Getting a part-time job in Canada as an international student is an excellent way to break into the Canadian job market and gain Canadian experience. It can go beyond gaining extra income and a pathway to land your full-time job!
Have you ever wondered what type of part-time job would make the most sense for you? The short answer is “it depends”. Continue reading if you want to know that strategy you need to take in order to maximize your part-time jobs for future gains.
- Start with your objective
What is your goal of working part-time, is it to have some pocket money to support yourself financially in Canada or is it to gain the Canadian experience to land a full-time role later on or is it both? If your answer is to support yourself financially, then your options are a lot more abundant! There are many part-time jobs available whether it is in the food industry or retail space. If your answer is the latter, which is to get work experience that you can be proud of adding to your resume, then you have to start strategizing!
- Pick your ideal occupation
Let’s say your objective is to gain relevant experience and transferable skills so that you can use the experience to apply for a full-time position later on, then firstly, you need to identify what your target full-time position will be in the future.
Hypothetically, if you want to work in a marketing area post graduation, you will need to identify the skills required in the role such as customer service, ability to research and understand the market for example. Now that you know what type of skills you will be required when applying for a job in the future, let’s work backward. Get a part-time job that will allow you to demonstrate those skills such as retail specialist, client service specialist, or sales representative.
Here are some of the common part-time opportunities for international students.
- Teacher assistant
- Barista at cafes
- Server at restaurants
- Salesperson
- Customer service representative
- Pick your industry & company
It is possible that you can turn your part-time role into a full-time opportunity post graduation. When choosing your first part-time opportunity, you want to carefully pick an industry that you desire to be in after graduation. For example, if you work for a top retail chain in Canada, let’s say Best Buy as a sales associate, you will have to network with someone from the headquarter more frequently. You also will have an in-depth knowledge of the company and how it operates. You will most likely have access to openings within the companies as an insider! Working at a company of your dreams in a part-time position and leverage that opportunity to break into a full-time corporate position is completely possible. Perhaps you can have a conversation with your supervisor and mention that you are interested in pursuing opportunities full-time in a corporate setting.
- Evaluate if you need a part-time job
Getting a part-time job might be demanding especially if you are taking courses at the same time. Evaluating if you need to secure a part-time job or getting involved with organizations through volunteering would be enough. If your goal is to gain relevant experience, some part-time jobs might not be able to give you that exact match. Consider volunteering with the organizations that you are interested in or starting your own projects to fully demonstrate the skills you need to have for your dream full-time job in the future.
