Newcomers to Canada - Entering the Canadian AML / Financial Crime Marketplace

This article originally appeared as a series on drianmessenger.com. Written by Dr Ian Messenger.

When I first arrived in Canada in 2016 from the UK I must admit I was a bit naïve when it came to the concept of “Canadian Experience” in the job market. I had read about it on online forums and websites as I prepared for my move but thought, like many, that I wouldn’t be as bad as everyone said…at least for me!

My rationale? I was coming from an established career in law enforcement with a strong (and related) academic background. Surely I would be snapped up by Canadian private sector employers… or at least get an interview.

No.

I found hiring managers looked for “Canadian Experience” in their interview candidates. This is somewhat of a Catch-22 - how can someone get “Canadian Experience” without a hiring manager giving them their first start?

Overcoming the lack of Canadian Experience and getting that first position is Canadian can be considered a rite of passage. It is something that nearly every newcomer to Canada has gone through - and the good news? It is survivable!

What I found - and my advice for others - is to consider (I’ll cover these points in more depth in later posts):

1) Contract roles, rather than permanent positions

Flexible short to medium term roles advertised (or not) as part of a mass-hire can offer a first entry into the job market. Permanent direct-hire roles typically hire from within or have a pre-identified candidate. Whereas contract roles have a little more flexibility to explore previously “unknown” candidates.

Personal experience: I applied for many permanent jobs which I was well (and over) qualified for without getting an interview. When I applied for similar job descriptions on a contract basis, the offers came.

2) Upskilling in local “Canadian” certifications and courses

Hiring managers LOVE certifications and courses in Canada and it is very common for job descriptions to list specific ones as “recommended” or “(strongly) preferred”. It is best to interpret this as “required” - at least to get an interview. The Financial Crime job market in Toronto is oversaturated with candidates; you can guarantee that another applicant with the same work experience BUT with a “recommended” or “(strongly) preferred” certification or course will get the interview. And no surprise - they may not be the better for the role, they just got the chance to interview for it!

Personal experience: When I first applied for roles, I did not have any financial crime certifications or courses. I hadn’t be asked for any during a decade of law enforcement experience investigating fraud and financial crimes. After completing the CAMS certification (a “recommended” certification), I got my first contracting offer.

Contracting vs Permanent roles

Unlike some jurisdictions, there is a heavy reliance on contract roles in Financial Crime departments. Often the number of contract roles outweigh the number of permanent roles within an institution. Contract roles offer employers, and individuals, flexibility to account for increased short-term workloads - or changing budgets.

A quick search on LinkedIn and other job sites show a high number of contract AML / Financial Crime roles for contracts of 6-12 months. Many of these recruitment campaigns are for MULTIPLE positions - compared with just 1 position in many permanent offerings - this presents a greater chance for the right candidate to get the interview and thus showcase their skills to the hiring manager.

Aside from the greater possibility of getting an interview as part of a mass-hiring campaign - hiring managers often have a greater flexibility when it comes to lack of “Canadian Experience”. When hiring for multiple positions, lack of “Canadian Experience” may be overlooked. Therefore a contract role can be the perfect opportunity to get such Canadian Experience! Thus setting you up for success when applying for that next - permanent - role.

In addition to getting valuable Canadian Experience on your resume, many financial institutions hire internally from their contractor workforce rather than externally. [There is some logic to this as the hiring manager will know the work of the individual and whether they are a “good fit”]. A consequence of this? the resumes of many external applicants don’t even get reviewed by hiring managers. This is an important point to remember; don’t take a rejection to an application to an external campaign as a rejection of your suitability for the role - or similar roles. It is simply a “numbers game” and the hiring manager may already have access to a suitable candidate pool internally within their financial institution.

That said, it doesn’t hurt to ensure your resume is in as strong a position as it can be. Effective proofreading and tailoring to each application can make the different when compared to the generic one-size-fits-all resume

Often a contracting role - whilst not your preferred role - is a good (or necessary) route to enter the Canadian financial crime job market, building up Canadian Experience on the resume and networking with hiring managers. Getting yourself known for quality work will stand you in a strong position when the hiring manager is looking to hire permanently.

In my opinion / experience, the presence of “Canadian Experience” doesn’t result in a better candidate. In an ideal world, hiring managers should look at the candidate as a whole. There are, of course, a number of hiring managers who were newcomers to Canada once and remember their own challenging experiences getting that first role, if your resume lands on their desk you might be luckier than most.

Key takeaway

Flexible short to medium term roles advertised (or not) as part of a mass-hire can offer a first entry into the job market. Permanent direct-hire roles typically hire from within or have a pre-identified candidate. Whereas contract roles have a little more flexibility to explore previously “unknown” candidates.

Personal experience: I applied for many permanent jobs which I was well (and over) qualified for without getting an interview. When I applied for similar job descriptions on a contract basis, the offers came.

Certifications and Courses

Added to this, I introduced the role of Certifications and Courses as being “recommended” or “(strongly) preferred)…

… if you see those words in a job description, you should interpret them as “Required”. At least to get the interview. But I would argue that each of the below courses and certifications offer value to both your resume and your personal development, and are worthy of your consideration.

As an educator, it is no surprise that I value the idea of continuous professional development. Keeping your financial crime knowledge up to date and “relevant” cannot be understated. The financial crime space is constantly evolving as criminals adapt and exploit new and emerging technologies and products. To that end, Financial Crime professionals must keep up their own learning and development.

Canadian Financial Crime Professional (CFCP) - designed specifically for the Canadian compliance professional, the CFCP consists of 430 pages of study material on a wide range of financial crime topics. Complimenting the written study guide are 18 hours of video content on Financial and White Collar Crime, 7.5 hours of video content on Financial Crime Investigation and Report Writing, 4 hours of video content on Ethics and Leadership.

Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) - offered through the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS). This is self-described by ACAMS as the “gold standard”. In reality, this is the certification that most job descriptions list as “recommended”, “preferred”, or “strongly preferred” and, in my opinion, should be considered as the 1st certification to explore - but not necessarily the only one. As the name suggests, the certification is very AML focussed. Depending on your role, it may not be the only certification to consider. Especially given the increased fusion of AML and Fraud remits into current financial crime / compliance roles.

Certified Financial Crime Specialist (CFCS) - offered through the Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists (ACFCS). Straight up, this is my preferred financial crime certification as it covers a much wider range of financial crime topics (AML, Fraud, Sanctions, Cyber, etc) which are relevant to the modern financial crime professional. This is the certification I recommend for its content, but conscious that CAMS is the dominant certification listed in job descriptions (as above), to aspiring and existing financial crime professionals. This is the certification that I have chosen to link with Seneca Colleges’ Financial Crimes Prevention and Mitigation program.

Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) - offered through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). This certification - as the name suggests - is predominately Fraud focussed. It is by far the most comprehensive certification on Fraud and covers an extensive range of Fraud typologies and schemes. I would recommend this certification as a compliment to CAMS or CFCS (or both). My only caveat is that the course is VERY USA-orientated and discusses many schemes which do not apply outside of the USA, but are tested on the exam.

Financial Crime Analysis - offered by Seneca College in an in-class format. This course focusses on analysis and investigation techniques relating to Financial Crime Compliance.

There are a number of niche courses offered by the Canadian Securities Institute and The Investment Funds Institute of Canada. Depending on your role, these may be of interest. The most popular for the generalist Financial Crime professional are the Canadian Securities Course (CSC) and the Canadian Investment Funds Course (CIFC)

Networking

Having discussed the existence of “Canadian Experience”, the role of Contracting as a first step, and the value of Certifications and Courses, our attention turns to the concept of “Networking” .

The Financial Crime sector in Toronto (and other Canadian cities) is a very close knit environment. Given the proximity of many financial institutions within a small area, the opportunity to build a professional network with other professionals, at other financial institutions, is very present.

There are many after-hours networking events in Toronto hosted by several of the major industry associations and also by smaller organisations and even some of the many talent individuals in the field. Given the condensed nature of the profession in Toronto, you will quickly get to know the “key players” and many of the venues are located in the downtown core - within easy access of many employers and public transit.

As discussed in “Contracting vs Permanent roles”, many vacancies are filled by internal contractors or - more critically - by a pre-identified candidate. There networking events are regularly attended by key hiring managers and offer the perfect opportunity to get in front on them.

Through effective networking, when the next vacancies opens up it might not go to the internal candidate…