Job Market

A few features of the job market in Quebec:

• Most job offers presuppose at least eleven years of schooling, roughly corresponding to a Certificate of Secondary Education (DES).

• A written and spoken knowledge of French (and English) is often highly valued.

• Some professions are regulated and you will need to meet certain reqirements in order to practice them in Quebec. If this applies to you, contact the relevant professional body or organisation to find out about registration.

• There are good opportunities for self-employed work.

• Full-time, part-time, temporary and contract-based work is available

• Equality of opportunity is very highly valued. Regardless of your qualifications on paper, you may well have to prove yourself in the job by occupying, at least initially, a part-time or contract-based job or a job for which you consider youself over-qualified.

• Contracts are taken seriously: read carefully.

Finding a job

Workpermit.com is not a recruitment agency: if you are looking for work in Quebec you should contact employers or a separate recruitment agency directly. You will find a lot of information on the Internet but, bearing in mind that close to 80% of job offers are not advertised either in the press or on the Internet, it is useful to build up a network of contacts locally.

Even if you already have a CV or resume, you will probably need to modify it so that your details can be understood by québecois employers who are unlikely to be familiar with qualifications and institutions outside Canada.

Your CV/resume should provide a clear outline of your employment record so far. Ideally it should not exceed two pages. Note that in Quebec lists of jobs, places of education etc start with the most recent.

Your CV should be accompanied by a covering letter which draws attention to the details in your CV which are most likely to be relevant or impressive to your potential employer. Such letters are not usually handwritten.