How to Nail a Communications Job in Canada as a New Immigrant
There is probably a world of difference between how Digital Marketing careers work in many countries compared to Canada. This post will be zooming in on the Digital Content Writer role with the aim of offering useful tips on how to penetrate its job market in Canada. A very vital role that comes under the umbrella of Digital Marketing is Digital Content Writing. Alternatively called Content Marketer, Social Media Manager (if specifically for just Social Media), Copywriter, Content Writer and sometimes, just Writer.
Typically, the expectation from this role is to be able to create content across the different digital assets the organization might have. The job description under this role includes items like:
Creating content for social media, SEO content for blogs, websites, creating marketing copies for campaign materials, collaborating with UX and UI designers to create content for landing pages, Editing, long and short form copywriting, etc. This role often requires that you have certain technical skills like being able to use scheduling platforms like Hootsuite, being able to publish on Content Management Systems like WordPress, some knowledge of graphics design as you might be required to design creatives with Photoshop, Illustrator, Canva, or other designing platforms.
THE CHALLENGE
There are however some factors that could pose a challenge in getting a role in this field here in Canada as an immigrant who practiced in this same field in Nigeria. I’ll be listing some of them.
Technical skills requirements: Unlike Nigeria and probably some other countries where there is usually a designated graphics unit of “person” in many organizations, in Canada, most Content Marketers are expected to be armed with the skill of graphics designing. This might not be a requirement for all organisations but you will be narrowing your fishing pool if you don’t acquire this skill. You also need to know your way around Content Management Systems like WordPress and Hubspot.
Repository of previous works: Creative designers are usually more proactive in housing a collection of the best projects they have worked on but as a Digital Content Writer, you should also have a portfolio of your works which should include both long and short form copies.
OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGE
How then can you conquer all these challenges to position yourself as the preferred candidate?
Build a portfolio of your works: For Digital Content Writer roles, hiring managers will always ask for a link to your portfolio or works you’ve done. While I know it might be difficult for writers to curate their works because a lot of the time the copies are overshadowed by the creatives, you can still house your best pieces regardless of the form. How?
Create subtitles under your portfolio e.g., Social Media Posts, Blog Post, Ad copies, Website content, etc. Under each of these categories, download the images of your work. If it’s a copy on an ad for example, save the picture of the ad and caption the copy as being written by you in your portfolio. Same goes for Social Media, take screenshots of some of your posts and caption them as being posted by you.
There are many free portfolio building sites like wix.com, clippings.com. You can research for others. Please note that even if you do not have previous works, you can build content and house them in a portfolio. You can also invest in having a professional build a proper website for your portfolio. A great way to keep a repository of long for copies you might have, like blog posts, if they have not been published them on medium.com and share the link to your Medium profile in your Portfolio.
Learn to use designing tools: Your knowledge of using designing tools such as Canada, Sketch and even more advanced ones like Illustrator will always come up. You can begin to invest time in learning to use these tools. There are several useful resources online to guide you. If you are open to making a financial investment, schools like RED Academy, Brain Station and General Assembly have some useful courses.
Apply, Apply, Apply: The more you apply, the higher your chances not getting Interviews. The more interviews you get, the higher your chances of getting hired.
Networking: Look out for networking opportunities where you could meet other digital marketing professionals like yourself and express your interest in learning more about what they do a a typical day at work for them. Mention that you’re currently seeking opportunities but please don’t make your job search the main topic of conversation. Exchange industry knowledge with them as well as contact details. You can find networking events on eventbrite.ca, or meetup.com. LinkedIn is also not left out. Don’t be afraid to connect with potential employers and recruiters and introduce yourself. You can also request a coffee meeting after some weeks of being connected.
Volunteer: While you might not be working in your career field yet, keep your Marketing experience active. Find volunteer opportunities to help build your portfolio and knowledge of the Marketing field in Canada as well. You can look out for Volunteer opportunities in charityvillage.ca.
In Summary:
Build a badass Portfolio
Expand your technical knowledge – learn to design
Network!
Volunteer
Don’t stop applying!
