Finding work in Canada

TALES FROM CANADA

By Tess Guieb
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 15:47:00 07/08/2009

CANADA—It did not take long for my husband to find a job as soon as we arrive in Canada.

My former employer gave me the number of her cousin who might be able to help us during our first few months. We had lunch with him one afternoon and he took us for a drive around West Vancouver. He asked my husband where he worked before and what he did and what other skills he may have. When he told him he can do a bit of carpentry, he mentioned he may be able to refer him to one of his contractor friends.

The following day, he got a call from the contractor and was asked to start the following week. The company did renovation work on houses in the west side of Vancouver. So after only two weeks in Canada, he started working at $15 an hour which was way over the minimum hourly wage of $8 at that time. It was a very rigorous job though. They had to knock down walls and posts and carry them from the house to the large garbage bins outside, doing manual excavation works, replacing wood beams, roofing, and the like. He would come home each night with his whole body aching from all the work and terribly exhausted. I was worried for him because although he was getting paid well, he was not covered by the Workmen’s Compensation Board (WCB). If anything happens to him, the government will not be paying compensation for any injury or disability.

After two months, he was able to move to another company where he was entitled to benefits after the three months probation period. Still, he had to endure hard labor every day and no matter what the weather was—rain, shine, or snow—he had to work. His hours were from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday. On some days when there was a slowdown, he was given time off but without pay. During the holidays, he got two weeks vacation and was given a week’s pay as Christmas bonus. Although the work was hard he stayed for more almost two years and learned a lot in carpentry, masonry, and finishing, which helped him in some odd jobs he did on the side on weekends. While he was employed, he enrolled in Building Management at the Vancouver Community College attending classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and on Saturdays. It took him six months to finish the course.

My eldest son, who was 16 at that time, decided to apply for a job at Safeway, one of the leading grocery stores in Canada. It was only a few blocks walk from where we lived. He was hired immediately as a stock clerk and started at $8 an hour. I must admit seeing him for the first time stacking up the shelves with cereals made me cry. I felt he was too young to work and just needed to be in school.

While the two men in the family were already working, I was busy sending out resumes. I searched various websites such as workopolis.com, monster.ca, and the like. I also surfed the websites of different employment placement agencies. I was fortunate enough to get the help of my friend in Ontario who revised my resume before I sent them out. I must admit it was a bit frustrating especially when all I got were automated e-mail responses from these companies.

I got the first job interview through one of the employment agencies I applied with. It was for a family-owned corporation. The job description was a perfect fit because it was similar to what I was doing in Manila. The family owns several apartment buildings and I would be handling the company books and would act as the supervisor of the building managers. It was a very extensive panel interview with the family matriarch, his son who was managing the business, and the accountant who was about to retire. I can sense that the mom and the accountant liked me but the son was apprehensive because I had no Canadian experience. It took more than an hour answering all their questions; I felt drained after. He said he was going to let me know as they are considering another applicant as well.

The following week, I got a call from him asking to come in and do a one-day trial for the job. The accountant was there to do the orientation. She said she felt I was capable of doing the work. At the end of the day, I was told that I would hear from the boss in the next few days. My former employers informed me that they got a call from this prospective employer and he was doing a background check on me. That made me more confident that I would indeed get the job. Much to my dismay, he called me after two days and told me he decided to get the other person because she had the Canadian experience. I felt so bad because I had my hopes high after everything I went through. Up to now, I still refer to this guy as my first Canadian heartbreak. What was funny though was I learned he was a client of the construction company which employed my husband and it was his house that they were doing at that time. Oh well, small world!

The next interview I went to was for an accounts payable position with an electrical contracting firm. Even if I tried to convince them that I was a fast learner, I did not get in for the same reason—no Canadian experience. That was really frustrating! I kept thinking—how the hell can I get Canadian experience if nobody would give me a chance? I was starting to give up since I only gave myself two months to get employed. I even contemplated applying in retail just so I could start working.

A relative advised me to apply with temp agencies which usually end up finding a permanent assignment for job seekers. So I started sending out resumes for administrative positions. It was almost three months since I started sending out applications when I had my first call from a temp agency to do work with Blood Services for four days. I had to call applicants applying as nurses and schedule them for an interview appointment. I was able to do the job in two days and the supervisor was so impressed that on my time sheet, she even commented that I did a wonderful job. I was paid $15 an hour for that assignment.

The second call was with a construction consultancy firm for an indefinite period of time. I was relieving someone sick and they were not sure if she can still come back to work. The job was mainly clerical—doing filing, photocopying, and some report preparations. I was starting to like it there, getting along with my colleagues. I was hoping the company would offer me a permanent job, but unfortunately after a month it had to let me go because the employee decided to come back.

The third assignment was for a receptionist with another consultancy firm. My immediate superior was also a Filipino. She gave me pointers on answering phone calls and dealing with the boss. I found the atmosphere intimidating especially when the two bigwigs were around. They were not that friendly at all so I felt scared and tensed at work. I felt relieved when they took me off that job after two weeks.

As soon as I finished with the consultancy firm, I got another call for another assignment—this time with an insurance company but I would be working in the Property Management Division. There was no timetable for this one. The administrative assistant was leaving for Edmonton and the company needed someone to replace her but was not sure yet if it needed someone permanent. The company is among the top ten in the insurance industry and offers comprehensive benefits to its employees. I was telling myself this might be the perfect one for me. Are the company bigwigs going to make me stay or will they also let me go in a few months?