Hi All
Although this is my first post. I have been browsing through this excellent forum for the past year which has given allot of tips and now prompted me to do an LSD in Oct this year.
I'm planning a two week stay in Toronto as I have a friend who lives there and who has also given me some tips in this regard. Just a bit of background from me.
I'm Married and have two boys aged 7 and 20months. I have always wanted to work and live overseas even if just for a while. My wife and I fell in love with North America when we visited the US in 2000/1.

I work in IT as a Support Engineer (been doing this for about 18 years) and currently work for a UK based company in Cape Town supporting users in the UK and US region. My friend told me that the Canadians has a strong appreciation for experienced individuals.
I've been applying for Jobs on Monster and a couple of houses but have received no positive feedback yet. Seems that they are really not interested in you unless you are or gonna be in the country, which is quite understandable.
Question: Who are the best houses to contact and when is the best time to do so.
Is it best to deal with house consultants or direct with the companies.
Any feedback in this regard is highly appreciated.

To get a job offer is going to be extremely difficult if you don't have PR or a definite date when you will be getting PR. Unless you have a highly sought after skill or know people that know people that can put a good word out there.

Advise I can give you (from experience):
*State in your cover letter that you will be in Canada during this period and that you will be available for face to face interviews while there (it is crucial that the potential employers understand that they won't have to fly you in and occur costs to have an interview).
*Don't apply for positions advertised by employment agencies: their jobs are to place people quickly - your timeline will be at least 4-6 months before you can fill a position.
*Widen your scope - don't focus only on Toronto. You first want to get a foot in the door. Apply for each and every position that you might qualify for. Yeah, you might not initially land up in your Utopia, but at least you are in Canada and after you have PR you can move around.

It took close to a thousand applications to secure 3 interviews and only 1 job offer.

Awesome! Thanx Nirak
I'm aware of the difficulties in landing an interview and I'm busy brushing up my CV with a Killer cover leter (I hope).
About the PR - Can you please guide me to the correct forms to complete in this regard. I've been on the CI website and there are allot of forms to complete (not sure which one's to choose). I have also emailled them for advise but nothing has been forthcoming.

Nutty,

go to this page

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/a...ons/skilled.asp

At the bottom are all the forms but the most important to start with is the instruction guide & document check list.

Hope this helps you.

Hi Sideline

Thanx for this - I will print out all and do the necessary. (a bit difficult to concentrate while at work).

You refer to your CV. Is it actually a CV or résumé? In North America a résumé is the standard. If you are still using a CV you should first convert it to a résumé.