Canada 2010-2011?

vinylbomb

ibh wrote: »

I remember hearing a lot that they had to be limited to 1 page, but on most of the resume builder sites on the net they suggest 1 to 2 pages.

Ignore all the bullsh*t you've heard about CVs differing from resumes. Follow ll the guidelines for a good CV, and when you send it to them simply call it a resume, thats all you need to do. I cut my CV in half (left off chunks of my early employment history) but when talking to recruitment agents they said always give as much relevant detail as possible

• 3 or 4 pages max
• Dont leave any gaps in your employment history
• Provide a one line description of what each company does as well as what your job title was
• MAKE SURE all grammar and spelling are correct!!!!!
• Format it logically and chronologically

colin29

ibh wrote: »

I remember hearing a lot that they had to be limited to 1 page, but on most of the resume builder sites on the net they suggest 1 to 2 pages.Thanks,

1 page is correct, employers don't want to read a book, if you give them more than a page they probably won't even look at it, not worth their time as they will have received a lot of resumes, only put relevent work experience down, if you want a job in construction and worked in McDonalds leave it out but try not to leave too many gaps, if you worked in a job for less then three months leave it out.
Don't put down where you went to secondary or primary school, only third level needs to go in.
And lastly alot of places may just have you fill out an application form.
All this info is from BCIT where after doing a woodworking course I was shown how to do up a proper resume by people they brought in from HR departments of various companies.

All the best and welcome to Canada.

achbons

Hi lonny,

this is what the USIT FAQ says: "...You may travel while waiting for your visa to be issued, however you cannot enter Canada and wait there for your visa to be issued. You will also need to acknowledge that we will only correspond with you via a postal address in Ireland/Northern Ireland or via email. You will also need to ensure that all appropriate flights and insurance arrangements are made prior to your departure from Ireland and that you are aware of all visa requirements for the countries you will be travelling to".

So it looks like it's fine to travel around once you've sorted everything for Canada out (visa, flights and insurance).

bambampop

has anyone ever heard of somebody securing the visa without USIT. Im amazed that they are the only people to go through. The visa fee is only 95!!! not too keen on giving them 300 for something im pretty sure i could do myself...

I've e-mailed the canadian high comission asking, i'll post the response (if i get one)

hellfireie

look forward to hear how u get on bambampop let us all know

vinylbomb

colin29 wrote: »

All this info is from BCIT where after doing a woodworking course I was shown how to do up a proper resume by people they brought in from HR departments of various companies.

All my info is direct from the top IT recruitment firms in Van.

If you're not a professional with minimum 2/3 years experience in industry or going for part-time work then it may be possible to get it all on a page. If you're a professional with a 4/5 or more years professional history it simply isn't possible to distill it down to a page.

colin29

vinylbomb wrote: »

All my info is direct from the top IT recruitment firms in Van.

If you're not a professional with minimum 2/3 years experience in industry or going for part-time work then it may be possible to get it all on a page. If you're a professional with a 4/5 or more years professional history it simply isn't possible to distill it down to a page.

It can't hurt to have varying experiences regarding this topic, the more info the better for everyone.
Hope you had a good Christmas.
All the best.
Colin

vinylbomb

True enough!!!
Point well made, apologies if I came across as overbearing!! :rolleyes:

Jayob10

if i was to apply for the U-35 working visa in January 2010, when are these visas issued?

Will I need my police certs on hand when I apply in January? Or can these be otained after I apply on the 5th January?

Also what is the monetary amount you will need in your bank account before you will be considered?

Any info you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

agent_smith

What exactly is the story with flights and insurance in peoples experience. I found flights for 200 euro (one way 350 return) and USIT wanted me to buy their cheapest flights which were 600 euro. If I get the letter back from the canadian high commission that they are happy with my application can I purchase my flights independantly and show USIT proof that my flights have been independently purchased ?
Same question applies to travel insurance... I saw annual travel insurance from AIB and it worked out much cheaper than that on offer from USIT.

stlongs

I think if you ask "am I legally required to book flights through you?" then they will have to say "no". You will have to send them a copy of the flight info and they will charge a fee for checking it, €40... I guess similar for insurance. This is what I read on another forum for last year, so I'm not sure how accurate it is, but It's worth a try. I'm going to wait until after I apply and then try it out.

agent_smith

that sounds like a great plan.
The idea of spending 600 euro on flights and then a further 400 on travel insurance is sickening. especially when you consider they are charging 400 euro for a 95 euro visa.
Go4less are also supposed to be doing the visa thing this year as well... might be worth looking at as well...

pk32

amber23 wrote: »

hey guys, waiting to get a visa myself for 2010, thought they would be out today but havent heard a word from USIT! so frustrating!! someone above mentioned January, how do you know that? and how come it is later than last years? they were out on the 8th of December last year

anyways, hopefully it will be soon, cant wait to go!

thanks

i want to go in new year to toronto to work can u tell me where to start.. please

Black Swan

colin29 wrote: »

1 page is correct, employers don't want to read a book, if you give them more than a page they probably won't even look at it,

Outside of academia where they like a CV Piled-Higher-and-Deeper, in most cases a good summary one-page resume is what they are looking for at first. But if you get interviews with businesses or other organisations, it is also handy to have a more detailed resume/CV at the interview stage in the selection process. You can refer to it during the interview for specific details, and can also provide a copy of it to an employer who has short-listed you.

stlongs

I'm not entirely sure if I'm eligible for the student or the U35 programme. I think you might be able to book flights and insurance with another company, you should ring or email Usit and ask if you are legally required to book through them.

€399 + Flights + Insurance I think, which should all come to €1500 - €2000 as far as I can figure unless you can find cheep flights and insurance.

As far as I've heard they go very quickly, so you would probably want to book the day it opens. Jan 12th 10am for the student Jan 5th 10 am for the U35.

pk32 - http://canada.usit.ie/ - read that website, it's kinda confusing in places but worth reading...

sprinkles

You don't need to book either the flights or insurance with USIT. You need to pay e40 admin fee to have alternative flights or insurance checked by USIT though. In total, taking the additional e80 into account I still saved nearly e600 booking my flights and insurance elsewhere.

Don't listen to them if they tell you otherwise. I was told I had to book with them but I then rang them and told them I had booked elsewhere and they explained the additional e40 charge. They are just trying to milk you!

Only thing is to make sure your insurance covers working abroad. Most of the do but they will refuse your insurance if it doesn't.

vinylbomb

Medical insurance, in case you fall while snowboarding and dislocate your shoulder and end up paying nearly a thousand dollars in medical fees.

As happened to me.
But at least knowing the cash will come back to you eventually stops you crying in pain as your wallet (as well as your shoulder) gets dissected.

sprinkles

Dunno what the 399 is for, I assume there's a good bit of admin involved but a healthy slice of that will be profit!! Not usre if you acn get it direct, I wouldn't think you can.

The insurance is medical. I opted not to get wintersports cover as it worked out cheaper to just tack that on for whatever dates you needed once you're over here.

Roonbox

Hi,

does anyone know if you have to travel from Ireland to Canada when we get the visa?
We're planning on travelling for a few months before we get there and we'll prob be arriving from the states, Usit say that you have must travel from Ireland.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

RATM

Roonbox wrote: »

Hi,

does anyone know if you have to travel from Ireland to Canada when we get the visa?
We're planning on travelling for a few months before we get there and we'll prob be arriving from the states, Usit say that you have must travel from Ireland.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

I wouldnt mind knowing the answer to this either- I'd like to fly into NY and have a wee scout around the US before entering Canada to find work. Anyone any ideas ?

pk32

anybody know when do usit have to be paid?

gillyvanilly

roonbox, this should answer your question from the canada usit website

"Can I book a round the world ticket or enter Canada via somewhere else?
This is allowed as long as you have a flight from Ireland that eventually returns to Ireland - please note that flying via some destinations may be very expensive, so if you're thinking about doing the Tran-Siberian and flying one way from Beijing to Canada that you research the price of this before you set your itinerary in stone as this can be very costly. Please note that we cannot guarantee that you will be allowed entry to all of the countries on your itinerary, so please make sure you have all required/suggested documentation. Please also be aware that countries may not accept your Canadian visa as proof that you will be leaving their country, so you may want to pre-book your transportation from there to Canada."

They do however say this also

"Can I fly into the US and make my way into Canada overland?
This is allowed, however, please note that this is at your own risk as we cannot guarantee that US authorities will accept a visa for Canada as proof that you intend to leave the US!"

Tobler

Jayob10 wrote: »

if i was to apply for the U-35 working visa in January 2010, when are these visas issued?

Will I need my police certs on hand when I apply in January? Or can these be otained after I apply on the 5th January?

Also what is the monetary amount you will need in your bank account before you will be considered?

Any info you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

It takes a couple of months to complete the whole process after you apply for the visa. It took me 6 months but only because I had to get a police check from Australia and there was a mistake on it so had to apply for it twice, should usually only take about 3 months i think. You wont be able to come to Canada until march though, i think its the 18th, not sure why but thats what USIT say.
You dont need to have your police certs when applying but you should apply for the certs as soon as possible because sometimes they can take a while.
You are supposed to be able to show that you have 1000 Canadian Dollars in your account or in cash/travellers cheques when you arrive, i had it with me but wasnt asked to show it, better to have it just in case.
Best of luck with your application!

La La

Herro everyone,
I moved to Toronto in September for work and it's deadly.
That's all

onemorechance

Does anyone have example prices quoted by Usit for flights and insurance?

Also does anyone have prices of alternative flights and insurance?

Which insurance company?

agent_smith

I'm also interested in finding out about alternatives to USIT travel insurance.

Looking at the AIB travel insurance it covers holidays and vacations but dont think it would cover working abroad. Can anyone recommend anyone cheap and good ?

Thanks

stlongs

I read somewhere that someone used FYI insurance last year. worth a look see, they have 3 basic options, you'll have to make sure the one you use covers what usit requires

vinylbomb

Howdy all. Given that its year end/tax filing time (oh the joys) - I was wondering has anyone any experience in claiming back tax overpaid to the authorities here?
I've been scouring online but can only find stuff relating to permanent residents.
I've a Canadian mate who is an accountant and said he would have a look into it for me, but in the meantime just wondering if theres any first-hand accounts from fellow year-visa peoples?

Mod note : I've cross posted this in the other thread relating to Canada, if you feel this is inappropriate please delete from the less posted in thread. Cheers!!

sprinkles

Just for your info I went with Blue Insurance - which seems affiliated to AXA - and has the exact same policy that Usit are offering (and I compared at length). I chose the backpacker insurance, and the total came to e189, I think it's coming out at 209 now. In any case it a lot less than USIT! Note though that doesn't cover wintersports, however the woman on the phone explained it was cheaper to just ad that to the policy when you know when you want to go skiing etc.

As for flights, I went with Air Canada and got them for e450 return. The return date is arbitrary and costs e50 to change at a later time. In total it cost me 640 for flights and insurance. USIT was quoting me e1400!!!! Rip Off.

This is the response from USIT about paying the additional e40 admin fee to process alt insurance (there's a similar fee for the alt flights).

Hi Daniel

I have attached the Alternative insurance form which you must complete and return to Usit with your full insurance policy.

As soon as we receive your details our Programme's department will confirm if your policy meet the requirements of the programme, if your policy is approved you will need to pay the administration fee of €40.00.

The deadline for all payments to be received is the 14th August 2009.

If you have any questions please contact me.

Best regards

As I said I went through the policy comparing it to USIT's and it was identical.

agent_smith

Thank you very much daniel.
Very informative! I reckon there will be a raft of people providing their own insurance having read your post.