AMA on immigration to Canada and technology jobs in Canada

I think that was a really smart and timely move, congratulations on the success of it!

Hello Aditya,

Thanks for making the time to do this AMA.

I’m in a fortunate position immigration-wise because my spouse is a Canadian citizen. We’ve lived in New York City for the past 9 years but we are joining the flight of people leaving because of the pandemic and purchased a house last week in Ontario 1 hour away from Toronto and will move in next February (which makes the timing of this AMA serendipitous). After my work permit is processed I will need to start job searching and I have zero professional connections in Canada. My question is how you would advise I start looking for my first network engineering job in Canada. Are there particular recruitment agencies, job boards, or networking groups I should know about?

Hi Adrienne,

Let me be your first connection of many to follow in Canada :slight_smile: . You wont struggle getting a job provided that you experience in the field. Be active on LinkedIN and get your profile decorated and I’m sure in not time you should have recruiters reaching out to you and landing you to a job.

Hi Aditya,

Thank you for taking out the time and sharing your expertise with us.

Could you shed some light on how the hiring trend in the tech companies, if at all, has been affected due to the ongoing pandemic?

Also, you mentioned about the Provincial Nominee Programs. What are they and how does one benefit from them?

Hey,

Toronto has a lot of events and meetups for people in tech. You should look at TechTo, stuff at https://www.marsdd.com/ and more.

Of course covid has stopped all in person events right now, but they’ll be back eventually.

LinkedIn is also your best friend. Start reaching out to recruiters right now.

I’ll post a few more resources in a little while.

Hey Aks,

Tech is one of the few sectors that has largely been unaffected. There was a dip in hiring in the summer but things seem to be coming back strong now.

It’s certainly a lot better than most other sectors. Senior developers(5+ years of experience) and dev ops people are particularly in demand.

I’ll answer your question about the PNP in a little while - I’m typing on my phone right now and that’s a longer answer.

Hello Aditya,

Is the process the same for US Citizens?

Hi Paris,

Yes, the process is the same for everyone. They don’t have a special process for the US or any other country.

@NagImmigration a more general question related to this theme. Can you tell us more about the firm at which you work, VanHack. It seems to have a very interesting business model but I am not sure I fully understand it.

Here’s some more information on the Provincial Nominee Program.

In summary - every Canadian province (there are 10) runs their own set of programs to attract the talent they require in that province. If you qualify under one of the PNP programs, you are invited by the province to become a PR.

There are a LOT of programs, but the vast majority require some form of connection to that province (perhaps you studied there, or worked there). There are a few that are open to anyone.

Here’s a link with more info, and I’m happy to answer specific questions.

Sure.

VanHack (https://vanhack.com) has a very simple business model. As a candidate, you sign up on our platform (for free), and start applying for jobs (https://vanhack.com/jobs). Our recruiting team also invites you to apply for jobs.

If a company decides to interview you, we conduct a mock interview to help you get trained up for the real interview.

If you get a job offer, we work with the employer to get all your visa paperwork done. You will never be asked to pay us or any employer any money. You may have to pay the Canadian government fees (~$300 for the work permit), but that’s about it. Most companies that hire through VanHack provide relocation budgets to cover your travel to Canada/the EU.

So now you’re thinking that this sounds too good to be true! How does VanHack make money??

It’s quite simple - the companies that hire through us pay us. They are looking for specialized talent that is hard to find in their home markets, and VanHack brings them that talent. It’s a fairly standard recruiting model.

It’s important to state that VanHack’s fee will NOT and cannot be taken out of your salary - that is illegal, and none of our partner companies have ever done anything like that.

You get paid a salary commensurate with your experience and the job profile. In Canada, our average salaries are in the 85-110K CAD range for most jobs, and can go higher for more senior roles.

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This does sound to good to be true but I will take your word for it :grin:

However, I do have a question. My experience with job sites has been less than satisfactory. You submit your resume and then some “machine” will “match” you to jobs and blah blah blah and in the end it’s just a big waste of time. Is your process more personalised? Do you guys actually take a look at the candidates and screen them and match them to jobs where they will genuinely be a good fit?

Yes, we are quite different to Indeed or any of the other job sites.

When you sign up with VanHack, you have to create your profile.

Part of this is the usual - tell us your skills, job experience etc. However, we also ask you to record a brief video introduction. You can see an example on our home page (https://vanhack.com). Unmute the video to listen.

We have found that the video is a key element of the selection process for employers. It helps an employer understand your experience as well as - crucially - your communication skills.

In addition to this, we encourage every VanHacker to take a code test. We were partnered with Hacker Rank and this helps employers get an objective score for your core skills.

When an employer posts a job on our platform, our recruiting team immediately starts looking through the database of active VanHackers (180,000+). Even if you don’t apply to a job, it’s very possible that we will contact you and tell you that you’re a great fit for a certain job.

Employers track all incoming applications + recruiter recommendations on our internal Applicant Tracking System (This blog post given you a glimpse of what that looks like).

Finally, our system allows employers to directly search the database and reach out to people they like. We have built in chat that facilitates this - you cannot start a conversation with an employer, but if they reach out to you, you can talk to them direct. This feature has been in production for a couple of months and employers really love it since it makes it super easy to talk to a good candidate.

So yeah, it’s a bit more than just “apply for a job and pray”. Since VanHack is a startup that is hyper-focused on a niche, it is in our best interest to ensure that our employers are able to hire great candidates really quickly. We try and close a job within two weeks from date of posting to date of offer.

That is amazing! Thank you for the detailed reply and it has really piqued my interest. I see that your site is more developer focused. What are your thoughts on expanding a bit into the area of Network engineering?

Hi Aditya,

Can you please tell us a little about the quality of life for a new immigrant in Canada?

Aditya, thanks so much for taking the time to do this. Could you please throw some light on the trends underpinning Canada’s Immigration policy? Are you optimistic that the current outlook will remain as is and that immigrants will continue to be welcomed?

Hi,

Thank you so much for your cooperation.

Regards English - My first language is NOT English, is it required to get IELTS with a Specific Score to be qualified to get Points of English Language.

Thanks again Aditya. Appreciate it.

Hi

Yes, everyone has to take the IELTS, and you need to get a minimum of a CLB 7 in all four abilities. This translates to an IELTS score of 6 in Speaking, Reading, Listening, and Writing.

The more points you get, the better it is.

We are entirely driven by the needs of the companies hiring through us. We’ve seen an uptick in DevOps/SRE roles, and there’s certainly nothing stopping us from moving into network engineering. And of course partnerships like this one can drive interest!