(Last Updated On: May 24, 2020)

This blog post discusses various ways to get a job offer in Canada. Job offer can be a really important step in starting your express entry application(you get extra points for job offer) as well as after you land in Canada(its 100 times more easier to settle in Canada with a job in hand than without it). If you are looking to get a job in Canada from India, Philipines, USA, UK, Europe, Dubai or any other country, this post will help you get acquainted with various available options.

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Many prospective immigrants find it puzzling on how to get a Canadian Job offer from outside or find a Canadian employer willing to sponsor. We will try to resolve this confusion as far as possible in this blog post.

Having a job offer is a sure shot way to immigrate to Canada as it gives you all the extra points to get ahead in the express entry stream. Just to add, Skilled Worker Stream is open to only a few selected professions which require a lot of experience and right education. You may also qualify if you are a PhD.

To establish the importance of job offer, have a look at our post on Easiest Provinces to immigrate and get a PR in Canada in 2019, there is only one immigration stream which neither requires any sort of connection with Canada or any Canadian employer issued job offer, which is SINP. Rest 2 streams (Quebec Skilled Program and BC Tech pilot program) out of 4 streams require job offer letter.

Now that we have established the importance of job offer, lets go ahead and look at various options to get a job offer from outside Canada.

1. Recruitment agencies

Contacting one or more recruitment agencies focused on your profession can be best bet to secure offer letter from Canadian employer. Companies or Employers cannot access talent from all sources and are increasingly relying on headhunters or recruitment companies to find the right candidate. Companies pay these agencies / headhunters so avoid so ones who are asking you to pay them for their services.

There are many agencies that are oriented towards foreign workers but there are many more that are not. With that said however, the recruiters in Canada are generally very helpful. If they can’t find a match for you, they will definitely give a very helpful feedback for your career in Canada.

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2. Networking

There’s a saying that goes by “The right people, in the right place, at the right time”, which explains the power of networking. If you have friends or family in Canada who are working in the same domain as yours or happen to know employers in their network looking to fill in a position, then they can put in good words for you. This is definitely the simplest of all ways listed in here to secure a job offer and land in Canada with valid work visa. Networking has never ceased to amaze me.

Every job offer has to be LMIA positive, which means Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) give their consent for foreign worker who can fill in a specific job requirements which no other Canadian Permanent Resident (PR) or citizen can. They evaluate and ensure if employment of foreign worker will not have any negative impact on Canadian Labour market.

Ontario and British Columbia have started their tech pilot programs as these province are lacking in tech talent pool. So if you are linked to IT sector and targetting these provinces then conditions are favorable.

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3. Self Initiator

Tons of jobs never get advertised. Instead employers give the job to a person they have already met or they know. So only way to be that personal who gets the job is to be in the right place at the right time i.e. to cold call, which you could do over the telephone, email or in person.

You can be benefitted with this approach in following ways:

• Employer offers to keep your resume and call if something pops up.
• Suggest you to contact them later as job matching your skills will be available soon.
• Offers you placement, internship or sometimes option to work voluntarily (without pay).
• Updates you about another employer looking for candidate like you.

Employers do appreciate candidates who take take charge and are self motivated. If you are indeed one of them and happen to convince employer then they will hire you no matter which part of world you’re in.

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4. Job Bank

One of Canada’s leading source of labour market information is Job Bank. It is just like any other job search portal online but in addition to private jobs it also list all the government jobs across all department. Job seekers and employers can find and list jobs for free and one can find plethora of job opportunities bundled with job and educational requirements, salary or wage rate and most importantly outlooks and current employment trends.

Although job bank is well aligned with immigration streams and labor market needs, it should not be your primary job search portal as many private employers use multiple hiring platforms or even headhunters to fill in a talent and may skip advertising jobs on portal.

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5. LinkedIn

With half a billion members and counting, LinkedIn is geared as professional networking tool where you can connect with existing employees of company or can also check company job portal.

Which ever domain you’re working in, it is highly recommended to create your professional profile, if it is not done yet and update it with all your experiences and achievements. Employee can use LinkedIn in variety of ways, ranging from professional networking to job search. Many employers have set LinkedIn profile as benchmark of candidate evaluation as LinkedIn offers great tools for prospective candidate analytics. So it will be beneficial for all of your job applications, if you have an updated and well maintained LinkedIn profile.

6. Job portals

Monster, Indeed and Workopolis are popular job portals bridging employers, recruiters and employees. Creating and updating your profile to your current experience is advised. Best part about these job portals is not only they have listing from employers but also from recruiters who are looking for appropriate talent for multiple clients /companies.

Indeed has an upper hand when it comes to job search as it clubs and list jobs posted on all (most of) online job search portals which makes job searching a lot easier and concise.

That said, I can conclude this as even though this is list of must do things while searching for job offer in Canada, it is also encouraged to keep an eye on all other possibilities.