Finding jobs in Toronto...??

[lil_kirk]

Hey everyone...I was hoping those of you from Toronto may have some suggestions that could help me out.

We are considering relocating to Toronto in the next few months--however being that we have never lived there we really don't know everything that the big city contains.

We're both university educated, have terrific resumes and want to get our careers going in the GTA....but it's all very overwhelming surfing the net aimlessly trying to figure out what's there...does anyone know of any sites that cover the companies/orgs that are based in Toronto?

Any suggestions on where to look would be great! Monster.ca seems to be slammed with temp agency jobs--same with jobs.gc.ca!! They've taken over!

[BMDLuver]

Don't move to Toronto until you have a job to go to. It's beyond costly and finding a place to live can be a challenge. A good idea is to get the classified ads from the newspapers.. if I remember correctly... National Post, Toronto Sun and Toronto Star? One in particuliar had a career section.

[lil_kirk]

Yeah that's the tricky part we've been contemplating. I have a good job right now--and a lease that is up in a few months...we're in the "do we give notice" or not mode!

I should start buying the papers--thanks for the advice. The career section would at least flag companies names of interest to us.

[coonlover]

Originally Posted by BMDLuver

Don't move to Toronto until you have a job to go to. It's beyond costly and finding a place to live can be a challenge. A good idea is to get the classified ads from the newspapers.. if I remember correctly... National Post, Toronto Sun and Toronto Star? One in particuliar had a career section.

Good advice, Toronto is very expensive, the rent there is outrageous, you could try a temp agency like Kelly services to start you off, but I dont think they pay much, depends on what kind of work your looking for

[lil_kirk]

Yeah I was hoping to avoid those...we're a media/engineer pair so hopefully we can figure something out! It's much more difficult to find those hidden "terrific" jobs when you don't know the city! People must be able to do it because the city has people flocking to it--and from it for that matter! hehe

[Britishvixen21]

Having relocated to Toronto just two years ago from across the pond i understand your situation, however the job market here is pretty good at the moment here so i hear, and it really is a renters market, we only pay $700 a month in rent and thats not co op, its in st clair and young area too, a really nice area. We just shopped around. I dont know if this is applicable but CP rail are heavily recruiting at the moment. The Toronto Sun has a huge Careers section every sunday in there paper, and the Toronto Star on a saturday. As for apartments www.viewit.ca is a really good website. Toronto is expensive but its a wonderful city to live in and well worth the effort to come down. Good Luck!

[BMDLuver]

A company like Dreamworks be what you would be qualified to work for?

[lil_kirk]

We're both new grads--fresh meat so to speak--so we're trainable and don't come with all of that previous experience baggage as of yet!! I'll definitely look into the weekend papers from TO--we're so hardwired to jump to the net that we sometimes forget that actual hardcopy newspapers can help us out too!

As for Dreamworks--im not sure I know which Dreamworks you mean but I'm going to search it on the net in a moment

The www.viewit.ca site that was recommended is terrific! I've been on it already and drooling over some of the really fantastic prices and unique places to live in TO. Fantasizing over having a new apartment to fawn over is the one saving grace for me in this whole decision to move!

[BMDLuver]

that produces Movies... I worked for an agency that recruited for them at one time... about 5 years ago... apparently quite the company to work for.. I just don't know how your degree qualifies you... sorry, just not a field I am familiar with...

[Schwinn]

I got my job from Monster.ca. You could also go through a hiring agency (be careful some are better than others...trust me). Contact a headhunter. If I can find out who the agency my wife's best friend works for, I'll give you the name. She's out of town for the weekend, so when I talk to her tomorrow I'll try to remember. I know her friend hires permanant people, and professionals.

[lil_kirk]

No problem---I appreciate you throwing a name out there. There are two dreamworks--the movie one and then one for games--perhaps the boy and I could both work for a dreamworks! hehe

It's a difficult process to up and move to another city--my mind is having a hard time wrapping itself around the idea making it harder for me to come up with such simple ideas as grabbing a newspaper careers section!!

[BMDLuver]

does permanent placements. They have some excellent jobs go through their office. Perhaps you can send your resumes there as they do right by their employees. http://theburkegroup.com/ I highly recommend them as I was new to St. Catharines Ontario and had some great jobs with them ending in my working for them recruiting Industrial Division as that was my area of expertise. The handle jobs throughout Niagara and Toronto. Just a suggestion..

[lil_kirk]

Thank you very much everyone. These suggestions are great---and simply hearing from others that relocating is a plausable feat makes it all that much easier!

At least I'll be resting a little easier over this now

[Britishvixen21]

Dont know if you know Toronto very well, but here are some areas to stay well clear of, Jarvis St, Wellesley, Church, Isabella, God there are quite a few, but if you think youv found somewhere i would post it on here and ask about the area! there are some definate no go areas as i found out when i was looking for a place. I know that my building has a 1 bed vacancy for $850 and the apartments are HUGE! and its in a really nice area just 15 minutes from downtown core and 5 minutes from subway. If you interested send me a private message and il give you the number.

[Schwinn]

I found a two bedroom for $400. It says it's close to shopping and major highways. Well known area, Jane & Finch...oh...

(Yes, I did find this once. As joke I circled it. My family had a fit)

[Bearsmom]

When I first moved to TO from Sudbury, my first house was at Jane and Finch, but more towards Sheppard. Big houses. It really was a quiet street, and staying away from the housing areas, it wasn't that bad. Mind you, that was in 1991.

Areas to avoid: Jane/Finch, Keele/Sheppard, downtown Toronto areas like Isabella Street, Church Street, Jarvis Street, Dundas/Jones. I always LOVED the Beaches area, and it can be somewhat expensive, but there's tonnes to do down there.

Do LOTS of research. If you don't want to drive downtown, make sure your residence is accessible by TTC. You can also call the Toronto Police division in the area you're planning on living in, and ask them what the area is like to live in.

Good luck!

[lil_kirk]

Thanks very much everyone---once one of us at least gets a job we will hunt for an apartment--near the TTC of course! I really appreciate learning the areas to steer clear of. I'd hate to lock myself into a lease in a bad area!! There's nothing worse than being an out of towner dooped into living in a low-down neighbourhood for a year...yikes!

I did a searh on www.viewit.ca and the Beaches does look like a nice area--perhaps we'll try for somethere there

You've all been so helpful--there is so much to think of!

When we're looking for a place to live I'll be back to get some feedback on the neighbourhoods near work!!

[LL1]

I actually love that area - alot of us from work go there at lunch time especially in the summer - great little shops, great restaurants and cafes, very very pet friendly. Will you be right in Toronto or in the outer parts of the GTA?

Originally Posted by Bearsmom

downtown Toronto areas like Isabella Street, Church Street, Jarvis Street,
Good luck!

[db7]

Workopolis.com

[lil_kirk]

We don't know where we will be yet because we're in the job searching mode right now. We'd like for one of us to have a job in our field there before we move--which we are hoping for Toronto's size won't be too much of a problem (more so a waiting game that requires effort).

The Beaches does sound great. We'd prefer to live in an area more like that. I like grass, water and trees....not concrete :P

Thanks for the link DB7. I haven't checked Workopolis.com--I'm going to have to make a list of sites to check on a daily basis for new postings.

[jackieb]

workopolis is a good site as you can put your resume on there alsp contact agencies in your field. You could look into any companies which are in your line of work and approach them direct this would save the company agency fees. My hubby had a job in toronto he know has got a closer job but we found areas like King and areas on the outskirts cheaper if you drive Innisfill was cheap and Bradford west this has a go train too. Good luck

[lil_kirk]

Thanks Jackieb---we were thinking of that option--drafting cold calling open letters to companies of interest. They actually suggest this in the job hunting portions from workopolis--which I was checking out yesterday!!

[Bearsmom]

[QUOTE=LL1]I actually love that area - alot of us from work go there at lunch time especially in the summer - great little shops, great restaurants and cafes, very very pet friendly.


Great to visit, not so great for living. Used to be a police officer on that beat. Trust me, it's icky.

[LL1]

I'll take your word for it then! I've never lived there or been there at nite, we just do lunch time jaunts and some of my colleagues live in the area.

[mona_b]

Also,stay away from the Regent Park area.

The Beaches is a very nice area.So is Lakeshore and Park Lawn area.It's a bit pricey there also.

I was born and raised in T.O for 37 years.And trust me,T.O is not what it used to be.

[lil_kirk]

I've heard about Regent Park and will keep clear of there.

I've been having a lot of anxiety over the possiblity of moving so we're going to relax a bit about it. If one of us snags our "dream job" then we will go--if not we'll wait it out. For me to move to the big city I need to have a good reason like that!!

I really appreciate all of your input. When we make the move I'll be sure to take this list of neighbourhoods/intersections to stay away from

[happycats]

Hi lil kirk,
Don<t know if you have tried this one: www.jobbank.gc.ca.
This is a Government job listing site, List jobs everywhere, and for all different skills and education levels.
Hope it helps!!

[Britishvixen21]

That job bank is excellent, the beaches is really nice area, and as someone else said its really pet freindly. and when we were looking we didnt find it that expensive. couple things to remember though (a) the only TTC out of beaches is streetcar which can sometimes take a while, but it is better than the bus, nearest subway from beaches is queen st about 10 minutes during peak hours (b) some ppl complain about the smell in the summer from the lake (c) Beaches is lovely for summer time walks etc, but if you dont drive good luck trying to find a "normal persons" shop like shoppers, Loblaws, Walmart, Its full of lovely expensive boutiques. This is not meant to warn you off the area because it is lovely however we were seaching ourselves just under a year ago and these were our cons for not finding a place there.

[lil_kirk]

Well we definitely want an area that is pet friendly, has some greenery and is near the water---I've always lived in locations that are bordering water in some way, shape or form. I'd hate to be too far from it--or a large greenspace (a small park just won't do!).

We have a car--though driving in TO will be a learning experience in itself I'm sure--so as long as we can get to places in a reasonable drive it's ok! It's really just a waiting game now to see about jobs--and where one of us will be located before picking a location for living.

When the time comes---which I guess I have no control over --I'll post more info and get more feedback on the areas. So far the beaches sounds interesting enough and worth at least a look to see what's renting in the area

[Britishvixen21]

Where are you currently located just out of interest? and im learning to drive in Toronto right now
ITs not that bad actually, but i did come from London in England, same size, double the population!