Seeking a sales job in Banking/Finance Sector in Toronto

[sunnyliverpool]

Hello All,

I am writing this message on behalf of my husband. We have recently got our skilled workers visa and are planning to visit Toronto in March 2010. My husband is presently working as a Sales Advisor with Halifax Bank of Scotland, Liverpool, UK and is looking for a similar kind of role in Toronto. He has around 4 yrs of work exp and holds a MA in Business Management degree from Liverpool, UK.

Can anyone advise me of various job sites where he can post his resume? Any recruitment agencies in Toronto that hire sales people from banking/finance sector? How is the present job market in Toronto? Does my husband require to take up some certification (like mutual fund etc) for better job prospects?
I would really appreciate if you would let me know of such vacancies/ corporates that are looking at hiring people with such skill-sets.
I am not sure if we are starting the job hunt a bit early considering our visit to be in March 2010.

Also, can anyone let us know about the weather conditions in Toronto around mid-march as we would have our 1 year old son too accompanying us.

P.S. We would be in Toronto for 4 weeks mainly to check out if we would want to move there permanently and with the aim of finding a job for my husband.

Thanks
Sanmita

[Abi's Mummy]

Hi Sanmita,
My husband and I had to look into the same thing for him because he is an accountant and ACCA qualified. It's a good thing we did because we found out he needs to top up his degree, so he is now enrolled in a one-year program here. We are planning to move in Spring 2011, and will start looking for jobs about six months prior.

For recruitment in finance, I am still looking, but I know you can check efinancialcareers and see what companies are posting for jobs in Toronto; they are probably big companies but it is a start. I think it's best to go on a fact finding trip, which you're doing, and do the groundwork.

If he is a sales advisor I would imagine he needs something like a Series 7 qualification or equivalent, but that is just a guess. I work in finance but not banking, so not very familiar with that sector. I would check to see if there is a professional association for his career type, visit their web site in Canada and see what is there. That's what I did for my husband and it was easy.

Good luck with your move!

[sunnyliverpool]

Thanks a lot for your help. I will definitely chk out efinancialcareers.
Good luck to you too!!

[phat-dave]

Originally Posted by sunnyliverpool

Thanks a lot for your help. I will definitely chk out efinancialcareers.
Good luck to you too!!

What exactly is a Sales Advisor? Is this an in branch customer service position that assists with enquiries from retail clients ie: next position above a teller ?

If it's a retail position I think you'll find there are plenty of prospects out there (check the big bank career websites) - if it's a commercial banking appointment, I think it's going to be harder due to a lot more competition...

good luck (i arrive in toronto next month and hopefully can give you some info then)

[sunnyliverpool]

Thanks for your inputs..Well ..it's more or less like a customer service officer kind of role but involves more of telesales...it's like offering service in terms of answering queries from customers as well as selling various banking products to them...
My husband has got exp in both corporate as well as retail banking.
As per my understanding, the recruiters in Canada insist on having a Mutual Fund Certification as a pre-requisite for a sales profile but as you mentioned earlier my husband can do away with it if he takes up a customer service kind of role..
Would you know the avg salary package for such a role in Toronto??

Good luck with your move.

Thanks

QUOTE=phat-dave;182196]What exactly is a Sales Advisor? Is this an in branch customer service position that assists with enquiries from retail clients ie: next position above a teller ?

If it's a retail position I think you'll find there are plenty of prospects out there (check the big bank career websites) - if it's a commercial banking appointment, I think it's going to be harder due to a lot more competition...

good luck (i arrive in toronto next month and hopefully can give you some info then)[/QUOTE]

[phat-dave]

Originally Posted by sunnyliverpool

Would you know the avg salary package for such a role in Toronto??

admittedly no, however my current employer for a similar role would be (they have three different brands in three countries):

AUD$38k (nab)
NZD$34k (bnz)
GBP$15k (yorkshire/clydesdale)

So I'm assuming that particular role in Canada wouldn't pay any more than CAD$35k.

[sunnyliverpool]

any idea how much does it cost for a decent living in toronto?? i have no clue abt the salary structure n package in canada esp toronto as its no where mentioned in the job postings.

[Newbie_Can_USA]

Please use the SEARCH function to find out other sites to look for jobs. I just posted some sites for galwaypaul, Im sure I have posted before for others as well. This is a popular topic. I am confident you will find a lot of information in a short span of time instead of waiting for replies. The question re. salary and how much one needs to live comfortably has also been discussed in the past with no concrete answers but you can also benchmark with other people who have posted the question and see how closely your situation is to the person asking the question. I would check the median income for a family of 2 if thats your case (of course depending on where you decide to reside)...Toronto is more expensive I believe.


The jobs you described are abundant here but Im not sure if the "Canadian Experience" requirement kicks in for such jobs. Being bilingual would be a great asset as it is a very diverse customer base here from what I see.

Good Luck

[Auld Yin]

Originally Posted by sunnyliverpool

Hello All,

I am writing this message on behalf of my husband. We have recently got our skilled workers visa and are planning to visit Toronto in March 2010. My husband is presently working as a Sales Advisor with Halifax Bank of Scotland, Liverpool, UK and is looking for a similar kind of role in Toronto. He has around 4 yrs of work exp and holds a MA in Business Management degree from Liverpool, UK.

Can anyone advise me of various job sites where he can post his resume? Any recruitment agencies in Toronto that hire sales people from banking/finance sector? How is the present job market in Toronto? Does my husband require to take up some certification (like mutual fund etc) for better job prospects?
I would really appreciate if you would let me know of such vacancies/ corporates that are looking at hiring people with such skill-sets.
I am not sure if we are starting the job hunt a bit early considering our visit to be in March 2010.

Also, can anyone let us know about the weather conditions in Toronto around mid-march as we would have our 1 year old son too accompanying us.

P.S. We would be in Toronto for 4 weeks mainly to check out if we would want to move there permanently and with the aim of finding a job for my husband.

Thanks
Sanmita

Sanmita,

Your name suggest to me that you may have a South Asian connection. If your husband does and speaks a language from that region in addition to English, then it enhances his chances of working in banking in Toronto. As a retired senior banker in Toronto I know that the multiculturism in Toronto requires other language speakers to service clients of other cultures.
Your husband should submit a full resume to the major financial players in Toronto. That includes the banks and insurance companies.
As regards Toronto weather. Toronto does get a winter, usually not as severe as other parts of the country, but it can get very cold for periods. Everything here is designed to deal with the winter. All buildings, homes and shops are very well centrally heated and that includes all transportation services. The only part of Canada where the weather resembles that in the UK is in Vancouver on the west coast. The remainder of Canada has cold winters in varying degrees. Toronto is probably one of the least severe.

[sunnyliverpool]

Originally Posted by Auld Yin

Sanmita,

Your name suggest to me that you may have a South Asian connection. If your husband does and speaks a language from that region in addition to English, then it enhances his chances of working in banking in Toronto. As a retired senior banker in Toronto I know that the multiculturism in Toronto requires other language speakers to service clients of other cultures.
Your husband should submit a full resume to the major financial players in Toronto. That includes the banks and insurance companies.
As regards Toronto weather. Toronto does get a winter, usually not as severe as other parts of the country, but it can get very cold for periods. Everything here is designed to deal with the winter. All buildings, homes and shops are very well centrally heated and that includes all transportation services. The only part of Canada where the weather resembles that in the UK is in Vancouver on the west coast. The remainder of Canada has cold winters in varying degrees. Toronto is probably one of the least severe.

Auld Yin,

Thanks for the info..we belong to India and my husband does know a lot of other Indian languages apart from English.. he has already started applying for jobs through monster, workopolis , employment agencies and is also making direct applications in major banks /insurance cos. Since we are presently in UK and planning a visit to Canada early next year, we feel that we arent really getting a good response to the job applications..is location a constraint in that case? any suggestions as to how we can better our job search being in UK??
Being a senior banker is it possible for you to let us know abt any related job vacancies??
Any help in this regard would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Sanmita