How To Prepare For Your Job Interview in Canada

Working abroad has its own merits. You might want a higher salary. Your dream job might be out there somewhere. You want to explore some parts of the world while earning money on the sidelines. You want a better life for yourself and your loved ones. Whatever your reason is, Canada can offer you the life of working abroad that satisfies your dreams and needs. 

However, there are steps to consider when getting a job in Canada. First, you must submit a resume where you write in detail your educational background and experiences. When they are impressed with your resume, they might proceed to interview you. Indeed, the prospect of writing a resume is challenging. Moreover, preparing for a job interview and actually doing it is even more daunting. Worry no more, this article will tackle how to prepare your resume and how to handle a job interview in Canada. Throughout, you will be guided on what to put in your resume, how to prepare for a job interview in Canada, and the interview questions you should expect. 

Before you know it, you might be ready to embark on a working journey to Canada! 

How to Prepare for a Job Interview in Canada 

It is a long way to go in preparing for a job interview. You do not just take deep breaths before entering the office. You do not just get your resume ready, although that is important and it will be tackled later. Lastly, you do not just pray and hope for a better outcome. Before you even get to the job interview, you need the following first:

Prepare and Submit Your Resume 

Your resume, a document consisting of only one page that details your experiences in school and work, is what the employer checks to see if you are fitted for the position they are looking for. Through what is written in your resume, your employer will have a grasp of your skill sets and experience. Precisely, it is important that this document encapsulates your strengths and how you think you are better suited for the job opening. 

There are many ways you can curate your resume. Each type has its own strengths and weaknesses, and it is a matter of where you think on what type of resume your educational and training experience can shine the most. Within the formats, you can explore ways of presenting your skills and experience that can catch the attention of your employers. Along with your important contact information, you must also make sure your heading statement and resume summary are catchy and professional. More importantly, make sure you have a physical copy of your summary when you go to the location of your job interview. 

Research 

Looking up about the company where you will be applying is knowing what to expect and prepare yourself accordingly. The internet is an information hive where the answers you need are one click away. On their company websites, you can look for employers in their Human Resource Management section and get to know the people who will be interviewing you. Read their job description so you can understand and anticipate their personality and experience. 

You can also delve deep into the news concerning the company, so you can share your interest with them during the interview. It will surely have a good impression on your interviewer. You can also prepare questions beforehand, as asking questions gives the interviewer an impression that you are interested and committed to the job and their company. 

Practice 

You have talents and skills you can manifest during an interview, so it would be nice to go over them beforehand. You can list down your strengths and think of ways to wear them during the event. With your weaknesses, you can learn to hone them. If you are not confident about your speaking skills, you can practice them with various courses on the internet. That way, you can build the confidence that will surely shine through you. 

List Down Possible Questions and Answers 

It is not enough to practice your speaking skills when you do not have the substance. To fully immerse yourself in your mock interviews, entertaining possible questions and answers is a must. Later, a whole section in the article will serve as a guide on what Canada job interview questions and answers to expect. 

Plan 

Job interviews are already stressful, and if you add it with the stress-inducing commutes, your preparations will be all for naught. The moment you arrive at the place of interview disheveled, your confusion will reflect on your physical appearance and performance. Better trace your routes from where you stay to the place of the interview, make an itinerary for the day and schedule your time properly so you can put away distractions and unnecessary events out of the way. Moreover, plan to arrive at the place 15 minutes early. 

Prepare Your Health 

The night before the interview, you must sleep well and early. It helps in feeling refreshed and ready when the day comes. By the morning of the day of the interview, healthy foods must be in your breakfast and lunch diet. Certain foods inflict effects you would not risk when you are about to embark on something important. An example is, if you palpitate after drinking coffee, it would be better to avoid any products or beverages with caffeine. Avoiding foods and events that might discomfort or make you anxious can help in staying calm and confident during the interview. 

Physical Appearance 

The way you dress allows the employer to know what to expect from you. Dressing smartly is the way to go. Presenting yourself professionally and cleanly already amounts a lot to your employer’s first impression of you. You can opt to iron your clothes the night before the interview, instead of the next morning, and look for hairstyles that will make you look clean and presentable. 

Be Humble, Kind, and Professional 

You can have the brains and all, but without a positive character and nice attitude, your job application will be over before you know it. When you arrive at the place of the interview, treat anyone with the same respect you would give your future boss. All the people inside the building are your co-workers. Be kind and humble. Be professional. Be smart and clever. First impressions count always. 

Show Gratitude 

After the job interview, do not forget to be courteous and amiable. You can hand them a thank-you note to show your gratitude and effort in accommodating your resume and spot in the interview list. Interviewers are also humans who have to talk to a lot of people in a day. It might relieve them to know that someone is grateful for the amount of the work they put into their positions. Consequently, it also adds up a wonderful vibe around you, that you are a thankful and sincere person. 

Be Patient 

Most of all, just wait for the notification that you finally got accepted for the job. Although you can always send them follow-up emails. Nonetheless, interviewers are busy people. They might have too much on their plate. Avoid lengthy emails to avoid bothering them while still showing dedication to their company. Otherwise, you will only come off desperate. The better thing to do after a job interview is to wait patiently for the call. 

Top 10 Canada Interview Questions You Can Expect 

Included in the preparations for a job interview in Canada are anticipating questions and formulating answers beforehand. Below are Canada job interview questions and answers – most expected to come out, and the potential ways in answering them. 

1. Tell me about yourself.

This is a common question job seekers encounter during their interviews. It is usually what kicks off the whole ordeal, so both sides – the interviewer and interviewee – can establish rapport. When the interviewer is handed a short summary about yourself, they can conceptualize what kind of person and professional you are. 

However, such open-ended questions always throw off interviewees. To prepare for such an ambiguous question, it is perfectly alright to tell them a concise and brief synopsis of your experiences, skills, education, and achievements. Only focus on the highlights, the bits worth pride and recommendation, so you can hit the interviewer’s guidelines right off the mark. 

2. Why do you want to work here? 

It is mentioned that in the preparations, you should do research about the company you submitted your application to. The results of that research will prove themselves useful in this part of the interview. Therefore, it is vital to incorporate conviction in your answer, coupled with the edges you think the company has in comparison to other companies. 

3. Why should we hire you?

Everyone is unique and can serve someone using their own talents and skills. Dredging through your strengths, you can find advantageous parts of yourself. You cite those previous experiences, skills, and strengths that are fitted to the job. 

4. What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses? 

Before the interview, you can list down your strengths and weaknesses. By preparing them, you gain a picture of where you excel and where you need more work. However, it is indeed easier to acknowledge your strengths. Writing them down does not leave room for doubts. It is with weaknesses that you become self-critical, thereby a huge chance of drowning in low self-esteem is possible. 

As important as it is to admire your strengths, weaknesses should also be examined. This helps in being self-aware, which is needed to assess your skills and see where you need more work. Employers will evaluate your level of self-awareness and might see that you are willing to learn. The willingness to learn is a much-desired personality in a competitive work environment. 

5. What are your passions and interests? 

Employers try to get an insight into what motivates you. It assists them in creating criteria for their team, where it will be composed of people inspired to do tasks efficiently. After knowing your strengths, you can build your inspirations, passions, and interests around them. Say, if your strengths are creativity, organization, and originality, then your passion might be innovation, research, and creation. 

6. Why did you leave your previous job? 

For not entry-level job seekers, this question might come up in job interviews. Employers ask this to understand their interviewees such as their needs, desires in a workplace, and possible expectations. The answers to this question can be garnered from what was lacking in your previous job and workplace. You can also answer how you want to maximize your skillset. This will provide an impression to your employers that you want to learn and discover more. Bear in mind though that they can omit too personal and too negative details from your previous job experiences.

7. What plans do you have for yourself in the future?

Employers may ask this to see if you are committed enough in their company’s pursuit of excellence. You can answer this by checking beforehand what advanced positions the company has that you would like to work for in the future. 

8. What’s your greatest achievement?

Like your strengths and passions, employers ask this question to measure your skills and their extent. Mention an example of your greatest achievement that must be related to a job. Explain what makes it an achievement, your contribution to it, and why it is important for you. 

9. How did you hear about the position? 

Answering this question might require you to trace down your memories and pinpoint when, where, and how you found out about the job opening. It is better to track down your sources, especially if you have multiple ones, and apply for multiple job openings. To not appear unorganized in front of them, you must stave off potential confusion in your job searching itinerary. Sometimes, employers ask this to check if their current recruiting methods help in reaching a wider market. 

10. Do you have mistakes you regret?

Yes, employers can become too personal in their questions. Even so, this question is to allow them to evaluate potential problems in your life. It might be risky to layout answers for this equally dangerous question. You can choose to say that you do not have any regrets. Contrariwise, you can be honest, tell them about your regrets, and how you endeavor to learn from your mistakes or what you have learned. 

What is at stake in job interviews is your potential to acquire the job. While you can practice the answers for the most anticipated questions, it is more believable to be yourself. Be honest with your employer. Nothing is more professional than honesty. 

Conclusion

Now that you have been guided in what it takes to succeed in your job interview, all that is left is ensuring a plan to get to Canada. You will need to choose what immigration program to undergo, whether temporary or permanent and which pathway to choose. However, this process is complicated and lengthy.

Nonetheless, Great North Visa exists to help you in getting a visa, preparing the papers needed to travel, and many other services. We also carry with us job searching tools and optimization of Curriculum Vitae, assuring you of a stable life once you get to Canada. As it is part of dreaming that you work and plan for it. So, what are you waiting for? Avail of our immigration services and make the dream work!