find a career mentor in Canada: Did you know that government-funded programs provide pre-arrival employment support to prospective immigrants?
Furthermore, did you know that the majority of these prospective Canadians have no idea that they are eligible for this career-advancing assistance?
Yes, it is. In this article, we’ll concentrate on mentorship, a crucial component of some pre-arrival programs and a crucial component of becoming ready for the Canadian job market.
Mentors are currently available to assist professionals heading to Canada with the transition to the Canadian labor market. All over Canada, but particularly in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and New Brunswick, there are mentors accessible.
This article is provided in collaboration with Canada InfoNet, a free job program supported by the IRCC that is intended for people with foreign training who plan to relocate to Canada within the next year. Sign up here to get started.
How can a career mentor assist someone who is relocating to Canada?
The smoother a professional’s move into the Canadian workforce is when they locate a suitable career mentor. Discovering a career mentor, or someone who has been there, done that, and earned the t-shirt, can lead to a number of advantages for your career. These are but a handful:
- Setting goals.
- A viewpoint on the labor market and corporate culture in Canada
- Advice in drafting a professional strategy.
- Helpful criticism on your cover letter, CV, and focused application techniques.
- Advice for negotiating Canada’s shadow employment market
- Advice on networking and boosting your self-worth and confidence for the next discussions
- Advice on how to address any potential skill gaps in resumes and interviews
- Finding undervalued (by you!) professional accomplishments in the past that you can then emphasize.
- Aiding in your comprehension of the peculiarities of the Canadian labor market, including job titles, certifications, culture, recruiting practices, and more.
These are only a few of the components of a healthy career mentor-mentee relationship. Even before you travel to Canada, consider the potential outcomes!
Because of its very nature, mentoring is also free. The value that a mentor-mentee relationship provides to both parties is what makes it so special. While the benefits for a professional heading to Canada are clear (just look at the list above), mentors gain by strengthening their own networks, improving their resumes, and honing their leadership and communication abilities.
Now that you’ve been convinced of the benefits of finding a career mentor in Canada, let’s discuss how to choose the best mentor for you.
Your sector and final destination
Ten provinces and three territories, spanning six time zones, make up the vast nation of Canada. Every province has its own laws and labor regulations.
Furthermore, a diverse range of people call Canada home: when working professionals are excluded from the overall population, the proportion of foreign-born citizens rises to about one in four.
What’s the point of all this? Moving to Victoria, British Columbia, could be very different than moving to St. John’s, Newfoundland, which is over 7,000 kilometers away. Many well-known locations that you may be more familiar with are located between these two provincial capitals: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, and Sault Ste. Marie. (Okay, so maybe you’ve never heard of “The Soo,” a 75,000-person community, but we included it here because there are many other similar places you could go!).
Ideally, your career mentor should be an experienced professional in your industry and reside in the same province or even city as you plan to relocate. In addition to providing practical advice, such as provincial accreditation for your line of work, your mentor should be able to speak intelligently and sympathetically about workplace culture in the province or sector you’re trying to get your head around.
Thus, if you’re a physiotherapist relocating to Toronto, you can only get so far with the guidance and assistance of a Halifax-based financial expert. However, you’ll be in good shape if you can locate another medical practitioner who works in Ontario, which is home to Toronto, even if they aren’t physiotherapists.
If your destination and sector cannot be satisfied, try to satisfy at least one of them. For instance, it is preferable for an Ontario-bound physiotherapist to receive mentorship from a healthcare professional outside of Ontario rather than from a non-healthcare professional outside of Ontario. In certain cases, your career mentor may be in another province or sector.
Pre-arrival mentoring via initiatives supported by the IRCC
It won’t be difficult for you to locate a mentor if your immigration application is accepted to Canada because the country’s Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) actually pays pre-arrival services, some of which include mentoring as part of a larger employment preparation package.
Canada InfoNet is one of these companies. They are a division of JVS, an organization that has been assisting immigrants in Canada to pursue employment possibilities for almost 75 years. All you need to set up Canada InfoNet is your plan to move to Canada within the next 12 months, together with your consent to move (such as a certificate confirming your permanent residence or an invitation from the IRCC to receive pre-arrival services). Easy!
Apart from serving as a matchmaker between career mentor and mentees and providing a fully digital platform for the development of those relationships, Canada InfoNet also provides free online learning modules, webinars, job boards, a resume builder, and assistance with resumes and cover letters from seasoned, committed career professionals. All of these resources are available prior to arrival. With assistance from Canada InfoNet, we also have extensive information on moving to the Canadian employment market.
The do-it-yourself method
Don’t give up if you’re not currently qualified for pre-arrival programs financed by the IRCC; mentoring can still be helpful to you. However, you will most likely have to locate your own career mentor.
Here are some strategies for locating a career mentorin Canada:
- LinkedIn groups, connections, and endorsements
- Facebook groups devoted to particular fields, locations, or ethnicities
- Informal conversations
- Elevate your social media presence!
When you think of someone as a possible career mentor, think about approaching them a little formally at first, then work your way up from there. For instance, if you were to connect with someone on LinkedIn, you could take the following two approaches:
Hey Jane I’m John, and in a few months I’ll be relocating to Vancouver. As I get ready to make the big move, I’d like to ask you a few questions regarding networking in the media, as I notice that you’ve had a lot of success since relocating to Canada. Would it be okay if I sent along a few brief questions? You can respond to me whenever it’s convenient for you; I won’t require much of your time or attention. Much obliged! — John
Hey, Jane John is here. In Vancouver, will you be my career mentor in the media? I’ll shortly be relocating, and I need help. Regards.
Jane is more likely to interact with the first communication. The initial one, naturally, Most importantly, John complimented Jane on her accomplishments thus far and understood how important her time and attention were to her. A career mentor -mentee connection can then organically arise from this point on.
One last note regarding finding a mentor in Canada
Although moving to a new nation offers endless opportunities, success won’t just fall into your lap. Hard work is crucial, but you can also benefit from the expertise and achievements of others who have gone before you. These people can help you with your job search and help you achieve your unique professional goals.
