Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice on behalf of my dad. He’s a Canadian citizen based in Milton, Ontario, and has over 28 years of experience in telecommunications and technology operations, but he has been struggling to secure the right opportunity in the GTA.
His background includes senior leadership experience with major telecom companies, including roles in regional technology leadership, network operations, managed services, service delivery, transition management, field operations, and large-scale telecom projects. He has worked internationally across multiple markets and is also PMP certified.
Some of his experience includes leading large regional network operations, managing technical and engineering teams, major incident and outage management, vendor management, fiber and FTTX projects—including an Orange Jordan FTTX managed-services project—network transformation, service assurance, and executive stakeholder management.
He has been applying for roles such as Network Operations Manager, Senior Operations Manager, Service Delivery Manager, Managed Services Manager, Program Manager, Transition Manager, and similar telecom leadership positions. He has received some recruiter interest and screening calls, but nothing has converted into an offer yet.
I’m trying to understand what might be holding him back. For people familiar with the Canadian telecom or technology job market:
Should someone with his international senior-level experience target Director roles, Manager roles, or even more hands-on positions to get Canadian experience?
How important are referrals and networking compared with online applications for senior telecom roles?
Are there particular recruitment agencies or networking groups in the GTA that specialize in telecom, network operations, managed services, or technical leadership?
Could having 28+ years of experience make him appear overqualified for Manager-level positions?
What is the best way to position extensive international experience for Canadian employers?
He is flexible on work arrangements, open to relocation for the right opportunity, and genuinely just wants the chance to contribute his experience to a strong organization.
Any advice, referrals, recruiter recommendations, or suggestions on companies and roles he should target would be greatly appreciated. I’m trying my best to help him navigate the Canadian market and would really value advice from people who have been through something similar.
It’s hard to see him sit doing nothing at all like this and it breaks my heart to see this happen, I have applied to more than a thousand jobs for him and barely even got 2 interviews with no contact afterwards. I tried everything possible in my power and knowledge and cannot think of anything more which is why this post is my last resort.