Two Nigerian professionals, Olumide Oluyeye and Blessing (real names withheld) have provided complementary accounts of their successful transitions into the Canadian workforce.
While Oluyeye secured his first job in three months by meticulously following practical steps, Blessing, a former banker with 17 years of experience at Firstbank of Nigeria, now an Anti-money laundering specialist at a Big Four firm in Canada, stressed the vital need for government-funded re-skilling and the need to be flexible in making a career change.
The essential mindset: Mobility and cultural alignment
Both Oluyeye and Blessing agree that success in Canada begins with a fundamental change in mindset, demanding flexibility in career expectations.
Blessing issued a clear directive: “One thing I know that abroad, especially Canada, you have to be ready to move, as in you have to be mobile in your thinking.” This reflects the reality that high foreign experience is often discounted. As she warned, “Your skills, and your experience in Nigeria doesn’t really count.”
Oluyeye echoes this sentiment, stressing that employers are less fixated on local experience and more on understanding Canadian workplace culture, including professional communication and effective collaboration. He encourages a targeted approach, advising job seekers to actively look for clues in job postings like “diverse workplace, newcomer-friendly or willing to train,” which signal openness to hiring immigrants.
Read also:How diasporans in Canada are breaking into careers in anti-money laundering (AML)
Leveraging government support and re-skilling
A key unique step highlighted by Blessing is the immediate utilisation of free government resources, particularly for new Permanent Residents (PRs)
Settlement services and training:
Blessing strongly advises PRs to engage with these government-funded agencies at the outset. “The best thing would be to go to these settlement services”, she advised.
She explained that these agencies provide a vital bridge, offering needs assessments and referrals to locally relevant training.
She points out that the government offers free training designed to align immigrants to different career paths, sometimes even providing financial aid for upkeep during the re-skilling process: “The government will give you money for the training or even just for upkeep and living expenses that will help you manage during your re-skilling process”.
Read also: Nigerian immigrants experience unconscious bias in Canada
The resume revolution: ATS and AI
Both stressed the need to overhaul the resume format to meet Canadian technical and cultural standards.
Oluyeye found that Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) were the first barrier, filtering out “long, detailed and honestly quite fancy looking” foreign resumes.
His successful approach involved strict technical compliance, such as:
Keep it simple: Avoid fancy templates, no graphics, no tables
Save as a Word document: Save your resume in a Word document. “Believe it or not, most ATS systems struggle to read PDF files”, he noted.
Keyword match: Match keywords in the resume “exactly to the job description” (e.g., use ‘project management,’ not ‘manage projects’).
Read also: Nigerian nurses residing in, intending to work in Canada are eligible for a new support initiative
Highlight achievements: Keep the document to “one page is ideal, two pages maximum,” focusing on results.
AI assistance (Blessing’s strategy):
Blessing revealed that she leveraged generative AI such as ChatGPT to optimise her resume and applications. “ChatGPT is fantastic with that one”, she explained.
Networking: Abandoning the Nigerian mindset of connections
Both professionals emphatically agree that success in Canada requires abandoning the reliance on personal connections common in other countries in favour of genuine networking.
Oluyeye stated that 70 to 80 per cent of jobs are not advertised online, making networking a “major key to landing a job.” He redefined it as building sincere relationships, not asking for handouts.
His successful LinkedIn outreach included this polite script:
”Hi Ben, I recently just moved to Canada and I’m looking to build my career in IT industry. I noticed your impressive profile and I would just want 10 minutes to share any advice I would greatly appreciate.’”
Blessing reinforced the shift in corporate culture, noting that the Canadian process prioritises practical competence.
“They are not looking for people who have certifications. They are looking for people who can do the job.”
Cracking the ‘Canadian Experience’ barrier
Acknowledging the frustrating ‘chicken and the egg’ dilemma, Oluyeye outlined three smart ways newcomers can rapidly gain local context without holding an official job.
He mentioned the need to volunteer by joining a local non-profit or charity to build local references.
Another is online freelancing by using platforms like Fiverr or Upwork to take on local projects and build credibility.
He also advised undertaking short and sometimes unpaid internships, which will provide valuable talking points and experience for the resume.
Nailing the rigorous interview process
The final consensus is on having a rigorous interview preparation, which involves a practical, demonstrable skills assessment.
Blessing noted the high-stakes, technical nature of the process: “Most of the interviews you will do after the discussions, they’re going to give you a case study, that you need to do it right there, while you’re on the screen.” This is done to test a candidate’s ability to handle real-world situations.
The STAR technique
Oluyeye’s key to nailing these technical and behavioural tests was the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). This method allows candidates to move beyond generic claims and tell memorable, results-driven stories.
”Using this method instantly made my answers memorable, clear and engaging.”
Final advice: Persistence and perspective
Ultimately, both Blessing and Oluyeye stress the need for perseverance and self-compassion during the initial settlement period.
”Don’t put yourself under pressure,” Blessing advised. “Everybody came here on a different date, you know, so there’s no need comparing yourself to others. You know, just give yourself time.” Oluyeye concluded that with the right strategy and persistence, success is “absolutely achievable.”
