Working In Calgary

What Jobs Are There In Calgary?

When you've moved to Canada, it might seem like a holiday. You've got lots of settling in to do and things to buy; time will fly by. Eventually though, you're going to need a job to pay your rent or mortgage.

The main industries in Calgary are oil and gas, technology and railways. Most of the big companies from these industries have their headquarters, or at least big offices, here. So, if you work in any of these, or in offices or technology in general, there's probably something for you.

The problem you might encounter is that it's VERY hard to get a job here unless you actually live here. There's not much you can do about that beyond getting your resume ready, and applying for jobs when you know you've got permission to move here.

I'd recommend looking on LinkedIn and seeing what's available in your industry or related industries.

What Qualifications Will I Need?

The immigration process will tell you the qualifications you need to get into the country. To get a job, there are a few things you'll need:

• Employers like degrees. They're not essential, equivalent experience will normally cover you, but for a lot of jobs they help.

  If you have a degree that isn't from the UK, you'll need to get it "validated". This basically means "translated into English". This is covered in the immigration process.

• If you're a member of a regulated profession, e.g. medicine, law, accountancy or engineering, you'll need to get certified to practice in Alberta. This isn't normally too much hassle - you don't usually have to resit all of your exams, but you may have to sit a few others covering law, ethics, etc.

  Contact the Alberta professional body for your profession to see what's involved.

• For any job, don't be surprised if your prospective employer does a background check on you, especially as your references will probably still be in the UK.

  There's a good chance they WILL phone them, and they'll quite possibly phone any university or college for your transcript. It seems a lot of effort, but they're employing a foreigner, and if you don't have the right to work here, and they employ you, the fines for them are unpleasant to say the least.

What's It Like Working In Calgary?

Like many things in Canada, working here is a strange combination of US and European cultures. Depending upon the company you might get a pretty dismal holiday allowance, or a good one. The companies I've worked for have been quite flexible in the times you arrive at and leave the office. They're generally happy with staff working from home at least a few days a week as well.

The dress code in Calgary is generally more relaxed than, say, London. One exception is during the Calgary Stampede - don't be surprised if staff turn up dressed like it's the old west. Seriously, during our first year here I saw a man in a powder blue suit, cowboy boots and a bootlace tie, who then wandered into one of the huge skyscrapers. If you're interviewing at a company though, it's probably best to wear a suit.

Commuting is tolerated less than in the UK - 45 minutes seems to be regarded as a long commute.

At interviews you might get asked whether you have any "Canadian experience". Obviously you won't to start with, but I found it helpful to emphasize that I'd worked in London a lot.

Canadian interviewers are allowed, and forbidden, from asking the same sort of questions as interviewers in the UK. So, nobody is going to ask whether you're a citizen or not. What they WILL ask is whether you have the right to work in Canada, and whether they need to sponsor your work visa. Work visa sponsorship seems to be easier to get from big companies. If you can get to be a Permanent Resident when you land, that can make things even easier as you have the same rights to work as a Canadian citizen. The only practical things you can't do without citizenship is work in security-cleared industries, and vote. You'll be relieved to know you're entitled, indeed you're expected, to pay the same tax as everyone else.

Tax is deducted at source by your employer, in exactly the same way as in the UK. You also need to submit your tax return every year. Don't worry though, your employer and bank(s) will give you all of the paperwork you need, and there are several tax filing options - applications and on-line.

If you're self-employed or want to start a company, get an accountant. Some of the big companies are just tax filing companies, and are not what you're looking for.