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By Archie D'Cruz   »   Two words sum up why new immigrants find it so hard to break into the job market - Canadian Experience. Firms demand it and you don't have it.
Which is not to say that applying for vacancies advertised in the local newspapers is always an exercise in frustration. If you have skills that are in short supply, firms would probably welcome you.

There are also many who have "lucked into" their first jobs - hearing of unadvertised openings through a friend or relative, being one of few to have mastered an obscure program used by the company, or even being transferred by a multi-national to their Canadian subsidiary.

But what if you are not one of those lucky ones?

Fortunately, all is not quite lost.

There are several ways of crossing the giant chasm that apparently separates the new immigrant from his or her first job. (Note I say first job, for that is the toughest of all. Once you've made a start, moving on to better and more well-paying positions is usually just a matter of time. Put quite simply, you will have by then acquired Canadian Experience!).

Let's look at the options: