2. A PROFESSIONAL ONLINE PRESENCE. Many caregivers are rejected by families because the email address they provide is unprofessional (example: lovemylips@yahoo.com) or because they grant a family access to them via Facebook (and all of their inappropriate personal details are viewable). Make sure your email address is a professional one (example: John.Ramirez@gmail.com) and create an online profile that you can share (via KidcooverPrep or LinkedIn or Carecoover).

The Jobs Are Online – All Of Them.  You don’t need an agency.  What you need is a Canadian Application Specialist – so that you can get hired on your own. 

DO YOU HAVE A CANADA-READY APPLICATION PACKAGE?
Leave Nothing to Chance.
(Jump to Kidcoover Homepage) or
APPLY FOR BE-YOUR-BEST

If you don’t say anything else, make sure that your Skype interview with a family includes these 3 topics:

Why do you want to be a caregiver in Canada?
Yes, we know that you are seeking a stable future and the opportunity to support your family.  BUT, if you say this in the interview, your chance of getting hired are low.  Please remember that your primary focus must always be caring for the child and supporting the family.  Many of you have incredible experience and wisdom to contribute to Canadian families.  Don’t screw up the interview by talking about how desperate you are to leave.  You won’t get hired.

What do you find to be the most rewarding aspect of your job?
Find a way to talk about your love for the job and the ways that it brings you fulfillment.  Be authentic and truthful.

What makes you uniquely qualified to be a caregiver – why you?
Spend some time preparing this question.  We suggest that you include real-life examples or share what employers have told you.  Here’s an example:  “For me, being  a caregiver is the perfect combination of my teaching background and my experience as a mother.  Unlike other caregivers, I invest myself in helping the child to reach developmental and emotional milestones.  I truly love children and commit myself fully to ensuring that they receive the best possible care and support.”

DO YOU HAVE A CANADA-READY APPLICATION PACKAGE?
Who is doing your practice interview?
What about an RCIC to do your processing?
Leave Nothing to Chance.
(Jump to Kidcoover Homepage) or
APPLY FOR BE-YOUR-BEST

The main reason that we started KidcooverPrep is that we were sick and tired of hearing stories of caregivers that either (a) paid hefty fees to agencies for jobs in Canada or (b) were scammed by agents promising them a visa.  The Government of Canada does not want you to pay agency fees.  The government agencies involved in immigration are really starting to crack down By the way, click to view our Corporate Documents and Licenses and a Vancouver Police Background Check of our CEO (required to operate a childcare and eldercare agency) – and feel free to call the government to check us out!

Here’s a quick test for identifying a scam!

(1) They promise you a visa.  If they’re promising you a visa, it’s a fraud – plain and simple.  The decision to issue a work permit for Canada rests firmly in the hands of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”).  Even if you hire a Canadian immigration lawyer or RCIC (Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant), they can never promise that the outcome will be a visa.  Anyone that claims to do so is FRAUD.  Run!

(2) They are not licensed in Canada or do not partner with a licensed Canadian agency.  Yes, we are aware that many agencies outside of Canada collect fees or commissions from applicants for job placement.  Please know that this is not acceptable in Canada.  Collecting a job placement fee from an applicant will likely result in a Canadian agency losing it’s license.  Foreign agencies are not subject to Canadian laws.  Therefore, there is no way to verify that they are legitimate (in the eyes of Canada) or if they even know what they’re doing.  If you select a non-Canadian agency (we don’t recommend it) ask for evidence of the agency they work with in Canada.  Ask for the Canadian agency’s corporate documents or their Employment Agency License.  If they can’t provide it, run – run – run!

(3) They tell you there is an age requirement.  Read this carefully and tell everyone that you know:  There are NO age limits in Canada.  This would be employment discrimination and is illegal in Canada.  Many “older” caregivers are sponsored by families in Canada.  An agency that tells you that there is an age requirement is either (i) extremely misinformed or (ii) just after caregivers they can make money off of.

(4) They have no understanding of the November 2014 changes to the Caregiver Program.  Ask them about the changes to Canada’s Caregiver Program in November 2014.  If they give you a blank stare or are unable to quickly explain the changes, run – run – run!  The changes are critical to your qualifications and make the program more accessible to many caregivers across the world.

(5) They tell you that you have to pay for the LMIA fee or for your airfare.  Paying the LMIA sponsorship application fee and your travel expenses to come to Canada are always the responsibility of the sponsoring family.  Always.  This is the law in Canada.

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT:

Effective immediately, the Board of Directors of Kidcoover Caregivers Inc. (“Kidcoover”) has approved an arrangement to post profiles of all KidcooverPrep Be-Your-Best Members on the Kidcoover website, as a resource for sponsoring Canadian families.  This arrangement will allow all Be-Your-Best Member to (at their option) have their profiles posted on the Kidcoover website until they are hired.

Each week, up to 20 Be-Your-Best caregivers will be placed under the FEATURED CAREGIVERS category for a 7 day period.  The FEATURED CAREGIVER rotations will continue until such caregivers are hired.  The caregiver postings will be free of charge to KidcooverPrep Members and no additional monies will be collected by KidcooverPrep or Kidcoover for these listings.  Be-Your-Best Caregivers will also be included on geographic-specific directory pages.

Kidcoover Caregivers Inc. is a licensed Employment Agency, incorporated in British Columbia, Canada.  From it’s base in Vancouver, it supports more than 600 families and plans to extend across Canada in Summer 2017.  Estimated website traffic to the Kidcoover website is presently 1800 visits each week.

Each Be-Your-Best Member will be listed under an alias (or nickname) to preserve privacy.  At this time, pictures will not be included to preserve the safety, security and confidentiality of the caregiver. 

Sponsoring families and any visitor to the website will have the option of direct-messaging a caregiver through a website contact form.  The email address of the caregiver will remain confidential. 

These listings are intended to give caregivers individual exposure and direct access to sponsoring families – whether they are affiliated with Kidcoover or not.  Kidcoover does not accept payment from applicants for jobs or for listings (or positioning).

Apply For Be-Your-Best Now.

IF YOU ARE NOT USING A CANADIAN LAWYER OR RCIC, YOU ARE RISKING EVERYTHING:
Did you know that the only people authorized to represent you before immigration must fall within 2 categories:  (i) Canadian Lawyers (licensed) and (ii) Regulated Licensed Immigration Consultants (RCIC).  No one else is authorized by the Government of Canada to represent you.  These are the only 2 groups licensed to represent immigrants or give advice.
READ IT HERE:  http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/representative/verify-rep.asp

KIDCOOVERPREP HAS PARTNERED WITH COOVER IMMIGRATION TO PROVIDE FREE PROCESSING, BY AN RCIC.
Do a search for “Marla Brock”:  http://secure.iccrc-crcic.ca/search-new/EN

Without the Be-Your-Best Program, you will be responsible for processing your own documents – or using an illegitimate processor.  These agencies and illegitimate processors are not held accountable for their lack of knowledge, high fees or bad advice.

$800 CAD*:  The average cost of WORK PERMIT PROCESSING BY AN RCIC
$200 CAD*:  KidcooverPrep Total Program, including RCIC PROCESSING

*Does not include required application fee to CIC of $155 CAD and cost of medical exam, police report, transcripts and other required documentation.

DO YOU HAVE A CANADA-READY APPLICATION PACKAGE?
What about an Interview Coach or Job Strategy?
What about an RCIC to do your processing?
Leave Nothing to Chance.
(Jump to Kidcoover Homepage) or
APPLY FOR BE-YOUR-BEST

We recognize that putting a photo on your CV/Resume is customary in other places in the world.  However, if you want to be hired in Canada, putting a picture on your resume is a big “no-no.”  Of course, your employer is eager to meet you face-to-face (via Skype or in person), but Canada’s anti-discrimination laws mean that employers must review you based on your experience and qualifications for the role.  A photo on your resume shows that you haven’t taken the time to learn about Canadian employment norms.  Yes, there are other ways for a family to find out what you look like.  Let them do the work.  Placing a picture on your resume is simply…awkward and puts you at the bottom of the stack.  YIKES!

DO YOU HAVE A CANADA-READY APPLICATION PACKAGE?
Get Serious About Your Life.
(Jump to Kidcoover Homepage) or
APPLY FOR BE-YOUR-

If you want to work in Canada and you haven’t done the documents to begin applying – big, big mistake.  Canada needs you NOW.  Have you seen the caregiver jobs available on Job Bank Canada ?  There are thousands – take a look.  The childcare and eldercare situations are in crisis mode – because people are living longer and families live far apart.

There are 2 groups of caregivers that want to work in Canada:  (1) those that actually do it and (2) those that talk about it and never do it.  Stop kidding yourself.  In the time you took to read this, you could have registered for our Job Application Program and put your dream into action.

DO YOU HAVE A CANADA-READY APPLICATION PACKAGE?
What about an Interview Coach or Job Strategy?
Leave Nothing to Chance.
(Jump to Kidcoover Homepage) or
APPLY FOR BE-YOUR-BEST

Forced To Use An Agency For Exit Clearance? 

DO YOU HAVE A CANADA-READY APPLICATION PACKAGE?
Leave Nothing to Chance.
(Jump to Kidcoover Homepage) or
APPLY FOR BE-YOUR-BEST

In Canada, the concept of paying an agency to give you a job sounds crazy.  In fact, when we first heard that foreign workers pay agencies to give them a job, we couldn’t believe it. 

In Canada, paying an agency for a job is mostly illegal.  Plain and simple.  In Canada, an employer may choose to hire a licensed Canadian agency to find  the employee – not the other way around.  The employer pays the agency – never the employee.  The employers incur the expenses of hiring you (including your travel expenses to Canada).  You pay for your work permit ($155 CAD).

Canadians know Canadian Rules & Policy.  When you work with a foreign agency, remember that this agency is not regulated in Canada and could be giving you wrong information, bad advice – in exchange for high fees.  What do they know about Canada?  Who’s regulating them?  Using a non-Canadian agency to find work in Canada – is risky.  Getting Canadian immigration advice from someone that is not licensed in Canada (lawyer or immigration consultant) makes no sense.

The Jobs Are Online – All Of Them!  All of the sponsored job postings in Canada can be found on one website:  Job Bank Canada.  Truly, we don’t understand why anyone would pay an agency to find them a job.  Job listings are all free, publicly-available information.  FACT.  All of the jobs available for sponsorship are listed on Job Bank Canada.  Why?  Because it is a requirement.  If the job is not advertised on Job Bank Canada for a minimum of 4 weeks, the employer cannot sponsor.  Reread this several times – let it sink in.  Then reread it again.

Forced To Use An Agency?  Yes, we know that some countries are trying to mandate that you use a local agency (e.g., The Philippines) to get exit clearance.  Truthfully, most Canadians have no idea what exit clearance is.  They can’t imagine having to ask anyone for permission to leave the country.  It doesn’t exist here – and most Canadians can’t understand it.  Here’s what else they can’t understand:  why on earth you would pay an agency thousands of dollars for a job opportunity that’s free.  Countries are free to make the legislation they deem necessary – but Canadian law will govern your application process and whether you get sponsored or get a work permit. Remember that.  If it’s illegal here, you won’t get in.

Career Services.  Agencies and other companies are permitted to offer career services (resume writing, cover letter writing, application services) for a fee.  However these services cannot be specific to a job and the company cannot elicit a fee to place an applicant in a particular job. Career services help the applicant “measure up,” improve their application materials and make them a stronger applicant in the process.  This is what KidcooverPrep does – and it’s the most value for your spend ($200 CAD to look amazing for thousands of employers vs. thousand of dollars to an agency for a “free” job).  Be smart.

Your Application Needs Work – You Know It.  Would you show up to a wedding wearing a t-shirt and cut-offs? Exactly.  Don’t let this be you.  Your life is not a game.  Look prepared – on paper!  If you’re qualified/experienced and you’re still not getting an interview, your application is weak (bad resume, sloppy-English) and you need help.  If you’re interviewing and not getting hired, you’re bad at interviewing and you need help.  All of the jobs are public (nearly 200o of them).  You can find your own job on Job Bank Canada.  Getting the employer to pay attention to you requires you to “step-it-up.” 

Here’s The Zinger: If you pay a foreign agency, your employer won’t get approved for sponsorship (see below) – unless your employer lies for you (good luck with that).  If you do somehow manage to “slip by” during the LMIA process, Immigration Canada will ask again during your work permit processing – if you’ve paid an agency.  Trust us, you don’t want to lie to them – ever.  Just don’t do it.