🕵️♀️ Finding a job in Victoria, BC
We have a booming tech scene in Victoria, a mild Island climate and a lower cost of living than in Vancouver. We’ve become a popular relocation destination for Canadians and internationals.
Finding a job in Victoria works just a bit differently than in other cities. We are on an island, which means our work culture is different enough to make your head spin a little at first.
⏰ Job search strategy
To find a job as soon as possible
Look at our list of companies in Victoria sorted by industry. Use the links to view each company’s website & see if they are hiring. Look for their “careers” or “jobs” page. Many Victoria companies do not use job boards, and only post open positions on their website.
Use a recruiter - even though they’re not as easy to use / available as in Toronto, San Francisco or New York
Apply for open positions through Linkedin & job boards like indeed.ca, workopolis.com, viatec.ca/jobs, usedvictoria.com
Ask any former colleagues, classmates or family members if they know anyone in Victoria who could recommend you to a company here. Ask to be introduced to that company’s HR (Human Resources) person, Internal Recruiter or “People Ops” specialist.
Join the tech slack groups, YYJ Tech Slack and YYJ Tech Ladies Slack and look at the job post channels in there.
Search Twitter using the hashtags #yyjobs, #yyjjobs, and #victoriabcjobs
Search Instagram using the hashtags #yyjobs, #yyjjobs, and #victoriabcjobs.
🏢 What are the biggest industries in Victoria?
Technology / IT: Telecommunication companies, Software companies, Web Development companies
Tourism: Tourism companies, Hospitality companies, Transportation companies
Education: K-12, Colleges & Universities
Government: Federal and Provincial agencies in Victoria
Military: The Royal Canadian Navy
Sources: Victoria Chamber of Commerce, City of Victoria report, Vancouver Island Economic Alliance
👩💼 Recruiters in Victoria
Recruiters in Victoria
All of these recruiting agencies have an office in Victoria, BC.
Brainhunter: brainhunter.com
Dasro: dasro.ca
MAXIMUS: Places a high volume of jobs in the BC government. maximuscanada.ca
Modis: modis.com
Tall Sky Consulting Group: tallsky.ca
Victoria vs. Vancouver-based recruiters
It’s harder than it should be to find recruiters and staffing agencies in Victoria. Many recruiters in Vancouver claim to also cover Victoria. But Victoria is a 1.5-hour ferry ride from the mainland, and we have a very different city for work culture than Vancouver. Try to work with a Victoria-based recruiter.
Challenges with recruiters
Recruiters and staffing agencies don’t have the easiest websites to use. Yet they are often the best way to get a job in the federal government, provincial government and larger corporations in Victoria. You may have better luck calling, emailing or messaging a recruiter or staffing agency on LinkedIn vs. applying on their website. Some won’t get back to you for a month, some will call you the same day.
🧑 Employment services for job seekers
Beacon Community Services: beaconcs.ca
Community Living Victoria: communitylivingvictoria.ca/services-programs/employment
Inter-Cultural Association of Victoria, employment services: icavictoria.org
Victoria Disability Resource Centre, employment services: drcvictoria.com
VIRCS: vircs.bc.ca
WorkBC: workbc.ca
📖 Job boards in Victoria
The main job boards employers use in Victoria, BC to post most job openings. Remember - many companies in Victoria only post their job openings on their own website, so, you may have to visit a lot of company websites.
BC Government job board: gov.bc.ca/gov/content/careers-myhr/job-seekers/current-job-postings
City of Victoria job board: victoria.ca/EN/main/city/Careers-with-city.html
Government of Canada job board: canada.ca/en/services/jobs/opportunities/government.html
Island Health job board (our regional government health authority): islandhealth.ca/careers
University of Victoria job board: uvic.ca/faculty-staff/careers/why-apply-to-uvic/index.php
VIATEC job board: viatec.ca/jobs
Victoria Chamber of Commerce job board:victoriachamber.ca/jobs.html
👩💻 Job boards in Victoria for tech
SendWithUs Startup Job Listings: A list on Github with current job openings at startups in Victoria. Scroll down the README to see the jobs with links. github.com/sendwithus/vic-startup-jobs
VIATEC: This tech hub runs one of the biggest tech job boards for the Greater Victoria technology sector. viatec.ca/jobs
YYJ Tech Slack Group: Join the slack group, then look in the #job-postings channel. yyj-tech.ca
YYJ Tech Ladies Slack Group: For women in Victoria in tech. Join the slack group, and look in the #career channel.
yyjtechladiesguild.slack.com
❓Common questions & answers about getting a job in Victoria
What’s applying for a job like in Victoria?
In Victoria, it’s up to you to find job openings, contact the company and follow up.
Once you apply for a job you may not hear back from the company for 1 week or 1 month. This is normal.
If you are using a recruiter to get a job, expect your salary to be maybe less since the company will pay the recruiter a fee for finding you.
It’s still typical not to hear back from a company if they have not considered you for an interview or have hired someone else.
Step 1 - Phone interview: Most likely, the company human resources representative or internal recruiter will call you for a short 15 - 30 minute phone interview.
Step 2 - Interview(s): If they like you, you will have one to three interviews before receiving an offer.
Step 3 - Offer: The company will typically email you the job offer. Ask to review this for at least 24 hours. This is your opportunity to negotiate - you can counter-offer in your response email on salary, vacation days, commuter stipend, education stipend, child care resources, start date, etc…
Step 4 - Job Accepted & Start Date: Once you and your new employer have agreed on a new job offer - after negotiating - you’ll sign this offer online or by email, typically. In Canada, we can start new jobs on any day of the month (this is not true in some other countries, where employees may only start on the 1st day of the month, for example).
(Private companies) Typical time from submitting an application to starting a job in Victoria: 2 months. Some companies move faster, and from your application submission to starting date, it could be 1 month.
(Government jobs) Typical time from submitting an application to starting a job in Victoria: 3 - 6 months. Seriously. Be Patient.
Who is hiring for my industry in Victoria?
We’ve compiled a list of over 220 companies in Victoria and sorted them by industry on the List of companies in Victoria page.
Many companies in Victoria do not use job boards or advertise their openings! They only post job openings on their own website.
So, use the Company by Industry page to find companies that interest you. Then, go to their websites and look at their “careers” or “jobs” section to see if they are hiring.
What companies in Victoria have hired my role before?
Yes! We wrote lists of which companies in Victoria have hired for specific roles before.
Is it harder to get a job in Victoria before I move there?
Yes. It is.
If you have family or friends in Victoria, ask if you can use their address on your resume as a local address. Employers in Victoria really want to know that you’re here or that you 100% will be moving here. It’s a unique Islander perspective that can make it harder to secure employment before moving here.
Do you call it a “resume” or a “CV” in Victoria?
We call it a resume. But, if you’re applying to a government job or a university job, they may call it a CV.
What is a job that mentions “co-op”?
This is a university or college student job, typically reserved for students only. In the US, this would be an “internship”. These are paid jobs at private companies or government agencies.
In this case, “students” mean “higher education students”, between the ages of 18-30 typically.
My partner also needs a job when we move
We’ve listed the biggest companies in Victoria, as a way for you to start looking for where your partner could work if you move here.