Recently Moved to Montreal and I am having a hard time finding a job for two reasons.?

Question

The first reason being that I hardly speak french. I know this is a problem and I am planning on learning the language.

the other problem being that I have an unremovable facial piercing. If i were to take it out i would have to leave it out. It would be too much work to put it back in everyday. Does anyone know where I could look for a job?

This is the piercing.

[IMG]http://i118.photobucket.com/album...

Answer 1

If you have a profession listed as a NAFTA profession then you should be able toi find a job. Jobs that are high in demand do not necessarily demand a knowledge of French although it helps if you interact with people a lot (example a nurse or doctor).

I used to work in Montreal in engineering. Many of my colleagues spoke little or no French. Many others spoke no English or spoke it very poorly. And others were bilingual with varying stages of bilingualism.

There are still many areas of Montreal where English is more prominent than French (eg Westmount, NDG, Snowdon and the Cote des Neiges, West Island (Dollard des Ormeaux, Pierrefonds etc) areas. Try your luck there.

Answer 2

I was born in Quebec and I speak a bit of French but I wouldn't even consider looking for a job there with my less than great French. No French, even is Montreal, is looking for failure. I would definitely concentrate on that first.

You do not say what type of employment you are looking for but with those piercings, forget anything in an office setting or a retail setting. You might get away with it in a factory setting but I will be honest with you. I see those and I see rebellious kid who will not want to do the work I need done. Whether that is a correct judgement or not is, in the end, immaterial. That the majority, if not all, of employers anywhere - not just Quebec - view this type of piercing as a statement of rebellion, is material. That they are black makes them that much more obvious.

I think you have to take a real good look at the situation and decide if working is more important than those piercings or not. If it is - get rid of them! If it is not well there is always welfare but I think you may run into a similar lack of sympathy there too. Social Services will help you if you have a problem but I doubt if they will see that as an important problem since the cure is to simply remove them. You are setting yourself up to fail - Not Smart! So Be Smart and:

1. Get your French up to par.

2. Get rid of those piercings.

And to whoever is giving all the thumbs down - doesn't change the truth of what AKM, Autumn Rose and myself have said.

Answer 3

Yeah, you should've had at least a basic knowledge of French before even trying to find a job there. The folks in Quebec are really anal about that.

Are you American? I'm concerned about how difficult it may be for Americans to find work in Canada because I was thinking about going to Montreal myself.

I'm not sure how the Canadian economy is right now but I would think Canadians prefer to take care of their own before giving jobs to an American (unless of course, you have a really sought-after skill such as a nursing degree, computer engineering, etc.,)

The facial piercing shouldn't be a problem. If you're a pretty girl then nobody will care. One advantage to being a woman is that you can "get ahead" in life with your looks or body. Men can't do that. I know this sounds kinda chauvinistic but it's true.

Answer 4

If you are looking to just make some money, try call centers or survey call centers. A lot of those places call all across Canada. I remember working at a place that gave you the option of only taking English calls, you would just get paid 1$ less an hour. Its not that much of a loss if your desperate for work right now.

Answer 5

im also an anglophone living in quebec and i know basic french but i still have a hard time finding a job  to be honest with you if you can't pick up french easily then its better to go to another province it can be a nightmare espiecially for anglophones  who don't speak much french  when it comes to looking for a job. you should look on emploiquebec.net, craigslist, jobbank.gc.ca  the only places an anglophone can find work is in call centres

Answer 6

well what qualifications/degrees do you have?

Answer 7

For an anglophone in Montreal it is difficult to get a job but you can make pretty good money working at call centers.  Go  to a metro near you and pick up the free newspaper the hour and the mirror and look there for a call center job...or look up on craigslist.org.  usually you can work for a small buisness filing or something. I would also try malls cleaning in the food court.  they usually pay well and offer benefits. Good Luck!

Answer 8

Oh boy!

Remove those two piercings at once!

They will get you nowhere besides a downhill slope and that is a fact!

Sean - are you trying to turn this poor girl into a prostitute or something with a terribly chauvinistic comment like that:"One advantage to being a woman is that you can "get ahead" in life with your looks or body."

If you can't master the French language, maybe you should eventually consider heading further west to Ontario or further east towards the Maritimes - why not?

In any event - good luck to you and with removing those unsightly piercings at the earliest opportunity too!

Answer 9

i think there is a little problem.

i have a hard time finding a job and i don't have "an unremovable facial piercing" and i do speak french.

i don't know why, but for some reason its not so easy to find a job. your piercing and lack of french skills might not help you in looking for a job, but don't worry. just practice french (for now apply to mostly english zones) and if you are willing to sacrifice your "facial piercing" it might help. also make sure your cv is done properly.