Do You Understand Your Local Job Market?

Do you know what the hiring pipeline looks like?

Calgary Youth Hiring Fair, 2022

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Job hunting is one of those activities people assume they can start without thinking too much about it. I mean, it's just looking for a job, right? - what could I possibly have to do before sending out resumes. I thought so too after graduating from my MSc in Construction Management in 2021.

I learned the hard way. My unpreparedness cost me over eight months of sending out dozens of resumes daily. Looking for a role is hard enough on its own, but going in blind is a guaranteed way to increase your stress levels.

Here’s how you avoid making the same mistakes I made.

Step 1: Understand your job market

You can’t navigate a world you don’t understand. You can’t excel in a world you aren’t prepared for. The first thing you should do when preparing to look for a role in your new country is understand the job-scape. A great way to start is by researching what the “hiring pipeline” looks like and what factors influence employment opportunities in your industry.

The hiring pipeline (I’m sure there is an actual name for it, but we’ll stick with mine) is everything that happens from when you see a job advertisement to when you are hired for that role. Some steps in the pipeline include submitting your resume, initial screening, phone or video interviews, background checks etc.

What a lot of new immigrants don’t realize is this pipeline differs from country to country and even from industry to industry. For example, in Australia, that quick call from the recruiter on a random Tuesday afternoon is an actual interview and not just a friendly chat to see if you’re interested in the role.

There are a couple ways you can learn about the hiring pipeline:

• Reach out to HR managers on LinkedIn for a chat

• Reach out to people working in your industry and book an informational interview

• Go on Glassdoor and other job review boards (the reviewers sometimes talk about the hiring process)

• Use Perplexity AI’s Deep Research to build a detailed report on your industry or country’s hiring pipeline. Perplexity gives five free queries a day.

Perplexity AI Deep Research.

Understanding the job market also means understanding employer expectations. Different industries have varying expectations of their employees. Some expect that you come in fully programmed with the technical skills and experience required for the job while others are happy for you to learn on the job. Understanding what is expected of you will help you identify and close any skills gap you might have.

For example, in Australia (and I assume most countries), you cannot become an architect until you complete a bachelor's degree and a master’s degree. This is the minimum expectation that employers will have of anyone applying to their firm. While this may be typical in the Architecture Industry, the same rule doesn’t apply in Quantity Surveying where a bachelor’s degree would suffice. Some industries have other expectations that you may not be aware of until you do your research into their minimum requirements.

Step 2: Research roles available to you

I had been job hunting for three months before I found out that I couldn’t get a job as a Construction Manager in Australia without a minimum of seven years experience, with most of it being site based. I had to start looking for roles that would help me break into the construction industry. This experience taught me three lessons:

• My degree was just one half of the equation

• The same job role can be called different things in different companies (notice i said job role not job title)

• I had to change my entire job-hunting strategy

So, I started looking for roles that fit my skill set, were in my industry, and would put me on the career path I wanted at the time. I did this in a couple of ways my favourite approach was to search for professionals I knew who worked in my ideal role on LinkedIn. I would then work my way down their job history to their first roles in the industry. This gave me an idea of the type of roles to target.

Pro-tip: This tactic also works if you're switching to a new industry. Look for professionals in the roles you want to be in and backtrack to their earlier roles to get a sense of the different entry pathways available to you in that industry.

If you don’t know many people in the roles you want, you can search on LinkedIn by education, skillset, and department. Pick a company you know of in your industry, go to the people section, filter them by what they studied, what skills they have, where they live, what department they are in, etc.

If you do this right, you will see a range of people in different roles who have similar backgrounds and skillset as you.

I keep emphasizing “Job Role” because the same role can be called different things in different companies. If you know the roles available to you, you know which job titles match your qualifications, interests, and career aspirations. Approaching your job search with this sort of targeting allows you to put in more tailored and effective job applications.

Step 3: Research industry trends

Studying your industry trends can seem like a lot of work, but by being aware of where your industry is headed you can position yourself by aligning your skills and experiences with the current industry demands.

You'll know which industry sectors are actively hiring and which ones have fewer opportunities. You’ll learn what skills and tools the industry favours at that point in time.

The two aspects you want to focus on are the high demand sectors in your industry and where it’s headed. Finding information on the high demand sectors in your industry is not as complicated as it sounds. For example, if I performed a Google search for high demand sectors in the construction industry, this would show up.

“Jobs that help with producing clean energy and sustainable construction practices are becoming more sought-after. Construction workers who build with steel (structural steel construction workers) are expected to have a lot more work in the future.” – Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, 2025 (dewr.gov.au).

This tells me that I should put construction companies that talk about building sustainability or de-carbonization, or contractors that specialize in infrastructure high on my watch list.

Industry monthly and quarterly reports are also another great information source. These reports often have data and expert analysis on:

• What sectors make the most money

• What skills are in high demand (aka labour shortage)

• Who the major players are

You should also sign up to industry specific magazines, journals, publications and newsletters of the main professional bodies in your industry because who better to give you information you need than the industry themselves. Search on LinkedIn for the individuals and companies that produce these industry reports and and follow them.

Job boards like Indeed, SEEK, and LinkedIn are another channel for learning about job market trends. Indeed has a blog where they share industry specific trends and the job market outlook. On LinkedIn, you can join industry specific groups. These groups are great watering holes for learning about what’s going on in your industry.

Lastly, attend professional networking events. Mixers and events are one of the best opportunities to meet and chat with industry thought leaders. Ask them where they see the future of the industry going, what their company is working on, how the industry has changed since they got in, or what they are most excited to see happen in the industry. This way, you are hearing from the actual decision makers on what they think about the industry.

Getting a job is a job

Job hunting as an immigrant can feel overwhelming. However, when you put in the pre-work, you are more confident, you submit better-prepared applications, and you interview well.

Which leads us to the next stop in our job hunt journey, the job application process. In our next article, we'll explore how to apply for jobs, why your resume is costing you opportunities, and how to fix it. Until then, happy preparing!!!