CANADIAN NEWCOMER 19
Breakthrough the Canadian Experience Barrier
So, Canadian Experience- What is it Anyway?
Newcomers face a lot of barriers as they try to move to Canada. Arriving here legally and ready to work is a great achievement. Well done if you have already landed here!
For those of you now going through your job search, have you come across “Canadian Experience”?
Canadian Experience is *not listed* in any job descriptions, but if you are an immigrant, it might be the reason your application was just rejected.
What is Canadian Experience exactly? How can it affect your chances of landing a job? And how do you break through that barrier and land a job?
The Dark Side
Some employers are dishonest or lazy, and will use Canadian Experience as an easy excuse to reject your application.
If you get rejected from somewhere because of Canadian Experience, you might try to find out the why behind the decision.
Canadian Experience can be used against you by employers who don’t want to employ a foreigner, but can’t say that because it’s illegal (foreigners are protected by the same employment laws as locals).
“You don’t have Canadian Experience” can be a cover for many things that an employer won’t say directly:
- Stereotype of your country
- Sexism or gender discrimination: ‘this industry is easier for a man…’
- Xenophobia: they just don’t want to ‘deal with’ a foreigner
- Ageism: you are ‘too young’ or ‘too old’
- Stereotype of your cultural background, or heritage, or religion
- Dislike of your accent
- Doubts about your English/French ability
- Racism: Your skin is the wrong colour for them (or their customers!)
- Any other reason they don’t like the look or sound of you
‘Canadian Experience’ covers a lot of (illegal!) reasons for an applicant to miss out on a job.
If a company has rejected you for this reason, the best thing is to just accept it, and take that company or hiring manager off your list of potential workplaces. Unfortunately it is probably a place you wouldn’t feel welcomed into.
Let it go and move on.
Adaptability
Put aside the above negative reasons why employers might use Canadian Experience against you, and let’s view the ‘Canadian Experience’ requirement positively.
Canadian Experience is maybe not what you think.
Many job-seekers think Canadian Experience only means Canadian Work Experience. So, if you are a newcomer seeking your first job, you will wonder why employers are asking you about Canadian Experience…
But that’s not exactly correct.
For employers who are looking at your application or considering your interview performance, they will of course first check if you have worked in Canada before.
Why?
Because if you are not Canadian, they are thinking “How would this person fit into my organisation?. Is this applicant familiar with workplace culture, Canadian social cues, and expectations? Will they cause more problems than they solve? Should I just hire a Canadian..?”
In the positive aspect, Canadian Experience is about soft skills and adaptability.
This means that it is up to you to prove in an interview that although you might have moved here from another country, that does not prevent you from being able to fit into a team here.
You would actually be an asset to the team.
You bring new perspectives and experience and knowledge that the typical Canadian may not even have.
From your work experience or studies or volunteering etc, think of examples of how you are adaptable and can fit into different environments, and demonstrate what extra spark, inspiration, or perspective you would bring to the organisation vs a typical Canadian applicant.
You know you stand out, that you are different to the typical Canadian applicant. Make sure you own it, and that it is viewed in a positive light by prospective employers, not as a handicap. Make sure to say what you can bring to the table.
Stuck in a Loop
How does not having Canadian Experience affect you?
Well, it probably means you are stuck in this cycle:
Lack Canadian Experience > can’t get job > can’t develop any Canadian Experience…
And repeat.
So you need to face up to the potential barrier before an employer can use it against you. Acknowledge it, turn it around to a positive, and don’t be beaten down by it.
Be Upfront
So how do you deflect the knock-out punch of lacking Canadian Experience? Well, I recommend throwing the first punch yourself!
A lot of employers will screen your resume first for the hard skills and experience which match the job requirements.
If you pass the screening, the next step is usually a phone or video interview with HR. This is where you might face your first Canadian Experience Barrier.
Punch through it.
As soon as the call starts, you have to put the other person at ease. Small talk helps. If you have one, don’t be afraid to acknowledge your accent. But also mention that you are willing to repeat any words that the other person might miss. Put them at ease as soon as possible.
They may not be familiar with the country you just moved from. Feel free to bring up an unusual difference that you have noticed between both countries as a talking point.
If the name of your university or past employer is probably unfamiliar for a Canadian, mention it before they ask. If the company or industry is not easy to understand, find a Canadian equivalent and mention that.
If you are proactive, and prepare; if you acknowledge the potential problems any employer may have understanding your profile or your accent; answering the questions before they are even asked can show your skills in:
- Understanding the other person’s situation,
- Forward-planning,
- Adaptability
Breakthrough
As I interviewed for jobs upon arrival, I could speak English fluently and without an accent. This helped me overcome the first barrier mentioned above, but I faced the next barrier just like you would.
All my work experience and culture was Japanese. That is a very different work culture to Canada, so I would mention it very early in calls.
And then I would share some examples of working with global teams or on global projects, to show I was not going to find difficulty in fitting into a Canadian organisation.
I also learned from courses or the internet about what a typical Canadian workplace is like, and then match my past experience to some of those aspects.
Depending on how the conversation was going, I would sometimes mention that although I hadn’t worked for a Canadian organisation before, I was aware of differences in time management, hierarchy, or individualism vs a Japanese work culture, and bring up some example of how I had done that before.
If you acknowledge the challenges up front, but show that a) you already recognise them, and b) have already figured out how to tackle them, your potential Canadian Experience barrier should fade away quickly.
Summing Up
To all the newcomers searching for work right now: Canadian Experience can be a barrier used against you by some dishonest or lazy employers.
But as a foreign applicant, honest employers will consider your application from the point of “how do you fit into my organisation?”. You do need to answer the questions to allay their fears.
Follow my tips above and you should be able to deal with that question smoothly in interviews.
Whatever roles you are applying for, good luck!
Previous Articles in the Series:
- Pre- & Post-Arrival Services
- Your LinkedIn Profile
- How to Structure Your Job Search
- Prepare for Your Job interview
- The Interview (In-person and Video)
- Connection Request on LinkedIn
- Networking
- Building Strong Relationships
- Resume and Cover Letter Tips
- LinkedIn Power Details
- Follow and Unfollow
- Informational Interviews
- Mentoring & Associations
- Bridging Programs
- Dealing with Rejection
- Starting a Job During COVID
- First months on the Job During COVID
- Planning your Job Search, Plan A, B, C to Z
- Canadian Experience
- Finding Temporary Accommodation
Future Topics, Coming Soon!
- Your request here!
If you have requests for any more topics, or want to add information of your own, please don’t hesitate to reach out! Good luck with your journey as a newcomer and job-seeker here in Canada!
Who Am I?
Hello, I am Garry. Nice to meet you. Here is my LinkedIn profile. After 15yrs living in Japan, I moved to Canada in late 2019. Since I got here, I have learned a lot from friends, great mentors and advisors, pre- and post-arrival services, and good old-fashioned internet research! I would like to share that advice with you and help you on your journey here in Canada.
Also earlier this year I talked about some of these things in a LinkedIn article, and in a webinar with NewCanadians I discussed with some smart people about the newcomer’s job search and the impacts of COVID-19. Please check them out!
