Work &Travel Job Search in Canada: In order to supplement your travel budget during your Work Travel stay in Canada, you can theoretically accept any type of job, provided you have a Working Holiday Visa.
When choosing a job, remember not only to look at the money, but also to take care to accept jobs that give you an impression of the Canadian working world or improve your English skills.
Typical Types of Working Holiday Jobs in Canada
Typical work can of course be found in agriculture as a harvest helper (fruit picking and packing), on farms, or e.g. on wineries. However, it is extremely questionable whether such jobs will train your English skills in a meaningful way, and they are also very physically demanding.
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On the other hand, harvest jobs are easy and mostly available on short notice and offer decent pay (usually by kg) if the work is good.
Also Read: HOW DO I APPLY FOR A CANADIAN WORK PERMIT IN 2022?
There are other job opportunities in gastronomy (e.g. as a waiter, kitchen help or as a temporary worker at major events, festivals, sporting events, etc.) and in Canada, of course, very clichéd, in ski areas. With these activities in the service area, the hourly wages are often not quite as high, but you have direct customer contact. Above all, the top events (e.g. concerts by well-known artists or Formula 1 in Montreal) and the hotspots in the ski area (e.g.
Banff) are of course very popular job opportunities and the applicant rate is correspondingly high here. For such jobs you should apply 3-4 months in advance if you want to have a chance. With normal service jobs (e.g. waiters, kitchen help, etc.)
you usually get a job overnight. As part of our Canada Starter Package, our colleagues in the Vancouver office will be happy to advise you on what might suit you best and where there are current vacancies in Canada.
A job as a receptionist in a hostel would also be conceivable. Hostels are often specifically looking for backpackers who then either take over the reception or do other work (e.g. housekeeping) in the hostel. As a rule, these jobs work in such a way that you work about 2-3 hours a day for the hostel and as a “wage” you can stay there for free (work for accommodation).
An additional payment is rather rare, but possibly well suited as a “second job” on the side.
In hostels (e.g. when eating in the common room) someone will often ask you to do small jobs, such as cutting down trees in the garden, etc. Often these are not “registered” jobs. Payment is then made in cash at the end of the day or week. The extent to which these employment relationships are then legal or illegal depends entirely on the individual case.
Also Read: 7 types of visas to enter Canada from any country
Often there is also a lot of advertising for so-called promotion jobs and high pay is promised. However, one should be very careful here. Most of the time there are ads like “Promotion Job! 500-2000 dollars per week”, simply advertising agencies looking for flyer distributors.
In fact, however, you are paid by the piece distributed and this is usually far below the promised wage. Charitable organizations also advertise with such slogans. Often there is also a call center behind the lure offers that is looking for telephone salespeople. In most cases, however, these ads do not live up to their promises.
If you have already completed an apprenticeship, you may even be able to take on a corresponding job in your learned profession, which would be the best alternative in terms of payment and the gain in experience. Especially in the construction industry or other craft areas, Germans with the appropriate professional training are always welcome.
The same goes for office jobs. These are usually much more difficult to find than other employment opportunities, but those who have an education and have a good knowledge of English and/or French will also have good chances in the office. By the way, we have already put together many addresses for you on our website free of charge, showing how and where you can find jobs.
You can find out what a Canadian application letter should look like, a template for it and everything you need to consider in the “Free application template” section (also free on our website).
If you can’t find a paid job right away, or want to bridge the time in a sensible and cheap way until you find a paid job, “wwoofing” (see the corresponding chapter) is a good choice.
There, in addition to the 3-4 hours of work, you still have enough time in the afternoon to look for jobs and meanwhile you don’t spend any money on living and food, so it’s also well suited for the first time.
Attention: not all jobs can be done with a simple Working Holiday Visa. This applies to all activities that fall into the categories “health”, “children” and “teachers”.
Jobs in these areas can still be accepted with a working holiday visa, but you need an additional health test, which you have to do before departure with a German partner doctor of the Canadian embassy (costs around 200-300 euros).
Also Read: 7 types of visas to enter Canada from any country
If you plan to work in one of these 3 areas (e.g. as a nurse or as a caretaker in a children’s camp), then you indicate this wish when applying for the Working Holiday Visa and then receive a form and information sheet from the authority with which you can then go to the doctor. This examination must be carried out before departure from Germany, it cannot be repeated in Canada!
