Ottawa the capital of Canada and home to RIM the compay that created the blackberry, one of Canada's biggest tech employers.

It sounds rather silly to ask a new immigrant whether he or she has Canadian experience when they appear at an interview, don’t you think? But that’s how the Canadian Labour force works.

A good friend of mine who had worked in several countries (UK, UAE, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Singapore) once went for an interview. After carefully reviewing his resume the top recruiting team had no question in their minds that he was the perfect fit to the relevant department but there was one big problem. He didn’t have Canadian experience. So they asked him the obvious question. Do you have Canadian experience?

Being the marketere he is, my friend quickly answered by saying; why would I need Canadian experience when I have international experience? The recruiters were left speechless and looked vulnerable as they had never being confronted with an answer that made so much sense. Long story short, he was hired and now he runs his own business and is very successful.

His answer made so much sense when Canada at the time represented only 2% of the world’s economy. But there are several reasons associated with Canadian companies requiring you to be Canadian experienced before they employ you in a good job.

They want you to be familiar with how things work in the Canadian work place as a company can easily find itself in an expensive lawsuit simply because the new hired employee was not aware of a certain way of doing things under the Canadian Standards adopted in a work place.

Assume you were a customer service representative and after sitting with your client and serving the person well you may think it is ok to pat on the persons back while saying good bye. Your client might think otherwise. You may be accused of touching your client with sexual intent and there by can end up losing your job and probably behind bars, simply for being extra nice.

The above story should not disturb you but make you aware of the fact that precautionary measures have to be in place when you’re faced with an odd character. Canadian experience ensures familiarity with how things are done. However, depending on where you are, every day behaviors such as how people are greeted, Your firm hand shake, being courteous to people , holding doors would be considered well mannered and you’ll find yourself well respected.

Lack of Canadian experience is one of the reasons why finding a job in your field of expertise can be a challenge in Canada. For this very reason a lot of new comers end up getting survival jobs as security guards, gas station attendant, parking lot attendant, taxi drivers, factory worker, commissioned salesperson, cleaners, dish washers, etc.

While engaging themselves in a survival job they would volunteer at an officer environment to gain the required Canadian experience to help them in their next interview. So, no matter how qualified or experienced you may be, you should prepare yourself to face the Canadian work place music.

Knowing what to expect is so vital and that’s why canadasrilanka.com was created as so many Sri Lankan end up in Canada without being properly educated on what to expect. Please take a moment to let us know how this article impacted you. We are committed to making our people well aware of what Canada offers and we want every Sri Lankan to be successful! We wish you and your family well!