Jobbank and the long job hunting journey for Temporary Foreign Workers

Although the Jobbank is not the only unique website for job hunting, the Jobbank is the central and official point where employers and employees can meet. However, Canada will first take care of Canadians and its permanent residents. Why? Because of the Employment and Social Development Canada agency requirement; in order to get a LMIA, the law requires the employer to post some ads for at least a month in order to make sure there is not a Canadian or a permanent resident who may fill the position. Guess where the ad must be? It would be in the Jobbank. Additionally, it is very uncommon that an employer does an anonymous LMIA, most LMIA's already have a foreign worker selected.

However, the Jobbank is a very powerful tool for everyone. Since employers who are willing to run a LMIA are required to post the job vacancy there and the vacancy has identified the NOC number, it is very easy to find salary ranges per NOC and city/province/territory. Knowing this, the job seeker may ask for a salary that is slightly under the mean, this will make them more attractive to employers.

If you are still interested in the Jobbank, let's take a look at how the Jobbank works.

Jobbank For Future Employees

The Jobbank website has a simple interface where a user can write a little job description in simple Engish. Similar to Google does.

By typing a job and location, the portal will show you the related openings.

Signing Up in the Jobbank

You will need an account to apply for some jobs. The requirements are:

• For Canadians and Permanent Residents
  • Social Insurance Number
  • Mother's maiden name
  • Birthdate
• For Express Entry candidates
  • Express Entry profile number
  • Job seeker validation code

Where to look for a Job?

Good question! It really depends on your occupation and what you want. So, we are going to present some ideas:

1. If you are looking for a big enterprise, you will be sent through the HR system. You will need to create a unique résumé for that position and making yourself the best fit for that position. Big companies do not need generalists, but rather they look for the best fit for what they are looking for.
2. If you are looking for medium/small business, you may contact the business owner. This is totally different because a business owner is more price sensitive, they will be trying to get the best cost-benefit with a new employee. In this case, being a generalist would be a good fit. However, not all small/medium business owner may want to run a LMIA. If you are lucky and you are a LMIA exemption, you will need to educate the potential employer and explain how easy the hiring process is.