You recently landed in Canada. Congratulations! I can imagine how excited you must be about your future here. One of the important questions that many immigrants come across is how to get their first job. As one immigrant to another immigrant, my piece of advice is to keep your mind open to opportunities. Before looking for a job, find your own unique path. It can be overwhelming at times so achieving clarity is important for your success.
Usually, any immigrant will have two options:
1. To keep doing what they have been doing all their life
2. To start a new profession
The second option is a bit complicated in case you do not know what to do and where to start. So this article will simply share some thoughts and pieces of advice for those who are unsure about their next steps in building their professional life in Canada.
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When I personally decided that I want to try a new profession, I tried the Myers-Briggs (MBTI) personality test. Thanks to it, I chose my current HR profession which I have no regrets about. If you are curious, here is the list of personality tests for your convenience.
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Check these 10 TED talks for choosing a career and books that many people found helpful. For instance, one of the books I can recommend is What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles who describes how to improve your chances of landing the job you’re after. His advice is always to prepare yourself as best you can by doing thorough research. I could not agree more.
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Make a list of skills that you perform better than an average person. The next step would be to analyze which of those you do with excitement and spark. If you carefully analyze, you usually must have received many times from your colleagues, family, and friends how amazing you are in performing some of these skills. Do not forget to jot them down. They are the ones that make you stand out from the rest.
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Search for companies you’d like to be part of. Subscribe to their job alert system so you don’t miss a job opportunity.
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Connect with people who work in that specific company via LinkedIn and “Follow” the company on the same web platform. These two simple steps will help you to be on top of changes and the latest news there.
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Check volunteering opportunities to create a solid bridge between you and the company you would like to join. This is a real way to showcase your skills that you can bring to the table and build an effective professional relationship with the team while you are waiting for a perfect time to join them as an employee. In addition, it is a great way to learn about the company culture. If the company is not as you have pictured it for yourself, you can easily exit it.
I hope these steps provide you with some clarity that we miss at the beginning of our journey as an immigrant. But it is a great opportunity to try something new since Canada has endless opportunities for everyone.
Good luck with your job search!
