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The Newcomers hosted its first of many AMAs with Luki Danukarjanto, who didn’t disappoint, with some great and practical tips for newcomers looking to figure out the Canadian job market.

We had collected questions from the community beforehand. Some were about networking. Others touched on AI, the first 90 days at a new job, the broken hiring system, and the soft skills nobody teaches you when you land.

Here’s what came out of that conversation.

Editor’s Note: You can watch the recording here.

At a networking event, all potential hirers get is what you tell you about themselves, and they have to take your word for it. When you volunteer, you give people a chance to see how you work, if you show up on time, if you follow through, or if you do what you said you would do. 

That sort of proof beats any elevator pitch. And volunteering doesn't need to be in your target role. It just needs to show who you are when no one's evaluating you.

How to make the most of this: Treat any volunteer role like a live audition. Be reliable, be visible, be helpful beyond your assigned task. The people around you are watching even when it doesn't feel like it.

In response to Philip Tam’s question (LinkedIn) about networking more effectively while breaking into DevOps.

Picture the job market as a massive banquet hall. Thousands of people milling around. One person raises their hand and says “I'm hiring.” Five hundred people stampede toward them. Meanwhile, someone at another table is going to post a role next week, and another the week after. But nobody’s talking to them because they’re focused on getting into the Big Five, Big Four, or the big whatever in their industry. The opportunities with less competition are at the companies nobody thinks to target.

How to make the most of this: Build a list of 20 to 50 companies where the role you want exists. Fill most of it with mid-size companies, growing organizations, and adjacent sectors. Then start mapping contacts at each one.

In response to Philip Tam’s question about cold outreach and job fairs.

For each target company, identify four categories of people:

Repeat for each company on your list. YHIRA, YHIRA, YHIRA.

How to make the most of this: Open a spreadsheet. Target companies down the left. Columns for Y, H, I, R, A. Start filling in names using LinkedIn. You'll see where you have warm paths in and where you have gaps.

In response to Philip Tam’s question about cold outreach and LinkedIn strategy.

A “cold DM” means you haven’t met the person yet. But that doesn’t mean the content of your message should also be cold. “Hey, I saw a posting, can you refer me?” to a stranger is spam. It gets ignored because it deserves to be ignored.

What works is something specific and genuine. Something that shows you looked at the person’s profile, understood what they do, and have a real reason for reaching out.

If you can, engage with their content first. Comment on a few posts. Let them see your name. Then the DM isn’t truly cold anymore. If they’re not active on LinkedIn, a cold message might be your only option, but a specific one can still open a door. Expect a 5% response rate. If you message 100 people and get five replies, that's a good outcome.

How to make the most of this: Before sending any connection request, spend five minutes on the person's profile. Find something specific: a post, a project, a career move. Reference it. That five minutes could be the difference between a reply and silence.

In response to Philip Tam’s question about cold calling and cold InMails.

The way most people network is the equivalent of walking up to a stranger at a party and saying, “I think your brother is hot. I'm a pretty good-looking person. Can you arrange a date for us?” Of course that won’t work.

Maybe start by not calling it networking. Call it building meaningful connections. Stop calling it an informational interview. Call it a curiosity conversation. “You're an interesting person doing cool stuff. I've done some interesting things too. Wouldn't you like to trade notes?”

How to make the most of this: Next time you reach out to someone, remove the job ask entirely. Lead with curiosity about what they do and how they got there. The job conversation will come naturally if the conversation has room to breathe.

In response to a follow-up question about how newcomers can turn off the transactional mindset when they're under financial pressure.

Career fairs are transactional by design. The employers shows up to scout talent, so every conversation at their booth is an informal interview. Which is why you need your pitch polished and ready.

Professional association events are different. Nobody's there to hire. Going up to someone at a PMI mixer and immediately pitching your project management skills is like going on a date and asking if they can set you up with their sister. At peer events, you're building trust. Trust almost never happens in 90 seconds. It takes multiple touchpoints.

How to make the most of this: Before attending any event, ask: is this a hiring event or a peer event? If it’s a hiring event, prepare your pitch. If it’s a peer event, approach conversations with curiosity.

In response to an anonymous question about whether Canadian networking is as transactional as it feels.

We went from a production economy (value from what you could make) to a knowledge economy (value from what you knew). AI has commoditized both. If everything can be produced quickly and all information is available to everyone, what makes someone pick you?

The next economy is the relationship economy. People will choose you because they trust you, know you, and like you. Relationships are the edge in today’s world.

How to make the most of this: Pick one AI tool and get competent with it this week. Use it for something you already do: drafting emails, researching companies, prepping for interviews. Then keep building your human skills alongside it. It’s always AI “and,” never AI “or.”

In response to an anonymous question about whether to learn AI tools or focus on human skills.

Recruiters on a recent panel Luki was on said they can now spot AI-written resumes instantly because they all sound identical. Each CV has the same structure and voice. Not surprising if folks are all using the same prompts shared by some career influencer on LinkedIn.

And when every resume in the pile looks the same, the person with a genuine connection stands out. One-on-one conversations are great because no algorithm is mediating them.

How to make the most of this: Use AI to help you prep, research, and practice. But make sure your resume and cover letter still sound like you. Read them out loud. If they could have been written by anyone, rewrite them until they couldn't.

In response to a broader discussion about why networking matters more than ever in the age of AI.

Fit (first few weeks): Get people to know you, like you, and trust you. Go to coffee when everyone else goes. Bring your lunch if that's what people do. Pay attention to how people actually behave with each other. That’s the real culture, not the mission statement on the wall.

Contribute (weeks three through six): Show that they hired the right person. Pick up work, deliver on tasks, build trust through visible effort.

Own (month two and beyond): Run parts of the work independently. Improve a process. Document something that was only in people's heads. Add value beyond the job description.

The unwritten rules matter more than the written ones. Once you figure them out at one company, you realize “Canadian experience” is mostly just company-specific adaptation.

How to make the most of this: In your first week, identify the person on your team who knows how everything actually works. Buy them a coffee and ask questions. They'll tell you more about the real culture in 30 minutes than any onboarding deck.

In response to an anonymous question about what the first 90 days should look like for someone learning how Canadian workplaces operate.

People hire for three things: fit (do I like you?), skills (do I believe you can do the role?), and experience (have you done it before?). Everyone fixates on experience. But if a hiring manager likes you and believes you can do the job, they might take a chance even without Canadian experience. If they don't like you, no amount of experience saves you.

There are fields like accounting and law where Canadian-specific knowledge genuinely matters. But is coding in Canada different from coding anywhere else? Is marketing? Not really.

The real issue isn't whether you”re qualified. It's whether you're perceived as the most qualified. That perception comes down to who communicated better, who the hiring manager liked more, who made them believe.

How to make the most of this: Stop trying to “get” Canadian experience and start communicating your existing experience in ways that land here. Practice telling your professional story in Canadian workplace language. Get feedback from someone already working here on how you come across.

In response to Enricka Julien’s question (LinkedIn) about demonstrating soft skills without feeling performative.

Introversion and social awkwardness are two different things. Introverts tend to be more intentional, more authentic, and better at building mutual support than extroverts, who often just want to talk about themselves.

When you show genuine interest in someone, people reciprocate. But this only works when the intent is real. If it's a tactic, people can usually tell.

How to make the most of this: You don't need to work the room. Have two or three real conversations. Go deep instead of wide. That's where introverts win.

In response to Enricka Julien’s question about approaching networking as an introverted international student.

You don't “have” confidence. You “do” confidence. Competence breeds confidence. If you want to be more confident in your communication, communicate more. Talk to one new person every day. The barista, the person bagging your groceries, the classmate you don't normally sit beside.

Discomfort can be re-labeled as growth because nobody has ever grown inside their comfort zone. And underneath all of it is curiosity. “Tell me more about that” can be one of the most important phrases in your toolkit.

How to make the most of this: Pick one thing. Talk to one new person. Ask one curious question. Have one 60-second conversation. Do it every day this week. Confidence doesn't arrive before action. It arrives because of it.

In response to Rania Younes’ question (LinkedIn) about daily habits for strengthening soft skills.

Build your own target list instead of applying to the same jobs everyone else applies to. Find resources yourself instead of waiting for someone to hand them to you. Confidence comes from doing, not from waiting.  Things might be bad but being high-agency means you get to decide how to respond to them.

How to make the most of this: Ask yourself this week: where am I waiting for permission to act? Where am I waiting for someone to hand me the next step? Then go take it yourself.

In response to Dozie’s observation that agency was the common thread running through every answer Luki gave.

Luki Danukarjanto is a career strategist and content creator. You can find him on LinkedIn and on his YouTube channel.