Job Search

About three years ago, we decided to move from Toronto, Ontario to Winnipeg, Manitoba. We left family, friends, jobs and our home and packed up a cube van. One of my sisters decided to join us, so she ended up packing up whatever belongings could fit as well. And we headed for Winnipeg.

Previously, my husband had visited the city with a span of three days to find and purchase a home. What a hectic time that was! He ended up looking at over 20 different houses in all states of repair. Some of them were so horrible, he just walked in the front door and turned right around and went back out. He met all manners of stenches and smells, animal hair and actual bugs - it was horrific. Thankfully, our real estate agent was an honest and caring individual. He guided David to a much better neighborhood and they were able to find a huge character home exactly to our specifications. The best I got was an email photo of what I would come to accept as our home, and a few sheets of paper describing the dimensions and layout. What a leap of faith that was!

When we arrived, one of the first things to take care of was finding jobs. My sister was able to fall back on her serving experience and quickly got a job as a waitress in a local restaurant. Although this wasn't her idea of a career, it would definitely be something to keep her going until a job in her field came along. In time she found full-time work at the local paper and makes good money and has been there ever since.

Finding work for my husband was not quite so easy. When we lived in Toronto, he had been the Director of a Creative Department for an insurance organization. We figured he'd get a job in a snap, but a job search that went from being hours, to days, to weeks, we realized that merely applying to jobs as they came up wasn't working. It was time to get more aggressive in our job search.

We went through the telephone book and online listings and amassed a list of hundreds of potential employers within the city, that might be looking for someone with a background in communications and graphic design. Then we went through and customized letters and brushed up his resume, and began firing it out all across the city. The letter expressed that my husband was new to the city, highlighted his experience, and inquired about any potential openings. Then we waited for a response.

Surprisingly, a few places replied right away. Usually, this was only to say 'Welcome to the city, but we have no openings." However, a couple of companies invited him in for an interview. It turns out that people have a lot more time on their hands in Winnipeg. Most of these invitations were from individuals who merely wanted to see someone in the flesh, who was crazy enough to leave Toronto and head for the sleepy town of Winnipeg. Others were just interested in networking, but had no real job offer to put on the table.

We got to be pretty disheartened. We began posting my husband's resume on websites claiming to assist in your job search. This didn't help at all.

Finally, after long last, one of our inquiries panned out. Our job search had not been in vain. My husband ended up landing a job as Creative Director with one of the graphic design companies we had contacted. We were relieved that our efforts were not in vain and that our move to Winnipeg would not be a complete disaster.

My husband ended up sticking it out with that company for about a year. However, he was working long hours at a fraction of the pay he had grown accustomed to in Toronto. In time, I pursued a job search of my own and landed a full time government job. My husband was then able to work from home on a freelance basis.

However, all of the job search techniques that we perfected during that period have not fallen to the wayside. Over the past couple of years, we've been able to assist a number of people with their job search, developing effective resumes and cover letters, and availing them of a variety of services and job banks that we came across while looking for work. Carrying out a job search is not always easy, however with persistence and resourcefulness, your efforts will pay off in time.