Canada InfoNet News & Resources

How to thrive in your career in Canada: Panel discussion with successful immigrant women

International Women’s Day celebrates women’s achievements and reflects on their challenges. This year’s theme is #ChooseToChallenge and this inspired us to showcase amazing women from our program who are mentors and alumni. They all immigrated to Canada themselves and have found success in their careers.

In this video, you will learn about:

Their successes and achievements
Key impacts of immigration on their career and life in Canada
Barriers they faced and successful strategies used to overcome them
Tips on job searching during COVID

Panelists:

Olabisi Adesina – Mentor/ Program Alumni, Sr. Business Analyst & Solution Architect, SASKTEL
Nour Alsoori – Mentor/ Program Alumni, Senior Project Manager, City of Toronto
Veronica Seeto – Mentor/ Vice Chair at WINS Toronto
Notey Akpotive – Program Alumni, HR Partner at a leading global tech company
Hosted by: Sharvari Jois, Manager – Canada InfoNet, JVS Toronto

To learn more about Canada InfoNet, go to the link here: https://www.canadainfonet.org/

The theme for International Women’s Day 2021 is #ChooseToChallenge. In recognition, we reached out to some of our mentors and former program participants to ask them what challenges they faced as immigrants, to tell us their achievements, and what they chose to challenge in honour of this day. We featured some highlights in our newsletter and here you can learn more about the journeys of these amazing women.

Veronica Seeto – Canada InfoNet Mentor
My immigration journey started in 1965 at age 13 with my parents and three other siblings. What is remarkable is that my father was 56 and this was his second migration to achieve his vision for a better education for his children.

I was the first woman in my family to graduate from University. Some of my success can be attributed to inclusive and equitable policies in the Canadian educational system in the 1960s and 1970s. I had access to high school and entered the Innovative Co-op Math Program at the University of Waterloo. While being engaged in a full career in the IT sector, in 2005 I started mentoring IT professional immigrants to help them with their career transition to Canada.

My #ChooseToChallenge is my leadership work with WINS Toronto to promote inclusive and equitable policies in the Canadian workforce. I appreciate how WINS aims to help immigrant professionals achieve greater success. Only by breaking down societally created barriers can we create an inclusive gender-equal world.

Olabisi Adesina – Canada InfoNet Mentor, Former Participant
As an immigrant woman who landed 4 years ago from Nigeria to Saskatchewan, it has been an interesting journey with highs and lows; I doubt any advice or training can prepare us immigrants; we just have to learn/adapt/evolve. While I did go for a whole day preparatory session in my home country, the euphoria of being a Canadian permanent resident made me deaf to all the predicted issues – weather, social, economic, professional, financial; the psychological shift and the huge adaptation required to navigate and thrive.

The major challenge I faced was psychological – the race to adapt to the new environment; I did not expect this challenge and the one I expected did not happen – professional/career. We watch movies and idealize Canada, we tend to think everything is so easy here, and arriving and seeing that there are challenges is a shock. For example, finding affordable childcare can be a challenge and that is a shock, it wasn’t something I had to worry as my kids are older, but it’s more challenging if you have little kids. The driving is different, the shopping, the daily life things are different. Not having extended family or community to help with that – we don’t expect the difference it makes.

My biggest achievement is my ability to apply my professional experience in the workplace here with huge successes and adaptation to the corporate environment seamlessly. For example, in the job I am now I was the only woman, immigrant and black person in the group, after me they hired four more people, including two women.

#ChoosetoChallenge – Don’t let the gender inequality affect your goals and distract you from them; focus on being the best and doggedly choose to surmount. Do what you want to do, focus on that; don’t let anything hold you back.

Nour Alsoori – Canada InfoNet Mentor, Former Participant
I am originally from Damascus- Syria but I was working in Dubai as a Project Manager before coming to Canada. I landed in Canada in September 2018.

One of the challenges I faced was dealing with people who underestimated me or tried to take advantage of my situation. Some people have told me that I should forget about my ten years of experience and start from scratch, others wanted me to work for free in exchange for experience, and others promised to mentor me but never showed up to our meetings. It is very important not to let these negative voices take you down and to continue believing in yourself and your abilities. Today, I am a Senior Project Manager at City of Toronto, working on a couple of the City’s mega projects. Also, I recently started my second Masters at the University of Toronto.

I #ChooseToChallenge prejudice against immigrant women's competence. Immigrant women are ambitious and motivated; They are willing to take risks and to prove themselves in every sphere of their lives, and that's what makes them so valuable.

Notey Akpotive – Former Canada InfoNet Participant
I currently work as an HR Partner for a global tech company. Almost 3 years ago, I moved to Ontario Canada, straight from Lagos, Nigeria where my family is from and began the journey of settling into life as an expatriate - what some people call immigrants - here in Canada. Prior to that time, I’d worked for about 7 years in Human Resources for General Electric in Nigeria.

I faced a lot of challenges as would anyone moving to a new country, new continent, new weather, new lifestyle. I was surrounded with so much newness, it was jarring. Thankfully, the language wasn’t new for me, though now I thoroughly empathize with anyone who moves to a new place and has to learn the language of that new place, because even though I speak fluent English, there are so many Canadian isms I’m still getting used to. The challenges I faced ranged from the seemingly mundane like getting lost the first time I was in downtown Toronto, failing my first Drive test to looking for a job that was going to help me build my career and dealing with the various stages of culture shock. These were all things I had read about and researched extensively on but was still difficult for me to live through day by day. Moving to Canada also made me realize visiting a place and returning “home” isn’t the same as relocating to that same place.

I’m thankful for and celebrate the personal strength and courage it took for me to make the decision to move across the world. And the stamina that kept me going everyday through the small and big challenges I have faced. We focus so keenly on big milestones and while those are great, the self-discipline that comes with putting one foot in front of the other and staying hopeful everyday needs to be celebrated. That is part of what gives you the edge to achieve those personal goals you have set for yourself.

I #ChooseToChallenge the ignorance and negativity that surrounds black immigrants moving to Canada from anywhere in the world, especially from Africa. We are living in a time with so much knowledge at our fingertips where everyone can research and learn and do better. Yet some of us continue to peddle stereotypes that are untrue, ignorant, or just plain hurtful. We all bear a responsibility to do better for ourselves and for our generations to come. I’d like to see that begin to change in my lifetime

We celebrate all the women in Canada, who are making their way besides all the challenges. May we all help reduce the inequalities and choose to challenge gender bias.

Irene Vaksman, Director of Newcomer Services at JVS Toronto, chats with Josh Schachnow, a Canadian Immigration lawyer and founder of Visto.ai. Visto is a free platform that helps skilled workers and international students move to Canada as quickly as possible by uncovering the most popular applications and programs needed to move to Canada.

Irene talks about how she got into newcomer services in Canada, her tips and suggestions for those relocating to Canada, and how COVID-19 has changed all of the above!

If you’re interested in coming to Canada, start by signing up for Visto's free immigration portal here. You’ll instantly get access to the Visto Portal that will get you started on the immigration process, and also give you the opportunity to join this community for even more benefits.

To learn more about Canada InfoNet, go to the link here:: https://www.canadainfonet.org/

A cheerful small business owner with open sign

Forbes magazine rates Canada as the best country in the G-20 for business. Canada’s overall tax rate on new business investment is significantly lower than that of many other countries. There are also great individual startup hubs and incubators which support new businesses.

Research has shown that entrepreneurial rate among newcomers is more than double the rate for people born in Canada. Immigrants are increasingly turning to entrepreneurship as a career option. It’s proven to be a great alternative during challenging times when they are struggling to find meaningful employment.

In this webinar, you will learn about:

How to start a new business
Benefits of having a business in Canada
Funding a business
Expanding your existing business to Canada
Best Businesses in Canada for new immigrants
Useful resources for Entrepreneurs

The online mentoring program is an important component of Canada InfoNet. There have been over 1600 matches between mentors and mentees since 2016.

Online mentors are volunteers who have at least two years of professional experience in Canada in their field and are willing to share their knowledge and expertise in areas of employment, settlement and career-related educational goals. Mentees are internationally trained professionals approved for immigration who meet the eligibility criteria, including minimal language levels (CLB 7) required for online mentoring interactions.

The program offers structure throughout the mentoring process, including orientation, which guide both mentor and mentee on JVS Toronto’s online platform where interactions occur. We recently conducted an impact assessment which included a survey and focus groups of mentors and mentees and would like to share some key findings.

The assessment concluded that accurate, pre-arrival information from current, credible, sector-specific sources saves time and helps immigrating professionals manage expectations and conduct appropriate and effective gap analysis.

“The challenge immigrating professionals face is an expectation gap…I reduce the expectation gap…prepare them and reduce the gap, so they land with the right sense of expectations.” (Active mentor)

What Mentors Said

87% were very satisfied or satisfied with their mentoring experience
83% indicated they contributed to their mentee(s) knowledge of Canadian work culture and communication (including professional jargon, common phrases)
85% will continue to mentor in the future
100% outlined multiple ways in which they contribute to the success of immigrating professionals

What Mentees Said

70% were very satisfied or satisfied with their mentoring experience
77% indicated as a result of their participation in online mentoring, they increased their understanding of Canadian work culture and communication
77% were likely to become online mentors in the future
100% indicated the program contributed positively to the immigrating professional’s integration journey

The ways that mentees identify how they benefit from the mentorship vary, from achieving employment, building a network, and intangible, but valuable ways - building confidence, preparing their minds, pushing themselves out of their comfort zone.

In the same way, mentors understand they can contribute in a variety of ways as well. They help mentees adjust their short-term goals (manage expectations and conduct gap analysis), guide concrete actions such as ensuring mentees gather and bring necessary documents for future credentialing), “preparing their minds”, or “not sugar-coating” because it doesn’t help. Mentees find this information and guidance before arriving in Canada invaluable.

Another interesting piece of information we found was that close to half of mentees indicated that participating in pre-arrival online mentoring influenced their decision about where to work in Canada. Mentorship can impact the lives not only of mentees but of mentors as well, as the data below shows us:

What Mentors Said

We asked mentors what they felt were the benefits of the online mentoring program and the top 4 answers were:

Provides an opportunity to share my professional expertise
Makes a difference in an immigrating professional's life
Helps immigrating professionals find employment
Helps me feel like a part of the larger community

What Mentees Said

We asked mentees what they felt were the benefits of the online mentoring program and the top 4 answers were:

Benefits all immigrating professionals
Helps me develop labour market tools (resumes, cover letters, interview preparation)
Helps me find employment faster
Helps me increase my confidence to enter the labour market

We are very thankful to have such a wonderful pool of volunteer mentors who go the extra mile to help their mentees as well as committed program participants who make the most out of this valuable experience. More results from the assessment will be available on our website shortly.

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.

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!

Autumn view over Westport Ontario in Canada.

Although Canada is a big country most immigrants settle in the country’s biggest cities – Greater Toronto and Metro Vancouver areas. This has a big impact on cost of living and labour market which means settling in these cities comes at a significant cost.

It is important for new immigrants to understand that smaller cities in Canada have lower unemployment rates and can offer great job opportunities. Ageing population and other economic factors have created a great need for immigrant talent in these communities.

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.

Cyber attack with unrecognizable hooded hacker using virtual reality, digital glitch effect.

Newcomers often become easy targets to fraud and scam since they may not be used to how banks, companies and government work in Canada.

In this webinar, the team from the RBC Meeting Place will share tips and strategies for protecting yourself and your information from cyber fraud. Topics include:

Cyber Crime/ Fraud in Canada
Types of Cyber Fraud and how to look out for them
Phishing scams, Job Scam, Mystery Shopper Scam, CRA scams
E-Transfer fraud
How to safeguard yourself from fraud

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

Emotional well-being during immigration, settlement & job seeking in Canada

Moving to a new country, adjusting to a new culture, and adapting to new employment realities are difficult transitions that can negatively impact your health, including your mental health. Change is difficult, but you can handle it. In times of change, learning how to support your mental health and how to get help if you need it, are critical to your ability to be resilient.

In this webinar, you’ll hear from Lawrence D. Blake, M.Phil, PhD(c), Canadian Mental Health Association and learn:

What mental health is and how to talk about it
How change and stress could impact your mental health
How to recognize when you might benefit from support for your mental health
Strategies to support yourself during stressful times

A Canada InfoNet Success Story

The current pandemic situation has changed everyone’s lives and we know that for those immigrating to Canada at this time it might seem even harder to stay motivated to continue with your job search. These are challenging times but there is no reason to give up on your goals. Today we are sharing an inspiring story with you from one of our program participants.

Daniela is a food scientist from Brazil who immigrated to Canada in May 2020. She registered with Canada InfoNet for pre-arrival support for her job search and was able to secure a job offer before arriving in British Columbia. Daniela was very focused on her search and application, targeting jobs that really matched her profile, instead of applying for dozens of random jobs.

On top of going through our program’s e-learning modules, which give jobseekers a good understanding of job search in Canada and getting one-on-one employment counselling, here are some of the strategies that Daniela shared with us that helped her achieve her goal:

Adjusted my resume to the Canadian style. Focused on writing keywords and numerical achievements.
Connected to people from my area of expertise on Linkedin which was very helpful as they gave me some information about the job market and connected me with other important people (hiring managers, for example)
Used the JobScan website, which was important to adequate my resume to each specific position I applied for.

When she was invited to attend an online interview, Daniela reached out to her employment specialist and asked for tips on interview preparation. They worked on common interview questions and discussed some cultural differences, which made her feel more confident for the interview.

Daniela shares some advice for jobseekers who are in the same situation:

“It is very important to look for job positions that are a good match for you and adapt your resume, using keywords. I made a list with several positions I found on Indeed or Linkedin and used their descriptions and keywords to prepare different resumes for me.

Something that I did several times was to apply for a specific position and look for someone who worked for that company on Linkedin. I would then connect with that person and explain my situation: I would say I was going to immigrate to Canada, I had several years of experience in that area and I would ask if they could give me any suggestion. I got lots of positive replies and they even connected me to other people that could be important to help with an interview.”

After arriving in Canada and following the 14-day mandatory quarantine, Daniela has started her new job in British Columbia and is excited for what the future holds for her in Canada. We wish her all the best for her career and settlement in Canada.

Industry Experts Talk: The Future of Jobs in Banking

Industry Experts Talk is a weekly webinar series where job seekers can get expert insight and up-to-date information from industry-leading experts. You will learn about market trends, the skills and qualifications employers are looking, their recruitment processes, and how to stand out in today’s competitive job market.

On June 14 2020, Rajeev Chib, Pan Asia Regional Head, Client Development and Business Management, Citibank, joined our panel of industry experts to advise job seekers on navigating the labour market, including topics like:

Re-engineering the recruitment process - Supercharging the digitization of doing business
Navigating the “New Normal” in the Finance Industry
As educational institutions rethink their business models; leverage online learning

Industry Experts Talk: How to ace the hiring process and excel at work with Apotex

On June 18 2020, Apotex joined our panel of industry experts to advise job seekers on navigating the labour market, including topics like:

How to better integrate into the Canadian work environment
What skills and qualifications employers are looking for
How to get an opportunity to interview
The kind of questions that may be asked during an interview
Strategies for success in your job once you land one - career paths for supply chain professionals

Working at home. Beautiful african american women, freelancer isolated. Remote working, freelance, being at home, staying safe while isolation or quarantine. Work and occupation, prevention concept.

On May 21 2020, we were joined by ARES Staffing Solutions as part of our ongoing efforts to support job seekers during these unprecedented times. This webinar, "The new normal - impact of COVID-19 on the Canadian labour market" will focus on:

What the “New Normal” is now, and will be until the re-opening of the economy
The future of the Canadian labour market and economy ; Essential services and beyond
Who is still hiring?
Staying optimistic and preparing to enter a post-pandemic labour market

Picture of cheerful young asian business woman sitting indoors using laptop computer. Looking aside.

On June 11 2020, Commercial Financial Service Experts from RBC shared how COVID has affected them both personally and professionally. The panel addressed questions like:

How does COVID-19 affected you and your family personally and professionally and some strategies used to cope with the changes
Sharing their newcomer journey and career journey
Advice on the different ways to transfer skills into the Canadian labor market

Industry Experts Talk: Labour Market & Recruitment with IBM

On May 28 2020, IBM joined our panel of industry experts to advise job seekers on navigating the labour market, including topics like:

Labour market and recruitment in IT
How to stand out in today’s IT job market
Expert tips to ace their online interview

Industry Experts Talk: Careers in IT Sales with Insight Canada

On May 21 2020, Insight joined our panel of industry experts to talk about Recruiting for IT Sales by a recruiter from one of Fortune’s best workplaces in technology, followed by a live Q&A session.

Industry Experts Talk: Job Searching as a Newcomer with TRIEC

On May 14 2020, the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) joined our panel of industry experts to advise job seekers on navigating the labour market as a newcomer in Canada, including topics like:

The economic effects of COVID-19
Job searching during the pandemic
Strategies for newcomer success
Followed by a live Q&A session

Meet Kanwardyal, A Canada InfoNet Success Story

Kanwardyal Singh is a Product Owner/Manager who immigrated from India in 2017. In his preparation to come to Canada he became a program participant and mentee with Canada InfoNet where he was matched with Rick McCallion. After successfully establishing himself in the country, he wanted to pay it forward and decided to become a mentor with the program to support others like him. Here he shares his inspiring story with us.

I would like to start by saying that I am very lucky and happy to be associated with JVS Toronto. Organizations like JVS do so much to help newcomers in taking one of the most difficult steps of their lives. I was one of these newcomers a few years back and now I am fortunate enough to be a volunteer with JVS. Here’s the story of my wonderful journey.

I immigrated to Canada on December 9^th, 2017 but my preparations had started about 6 months before this when I received my COPR. I was working as a Product Manager in Delhi, India at that time. When I got free from work, I spent my time on the internet, researching whatever I could find about immigrating to Canada, the life in Canada, career opportunities in my field, the weather here, interesting places to visit, etc. That is when I came across JVS Toronto and I decided to register with them. Registration was simple and in a couple days, I started working with an Employment Specialist and very soon I was assigned a mentor. My mentor was none other than Mr. Rick McCallion. I had tons of doubts and question but was confused around where to start with the mentorship program. Rick sensed my confusion and took control of the conversation. He started off with some introductions to break the ice and in no time, we were exchanging tons of information with each other. Rick read all my questions properly and gave me precise answers with sources that I could go to if I needed more details. He also made sure, that I was feeling comfortable about the move and all my doubts (around job, expenses, housing, transportation, etc.) were resolved to the best of his abilities. My interaction with him over the Canada InfoNet portal instilled a lot more confidence and predictability around my move to Canada. I was in a much better state of mind when the mentorship ended as compared to when I started. My Employment Specialist also helped and supported me by reviewing my resume and updating it according to the Canadian standards.

When I came to Canada, I followed all of the advice that I received through the program and my mentor gave me and it really made a difference. Specific to job searching, since I knew December to January is generally a slow time in the job market due to the holidays, I kept my cool and kept preparing for interviews, networking with people and enhancing my knowledge. I started rigorously applying in mid-January on job portals like Indeed, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, etc. I landed a couple interviews and was lucky enough to land a job in my field of Product Management in mid-February. I feel that keeping a cool head during my job search, enhancing my knowledge and networking, were key to my success.

As soon as I completed 2 years working here in Canada, I approached JVS Toronto to see if I could be a volunteer mentor with them. JVS agreed and I am now acting as a mentor for a newcomer. I am still very new to this but since I was on the mentee side fairly recently, I understand their state of mind and their queries quite well. I hope I can provide some clarity and confidence to the mentees I get associated with and help ease their transition to this great new country and a great new life.

If Kanwardyal’s story inspires you to want to become a mentor with our Canada InfoNet program, please click here and register with us.

Meet Rick, A Canada InfoNet Mentor

Canada InfoNet’s veteran mentor Rick McCallion, leader in IT change, who has been supporting our program for over a decade contributed to this newsletter by sharing his experience and highlighting the importance of volunteering.

During these pandemic times, the one thing that stands out to me is something that I have sometimes taken for granted - the importance of connections. In the last few weeks of self-isolation and social distancing, I look around at my friends, family and neighbours and I can see how we are all yearning for those social connections. What was so easy just a couple of months ago, now takes planning, rigour and diligence, and even then, it is never just quite the same. Fortunately, now that we have the odd beautiful day, I see how my neighbours, properly social distanced, flock to the courtyard of our condominium complex just to be able to connect with each other. Now, more than ever, the importance of these social connections is painfully evident.

As we come out of National Volunteer Week, I’ve been reflecting on my 11 years a mentor in the JVS Toronto Canada InfoNet program and it’s role and impact on connections – global connections.

The primary reason why I volunteer has always been to somehow make a difference in the little slice of the world that I occupy – to leave some type of a footprint behind.

But why did I choose this particular volunteering opportunity where there are countless tens of thousand volunteer opportunities across Canada? Primarily, it was because Canada InfoNet mentoring program is facilitated online and it’s on a schedule convenient to me. This was a significant benefit. I’ve done the traditional volunteering in the past, but there was something about the convenience of this specific opportunity that spoke to me.

I used to refer to this volunteer program as “virtual” but as I have mentored over the years, somehow I don’t think that virtual is quite the right word. Although the communication method of the mentoring program is virtual, it is really much more than that. It’s real and it’s personal. I’ve been so lucky to have maintained connections with my mentees over the years and this connection has made this program far more than “virtual”. It’s tangible and it makes a difference. Not only in the lives of my mentees (hopefully!) but in mine as well.

I see the children of mentees being born in Canada, children that may not have had the same opportunities back home. To see these families grow and flourish here gives me tremendous satisfaction. And when I see mentees become Canadian citizens, and especially when I see that they too have been so impacted by the program reach out to apply to become a mentor, that fills me with pride. Not pride in myself, but rather my indescribable pride in the mentees who have taken a leap of faith in Canada, have flourished and are now trying to pay back to others wanting to relocate to Canada.

Connections. I see now how important connections are to me. When restrictions are eventually lifted, when we don’t have to be so cautious about who, where, how, for how long and from what distance, when all of these are an afterthought, I’ll always try to keep in mind how precious these connections are and how important they are. If nothing else, one of the things that I’ve learned from the state of the world right now is to appreciate and value the ability that I have to connect with those that I love.

Connections transcend geographic or political borders. How can we be part of a society without connections? And more importantly, how can we have a society without looking for opportunities to help others?

I’m very grateful to JVS Toronto for their CanadaInfoNet mentoring program. Now more than ever, I cherish the connections that I’ve made through this program.

If Rick’s story inspires you to want to become a mentor with our Canada InfoNet program, please click here and register with us.

March 8th, 2020 was International Women's Day; a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and girls, and raising awareness of the work that needs to be done to achieve equality.

Immigrant women face a range of challenges in the workforce, including the gender pay gap, and difficulties accessing executive roles in the workforce. This is made even clearer by the data -- a recent study by TRIEC shows that women only make up about 36 percent of executive roles in the Greater Toronto Area, and when those 36 percent are analyzed for immigration status and ethnicity, the number falls further -- only 2 percent of executive roles in are occupied by racialized immigrant women.

Our Mentors Share Their Stories

To mark International Women’s Day, we asked a few of our female mentors to share their stories and challenges in finding a place in the Canadian workforce.

Maral Melkonian arrived from Syria in 2016, with a background in banking. After a challenging job search, she secured a position as a Credit Analyst at TD Bank and joined the Canada InfoNet program as a mentor. Experiences dealing with immigration challenges and assistance she received from employment and mentoring programs inspired her to become a mentor.

She shared the following about her experience:

It is very hard for all of us to be uprooted from our land, home, friends and parents, packing all our life souvenirs in few suitcases, and decide to begin a new life in a very different country like Canada, different in culture, nature, weather and environment. Undertaking the challenge because we all believe we are going to have a better and safer life, a brilliant future for our children and us.

The biggest and hardest challenge comes when we start to search for a job, related to the same profession and field (we had before immigrating). The main and most important point is to meet the correct person or organization to help and advise you, not necessarily by finding the job, but an encouraging word makes and means a lot, or lead you to dive deeper in searches in the proper sectors, companies and institutions.

In addition to barriers faced by all immigrants, women have to overcome additional challenges, Maral shares:

…the work schedule, the working hours and days, especially if they have families and young kids. It is so hard to manage if both parents are working and they have to accept any offer just to start and survive. For example, I have to work three different schedules a week with one day late shift, other examples some retail workers and bank branches require all weekends, noting here the kids’ drop off and pick up strict times by schools.

These are some of the many challenges faced by women, which can lead to their career goals having to be set aside. The support Maral received from her mentor – whom she calls “a lifesaving angel” – was crucial for her to get her first job in Canada at a leading bank. She emphasizes how her mentorship experience was beneficial, not only for the technical knowledge her mentor shared, but also to keep her motivated and encouraged. For that reason, Maral later became a mentor with Canada InfoNet -- to pass on her experience and pay forward for all the support she received when she was new in Canada.

Fabi Ramos, now employed as a Marketing Manager at Next Edge Capital, immigrated from Brazil in 2016. She chose to become a mentor because she saw it as “an opportunity to learn, develop leadership skills and gain a personal sense of satisfaction” from helping immigrants who are now facing the challenges that she previously faced. In regards to being a woman in the Canadian workplace, she shares:

Like most women, I have also experienced challenges in the job market such as gender pay gap, career ladder opportunities, fear of becoming pregnant, appearance judgment, room temperature disparity and other gender bias. I usually say that women need to work harder to prove our worth in the work place, to win our space.

The Role of Employers

Employers have an important role to play in achieving more equality in the workforce. A study by McKinsey & Company reveals the importance of the link between diversity and corporate financial out-performance; one of their findings showed is that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on their executive teams were 21 percent more likely to experience above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile.

We still have a long way to go, but we believe that bringing awareness to the issues and giving an opportunity for women to tell their stories is one step towards finding solutions that will benefit our whole community. JVS Toronto’s Canada InfoNet mentoring program is enriched by all the support offered by our women mentors to immigrating professionals.

Beyond International Women's Day, diversity should not simply be something to strive for but it should be a given that women have their place in the workforce.

Register to attend Employment Connections Virtual Job Fair, March 4, 2021.

Despite having sent out hundreds of resumes you still haven't received a response. You know connections are important to land a job, however you are new to the country and find it difficult to reach out to employers.

Since the job fair is not in person, it isn't necessary to wear a suit or other formal office wear, however being too comfortable can also have its pitfalls. Participating in the job fair in a comfortable environment might lead you to communicate in an informal manner. Imagine the kind of answers you might give if you were talking to employers while wearing a bathrobe, lying in bed and eating chips. Also, remember mood and attitude can be apparent in your writing so it's very important to maintain a positive attitude. To ensure you are in the right frame of mind, take yourself out of the space you are in by showering, getting dressed in presentable clothes and sitting at a table.

Here are some tips to make the most of the virtual job fair experience:

Before the Job Fair

Employers want to know that you are interested in working for them and the job they are hiring for. Virtual job fairs can bring in hundreds of job seekers so showing genuine interest is more likely to make you stand out from the crowd and convince the employer that you might be the right fit for the position. For this reason, it’s important to research and only approach employers you are really interested in.

A job fair is just like an interview, so prepare accordingly. Prepare some short and direct answers to standard questions such as “Tell me about yourself”, “Why do you want to work here?” and “What skills do you have?” It’s also very important to create an elevator pitch to introduce yourself. As this is a virtual job fair, you will be communicating in writing so make sure you chose your words carefully because once they have been sent they can't be taken back.

Place yourself in a quiet place with no distractions
Research the employers you want to speak with
Review job descriptions for each position you plan to apply for
Have your resume ready
Prepare a very short introduction (a few sentences) targeted at each company that you will use when you first connect
Prepare 2-3 thoughtful questions to ask the employer. These questions should be about the position or the organization and not about benefits like vacation and salary.
Make sure your LinkedIn profile is complete and that it accurately describes you professionally
Check your digital footprint and make sure you look good online

During the Job Fair

Use spell checkers – try https://www.grammarly.com/
Keep it short and to the point – long blocks of text can be intimidating
Avoid redundancy – do not repeat information
Keep a professional tone – spell out all your words (for example: “You”, not “u”)
Write the same way you would speak in an in-person interview
Do not use all caps and emojis
Your enthusiasm and positive attitude must be conveyed through your writing. The best way to show enthusiasm is to research the company well and prepare reasons for wanting to work for the employer beyond just their reputation in the industry. Note: exclamation points are not an effective way to demonstrate enthusiasm in this scenario.
If you are uncertain about what is being asked, ask for clarification and/or paraphrase the question
After each conversation, be sure to thank the interviewers
Express strong interest and enthusiasm for the job but don’t overdo it. You can say something, like “I really like what I heard today and I am really interested in this position.”
Ask about next steps, if it's okay to follow up with them and if so, when

After the Job Fair

Send a brief thank-you email to employers after the job fair, on the same day
Write down some of the questions you were asked in order to reflect and learn from them
Follow-up with employers, if appropriate, after the deadline set by the employer. Do not contact them more than once.

Register to attend Employment Connections Virtual Job Fair, March 4, 2021.

The lack of Canadian experience is one of the most common obstacles for newcomers as they pursue meaningful work in their new country. Many report that they continue to face this challenge even after two or more years of living in Canada. But, what does “lack of Canadian work experience” actually mean?

In this webinar:

Our panel of industry experts advise participants on job search strategies and discuss keys questions such as:

Do Canadian employers hire job seekers who are the right fit for the role regardless of the fact that they are newcomers?
Can survival jobs count as Canadian work experience?
Where does the law stand when it comes to employers asking about Canadian work experience?
How can internationally trained professionals demonstrate to Canadian employers that they have what it takes to fit in Canadian workplaces?

Moving to a new country can be both an exciting and challenging experience. For job seekers who recently immigrated to Canada, figuring out how to get to the top of the employer’s pile of job applications can be even harder. So, how does a newcomer standout in today's competitive labour market?

In this webinar:

Dmitri Stupak, NA Talent Acquisition Programs Manager at IBM will share his views on:

Accessing the hidden job market
The importance of networking and how to meet potential industry contacts
Canadian resume & cover letters - what recruiters are looking for
The best way to handle the Interview process

If you have ever sought job search advice, you are familiar with the popular recommendation to “network, network, network”. Networking for work means strategically reaching out to people with the explicit intention to develop ties that can lead to employment opportunities and referrals. And, if you want to leave the kind of impression that will make someone think of you when job opportunities arise, you have to meet face-to-face.

This can be challenging for newcomers who may not have a network of professional contacts in Canada. Networking events are a great opportunity to meet with people face-to-face; ask questions, get support and guidance and make sure they know that you are looking for a new opportunity.

Luckily for newly arrived job seekers, there are great online tools that can help you find networking opportunities anywhere in Canada.

As the world advances at a rapid pace, it is said that as many as 40% of professions will be automated in the next 15 years. This transition will be disruptive and some jobs will be safer than others. It’s just a matter of time that most firms will incorporate varying levels of technologies to increase cost efficiencies and maximize profit ratios. For current and future professionals, therefore, it becomes imperative to build knowledge around these technologies to stay ahead of the curve in labor market.

In this webinar:

Rajeev Chib, APAC Head of Client Facilitation and Business Management - Investor Sales and Relationship Management APAC, Citigroup, will share his views on:

How are new emerging technologies influencing significant changes to workforce composition?
How do we prepare ourselves to work with machines?
Is there a gap in talent when looking at today’s workforce versus what we need to equip ourselves for the future?
Will our current organizational hierarchies survive and what is the future shape of the organizational hierarchy?
Is there an alignment or greater need of converging technical skills with creativity in this new future of the work place?

Your First Weeks in Canada

Moving to a new country can be both an exciting and challenging experience. In this webinar, "Your First Weeks in Canada", our program partners NextStop Canada will talk about the important things to do once you land in the country.

This webinar explores:

Important Documents
Newcomer Services
Housing
Transportation
Community Resources

Careers in Canada: Supply Chain and Logistics

Today’s globalized world has created a growing need for the fast and accurate shipment of commodities which in turn has created many opportunities for professionals with the right training in meeting these demands.

The Government of Canada has rated the employment outlook for Supply Chain & Logistics sector a solid two out of three stars for all of Ontario, observing that “employment growth is expected to be strong” and that “a large number of people are expected to retire.”

This webinar explores careers in supply chain and logistics in Canada. You'll learn:

Labor market information & needs across Canada
Supply Chain & logistic career pathway
What are Professional Designations/ Certifications?
Advantages of having a professional designation in today’s Canadian labour market
Professional associations and perks of membership with them
Importance of networking for career progression in Canada
Steps to achieve CITT certification

Benefits of Professional Associations and Designations: A CanPrep Webinar

Professional Associations can help you build your professional network and increase your chances of finding employment in Canada. Together with industry experts, Carmen Jacques, Student Recruitment Manager at Chartered Professional Accounts of Ontario and Husam Sha’ath, President at FORTE Management Consulting Inc. and CMC Project Management Instructor at U of T School of Continuing Studies, we offer more information on “Benefits of Professional Associations and Designations for Newcomers to Canada.”

In this webinar, you'll learn:

Advantages of having a professional designation in today’s Canadian employment market
What do Professional organizations do?
Perks of membership
How to leverage their offerings for job search
Difference between "certificates" and "certifications"
Read More

Your Credit Score in Canada: Tips for managing finances and maintaining a good score

Your credit score matters. Building a good credit history is important because lenders will check your credit score to determine whether to approve you for things like cell phone plans, housing, cars, and lines of credit. In this webinar, money expert Yingshuo Liu, Financial Advisor at Scotiabank, walks us through:

What is credit score?
Factors that affect credit score
Tips on building credit score – credit cards, utility bills, multiple sources of credit etc.
Impact of poor credit
Credit history from other countries
Maintaining credit score before finding employment and after

The online mentoring program is an important component of Canada InfoNet. There have been over 1600 matches between mentors and mentees since 2016.

What Mentors Said

What Mentees Said

What Mentors Said

What Mentees Said

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

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

Emotional well-being during immigration, settlement & job seeking in Canada

A Canada InfoNet Success Story

Meet Kanwardyal, A Canada InfoNet Success Story

Meet Rick, A Canada InfoNet Mentor

Canada InfoNet’s veteran mentor Rick McCallion, leader in IT change, who has been supporting our program for over a decade contributed to this newsletter by sharing his experience and highlighting the importance of volunteering.

Our Mentors Share Their Stories

The Role of Employers

Before the Job Fair

During the Job Fair

After the Job Fair

Register to attend Employment Connections Virtual Job Fair, March 4, 2021.

In this webinar:

In this webinar:

Luckily for newly arrived job seekers, there are great online tools that can help you find networking opportunities anywhere in Canada.

In this webinar:

This webinar explores:

This webinar explores careers in supply chain and logistics in Canada. You'll learn:

JVS Toronto Head Office

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