By Ligia Chiari

Organizational skills are essential to many jobs. If you are job searching, you probably have come across postings that require the candidate to be organized, good with time-management and multi-tasking. But these are skills you will need not only on the job but to actually help you find one. This is especially true if along with looking for employment you are also dealing with all the stress of immigrating amidst all the recent changes in travel plans due to the pandemic.

Looking for employment involves many steps like researching potential employers, finding open positions that meet your skills and preferences, tailoring your resume and cover letter, applying, networking online and in person, preparing for interviews and negotiating offers are just some of them. When you start applying to multiple jobs at the same time it’s easy to get confused and the lack of organization might make you miss opportunities.

So make sure you get organized, set your priorities and learn how to deal with all the multiple tasks involved from the beginning so you don’t feel overwhelmed. Organizing your job search strategy is a great way to manage stress and make sure you are actually getting things done. After all, that can be a new skill to add to your resume.

Here are a few tips on how to get started and achieve the success you are looking for:

• Take it seriously. First and foremost, you have probably heard that “looking for a job can be a full-time job”, which means it requires dedication and commitment. Even if you already have a full-time job, the time you set aside for job searching should be focused, so avoid distractions such as social media feeds or answering unrelated e-mails at the same time.

• Define your goals. Before you actually start applying for open positions, it is good to take some time to set your goals. Having a short-term and long-term goal will help you stay on track and set realistic expectations. Do your research and refine it as much as you can in terms of positions, industry, time frame, salary and other expectations you might have. It’s OK to be flexible with your goals, but knowing where you want to get to makes the path easier.

• Commit time regularly. So maybe you are currently working full-time and don’t feel like you have a lot of time to commit. That’s the reality of most people who are in your situation and with many working from home it can be even harder to block out time for different tasks. Analyze your priorities and decide how much time you can commit to it, even if it’s a few hours a week, put that on your calendar and make sure you stay on track. 

• Break down the job search into smaller tasks. If you set aside time for job searching in general, you may get lost and end up wasting the valuable 3 hours you had just browsing through different ads and websites. It’s easier to accomplish a goal if you break it down into actionable steps, such as: 
  1. Find one job posting that suits me. 
  2. Research the employer. 
  3. Tailor Resume and Cover letter to that Job Posting.
  4. Apply for that position. 
  5. Try to connect on LinkedIn with people from that company to expand my network… and so on. 

With clear steps like these, it is easier to stay on track and motivated.

• Keep a log. Whether you are tech-savvy or not, develop your own system to keep track of jobs you applied for and responses you received. As most ads are online, saving these logs on your computer may be easier, but if pen and paper work better for you, that’s ok, as long as you have easy access to it. Don’t forget to maintain a record of which position you applied for, the employer, date, information from the job post such as salary or deadline and if you were contacted or not. This will come in handy when you receive a call from company XYZ and you need to quickly find out which position they are contacting you about.

• Split your time wisely. Remember not to use all of your time just replying to job ads as this should take only about 20% of your time. Keep track of how much time you spend in other activities such as networking and upskilling yourself as well.

• Take care of yourself. Job Searching can be stressful and even more in such uncertain times like these, make sure you add some time for yourself to unwind in the process. A walk outside, quality time with friends or family even if that’s virtually and meditating are some ways that can help you manage stress and keep a positive attitude.

If you are immigrating to Canada and have an approved Permanent Resident visa, contact Canada InfoNet and work with an Employment Specialist to develop your personalized Job Search strategy.

If you have any questions or topics you would like to see on our blog e-mail ligia.albuquerque@jvstoronto.org 

Recognizing client success, and the contributions of volunteers and employers, has been a staple each year at JVS Toronto’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). On September 30th, JVS Toronto presented its AGM Awards to six very deserving recipients.

Avi Pollock, JVS Toronto’s incoming Board Chair, mentioned that the awards ceremony is always his favourite part of the Annual General Meeting. “Whether they are being honoured as an employer who has made a commitment to use our services, or whether they are a client or a volunteer being honoured for making that commitment to better their lives or the lives of others, every recipient has trusted JVS Toronto in our ability to help them.”

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• Cyber Crime/ Fraud in Canada
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In this webinar, we bring you representatives from two such cities – London and Ottawa in Ontario. They will provide information on labour market and cost of living which are things new immigrants should definitely take into account when deciding in which community to build their lives.

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How I went from being a pre-arrival participant to a member of Canada InfoNet

We are always happy to share our program participant’s success stories. This one is even more special: Yasmine participated in our program before immigrating to Canada and has recently joined the Canada InfoNet team.

My name is Yasmine and I took a risky decision and immigrated to Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. I arrived in July 2020, but I had been trying to gather information about Ontario, employment, the weather, accommodation, etc. for months before landing. After receiving my Confirmation of Permanent Residency, I signed up with different pre-arrival programs. Some were general like Planning for Canada (who referred me to JVS Toronto’s Canada InfoNet), and some were more specific to certain careers and industries.

After signing up with Canada InfoNet, I was matched with an Employment Specialist who was extremely helpful and informative. I had access to online courses that tackled job search skills and the workplace in Canada, and tools I needed for updating my resume to meet Canadian standards. I attended virtual job fairs and webinars organized by the program as well. All those interventions were crucial to creating a post-landing plan for me.

When I arrived in Canada, I started the long job-hunting journey. It’s usually tough in the beginning for a newcomer to find employment, but with a pandemic it was even more challenging. Between exploring the GTA and applying to jobs, I took up some freelance work with UpWork. My background is in Human Resources and Administration, so I tried using that to my advantage. This allowed me to utilize my skills and learn new ones while staying more positive during hard times.

My own experience made me realize that I wanted to help other newcomers who were going through similar experiences. I’ve always been passionate about giving back and doing meaningful work, so it was a no-brainer for me to start shifting my job search methods and focusing on the non-profit sector. I compiled a list of organizations I wanted to work for, and the pre-arrival agencies I used were on the top of that list. I regularly tracked their Careers pages and kept an eye out for anything that matched my skills and experience.

This strategy proved to work for me when I found the Online Mentoring Administrator position for the Canada InfoNet program posted on JVS Toronto’s website. I applied online and the rest is history. Now, I am both happy and proud to be working with one of the best services I personally used before immigrating to Canada. I believe that my success in landing a job with a leading non-profit organization could be attributed to using available resources prior to landing in Canada and being patient and flexible enough to change course when the current methods just don’t work.

Yasmine’s Employment Specialist from Canada InfoNet program shared that she was a very engaged and determined participant. She asked questions and clarifications when needed and successfully completed all the components that were outlined by the program. He states, “I was proud to have been Yasmine’s Employment Specialist, and now to see her join Canada InfoNet as a team member. I wish her continuous success in her career in Canada.”

Welcome to the team Yasmine!

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Every individual experience in immigration and job seeking is different and with its own challenges, which is why, creating your personalized job search strategy is very important. If you have been approved for immigration, our Employment Specialists at Canada InfoNet can help you develop that strategy even before you come to Canada.