Hi All, I have been an active member of this forum since April 2010 and this forum played a pivotal role in keeping my spirits throughout the immigration process till June 2014 when in landed in Canada. Throughout this duration I have across various threads where people reported desperate stories and than there were happy ones as well. The immigration story is very similar to way general human stories are - some of us luck out and some of us hit it big.
When I landed in mid June this year - me and my family (wife + 1 daughter) were full of mix feelings. We felt excited but we also had apprehensions as well. The task to take all those licenses, fill in all that paper work, look and apply for jobs seemed a daunting task. We felt extremely depressed at times. Felt like crying at some times. But one thing we did not do was not support each other in these moments and tried to keep our heads high. There were moments when we questioned our capabilities to make ourselves a life here and self esteem went rock bottom. The other thing we didn't do was to stop. We kept trying.
The first thing I did in the very first month was to get security guard training and pass the security guard test to obtain a license. This was my plan to avoid any leakages from our savings, if I fail to land a well paid job.
I landed a management position's interview within 4 days of landing and it was the most miserable day of my life. I took the bus for the very first time. walked for 3 min in Toronto to locate the office, went through a pathetic interview experience, lost the directions on my way back, had to walk another 30 min or so and all of that in my dress shoes ;D. So when I finally reached my friend's apartment, I had swelling in my feet. I had to apply for 50 positions each day. Applying for jobs is a job itself. And one should treat it as one. I used to go the library with my laptop and do nothing but search for jobs from 9 am till 5 pm with 1 hour lunch break. So you see what I am trying to say here.
I applied for hundreds of jobs each week, got some calls, gave some telephonic interviews, was invited to some interviews, did not receive any sort of feedback from 80% of the applications I had sent. And I sort of became King of Rejections.
The first break came when I went to two back to back job fares and received job offers from both of them on contracts. The first was a $11.15/ an hour with a major retail chain which was launching a new store in Mississauga and they needed to hire a temp crew on a month's contract with the possibility of a regular job offer when store was launched. I joined them in early AUG and been with them for a month till early sep. I left them since I did not like the job but did not backed away from hard work. I did what they told me to whether it was cleaning or merchandising. Meanwhile after two months at a friend's apartment I rented a great basement apartment with two bedrooms, 2 washrooms, separate laundry, separate entry/exit. I reached for shifts in time, took scheduled breaks and there was never any complaint against my work. This helped me taking couple of solid referrals from two managers which will help in future job referrals. I am starting with another major apparel company next week on $ 13.50/ an hour offer.
While all of this was going the other happenings were also taking place i.e. PR cards, Health cards, bank accounts, credit cards, G1 driving license.
I never stopped applying for jobs in my field and consistently modified my resume and cover letter suiting requirements of each job I applied for. One generic resume doesn't work.
Finally a break has come for me after 3 months (ALHAMDULLILAH)- After 3 very intense interviews in 3 weeks with Senior Manager, Director & Executive Vice President - today I have received a great job offer with a salary which is a bit higher than my minimum expectation. I have cleared G2 license today as well. We are really happy. My daughter is into 3rd week of her senior kinder garten (we got here in summer vacations). she is finally settling down after lot of early challenges of being home sick. that was one tough time. Parents can deal with their own challenges but when kid goes through these settling problems, it is heart wrenching. We have also initiated the process of my wife's credential assessment through ICAS. Thanks to ALMIGHTY we will go on the journey of life.
There are crazy moments and there will be times when newcomers will question their decision of moving to Canada. But if you have made that decisions than stick to it and give it your best under all circumstances.
In the end I really don't know the secret of success other than my own experience and advice here as well.
A- Faith of ALMIGHTY.
B- Prayers.
C- Honesty.
D- Hard Work.
E- Persistence
F- Planning
When I landed in mid June this year - me and my family (wife + 1 daughter) were full of mix feelings. We felt excited but we also had apprehensions as well. The task to take all those licenses, fill in all that paper work, look and apply for jobs seemed a daunting task. We felt extremely depressed at times. Felt like crying at some times. But one thing we did not do was not support each other in these moments and tried to keep our heads high. There were moments when we questioned our capabilities to make ourselves a life here and self esteem went rock bottom. The other thing we didn't do was to stop. We kept trying.
The first thing I did in the very first month was to get security guard training and pass the security guard test to obtain a license. This was my plan to avoid any leakages from our savings, if I fail to land a well paid job.
I landed a management position's interview within 4 days of landing and it was the most miserable day of my life. I took the bus for the very first time. walked for 3 min in Toronto to locate the office, went through a pathetic interview experience, lost the directions on my way back, had to walk another 30 min or so and all of that in my dress shoes ;D. So when I finally reached my friend's apartment, I had swelling in my feet. I had to apply for 50 positions each day. Applying for jobs is a job itself. And one should treat it as one. I used to go the library with my laptop and do nothing but search for jobs from 9 am till 5 pm with 1 hour lunch break. So you see what I am trying to say here.
I applied for hundreds of jobs each week, got some calls, gave some telephonic interviews, was invited to some interviews, did not receive any sort of feedback from 80% of the applications I had sent. And I sort of became King of Rejections.
The first break came when I went to two back to back job fares and received job offers from both of them on contracts. The first was a $11.15/ an hour with a major retail chain which was launching a new store in Mississauga and they needed to hire a temp crew on a month's contract with the possibility of a regular job offer when store was launched. I joined them in early AUG and been with them for a month till early sep. I left them since I did not like the job but did not backed away from hard work. I did what they told me to whether it was cleaning or merchandising. Meanwhile after two months at a friend's apartment I rented a great basement apartment with two bedrooms, 2 washrooms, separate laundry, separate entry/exit. I reached for shifts in time, took scheduled breaks and there was never any complaint against my work. This helped me taking couple of solid referrals from two managers which will help in future job referrals. I am starting with another major apparel company next week on $ 13.50/ an hour offer.
While all of this was going the other happenings were also taking place i.e. PR cards, Health cards, bank accounts, credit cards, G1 driving license.
I never stopped applying for jobs in my field and consistently modified my resume and cover letter suiting requirements of each job I applied for. One generic resume doesn't work.
Finally a break has come for me after 3 months (ALHAMDULLILAH)- After 3 very intense interviews in 3 weeks with Senior Manager, Director & Executive Vice President - today I have received a great job offer with a salary which is a bit higher than my minimum expectation. I have cleared G2 license today as well. We are really happy. My daughter is into 3rd week of her senior kinder garten (we got here in summer vacations). she is finally settling down after lot of early challenges of being home sick. that was one tough time. Parents can deal with their own challenges but when kid goes through these settling problems, it is heart wrenching. We have also initiated the process of my wife's credential assessment through ICAS. Thanks to ALMIGHTY we will go on the journey of life.
There are crazy moments and there will be times when newcomers will question their decision of moving to Canada. But if you have made that decisions than stick to it and give it your best under all circumstances.
In the end I really don't know the secret of success other than my own experience and advice here as well.
A- Faith of ALMIGHTY.
B- Prayers.
C- Honesty.
D- Hard Work.
E- Persistence
F- Planning
