Write@Home
Winter 2015

Settlement

white keyboard - find a job key and maple leaf shape key

Being a newbie to a new place for anyone is an exciting, wonderful, and challenging experience. There are thousands of people coming to Canada every year to find their way to have a more enjoyable and luxurious life, but sometimes people don’t realize how challenging the circumstances can be for newcomers until they first set foot on this beautiful land. Canada is a multicultural country where you can easily find people of every race, and most of them, have distinct experience in the job market for the highly qualified positions. This makes it harder for newcomers to find the work they want that best matches their skill sets that they used to do in their home country.

The situation I faced many years ago being an immigrant is no different than other people who came to Canada from all over the world in order to achieve a better lifestyle and insight into global work experience in a very diverse working environment. Personally, for myself, I found it was very hard to arrange initial interviews without prior Canadian work experience. Every call from the recruiter, or company asked firstly about your previous Canadian experience, and sometimes it makes you feel exhausted and angry because you are not able to get a job of your desire. The only reason for not getting hired is because of lacking local Canadian experience even though you have all the qualifications they are looking for. Another obstacle people often find here is the language barrier. This results in many people missing great opportunities because of not being able to communicate properly and express their ideas. I think it is always a good idea that one should start filling this gap and practice English or French back home before they plan to arrive in Canada. The third aspect that most newcomers face is the high living cost in Canada which makes it hard for many to afford a reasonable place to rent, to commute and day-to-day groceries. From my personal experience, one should try to find a cheaper place to live, if possible. This may be in a remote area, or one could arrange a shared apartment with a friend or family member.

Finally, the good news is that after all the challenges that you face in your initial days, or maybe initial couple of months, most people get jobs of their choice and are able to comfortably settle in Canada. In the end if you persevere moving to Canada can lead you to a happy family life and allow you to manage a healthy work-life balance. People who are already settled here or visit Canada every year have so many opportunities to explore Canada and enjoy the stunning scenes, parks and rivers.