In the years I’ve spent as a consultant for job seekers, I often came across the question; “how long does it take to get a job in Canada”? That is like asking; “how long does it take to make a million dollars”? There’s no definite answer to that question. For some people it might take months or even years; and for others, it may just be a matter of days or weeks. It all depends on how well they perform during the recruitment process.

Getting Started…

The first step to getting that Canadian job is creating a resume that can beat the recruiter’s resume robot. This is the first hurdle to climb. Here, you’re not even dealing with humans yet, but a tracking system built to analyse your resume and see if it matches favorably with the job description. If it does, then your resume can be passed on to the human recruiters. Otherwise, that’s the end of the road for that particular position.

Getting past the Canadian Applicant Tracking System requires a great deal of attention. You must include the relevant Canadian keywords in your resume before moving ahead with your application. These keywords can be found on the job description. If you can do this carefully and intelligently, then you have a good chance at landing an interview.

Optimizing your Resume

Now you have a well-written  resume. Does that mean you’ll get the job now? Not necessarily. Your resume must be optimized. You can do this by scanning your resume on a Canadian Applicant Tracking System (CATS). This process will reveal how well suited your resume is to the position you’re applying to. This suitability is often measured by how well keywords in the job description are represented on your resume.

There are several Applicant Tracking Systems out there. Using any of them may not work for you if it is not customized for Canadian recruiters. If you want the best results, use a Canadian ATS before sending out your application. This is the only sure way of getting an interview with Canadian recruiters and, subsequently, getting a job. Ensure that your resume is optimized for the particular position you’re applying to.

The moment you start taking these steps towards making your resume job specific and optimizing it with a CATS, you get on track for a job. Most times, applicants don’t get interview calls because their resumes are never seen by human eyes. And this happens for most companies because more than 75% of them now use an ATS. This is the case for Canadian organisations as well.

Perhaps, it may just take a week or two to finally get that call you’ve been waiting for.