How can you figure out if an employer really wants to hire an international worker for a Job in Canada?
It is no surprise that many international candidates looking for work overseas have trust issues when it comes to potential international employers and job openings. Everyone has heard the horror stories of unscrupulous agents and apathetic employers. So, how does an international candidate figure out if an employer or their representatives are really authorized and more critically willing to offer you a job in Canada?
Assessing an employer’s intention is not an easy task and there is no magic wand to prevent fraud or time wasting. At the end of the day, determining if an employer is trustworthy requires discipline and the ability to ask the right questions.
Most of the time, people looking for jobs overseas are not worried about fraud. Of course, if you are worried that the job position being offered does not really exist, or that you are not working with someone who is authorized to offer you this job, then the obvious solution is always to independently verify the position and it’s circumstances.
The ideal situation is to work with entities or online sites that provide you with the contact information of the hiring employer directly. Additionally, companies authorized to hire international candidates in Canada typically must advertise domestically prior to receiving permission to hire an international worker. So, in more difficult situations where an intermediary is withholding the name and contact info of the employer, with a little bit of information, it is not impossible to identify and contact the employer to verify that the position is open and available to international candidates.
The more challenging task is to figure out how serious an employer is about hiring someone from abroad, especially when an international candidate is required to put forth great effort in applying to a position. Of course, to many international candidates this whole conversation is moot. There are just some candidates who want to start a new life and find a job overseas so badly, that they will aggressively apply to as many positions as possible, not caring about an employer setting up false hopes or wasting his or her time.
Considering that most times international positions do not go to the best candidates on the market, but rather the candidate who happen to be on the market at that particular moment, this is an aggressive strategy that often times pays offs.
However, if you do want assess an employer before investing time and effort, there are a few questions to ask through email or in person that will provide you with useful insight.
First, uncover the story that led that company to discover it has a real need for an international worker. For companies that truly want to hire overseas candidates there is always a story. Discover the story by keeping the questions simple. For example, you can briefly suggest that you are curious about what led them to look overseas or just say you are interested in knowing the skill sets that they cannot find locally. Employers truly looking overseas do not just wake up one day and decide they need to hire an international candidate. Usually it is a process. Look for the story.
Second, employers who have really thought about hiring international candidates understand the big picture. Bringing over an international worker means integrating that person into their existing organization and into their work culture. They will have thought about what is the best way to ensure that you as the international worker will compliment your fellow employees and fit into the surroundings. Ask about how you will fit into this new world and look for answers that are specific, particular and that make sense.
Finally, there is one simple question that can provide great insight into the mind and intentions of an international employer. If you want to know how serious an employer is about hiring someone from overseas, just ask him or her if you get the job, ‘what happens next’. This one question really separates the ‘real deal’ employers from the ‘tire kickers’. Again, look for specificity, but really pay attention to the timelines. The international employment market is extremely competitive on both sides, and serious players know how to act fast.
Failing to properly assess the employer could lead to disappointment, time wasting and potentially even an abandoned application. Of course, the competition is fierce, and sometimes being too cautious will lead to missed opportunities. However, no one wants to be flying blind, and asking a few simple questions might just give you the feedback you need to figure out if an employer really wants to hire an international worker.