“There are as many ways to experience your Working Holiday Visa as there are Working Holiday Visa participants.”

Valérie Lafayette spent a year , Canada, on a Working Holiday Visa . Her adventure resulted in a book ( available on Amazon ). She offers a candid account for VisaVacancesTravail about her experience, marked by wonderful adventures, some hardships, and a prevailing sentiment that shines through in her personal narrative: "There are as many ways to experience a Working Holiday Visa as there are Working Holiday Visa participants .

Why did you choose Canada as your Working Holiday Visa destination? And why Vancouver?

I embarked on my Working Holiday Visa adventure following my fiancé. He was the one who dreamed of wide open spaces, nature, and North America. The Working Holiday Visa came at just the right time to fulfill that dream.
He wanted an English-speaking place, and I was worried about the cold… Vancouver seemed like the ideal candidate.
As I explain in the book, Vancouver is THE city for film, and it's an industry that fascinates me. I thought there might be opportunities there. And indeed, I enrolled in a drama school to take acting classes and learn the techniques for performing in front of a camera. Since then, I have four agents and have participated in major Hollywood productions!

How would you describe the quality of life there? 

The quality of life is excellent, as the city is surrounded by the ocean and mountains, magnificent forest hikes are accessible by public transport, the city is human-sized (I'm from Paris), the residents aren't stressed, the climate is pleasant, it's never cold … All of this makes it a great place to live… with one drawback: the cost of living! Vancouver is an extremely expensive city, probably one of the most expensive in North America. Rents are high and salaries are low.

The differences are striking! In Belgium, there are divine cheeses that are simply divine… well, here, I had a lot of trouble finding any cheese worthy of the name. The same goes for bread; it's clearly not part of their culture. Museums, exhibitions, and plays are lacking compared to our rich Europe. Generally speaking, Vancouverites are easygoing, smiling, and cheerful; they strike up conversations easily (even if they don't necessarily say much), but it's a good humor that I don't really find back home. I talk about this quite a bit in the book.

Why do you think Canada has such a strong appeal?

I get the impression that there's an idea, an image of ease and "anything is possible" in Canada. I can't speak for the whole country, only for Vancouver where I stayed. And it's a terribly competitive place. Canadian recruiters generally prefer to hire a Canadian rather than a foreigner; they tend to be wary of the Working Holiday Visa, perhaps because its name doesn't sound serious, or it's considered too short (which is why our job assistance will be so helpful 😉).
Vancouverites make us feel like we have an accent, even though mine isn't that strong. There are many immigrants in Canada, and many in British Columbia in particular, because obviously the region is beautiful, and as a result, it's harder to succeed there than elsewhere.

Jobs in the restaurant industry are easy to find, but they tend to be low-level positions or customer service roles. Be warned, though: while you might get hired easily, you can also get fired just as easily!

Personally, I had a really hard time finding a job, a good job. Either my visa wasn't long enough, or I was overqualified, or a Canadian was preferred for the position… The problem is that it's difficult to live (well) on just a part-time job. For example, visiting the Aquarium for two costs 50 euros, and it's one of the few cultural activities available.

The purpose of the Working Holiday Visa is to travel and work; did you adhere to this plan? 

If you have a part-time job, you can't really count on vacation time. You have to stick with your job, so avoid straying too far from it. In Canada, employees get two weeks of vacation a year, so traveling isn't easy. The country is so vast, you don't realize it, but the distances are so great that on a weekend trip from Vancouver, you don't go very far... you go to Seattle (and you wait in line for a good two hours at the border)!

Really, there are as many ways to experience your Working Holiday Visa as there are people who get one, but in my mind, it wasn't about having a globetrotting experience across Canada punctuated by odd jobs and nomadic stays, but about finding a stable job and why not, settling there.

What advice (things to do beforehand or once there) would you give to those who wish to go to Canada on a Working Holiday Visa?

Live the experience without expecting more than it has to offer. The Working Holiday Visa (WHV) can be the start of settling in Canada for some, but it's best not to make it the destination from the outset; you shouldn't put too much pressure on this temporary visa. Trying to succeed at all costs makes you forget the essential thing, which is to enjoy what comes your way. I've met too many disappointed WHV holders.

Canada is a beautiful country, but the language here isn't ours, the culture is different, and the rules aren't the ones we grew up with. So it takes time to learn them, to get used to this new environment.

When I arrived, I was advised to volunteer. But I think I did a bit too much, and it didn't lead to anything. Organizations appreciate volunteers and make use of their time, but I've never met anyone here who told me their volunteer work turned into a permanent job.

I even responded to a volunteer posting that specified a job offer after a two-month period. A few weeks later, having gotten to know the team, they jokingly admitted that the posting had been worded that way to attract applications, but that there had never been any intention of offering a permanent position to anyone afterward. I left shortly after this revelation…

Trying to make contact with companies before arriving can be a good idea, by writing a "resume", a CV, Canadian style , that is to say without age, and by emphasizing qualifications, experiences more than diplomas.

When leaving, my main advice is not to throw away your belongings but to keep your apartment, stay in touch with your friends, and try to negotiate a sabbatical year with your employer if possible. And finally, if things don't work out in your first-choice city, move to another!

What are your best memories?

The hike to Black Comb, near Whistler, which involves a climb of several hours and ends with a breathtaking landscape of mountains and lakes, will remain forever etched in my memory! But also, the day I saw myself in the trailer for an American series directed by one of the directors of Game of Thrones, that was pretty cool too!

Finally, the kindness of a Canadian. One rainy Sunday afternoon, my husband and I, feeling rather unmotivated, were heading to the supermarket to do some grocery shopping. Walking past the Vancouver Opera House, we glanced enviously at the program, thinking that one day we'd treat ourselves to tickets! Then, I heard a small man standing in front of the ticket booth explaining to the employee in a determined tone: "I have two extra tickets. I don't want to resell them, I just want to give them away!" I went over, and he gave them to me. We abandoned our grocery shopping and went to an opera!