How to Find Jobs in Canada for International Students FASTER – BEST Websites and Tips

Hello and welcome back to the channel. Today we're diving into something that every international student in Canada desperately wants to know and that is how do I actually find a job in Canada as a student? If you're an international student in Canada, you've sent out 76 CVs, attended 25 interviews, updated your LinkedIn bio nine times, and still you haven't gotten even a we regret to inform you, this video is for you. I have been in your very same shoes. So, I know how it feels to have been in Canada for months and yet to land your first job. It's tough. So, let's talk about the real strategies, CV hacks, and websites where you can find a job as an international student in Canada. I will start with my own personal story. When I first landed in Canada as a student, I had two things. One, I had my two heavy suitcases. Two, I also had an even heavier suitcase full of hope and dreams. I thought that I would land a part-time job in two weeks, mass. Uh-uh, not be me. But fast forward to 2 months, I had sent CVS until my fingers were paining me. And the few interviews that I got, they sent me rejection mails even before I got home from the interview. Like, can't you even wait for me to get home first? I cried many tears, I tell you. I thought I was doing something wrong. Or maybe village people were following me. They had followed me to Canada. And the worst part is that nobody really tells you how it works here. They would just be saying, "Oh, just apply on indeed or talk to your network." H it's not that simple. But I figured it out. And by my third month or so, I landed a job. 3 months after that, I got an even better job. And now I'm going to make it 10 times easier for you by telling you what I learned from my own personal experience and what I have learned from other people's experiences as well. So let's be honest, many people who come to Canada as international students are very eager to get a job. And the reason is simple. Students also have bills to pay like tuition, rent, groceries, transportation, and even child care for those who come with their children. And a lot of times when they convert the money from their local currency, it doesn't come to much in Canadian dollars. So they have to actually get a job to fill up that gap. And luckily, international students are legally allowed to work up to 24 hours per week off campus when school is in session. And they can even work full-time during scheduled school breaks. So why is it so hard to find jobs? One thing that I have found out is that sometimes before you come to Canada, people might make you feel like it is easy to get jobs as an international student. So, let's look at why students struggle to find jobs. First off, this one is a hard pill to swallow, but it has to be said. There are more students than student jobs in Canada. So, that's scarcity. And it's also affecting the availability of jobs to go around all the students that are looking for them. That being said, there's still some good number of jobs that are very available for students. Many students are still applying with the CV that they brought from their home country that is not formatted to the Canada resume style at all. So, this might be one of the reasons why you are not getting a call back if you have been sending your CV. It is important that you make sure that your previous work experiences matches with the job that you are looking for in Canada. So for example, if you've been a manager in the past and you are now looking for a cashier job, but there's no cashier or cashier related work experience in your CV, it will look as if you don't have the skills for the job you are looking for. So, make sure that you scan the job application and your CV matches the description of the job that you're looking for. Please be wise. In addition, even though you don't have any control over this one, some employers want Canadian work experience. But the question you must be asking yourself is, how do I get Canadian work experience when no one will even give me a chance? Right? Another major reason why you might not be finding the job is because you don't have a network. Truly, a lot of jobs can be gotten from your network. So, if you're new in Canada and you don't have a network, that might also be an issue. So, you need to start building your network as soon as possible. So, let me give you some of the best tips that can help you find jobs in Canada as a student. Tip number one, fix your resume. Make it Canadian style. The differences might be subtle, but you need to make sure that your CV is in Canadian style. And these are a few things that I know that you can take off your CV to make it more Canadian friendly. Remove photos. Do not include your age, your gender, or your religion. Keep it as concise as possible. Max two to three pages for part-time jobs. Tailor it to each job with keywords from the job posting. This one is so important. You can use job scan to scan your resume against the job description. The result will show you how much percentage of your CV has the keywords for the job so that you can start fixing any shortfalls in it. And always always write a short cover letter. It makes a huge difference. Most people will not write a cover letter anyway. So if you do write one, you're putting yourself ahead of others. Tip number two, start with onampus jobs. Never ever underestimate the power of getting a job on campus. First off, you can work unlimited hours if you get a job on campus. And the pay is usually better. There are jobs like library assistants, IT desk support, peer mentors, cafeteria workers, and many more. And they fill up very, very fast. So please apply as early in the semester as possible. One of the good things about the on campus jobs is that they understand your schedule and your timetable. Now here's a very strong tip that I want to give you. To find some of these campus jobs, you need to check your school's portal. Some of these jobs are never posted anywhere else, only on your school portal. So please go there and check. Tip number three, use job websites. And I'm going to share with you some of the best job websites so that I can save you hours of wasted time. So now pull out your phone and take a picture or jot them down cuz you will need them later. Job Bank Canada. You can get government jobs and you can create filters for student jobs as well. Indeed.ca. This one is good for every job under the sun. Make sure you set alert so that you get notified anytime they post new jobs. LinkedIn. This is great for professional and for networking. elut.ca. The jobs shown here are posted directly from employer websites. talente egg.ca. On this website, you will find student and entry-level jobs only. This website is great for retail and customer service jobs. Your school portal. Like I said earlier, you should be checking your school portal for jobs because there are lots of hidden gems here that you won't find anywhere else. Tip number four, go and drop your resume physically. While it is great to apply online, you should not ignore going to drop your resume or your CV physically because I know a lot of students that have gotten their jobs that way. So, print 10 copies of your CV, dress decently, smile, and walk into Tim Hortons, McDonald's, local cafes, grocery stores, malls around you. Ask, "Hi, are you currently hiring part-time staff? Could I speak with the manager?" You would be surprised how often someone just quits and your timing is perfect. Even if they tell you to go and apply on the website, at least you know that you've been there and they are not collecting CVs. And a lot of times even when they ask you to go to the website, they might still collect your CV. And if the manager is there, he might just look at it and yeah, okay, let me interview you. And who knows that might be a turnaround. That might be an opportunity you wouldn't have gotten if you didn't go physically to drop your CV. So the old school way still works. Go physically and drop your CVs. It does happen. So don't underestimate it. Tip number five, leverage your network. Even if it's small. Now you might be saying, "Ah, but I don't know anybody now. I just came. I just landed. I am new." I know. But despite how new you are, you still have a network. even though it might be small. So tell everyone that you're looking for a job. Tell your classmates, your housemates, people in your place of worship. Tell people you meet at community events. If nobody has told you, let me tell you, referrals are a secret weapon in Canada. I had a friend then who got her first job because her roommate was quitting. There was no interview. The roommate just referred her to her manager because she had told her earlier that she was looking for a job and she introduced her to her manager and that was it. She got the job. Tip number six, know the jobs that naturally hire students. Remember that as a student, you cannot work full-time during the school term. So, it's not every job that you can apply for. You cannot apply for full-time jobs. So, you need to actually be applying for jobs that can and do hire students. These are some roles that naturally hire students. Retail jobs like customer service and cashier jobs at places like Walmart, Dollarama, and Canadian Tire. Fast food outlets like McDonald's, Tim Hortons, and Subway. They hire students. There are also campus ambassador roles. This is a really good job if you can get it. You can also do Uber Eats or Door Dash if you have a bike or a car or anything that can move. But please check the rules to be sure that you're not going against your study permit requirements. There are also tutoring jobs if you're good in math, science or languages like maybe Spanish and French. I hope you're getting a lot of value from the video so far. If you are, I invite you to like it and share it so that a lot more people will get this information that they need. Now, let's talk about some red flags that you need to avoid when you are looking for a job as an international student. First off, I know you are desperate to get a job, but don't let desperation make you overlook these red flags. Some of the popular red flags are don't pay anyone to guarantee a job. It is actually wrong to pay for a job. So if someone is asking you to pay, please do not pay. No cash jobs, under the table jobs is risky and it can affect your immigration status. Be cautious about giving out your SIN number too early. Only give it after you've been hired. Make sure that you're not sending the same CV to all the jobs that you're applying to. You cannot be lazy. You need to ensure that you're formatting each of your CV to particular jobs. Which means that when you see a job advert, you need to check through your CV and make sure that the key words in the CV shows that you are the best fit for that job. If you're just firing your CV thinking that the more ad, the more chances I'll get. It doesn't work like that. The law of probability might not work like that. Your CV needs to match the job before employers can think about calling you for an interview and before you have a chance at getting that job. One other thing that I like to add that even though a lot of international students don't like it is this. You need to also volunteer. Yes, I know that volunteering doesn't pay and it won't pay your bills, but it builds Canadian work experience and it gets you to know people who may be able to refer you for jobs later on. And when employers see that you're volunteering on your CV, they would think that you're a serious person. They would also be excited about the fact that you are interested in helping the community. And it puts you in a better light to get a job than others who are not volunteering. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. You can volunteer at campus events, food banks, and nonprofits. You can also volunteer at community events. Just go to your school. I think there's a place in your school. Just be interested. And if you look around maybe on your school website, there are always volunteering opportunities that you can take advantage of. In addition, while you are studying, try and boost your CV with cheap and fast certifications. This would also increase your chances of getting a job. So see if you can complete certifications like Smart Serve. These are great for restaurant jobs where alcohol is being served. If you have this certificate, you can also serve as an usher at weddings or any other events where alcohol is being served. Women's or WHMIS certification. This is great for warehouse or retail jobs. First aid or CPR is great for child care or some healthare jobs. And this one is one of the greatest tips that I have for you. These certifications have nothing to do with your student status. So while you're studying, you can also take some time off to do some of these certifications and have them on hand so that by the time you're applying for some jobs and they're asking whether you have it, you actually do have it and you are one step ahead of those who don't, especially event jobs, right? The smart serve certificate where they serve alcohol. Without that certificate, you cannot work as a server for where they serving alcohol and not everybody has it. So if you have it, you put yourself in a better light, trust me. So try and get that smart serve or any of the other certifications. Red Cross um so that you can do certain um healthcare jobs even PSW jobs while you're a student. Okay, that's great. So, so far we know where to look for the jobs, how to look for the jobs, how to work on our CV and the importance of having a cover letter. Now, what I want to say next is one of the greatest tips that I actually do have for you and that is for you to keep your faith and keep your hopes up. Just because you were rejected after a job interview doesn't mean that they are rejecting you. No, it's just that that job isn't yours or it's not the right time yet. You need to keep going until you get a job. Once you get a job, it becomes even easier to get the next job. So, trust God. Continue to pray to God about the issue and believe that within a very short time, you too will get a job. Finding a job as a student in Canada isn't easy, especially in the first few weeks of landing, but it's very, very possible and honestly, it's one of the first tests that you will face as an international student in Canada. If I can go from frustration to finding a job in 2 to 3 months, then to changing that job 3 months later, you can do it too. I know the times are different, but still, you can do it too. Now that you've got the tools, you know the roles to look out for, you know where to look, you've got a plan, you know that you need to work on your CV and start searching for jobs, now go and get that job. Tell me in the comments, what jobs are you looking for right now? What's the weirdest interview experience you've had in Canada? What has also been your biggest challenge with getting a job here in Canada as an international student? Tell us in the comments so that we can learn from each other. And like I always say, tough times don't last, but tough people do. I invite you to watch this video on the screen next for more Canada immigration tips, and I'll see you in the next video. Bye.