Canadian Marketing Blog

How Funny is That?

I immigrated to Canada four years ago and started looking for a gainful employment. I contacted recruitment firms specializing in job placement in Marketing and received a ubiquitous response, “you have solid consumer marketing experience with global companies but you lack Canadian experience”. In other words, I lacked “relevant” experience. Though I believe that Marketing and Branding principles and practices are universal that cut across markets, I opted for getting Canadian experience first and worked in Market Research and later in Media.

Recently, I saw an opening for a Brand Manager position and wanted to check out the market after gaining Canadian experience. I applied, received a couple of phone calls (would not call it interviews) and finally the following response, “you have solid consumer marketing experience with global companies but you lack recent consumer marketing experience”. Earlier, the need was for “relevant experience” and now for “recent experience”. How funny is that.

Fazal Siddiqi at http://marketingmirror.wordpress.com

But still people will give you a reply - try again and again. I try to be positive too accepting this. I believe like brand association, one needs to associate with the group of specific functions to enter that function. If a Canadian company tries to go global then what will they do? I am waiting for that day.

I moved here in 2000, and luckily, got employment in the media in afew months. I never had that "Canadian experience" question directed at me, maybe things are tougher these days?

But my friend did a year later when he came over, and he worked in IT. Made me wonder -- isn't Windows the same in Canada as the U.K.? What "experience" did he lack after 10 years of working there?

It's a shame because there are a lot of very talented people coming to Canada that may be missing out on good jobs.

Cheers,
@johncarson

After my hundred of applications, I am sure that Canadian companies are not in agreement with the immigration laws.
These companies are resisting the immigrants and their education, they are resisting the experience, qualifications, new blood or new initiatives, and they want to recruit just only people who been educated in Canada.
Why they accepted us as professional immigrants from the beginning?

I have 19 years of experience, BA in finance, and MBA; I worked with different companies in manufacturing and media broadcast, in the Middle East, Europe and USA; I am sure that it’s not only the Canadian experience that counts in this world.
Without opening up to new experiences and new people, the recruitment in Canada will remain old fashioned and closed.
They government spends millions on programs, training and how to make resume’s and how to make an interview, etc., I wish they spent it on new opportunities, new companies and jobs.