It's almost Christmas, for foreign workers and university students, this is a great opportunity to get extra hours and earn some cash.


- There are always tonnes of retail jobs- like this or this.
- Want to keep warm and cosy like a teapot, well, get paid to dress like a teapot!
- Get your festive cheer on by helping people move Christmas trees!
- Almost like an elf, help parents choose the right gifts for children.
- Bring joy to disadvantaged kids by helping to pack toy bags with a volunteer organisation.
- Or one step further, and help people get home for Christmas by being a snow plower.

After watching the intern, I got the feeling that I could really learn things as an intern, except I wouldn't be the old and wise one teaching a CEO. Would it be just like the movies?

Here were a few internship positions I found on indeed.ca.

• Bloomberg internship: Bloomberg -one of the biggest business news companies in the world, maybe your work there can inspire a film like wolf of wall street?
• Reckitt Benckiser:  Reckitt Benckiser Group think multinational goods company responsible for finish dish washer tablets, mortein fly sprays, neufon and durex, not quite sure it sounds like a great holiday but certainly it would be an interesting one. 
• Elevate magazine : intern probably won't make it to hairspray the musical but to get your name on a byline would be pretty sweet. 
• Art Gallery intern at Arta Gallery seems like a pretty easy gig, almost too easy like when they handed the keys to Ben S in the Night at the Museum

Back from my last trip, more job hunting, more laughing at jobs



Here are some jobs to laugh about...

• Seasonal visual merchandiser I know, not sexy or interesting right? Well, it's at UGG Australia, so I wonder if fellow Aussies get some street credit for how things should actually look. 
• Valet who wants to be a valet? Well after the last fast and furious movie I watched, I romanced that I could actually drive a car well... yes, the job description doesn't require a drivers licence hahaha. 
• Delivery driver wait for it, yes for beer! I wonder how much trust they have in their employees. 
• Candy line operator who else has a scene from willy wonky running in their heads? 
• Seasonal sales - yes it's a Pandora, and yes, you get discounts. No, it's not a cult. 

And as part of the IEC working holiday visa conditions for Canada is that you have adequate travel insurance coverage. From the CIC website "The officer may ask you for proof of funds and proof of health insurance (covering medical care, hospitalization and repatriation to your country). Your insurance policy must be valid for the entire time you plan to stay in Canada.
Some people have been able to enter the country on less than 2 year insurance plans but that's a risk. They may be only given visas for the validity of their insurance plans, which is quite frequently only a year. The market for travel insurance is confusing, so I think you really need to do your own research in deciding.

I started by visiting "CanStar" to compare the ratings of insurance companies, after all, insurance is only as good as what it covers. Then, I had a look at what the longest policies are offered by each company with high star ratings (5 star). I will share some of the options I investigated.

• Budget Direct - 12 months
• DuInsure - 12 months online, 24 months via phone
• Fastcover - 12 months but can book 2 back to back covers
• Insure and go - 12 months
• Southern cross- 12 months
• TID- 12 months
• Virgin - 12 months
• World Nomads- 12 months online

Job hunting abroad is difficult. Temporary jobs with little to no experiences are not hard to find though, as long as the employer is happy to give you a go.



Here are some jobs to romance about...

• Foodbank volunteer I have images of two broke girls stealing donated spices for some reason, if you have ever seen the show you will know what I'm talking about. 
• Wine Merchant I would imagine myself with a bit of a moustache and foreign accent trying to sell wine to people about to sail on large boats to far off lands...
• Close Captioning - Watching tv before it's been aired by typing the captions for shows on CTV! 
• Cookie packager- I'm not sure how many cookies will leave the factory if I started work there, one for me, one for the box, one for me, one for me... 
• Circus costumes!- Run away to the circus with me aye? 
• Lego workshop facilitator- Yes, yes Lego again, but there are infinite possibilities using these little blocks. 
• Actor - Well background talent was the term used on the ad, I've known friends with fanatic holiday jobs just walking in the background of movies, etc. They may not have been famous, but a certain Doctor I know has had their bum on screen quite a few times. 

Job hunting in preparation for my Canada trip has proved challenging. The main source of jobs so far has been indeed.ca. It has been extremely useful including notifications and the app has made it easy to see what professional opportunities there are in Canada.

So far, I think I've applied to about 20 jobs. The type of opportunity I have been looking for is quite specialised in my field, and requires professional registration. The process for applying for professional registration has been arduous.

From those applications, I've had 2 interview online/telephone. The feedback I've been given is that it's very difficult for employers to consider my application due to the fact that I couldn't start immediately- I'm offshore, would take time to settle.

So I will put things on hold while I wait for Mr MK to visit me in Australia. Yes, it's kind of exciting, and kind of scary, in less than a week's time, we will actually be in the same timezone.

This week, I had been looking for jobs on indeed.ca. And I found a few interesting roles.



If money wasn't an issues, some jobs that sound like fun:

• Chocolatiers Needed! Perks include eating as much chocolate as you want, the catch is that the pay is only $12.75/ hour and diabetes is free. 
• Cruise ship activities coordinator. Perks include being able to travel for your job, and get board and food included, the downside is working long hours and not really have much time to see the world outside of the porthole. 
• Play lego as a Brick Specialist at LEGO! Yes, let your imagination run wild as a Lego staff member. The problems? As if, everything is awesome. 
• Archaeological field technicians. Get in touch with your inner archaeologist. Let's just hope the pay is up with modern times. 
• Hot air balloon pilot. Only if up! was your favorite movie and not for the faint hearted. 
• Wait tables at CN tower 360. Turn up to the best view in Toronto everyday. But have to probably survive on tips. 

Probably need to find a real job that can pay the rent though...