r/ottawajobs

Hi everyone,

I’m a newcomer to Ottawa, and I’ve been trying to find a job for almost two months now even just a survival job. At this point, Indeed and I are in a serious relationship.

I genuinely love the city and the people here, but I didn’t realize networking was basically a job requirement too. It’s hard when you don’t know anyone yet, and the job search can get pretty lonely.

I hope it’s not too much to ask, but if anyone knows of places that are currently hiring, I’d really appreciate it. I’m starting to think my résumé has been personally offending employers. 😅

Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone is having a better week than my job applications.

It's the summer and very little is happening. We'll continue to share what we find. If we've missed something, feel free to comment with the event. You can find direct links to these events and more in July on our career event page, or just google the title.

An early heads-up for some of you, Senators p/t job fair is next week on July 14th.

DATE	EVENT	LOCATION
Jul 7, 2026	Part-time School Bus driver opportunity – In-person interviews	Ottawa
Jul 8, 2026	Taco Bell	Petawawa
Jul 9, 2026	Burger King	Smiths Falls
Jul 12, 2026	OPP Shuttle Run	Ottawa

I’ve been working in sales for about 2 years doing door-to-door, and I also have experience in the food and beverage industry as well as front desk work in thrift stores. Over that time I’ve learned how to communicate with different types of people, handle customers, and stay professional in fast-paced environments.
Because I’ve worked in different fields, I’m a fast learner and I adapt quickly to new roles and responsibilities. I’m currently based in Ottawa and actively looking for work, but honestly I’ve been struggling to find opportunities lately.
I just wanted to ask if I’m the only one going through this right now in Ottawa’s job market, and if anyone knows of any openings or is hiring, I’d really appreciate the help or advice.

Every morning I wake up feeling ill with the state of the job market.

I graduated from my master's degree this spring. I landed three co-ops in the federal government spread across two different departments, and at this point I've got two years of experience in government.

I can speak French at a bilingual C/C/B level, and I can speak German at a high level as well. During my co-op placements, I won two separate awards from my Director General thanks to the quality of my work (in 2024 and 2025), and was nominated by my employer for Carleton's Co-op Graduate Student of the year in 2025.

Even as I was completing my master's degree, co-op placements were drying up, not just in the government, but also in the private sector. Due to budget cuts, I never landed a term or indeterminate placement, so I only have a casual contract that ends in a few weeks.

I have been applying constantly to jobs within government and in the private sector, and nothing is materializing. I've gotten interviews, and I am constantly tailoring my resume and networking as much as I can, but so far the efforts have not borne any fruit. I've landed interviews, but unfortunately did not make it past the final rounds of government competitions that I applied for.

The advice I've been given is to potentially wait out the job market by completing more education, but I would have to go to law school or do a PhD, both of which have a very high opportunity cost. I am also unable to move elsewhere to search for work, since my long term partner (who is the same age as me) has a stable job here in Ottawa. Honestly, this isn't where I thought I would be at 28 years old.

At this point I am trying to figure out a way forward. Would a CAPM certificate in project management help? Are there other certs that could be useful for landing a job in the private sector?

Right now, I know the situation is really quite bad on the job market, so I will keep harvesting as many nos as I can from potential employers. All I need is one person to take a chance on a sure thing. Unfortunately, I have not yet found that person.

TL;DR: Recent MA grad with 2 years of government experience but no term or indeterminate contract, with great references but no job lined up. Need advice.

Hi , i wanna move to Canada as a student with my husband , in my country i 'm a nurse but it takes a while to get RN
I need to know about general jobs situation in Canada

I’ve been trying really hard to find a job in Ottawa, specifically in Human Resources. Unfortunately, I was laid off from my previous position due to company-wide job cuts, and it’s coming up on almost a year since I’ve been able to secure another role.

If you’re currently unemployed or have been through a long job search, I’d love to hear about your experience. Were you eventually able to find a job? If so, what strategies worked for you beyond applying through Indeed and LinkedIn? Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks! x

The student job market right now is genuinely cooked. Everyone kept telling me to start looking for summer work early, so I did exactly what I was supposed to do. I started grinding out applications back in November and kept going straight through February. Over 300 applications later, and I have absolutely nothing to show for it. In every category possible (retail, fast food, grocery, cafes, restaurants, senior homes, FSWEP & government postings as well). I apply, I call, I go in person, nothing though. To recap, I’m a 20F uni student going into my 3rd year in fall.

I’m a citizen, and my resume isn't even blank. I have solid experience in customer service and admin support, some as a cashier, a lot in social work and clothing retail, and I'm bilingual. I did everything by the book, tailored my resume so it’s readable by the systems they use to scan, and tracked everything. I’m looking for full-time work but at this point, I will gladly take part-time too. I even have my own car and can drive anywhere. Looking for a job I can keep after summer as well (part time).

I constantly have people telling me, "Oh, just apply to landscaping or painting crews, they're always hiring!" So I did…. And guess what? They never get back to me either. Which ig is somewhat understandable because im a girl and i heard they tend to avoid us…

The result across the board is just endless ghosting or automated rejection emails months later. It is SOO incredibly draining.

With how messed up the OSAP situation is right now, the stress is driving me crazy. I need to make money before classes start up again in September just to survive the semester, but even landing a basic retail or service job feels like winning the lottery.

Does anyone know of places that are ACTUALLY hiring right now? Not just posting ghost jobs to look busy, but actively bringing people on? It’s gotten so bad that I’m driving all the way out to places in Stittsville just trying to find anything. How are we students actually supposed to survive right now? This feels so relentless and completely unfair.

PLEASE 🙏🏾 I’m desperate, are any of your job places hiring? I’ll do anything at this point.

hello I just came back from living abroad for 3 years and I really need to get a summer job before I start university

does anyone know anywhere that really needs workers?

I've applied to LOTS of positions for months (even while being abroad) online mostly ending in being ghosted and I did 1 interview which i haven't heard anything back from

somewhere in/nepean would be ideal but I cant really be picky

thank you :)

Looking at getting into Occ Health & Safety Program at Western University because of the co-op component. Wanted to see if there's anyone who's in the program or who has completed the program -- pls feel free to reply or send me a dm!

Also I'm a registered/licensed practical nurse in Ontario and looking to get into health and safety as my second career, how can I start getting my foot in the door while I'm transitioning into the field? Would love to hear some suggestions and recommendations!

I wanted to share this exciting news to give some of you hope. I made a post here just 75 days ago saying how discouraged I feel and how demeaning of a process this was.

In over a year of applying after graduation, I got one interview. I crushed it and got the job. The interview came at a point where I genuinely thought I was going to be stuck at my part-time job for the foreseeable future. I was even thinking of going back to school to see if that would up my chances. I was also really low mentally because the process was so taxing on my mental health, rejection after rejection. What made it worse was that I wasn’t alone… everyone was experiencing this.

But it happened. I finally have full time job and to my surprise, I actually LOVE it. I started last week! It pays decent. The people are amazing. I’m very thankful.

If you are feeling down in the dumps. Keep trying. It’ll happen for you. I’m rooting for you… so many people are !

NAV CANADA, Canada’s air navigation service provider, is growing its Oceanic System Engineering team to support and advance the technology behind Canada’s air traffic control systems.

This is a unique opportunity to contribute to the infrastructure that helps keep air traffic safe, efficient, and reliable across the North Atlantic Oceanic corridor, the critical link between Europe and North America.

As part of this team, you will work on systems that support real-world air traffic operations and help address the evolving needs of modern aviation, from increasing traffic demand to the introduction of new technologies.

Multiple positions are available under these roles. Jobs are located in Ottawa. Whether you are a recent engineering graduate or an experienced engineer looking to apply your skills to work with a meaningful public safety impact, you are encouraged to apply.

Solutions Architect: [https://navcanada.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/NAV\\\_Careers/job/Ottawa/Solutions-Architect--Hybrid---3-days-in-office-\\\_JR-8204\](https://navcanada.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/NAV\_Careers/job/Ottawa/Solutions-Architect--Hybrid---3-days-in-office-\_JR-8204)

Junior Solutions Architect: [https://navcanada.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/NAV\\\_Careers/job/Ottawa/Junior-Solutions-Architect--Hybrid---3-days-in-office-\\\_JR-8201\](https://navcanada.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/NAV\_Careers/job/Ottawa/Junior-Solutions-Architect--Hybrid---3-days-in-office-\_JR-8201)

Long story short, I'm Legal and able to work no problem and I'm done with the refusals I keep getting.Sandy Hill located feel free to DM and thank you

Hi everyone, I need some honest and helpful advice here.

One month ago, I got hired at a car dealership. There is a sales manager there who is very odd, one day he’s happy one day he’s angry at me. I didn’t think much of it until yesterday, I was sitting at a desk and he came up to me with a document, covered the top part with his hand and told me “pretend you are xxx(customer’s name) and sign this”, I was so confused but immediately refused and told him I don’t feel comfortable forging someone’s signature. He told me don’t worry it’s between us and just do it but I said legally I’m not gonna do that. Then he said “her husband was here he’s aware of the contents of the document they just forgot to sign it”. And I said no firmly then he signed it himself in front of me.

I immediately took note of the time and the date and reported it to the general manager. But before I did, so I made sure to also send the manager an email as proof that I have no involvement in this. The general manager apologized and said he would talk to him.

Since last night, I’ve kept trying to think what his intention was behind that and why was he trying to get me to sign it? I’m going a little crazy here. Are they trying to kick me out of the workplace and try to make me do things to use against me , what is the best approach to the situation? Should I just leave it alone?

As the title says, I am looking for work in the west end of Ottawa that is able to accommodate physical disabilities. I am ambulatory but often rely on a cane or my wheelchair for assistance with pain management and mobility. I'm having a pretty hard time finding jobs that are willing to let me use my chair and cane, have been turned down at many interviews because "we aren't able to accommodate you," and it's getting tiring.

Hey everyone!

I recently started my own tutoring business about 3 years ago after leaving Varsity Tutors. I had about 5 students, but I didn’t really have a formal system. This year, I decided to make a website and make the business a bit more legit so I can gain clientele. The idea is to make tutoring more approachable, transparent, and personalized rather than feeling like a huge corporate platform.

Right now I offer both in-person and online tutoring, mostly for K–12 students. I offer a lot of subjects, but I’m wondering if I should find a niche. I was thinking of teaching ESL to francophone kids since I’m bilingual and live in Canada. I’ve been tutoring for about 8 years now, and mostly taught sciences. I did classroom teaching for a few years for Biology.

The business side has honestly been a much bigger learning curve than tutoring itself. Building the website, setting up social media, creating policies, organizing scheduling and payments, I expected all that. But wow is it ever hard to find consistent students.

For those of you who tutor independently or run your own tutoring business:
- Where do most of your students come from?
- Have Facebook groups, Reddit, Google Business, or local community groups worked well for you?
- Do you rely mostly on referrals, and if so, how did you get those first few clients?
- Are there any marketing strategies you tried that were surprisingly effective (or a complete waste of time)?

I know word of mouth goes a long way. I’ve let all my previous teacher coworkers know, friends, family, etc. so I’m hoping to gain some there as well.

I’ve posted in Facebook groups, and tried to comment when people would post saying they need a tutor. But I feel like I’m competing against a bunch of bots who sit and wait for these comments. I don’t know how to make myself stand out.

I’m not looking to become some huge tutoring company, I just want to gain 10-15 consistent students. I’d really appreciate hearing what worked (or didn’t work) for others who have been through this.

Thanks in advance!

I have nothing to do and I want to make any amount of money and just gain some work experience

I know it's pathetic and immature. I'm 19 and supposed to be an adult but I can't even manage stepping out of my room before calculating how to avoid social interaction with my roommates.

I'm trying to get help for my social anxiety and MDD but getting therapy cover by OHIP is so fucking hard. It's been a year and still can't get therapy and my meds aren't working. That's just a little context. The real problem is job hunting.

I'm scared of looking for jobs and getting hired because it feels like my heart might explode and I'll just burst out crying simply going outside and asking for job positions. Looking online isn't as effective as going out into the world but how can I do that when just the thought of it makes me terrified and want to cry?

I feel so pathetic and I just wish I was confident and normal. I know this is just a silly excuse and that I'm just being lazy but it feels like I'm being freaking chained into ny mind. I hate myself so much and I just want advice and help because I need a job and I want to achieve my goals and get a small apartment of my own instead of roommates before I'm 25.

I have goals and dreams but I'm too scared to work to achieve them. I wanted to volunteer at childcare places this summer but I haven't even begun looking because I'm scared of rejections.

I need help but I feel like resources are scarce.

I'm so sorry for the rant but I really need any kind of advice that is actually doable. Because "go get therapy" is overused and I can't afford it.

after looking for work for months or years and not being able to find anything, after losing your place to live, after having to find a place for your pet to live knowing there's a risk the person might decide they're not giving your fur-baby back to you when you finally get things sorted out, it really starts to break you. you start to die inside little by little, and the process of that starts moving faster and faster.

then you finally vent to a friend or family member and you are told "it sounds like you're making excuses" or something of the like. how is anyone supposed to keep their head up? what then?

nobody who I've ever owed money to has offered me a job. anyone who has ever told me I'm making excuses is doing it from a place of knowing what it's like. it's always coming from someone who doesn't have to worry about losing everything.

it seems like it's easier to get told you're "making excuses" by someone with a full belly and a roof over their head.

I just don't know what to do. I feel like I have tried everything.

I went through a brutal job search here not too long ago. After being unemployed for almost a year... the part that broke me wasn’t the rejections, it was how broken the tools were. Indeed serving up postings that were filled months ago, Linkedin buried in ghost jobs and recruiter spam, “active” roles that were anything but. Don't get me wrong, I've had success in finding employment in the past with these job boards. So I still believe they serve a purpose, just not in the same way they did 5 years ago.

So I started doing it for myself, going straight to employer career pages (also company instagrams, hidden gem btw) and pulling the roles that were real and actually open. Eventually I got lucky and landed something. I could’ve just stopped, but pretty much all my friends were still in the trenches, so I kept sharing what I came across, mostly for fun, partly because I remembered how lonely that search felt. And now… here we are lol.

I’ve actually shared this here once before. The reason I keep doing it hasn’t changed though, I just really like helping people through a process that nearly broke me. If it makes even one person’s search a little less miserable, that’s enough.

I’ll drop the link in the comments if anyone is interested. Fair warning, it’s a little unconventional as a format, but every role is hand-checked and current, and I’m already working on something better.

Good luck to anyone in the thick of it right now, you’ve got this.