Work from home jobs in Canada “future proof” Canadians from layoffs caused by the pandemic, Trudeau’s disatrous governance, automation and downsizing. Here’s how to avoid shady employment scams and get remote work in Canada, right now.
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Work From Home, Canada
Over the past year things haven’t been looking particularly good for the Canadian job market. International companies are pulling up stakes and moving elsewhere, automation is replacing blue collar work, and apps or electronic kiosks are eliminating jobs entirely.
Hiring Remote Workforce is Attractive to Businesses
Working from home in Canada could soon be your only option to maintain your livelihood. On-site jobs are disappearing along with the office space that surrounds them.
Right now small and medium-sized businesses are competing with larger competitors that are doubling down on automation and artificial intelligence, while choking down a new increased minimum wage mandate.
As a result, businesses are downsizing or ditching their offices altogether, and hiring remote workers as opposed to on-site employees in an effort to reduce overhead and remain profitable.
Blue collar and white collar jobs are threatened, and governments can’t afford to keep bailing everyone out –remote jobs Canada provide an edge to the agile.
Canada work from home jobs might just extend your career another 5 to 10 years. And it might be best to get ahead of that curve before the guillotine drops.
It’s time to enter a new kind of employment tier, one of the remote variety. And you’re in luck; it’s never been easier to work from home, Canada –as long as you know how to navigate the job market.
Canadians Are Competitively Positioned for Remote Work
There are a number of reasons why work-from-home Canadians are often more attractive to businesses than remote workers from any other country around the world.
- Canada is the most educated country in the world, as reported by CNBC
- Canadian students are among the smartest in the world, according to an OECD study as reported by the Globe and Mail and Vox
- Canadians are known for their friendliness and etiquette which carries through to our work and client relationships
- Nearly all Canadians under the age of 45 use the internet daily, and senior citizens aren’t far behind
- Leading technology companies like EMC view Canada as a country of early adopters when it comes to technology
- Both the US dollar and the Euro go further in Canada, which makes Canadian work from home job applicants more lucrative to international employers
Simply put, Canadians are competitively positioned for work from home jobs when compared to their Western counterparts in the US, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Benefits of Remote Work
Working online from home in Canada opens doors that most “butt-in-chair” jobs won’t; many work from home jobs come with flexible hours, rarely require a commute (if at all), and packing a lunch is a thing of the past.
Or, you could travel often and make money remotely at the same time.
And because you’re not being forced to commute, buy a lunch every day, and spend time getting to and from work, you’ll increase your savings.
You could even take a less intensive job than the one you have now for the same money as someone slaving away at a desk in an office.
3 Types of Work From Home Opportunities
Just about any type of job that requires the use of a computer can be fashioned into a work from home opportunity, although where you find remote work in Canada will drastically affect how much you earn.
Work from home Canada jobs typically come in three flavours;
- Low-paid “gig economy” job sites like Upwork
- Free job sites that aggregate the same remote jobs everyone in Canada is posting for an affiliate commission which makes it really hard to land a remote entry level job
- Paid remote job Canada sites where employers are screened for integrity –no deadbeats, and the fee deters the cheapskates so competition is lower
Let’s take a deeper look into all three.
1. “Gig Economy” Sites
Sites like Upwork or Fiverr have the following caveats;
- They charge 20% off every paycheck until you reach around $10k with a single employer, before taxes
- They own the relationship between you and your employer –all contact is facilitated through their website, not directly
- They have a points based system for work accomplished that goes right on your profile, making it hard to get your first work-at-home job, and making it even harder to leave once you’ve banked enough work over time
- They reserve the right to eliminate your profile or “ghost” it at any time, and may do so if you have a complaint from a shady employer or you aren’t working often enough –in which case you’d potentially lose all your clients
- They don’t screen employers and deadbeats abound; ripping off job seekers on sites like Upwork is a cottage industry –employers can get the finished work, disappear, or file a dispute to get a refund on your work
- They often side with the client in disputes regarding pay or your remote job’s responsibilities
In my opinion, Canadian remote jobs seekers assume all the risk and pay 20% of their income before taxes for the “privilege”.
2. Free Job Posting Sites
With free Canadian remote jobs posting sites you get what you pay for;
- They aggregate all the same remote jobs Canada that everyone else has, meaning that competition is much more fierce and if you don’t apply for a work-from-home job quickly there’s virtually no chance of getting the gig
- They take job postings from anyone, and because they’re paid a commission on successful hires your success isn’t part of the business plan
- They also don’t screen employers, it’s a churn-and-burn business model typically run by one person
If free job sites aren’t charging you and they only get paid on a successful hire, they’d likely rather you don’t last long with a client and hop back into the pool to be hired off again.
3. Screened Remote Job Sites, for a Fee
Like I said, you get what you pay for;
- They can afford a real human being employee to interview employers and check each individual job listing before they become available –ad free, scam free job searches
- They put applicants first by listening to feedback and banning deadbeat employers if they don’t meet quality guidelines because applicants are the ones footing the bill
- They provide resources to help make job searching easier and ensure that you actually get hired
- They offer customer support when something isn’t working out or you’re having trouble with their website, or a client
- They are less attractive to frugal job seekers because some people think “I shouldn’t have to pay to get a job!” –great, less competition and more work-from-home opportunities for you!
Where to Find Remote Jobs for Canadians
As a Canadian myself, I’ve found that the best work-from-home Canada jobs are the ones I found on Flexjobs.
Flexjobs is the best place to find work-from-home jobs in Canada for all the reasons mentioned above, but mostly because they screen employers.
The fee is is small when you compare it to what you would be paying Upwork –remember, Upwork charges 20% off all your earnings before taxes.
That’s insane!
If you’d like to learn more about Flexjobs, check out their blog to learn what they’re all about and why they’re your best choice for finding remote jobs from Canada.
Below you will find exclusive pricing for Hobo with a Laptop readers who choose Flexjobs to help them find work-at-home job(s) based in Canada.
They have work-from-home jobs for all Canadians (even if you’re travelling, like I am).
Exclusive Flexjobs Pricing for Canadian Readers
Canadian Hobo with a Laptop readers get exclusive pricing on FlexJobs:
$2.95 for 14 days
$5.95 per month if paid annually
$23.95 per month if month-to-month
Instead of applying for the same jobs everyone else is –a couple bucks can open the door to job opportunities that others are too frugal to take a chance on.
Not happy? Get a refund no questions asked.
Prices are in US dollars, but that’s still only aboot $4 Canadian dollars to try it out.
Visit FlexJobsIf you’d like to read an expanded version of this article for general audiences and get some tips on how to speed up the hiring process click here. If you’d rather get tips directly from the Flexjobs blog, click here.
Oh, I almost forgot –we broke down a few common work-at-home job types in this article, too. After all that you’re still hungry for more, please feel free to explore our website.
There’s something here for everyone and you’re welcome to come back as often as you like –we always leave our doors unlocked ???
3 comments
Thank you, I am in Canada and looking for options at this moment. I just found out yesterday that Flexjobs charges to see the vacancies, but you are right that also “eliminates” the competition. I will definitively try there, I have been in Upwork and is also a different field- freelancing mostly your skills.
Glad you dig the article, Mechi. There’s no shortage of remote work right now and you’re on the right path, I’m sure you’ll find something soon.
Honestly speaking I’m also planning to relocate to Canada from India because of these reasons only. But this pandemic disturbed my plans. But I’m again planning to relocate.