: check the rules on the official site.
No account needed: click Sign in, type any name, and you are done.