I recently became a permanent resident of Canada and am moving here soon from the Caribbean. I did my undergraduate degree in Canada and my Masters degree in the US. As I was a Fulbright Scholar, I had to agree to a 2 year home residency agreement so I moved back home to the Caribbean and now I’m ready to move on. I’m a registered social worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and I’ve started job hunting and sending resumes with cover letters by email and fax (when required). To date I have yet to get a response. I’m networking and am part of an online mentoring group and I’ve been invited to contact those persons when I’m in Toronto to set up meetings. I’ve had my resume reviewed by colleagues and am following written advice on cover letters.

I’m wondering what I’m doing wrong and what I should do to correct it. I am not indicating that I’m out of the country and my Canadian phone is on roaming so I can accept phone calls. I’m beginning to think that my distance from Canada for some years is proving to be a barrier. I don’t know what else to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Congratulations, you’re already doing a lot of the right things, so let’s review what those are, and then we can work on what you can do to improve your odds of finding your next Canadian job quickly.

Highlighting your strengths with a local spin

It appears that you have a lot going for you in general. Your resume highlights your strong North American education, and hopefully states any working experience you have here as well, even if it is on a volunteer basis. Your membership in local unions or other professional associations is also a good thing to have and highlight on your resume.

Having a local communication plan

You have a Canadian phone number, which helps employers to get in touch with you easily. With all of the telecommunications options available to us through the Internet these days, it is easier than ever to have a local telephone presence virtually anywhere in the world. Personally networking with local contacts to spread the word is also well worth doing, so keep that up, and expand it if possible.

Getting advice from Canadian experts

As part of your networking plan, you are getting valuable resume and other job search advice from people working in the field here. Keep that up.

Now let’s look at what you may not be doing that can possibly increase your odds of success in finding your next job.

Capitalize on Canadian presence, eh!

While you do have a local phone number, are there other elements on your resume that are implying you are a foreign worker? For example, for your physical address you should always try to put a local address. A foreign address shows employers that you may lack the commitment to move to Canada, and puts obstacles in their way to hiring you over a local candidate. They may ask themselves questions such as “Will they expect relocation payments?” “What if they don’t like living in this country?” “Are they legally allowed to work here?” “Do they require sponsorship?” These are all valid questions that normally aren’t considered for local candidates.

The best way around this dilemma is to simply appear to be a local candidate in all respects. Even statements on resumes or cover letters such as “Legally able to work in Canada” or similar sentiments may raise questions – if you’re truly a local, employers will assume that you can work here, just as they will assume you are fluent in English.

Try to down play the foreign component of your experience. You don’t need to state the location of your employment, on your resume or cover letter, for example. This is not lying — you can merely omit this information until the interview stage. Mention local university groups, local part-time jobs you may have had, even local volunteer groups you worked at. Be consistent with your cover letter also — there’s no need to state you intend to move here. Let them assume you are already here.

Even small things like your email address should be local — if your email is flastname@foreign.fo — change it. Get a free email from canada.com, or yahoo.ca to put a more Canadian flavour to it.

The best strategy is to think like a Canadian as much as possible, and fully utilize your Canadian network contacts to compare your candidacy against locals, paying particular attention to any assumptions you are making, as I noted above.

Establish a fully Canadian presence

It is VERY difficult to search for a job from outside of the country — kind of like a surgeon operating with chopsticks. It puts you at a disadvantage to your competitors, and nobody needs disadvantages in the job market, no matter how the economy is doing. If you can economically afford it, the best alternative is to actually move here to get the most out of your job search. That will allow you to be where you need to be for networking and interviews, and also says “I’m here for the long haul” to prospective employers.

Good luck!

Mitchell Stephenson M.A., CPCC, is a senior partner and a certified professional career counsellor at Catalyst Careers, a career transition, counselling, and outplacement firm. Mitch has been involved in human resources, career counselling and coaching in the health and legal sectors for many years. To contact him, visit: www.catalystcareers.ca.

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