Canadian Eh!: Immigration Blog

Canada Has Become an Education Superpower

11/5/2018

Canada is the most educated country in the world with an average of 55% of working adults having attained some level of post-secondary education, while most other developed countries are closer to 35%.

Canada has one of the best education systems in the world along with countries like Finland and South Korea. What is very interesting is that, for Canada, having more migrant students does not decrease overall performance like in other countries. It increases it.

Canada is also different from most countries that perform well, because it does not have a centralized education system. Instead, each province is responsible for developing its own education system. Individually, they also perform extremely well on the global scale.

If Canadian provinces entered Pisa tests as separate countries, three of them, Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec, would be in the top five places for science in the world, alongside Singapore and Japan and above the likes of Finland and Hong Kong.

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The Not-So-Obvious Interview Strategies in Canada

11/2/2018

The obvious interview strategies

Be yourself.
There is no point in getting a position based on a fake persona. It won’t be a good match; hence pointless and the interview will feel very uncomfortable (#TrueStory).
Know about the department you’re applying for, as well as the organization, especially when it comes to organizational culture.
Read about what they have been doing. Even if you don’t know all the details, awareness of their projects will go a long way. You can also reach out to people in your network that may have insider’s information (LinkedIn is a great tool for that).
Smile and make sure to make eye-contact.
Try not to cross your arms or legs. Don’t be afraid to ask them to clarify. Wearing the organization’s colors or mimicking their dress code and/or posture (discretely) is probably not a bad idea.
Practice your elevator pitch.
I would say that this is the one time where you can be a little bit more vulnerable. Don’t sell yourself short, but be genuine.
Send a handwritten thank you note/card.I personally like to give a postcard of my hometown when I interview out-of-town. People tend to hold on to them as decoration for their offices. I know I do!

What most people forget about

Do practice interviews and informational interviews.
These are difficult to get, but I find that it is very helpful to explain your motivation behind seeking this interview (as opposed to simply asking for one). Using people in your network to interview you or connect you with key people is also a great strategy.
Don’t be boring.
Try to find a couple of funny/interesting stories that you can use in your interviews. You’ll stand out and they’ll remember you. For example, my friend’s elevator pitch starts with something like “The moment I realized this is what I wanted to do, I was in prison” (he was working there). Catch your interviewer off-guard.
Just be a rock star.
There is no one else better qualified than you… or that’s how you should act.

What most don’t know about (the not so obvious interview strategies)

Make sure you have the perfect Leil Lowndeshandshake (page 32: trick #8).
Don’t talk about past supervisors or team members in a bad way.
It just makes sense. You want to talk about your past experiences and relationships with your prior supervisors in a positive way. If you feel like you absolutely need to address some issues, pay attention to the next bullet point.
My secret weapon from my kindergarten teacher friend (thanks Sandra!): The sandwich method.If you have to talk about something negatively, start with a positive thing, negative and finish with positive. That’s what they’ll remember. For instance: “ Although I have a track record of doing so and so, I sometimes struggle when it comes to getting back to people on time because of all the projects I am managing. However, in the past year, I have changed how I use Outlook to manage my priorities and have made tremendous progress…”
When I interviewed at the University of Vermont, one of the managers gave me a one-pager.It was about her leadership style. That really made an impression on me. Later, I built my own on paper and ultimately online.
Try to engage in an unusual way with your interviewer.
Sometimes, I draw the project management triangle to explain what I would do in a situation where multiple deadlines need to be met. I think me bringing a little bit of theory and engaging with them by drawing it and explaining it increases my self-confidence and makes me stand out.
When you are speaking remember the three truths: Product truth, Customer truth and Cultural truth.
You want to make sure you address the organization’s problem from three perspectives. What can you bring to the table (product), what are THEY looking for (customer) and what is the industry like (cultural)?

This is an excerpt from an article written by Patrick Arsenault in the NASPA Student Affairs Collective. It was one of the 5 most read articles of 2013.

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Canadia EH!
Immigration Blog
by Patrick Arsenault, RCIC

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Canada Has Become an Education Superpower

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The obvious interview strategies

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What most don’t know about (the not so obvious interview strategies)

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Canadia EH!Immigration Blog by Patrick Arsenault, RCIC

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Archives

Categories

Canada Has Become an Education Superpower

The Not-So-Obvious Interview Strategies in Canada

The obvious interview strategies

What most people forget about

What most don’t know about (the not so obvious interview strategies)

regulated canadian immigration consultant (RCIC)

let's connect

Subscribe Today!

Canadia EH!
Immigration Blog
by Patrick Arsenault, RCIC