Top 5 tips for first-time renters in Canada
Read and understand the terms and conditions for the house/apartment: Some landlords require several months’ deposit upfront while some don’t. The usual scenario is to pay 2 months’ rent of which one is a deposit that would be refunded when you leave the house in the condition you met it.
1. Always inspect the apartment together with the Landlord: This point references the aforementioned. If you plan on getting a full refund of your deposit, you better insist on inspecting your new apartment with the Landlord or a representative before moving in. This way, both of you would be on the same page in terms of the state of the house at the time of payment.
Understand the costs of living in your new home: It’s important I separate this point from the first. Sometimes, apartments could seem cheaper because it does not include utilities, so I suggest you ask the landlord for the last 3-month utility bills to know what the average cost per month comes to. This provides you with a basis for a fair comparison.
2. Renting with strangers: This is quite the norm in many developed countries especially for career professionals working in big cities where rents can be quite pricey. I always advise you not to pay your rent before meeting one or two of your housemates. You’ll quickly learn a lot about them from a 10mins conversation and you might gather additional information about the house.
3. Basement renting can have its negatives: Not only do you have to contend with living under the same roof as your landlord, which is not always a bad thing especially if you have one that is nice and polite but you have to take extra precautions as you’ll be closely monitored. The other important note to consider about basement renting is the specific location of the house. You wouldn’t want to take a house that is downhill as it can be affected by bad climate as well as flooding issues. Other important things to note when choosing basement apartments are related to ventilation and street noise.
4. Getting a Job in Canada
If you’re wondering how to get a job in Canada, I can show you how. To find the right job in Canada, you must not only remain focused and motivated but also plan thoroughly. I have compiled these tips based on my experience and feedback from contributors. It would do you a whole lot of good if you read, understand, and apply them. Get ready to get your desired job and succeed in Canada!

One way many immigrants build their financial foundation is by using their savings to buy real estate in foreign lands. The majority of jobs in Canada are centered around urban areas. Almost everyone works and lives near one of the five metropolitan areas: Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto-Burlington corridor, or Montreal. Other regions are relatively small, with even smaller numbers of job opportunities.

So how can you get a job in Canada?
It Starts with Your Resume
Before sending your resume to employers in Canada, you should ensure that your resume is formatted to the Canadian style. A poorly written resume can stop you from getting a job in Canada. Once you’ve done an assessment of the type of jobs you’re interested in, you should immediately go through the listed skills in each job description to ensure that you have those qualities and then showcase the skills on your resume through demonstrated work experience on current/previous jobs. It is more important to list your achievements (personal and team achievements) than day-to-day responsibilities. Also use recognizable keywords such as when you indicate your University grading system, you convert it to a grade point average (GPA) as against using class of degree, which is more of a British system.

If you tailor your resume to each job, then you’ll most likely be called for an interview. When that time comes, you can read our article guide on “The 4-Step Interview Methodology every Job Seeker Should Follow.”

Be Specific in Your Job Search
For many professions, trying to reply to many online job ads is not the best move to get a job in Canada. It is not a very effective method because you tend to lose specificity. So, do not send out the same resume and cover letter to 40 companies or as the case may be. It is a more competitive environment and the pool of talent is quite vast. Like the sub-title states, be specific in your job search but be open to a wide variety of opportunities. This may sound contradictory but understand that a Canadian job experience is much more worth it than your university education. Therefore, you may need to accept a slight demotion in terms of job title than you would ordinarily have liked. Ensure that whichever company you accept a job in, there’s potential for upward mobility once you start to prove your worth.

Show Enthusiasm
Who doesn’t like enthusiastic people? Well, hiring managers in Canada love them. So do ensure to have the company’s contact and follow up on your application within a week of submitting it. This shows your interest in their company. Sending a simple email thanking your prospective employer after an interview can set you apart from others! And these marginal gains do add up and could land you your desired job!

Get Strong References
Canadian employers will reach out to your referees, so they better be strong ones with profiles on LinkedIn that is easily accessible. Make sure to inform your referee that he or she may be contacted in the future so at least there are not caught unaware.

Form Strong Networks
With effective networking, you can gain useful insight and important contacts. This covers both social and professional spheres. Attend networking events and meet people in your field. There are many networks you can affiliate yourself with starting with several WhatsApp groups for Canadian Immigrants, Quora and Linkedin, which are both helpful for answering various questions in regard to the Canadian job market as well as other important topics and start going for social gatherings once you arrive in Canada. Some global social groups such as InterNations can really be helpful in building up your social network in person. Canadians do not publicly advertise most of the available jobs on job boards so you may need to get referred to recruiters and HR Managers, and this can only happen when you have developed a network and people trust your capability. In this “hidden job market,” networking is crucial to finding jobs in Canada because when a job comes up, you may be called in!

Become Accredited
To work in Canada, you need to accredit your foreign qualifications. If you’re in a profession such as physiotherapy, teaching, social work, etc., you would need some additional accreditation. The accreditation process may take a while, so you have to be prepared. Make sure you do proper research. Check LinkedIn profiles of Canadian workers in the same field as you. A lot of people are likely going to include their professional certifications, which gives you more clarity on which qualifications you may need to pursue in order to become more competitive.


Recruitment Firms in Canada
If you’re deciding to immigrate to Canada or you’ve already made the jump but still in your first few weeks, you’ll need to consider a variety of work including temporary skilled jobs in order to gain Canadian work experience. Except you’ve studied a technical course and worked in a field that is in extremely high demand such as medicine or software engineering, you’ll find it difficult to get a job that pays above CA$50,000, the average for a middle-income class individual, in a relatively short period of time. I’ve put together some of the well-known recruitment firms that are popular amongst new immigrants.
1. Agilus 2.Hays 3.Adecco 4.Michael Page 5.Petro Staff International 5.Renard International 6.Global Hire
Getting a Job in Canada: Behind the Scenes
Getting a job in Canada would require a sacrifice of your time and effort. So, you have to keep applying for different positions open to both international applicants as well as residents. Here are some sites that can help you in your job search.
1.Jobbank 2.Workopolis 3.Canadajobs 4.Monster 5.Glassdoor 6.indeed.com 7.Eluta.ca 8.Randstad
If you want to land your dream job in Canada, then you must have specific work experiences or possess a skill that can get the attention of employers. The official Canadian government website provides detailed information that has helped many candidates to get into Canada as well as direction on their desired jobs. This website provides the majority of the information in order to secure permanent residence under federal economic immigration programs like the Express Entry, Canadian Experience Class, The Federal Skilled Trades Programs, and the Federal Skilled Worker Program.

Visiting the site is your first step towards becoming a Canadian citizen! You can assess your eligibility and you may be accepted if you meet the criteria of one of the federal immigration programs. Gaining entry into this pool doesn’t guarantee that you will be issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence. There are still some criteria to meet under Canada’s immigration law (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act).

If you’re among the highest-ranking candidates in the Express Entry pool, you will receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence. Then you must submit an online application for permanent residence within 60 days. Your employer will take it up from here and do most of the other necessary processing for you.

Basic Steps and Cost of Immigrating to Canada
One of the biggest concerns for most people considering the Canadian dream is having a full understanding of the costs involved in immigrating. For those of you currently living in Nigeria, I’m going to help you label the cost step-by-step so that you can have a realistic budget:

Cost of University Transcripts: N30k (CA$103) – N50k (CA$172) inclusive of courier services
Educational Credential Assessment (ECA): Report that evaluates your foreign degree. (if you studied outside of Canada). You’ll need to send an original and copy of your degree certificate and transcripts. Cost is around CA$300, the Processing time is just under 3 months and validity is for 5years. Below are some of the companies that offer such services:
International Credential Assessment Services of Canada
International Qualifications Assessment Services
International Credential Evaluation Services
World Education Services (WES)
Language Proficiency Test: IELTS cost N75k ($250) if you take it at the British Council. The test takes on average 2 weeks for the official result to be released and the validity is 2years from the time you get your test result.
Express Entry Profile Creation: Pre-requisite is ECA and Language proficiency test. Create the profile online and you’ll get a Competitive Ranking System (CRS) score. Subsequently, you’ll get an invitation to apply (ITA) once you make the cut-off.
Arranging Documents: The time allowed to submit documents is 60days.
Reference letter for each work experience declared (specified format)
medical certificates
police certificates
proof of funds on bank letterhead & bank statement (minimum of CA$13k for an individual and CA$16k for a couple) cost is graduated as you have more children.
Passport
Photographs (in the specified format)
Language test report
ECA report
Job Offer (if any)
Submit Application: Travel History & past residences of the last 10years. Processing time is within 2 – 6 months.
Right of permanent residence fee ($490 per person)
Processing fee ($550 per person)
Visa Stamping: After receiving a confirmation email that your permanent residency has been approved, you have to go TO the VFS center with your passport & photographs for a single entry visa stamp. Once you’re in Canada you can process a PR card.
Flight ticket: Depending on the time of the year, be prepared to pay between CA$1800 – CA$2500
The minimum total cost of you immigrating from Nigeria to Canada is circa N5m (CAD 17k)

Conclusion
Canada is a great place to live but remember that moving into a new country and getting a profitable job there could be a challenge. It may take you at least 6 months to get a job close to your experience level and therefore it’s important to have a reasonable budget of circa CA$2,500 per month to live off when you arrive.

visit Reventify.com "Your Essential Guide to Living and Working in Canada" to read more on this topic.