Please send me a pm

Ayoboy1:
How do i go about this? I asked the woman helping me and she said they don't do that anymore?

Taxpayers' money at work. The white stuff being brushed aside to clear the road.

Winter wonderland.

salford1:

My tims is over 7 years old..the boot has refused to die. Talk about good value for money...it is still possible to squeeze more than 20 years out of it sef.lol.


My first year in Canada also had snow in sept.lol.


Canada is a funny country. We need doctors especially specialists, yet the regulatory body makes it difficult for Canadians and Non-Canadians likewise to break into that profession. If one visits the emergency ward at the Alberta Children Hospital, one could wait atleast over 4hours before seeing a doctor. And sometimes, one would be attended to by an intern who may miss vitals; hence one may end up visiting more than once. A friend also had to wait over 6months to get an hemorrhoid operation done.

A bro from my uni back in naija with Canadian PR moved to the US last year...he got a residency position at an hospital in Atlanta. He also has a masters in public health from Havard though. i am not sure if the latter played any role in him getting the US residency.

I really hope the regulatory profession in charge of doctors gets their acts together.

I think canada is deliberately controlling their population to allow people have a good quality life ,many countries in the world are over populated .It's just like two men who earn the same money but one has 10 kids ..They have probably seeing the way many countries are struggling. .

salford1:
Taxpayers' money at work. The white stuff being brushed aside to clear the road.

Winter wonder land.

This fucking waste land na Im dey show us people pepper to enter, may the children of Nigerian politicians continue to kpai like flies ..

Sohot:

This fucking waste land na Im dey show us people pepper to enter, may the children of Nigerian politicians continue to kpai like flies ..

Doc. its not a waste land. It's a very beautiful country. This is a country that works despite the harsh environment.

Hello All,
Has anyone sent PR card from Canada to Nigeria? How was it sent please? through what means? A PR card needs to be sent ASAP to Nigeria and someone said it cant be sent through dhl or UPS. Is this true? Please heeeellllllllpppppppp.

salford1:
Taxpayers' money at work. The white stuff being brushed aside to clear the road.

Winter wonder land.

is this ontario

snowlordng:
is this ontario

Saskatchewan.

salford1:

Doc. its not a waste land. It's a very beautiful country. This is a country that works despite the harsh environment.

Greetings, I sent you a pm bro.
I will love to make some inquiries from you.
Thanks

flyhigh1881:
Hello All,
Has anyone sent PR card from Canada to Nigeria? How was it sent please? through what means? A PR card needs to be sent ASAP to Nigeria and someone said it cant be sent through dhl or UPS. Is this true? Please heeeellllllllpppppppp.

@dupyshoo got hers through post, she said hers was wrapped.

You can tell who will be posting it to put it in a book,

MummyJaygirls:


@dupyshoo got hers through post, she said hers was wrapped.

You can tell who will be posting it to put it in a book,

Mails leaving Canada go through scanners. The scanner might reveal the card and it might be confisticated. I heard there is a way you can write an authorisation letter or /and send it via USA. Don't how easy/ true this is.

@mummyjaygirls when are you landing?

How many days does paper application take to be processed after submitting in vfs office Lagos event take place by January and I submitt application on Monday 30/10

Please see this article/opinion copied from Quora. It contains a lot of key points and nuggets about how to settle down professionally in Canada. Please note again, it was copied from Quora https://www.quora.com/Why-do-so-many-skilled-immigrants-complain-that-they-do-not-get-jobs-in-Canada

2 days ago, I attended Gateway 2017 in Markham, Ontario. It was a free conference for newcomers to Canada who were struggling to find work, giving them an opportunity to express their concerns, ask questions and networking with CEOs and other Canadian professionals.

I got to see first hand the complaints of skilled immigrants who do not get jobs in Canada, and this is what I found.

#1 Misunderstanding what Canadian Experience means, and no one explaining what it really is

Almost everyone was talking about Canadian experience. They even had a panel discussion about it.

One woman from Nigeria came up to the mic and was angry at the Canadian system. You could hear it in her voice - “How can I get Canadian Experience if I don’t have a job? I have been looking for a job for 8 YEARS!”

After her rant about Canadian experience which went on for 10 minutes, I asked random people “Would you hire that person?” They all replied “No way in hell!”

A lot of people think that Canadian experience is about working in Canada. It is not! This is my personal definition of Canadian experience:

A hiring manager’s perception of your soft skills and knowledge of Canadian work culture.

Here is the strange part. A lot of people were saying they were getting calls for interviews, but it never converted to a job.

Think about it, if you got called for a job interview, the hiring manager already knows you have not worked in Canada from your resume. Why would he or she call you for the interview if it was a problem?

What most likely happened was that during the interview, you failed to demonstrate the soft skills that the job needs. Either your communication skills were bad, or you downplayed your accomplishments when asked to talk about your experience. Once recruiter told me that some people she interviews don’t even make eye contact when they speak.

At this stage in the interview, either Canadians are too polite, or they fear a discriminatory law suit, so they just tell “You don't have Canadian experience” or “You are over qualified”, when what they really mean is “Your English is poor” or “My team will have a hard time understanding your accent” or “Based on your stories it doesn't sound like you accomplished alot”.

I was on a panel discussion myself talking about my experience as a newcomer. A gentleman at the back of the room told me that whenever he goes into an interview, he is always told that he is “overqualified”.

I gave him advice on how to tackle an “overqualified” problem, but when he spoke to me I knew straight away what his problem was, but I was too embarrassed to tell him in front of the whole room.

Unfortunately, he did not privately speak to me after the talk, else I would have told him “Canadian recruiters are telling you’re overqualified because they are hesitant to tell you the real reason - it’s your English”. His English was so bad, I wonder how he ever managed to pass his IELTS.

I’m not saying this is the fault of the candidate. This behavior stems not from your experience but from the culture of the country you came from. Maybe English is not your first language, maybe in your culture you’re not allowed to talk highly of yourself and give all the glory to your bosses. Maybe it’s in your culture to remain silent and not make eye contact out of respect.

The bottom line is, you need to understand how Canadians think and what hiring managers and recruiters expectations are to get past the Canadian experience problem.

Unless you do the research, or ask the right people who aren't afraid to give you an honest answer, and most importantly upgrade your English language skills, skilled immigrants will continue to complain about not getting jobs.

#2 Not taking an active approach to your job search

This is how I personally had success in Canada, securing three job offers in two weeks.

If you just machine gun your generic resume to online jobs and rely on technology to do the rest you will be job searching for a long time.

Machines don't hire you. Humans do. So you have to demonstrate to the hiring manager that you are willing to work hard and think outside the box.

This is why I customize my resume and personalize my cover letter for every job application, and created my own personal website (connelvalentineresume.com) to stand out.

I used the same tactics when I applied for a mangers job within my company and I got the job again, so I'm confident it works.

As long as you're aware of the process, the expectations of the hiring manager and skills in resume and cover letter writing you can increase the chances of landing that job 10 fold.

#3 Not using publically available services

If it's free it's probably not worth it right? Not in Canada! If you want to see the Canadian tax dollars at work, make use of the public services that are available to you.

New immigrants do not use these services either because they are too proud or they do not feel it's worth it.

From this conference that I attended, where these companies that host these services were present, you will see the quality in what they provide.

They may not get you the perfect job, but will fit you into a well established company and then it's up to you to work your way up.

My cousin used Costi when she was trying to get back into finance and they placed her with a logistics company doing account receivables where she is now a full time employee after proving her worth and working hard.

I have personally hired and trust candidates from Npower Canada.

This conference that I attended, Gateway 2017, hosted by the York Region is an example of what Canada is prepared to do for it’s new immigrants - for FREE! It was held at Hilton hotel, hosted by a Canadian TV host, attended by the mayor of Markham and CEOs of companies in the York region.

Canada takes it’s free services very seriously.

#4 Not Canadianizing your resume

Someone at the conference mentioned that their resume was 6 pages long!

People think they can throw all their experiences up on a word document and mail blast it to every Canadian job board.

It's guaranteed failure.

People should seek professional help and to take it a step further, they should learn the methodology of Canadianizing your resume to suit the managers needs. A big part of this is knowing how to market your job experience in a way that pleases a Canadian hiring manager and recruiter.

One of my favorite tools for doing a quality check on the resume is jobscan. This tool allows you to compare your uploaded resume to the copy pasted job description side by side and score it for compliance.

#5 Not using bridging services

During one of the breaks at the conference I walked up to table where three strangers were sat. I introduced myself and they turned out to be a nurse, a physician and a dentist.

To my relief, they were all already enrolled in a bridging program at York Univeristy, one of the most popular hosts of bridging programs.

But in most cases, I find that a lot of people don't utilize these services. I hear them say “I have over twenty years of experience, why should I go back to learning something I have been doing ?”

Look, I understand it's not easy to feel like you're going back to paying your dues in your career. But you are getting a fresh start in a new country.

It takes courage to leave your family and friends behind to move to a new country in hopes of a better life.

Well guess what - it takes courage to choose to take a step back in your career too.

When I applied for a job, I applied for a position that was two levels below the job I had in Dubai. But because I took an active approach to it, that job application revealed a hidden job that was one level higher and unadvertised, that the recruiter thought I was better suited for.

And two years later, after working my ass off on that job even though it was a lower position from before, and using the smarts and the experience and the work ethics I developed from my 12 year career prior to landing in Canada, I got a promotion back to my managers position.

If you have the humility to learn and the courage to temporarily refresh your career and the vision to get back the career you left behind, you will eventually start to see the hopes become reality.

An expert I follow say that it may take anywhere from 6–12 years in average for a Canadian newcomer to get back the quality of life you left behind. I'm on year 3.

Don't let pride delay the process.

To sum up…

Canada welcomes diversity in the workplace. That is what the Gateway 2017 conference was all about.

But what they did not mention, and this is my personal insight, is that one place where diversity is not accepted is the norms of business conduct.

Your diversity will be accepted from your fresh ideas, creative innovation and dynamic insights.

But when you communicate, when you lead teams, when you make presentations, when you attend meetings, when you make a sales pitch, when you care for patients, when you ask for a raise, when you work with your boss and every other aspect of business conduct you can think of, it's done one way - the Canadian way.

Thanks Buddy... This is very informative!

Blackbuddy:
Please see this article/opinion copied from Quora. It contains a lot of key points and nuggets about how to settle down professionally in Canada. Please note again, it was copied from Quora https://www.quora.com/Why-do-so-many-skilled-immigrants-complain-that-they-do-not-get-jobs-in-Canada

2 days ago, I attended Gateway 2017 in Markham, Ontario. It was a free conference for newcomers to Canada who were struggling to find work, giving them an opportunity to express their concerns, ask questions and networking with CEOs and other Canadian professionals.

I got to see first hand the complaints of skilled immigrants who do not get jobs in Canada, and this is what I found.


To sum up…

Canada welcomes diversity in the workplace. That is what the Gateway 2017 conference was all about.

But what they did not mention, and this is my personal insight, is that one place where diversity is not accepted is the norms of business conduct.

Your diversity will be accepted from your fresh ideas, creative innovation and dynamic insights.

But when you communicate, when you lead teams, when you make presentations, when you attend meetings, when you make a sales pitch, when you care for patients, when you ask for a raise, when you work with your boss and every other aspect of business conduct you can think of, it's done one way - the Canadian way.

Blackbuddy:
Please see this article/opinion copied from Quora. It contains a lot of key points and nuggets about how to settle down professionally in Canada. Please note again, it was copied from Quora https://www.quora.com/Why-do-so-many-skilled-immigrants-complain-that-they-do-not-get-jobs-in-Canada

2 days ago, I attended Gateway 2017 in Markham, Ontario. It was a free conference for newcomers to Canada who were struggling to find work, giving them an opportunity to express their concerns, ask questions and networking with CEOs and other Canadian professionals.

I got to see first hand the complaints of skilled immigrants who do not get jobs in Canada, and this is what I found.

#1 Misunderstanding what Canadian Experience means, and no one explaining what it really is

Almost everyone was talking about Canadian experience. They even had a panel discussion about it.

One woman from Nigeria came up to the mic and was angry at the Canadian system. You could hear it in her voice - “How can I get Canadian Experience if I don’t have a job? I have been looking for a job for 8 YEARS!”

After her rant about Canadian experience which went on for 10 minutes, I asked random people “Would you hire that person?” They all replied “No way in hell!”

A lot of people think that Canadian experience is about working in Canada. It is not! This is my personal definition of Canadian experience:

A hiring manager’s perception of your soft skills and knowledge of Canadian work culture.

Here is the strange part. A lot of people were saying they were getting calls for interviews, but it never converted to a job.

Think about it, if you got called for a job interview, the hiring manager already knows you have not worked in Canada from your resume. Why would he or she call you for the interview if it was a problem?

What most likely happened was that during the interview, you failed to demonstrate the soft skills that the job needs. Either your communication skills were bad, or you downplayed your accomplishments when asked to talk about your experience. Once recruiter told me that some people she interviews don’t even make eye contact when they speak.

At this stage in the interview, either Canadians are too polite, or they fear a discriminatory law suit, so they just tell “You don't have Canadian experience” or “You are over qualified”, when what they really mean is “Your English is poor” or “My team will have a hard time understanding your accent” or “Based on your stories it doesn't sound like you accomplished alot”.

I was on a panel discussion myself talking about my experience as a newcomer. A gentleman at the back of the room told me that whenever he goes into an interview, he is always told that he is “overqualified”.

I gave him advice on how to tackle an “overqualified” problem, but when he spoke to me I knew straight away what his problem was, but I was too embarrassed to tell him in front of the whole room.

Unfortunately, he did not privately speak to me after the talk, else I would have told him “Canadian recruiters are telling you’re overqualified because they are hesitant to tell you the real reason - it’s your English”. His English was so bad, I wonder how he ever managed to pass his IELTS.

I’m not saying this is the fault of the candidate. This behavior stems not from your experience but from the culture of the country you came from. Maybe English is not your first language, maybe in your culture you’re not allowed to talk highly of yourself and give all the glory to your bosses. Maybe it’s in your culture to remain silent and not make eye contact out of respect.

The bottom line is, you need to understand how Canadians think and what hiring managers and recruiters expectations are to get past the Canadian experience problem.

Unless you do the research, or ask the right people who aren't afraid to give you an honest answer, and most importantly upgrade your English language skills, skilled immigrants will continue to complain about not getting jobs.

#2 Not taking an active approach to your job search

This is how I personally had success in Canada, securing three job offers in two weeks.

If you just machine gun your generic resume to online jobs and rely on technology to do the rest you will be job searching for a long time.

Machines don't hire you. Humans do. So you have to demonstrate to the hiring manager that you are willing to work hard and think outside the box.

This is why I customize my resume and personalize my cover letter for every job application, and created my own personal website (connelvalentineresume.com) to stand out.

I used the same tactics when I applied for a mangers job within my company and I got the job again, so I'm confident it works.

As long as you're aware of the process, the expectations of the hiring manager and skills in resume and cover letter writing you can increase the chances of landing that job 10 fold.

#3 Not using publically available services

If it's free it's probably not worth it right? Not in Canada! If you want to see the Canadian tax dollars at work, make use of the public services that are available to you.

New immigrants do not use these services either because they are too proud or they do not feel it's worth it.

From this conference that I attended, where these companies that host these services were present, you will see the quality in what they provide.

They may not get you the perfect job, but will fit you into a well established company and then it's up to you to work your way up.

My cousin used Costi when she was trying to get back into finance and they placed her with a logistics company doing account receivables where she is now a full time employee after proving her worth and working hard.

I have personally hired and trust candidates from Npower Canada.

This conference that I attended, Gateway 2017, hosted by the York Region is an example of what Canada is prepared to do for it’s new immigrants - for FREE! It was held at Hilton hotel, hosted by a Canadian TV host, attended by the mayor of Markham and CEOs of companies in the York region.

Canada takes it’s free services very seriously.

#4 Not Canadianizing your resume

Someone at the conference mentioned that their resume was 6 pages long!

People think they can throw all their experiences up on a word document and mail blast it to every Canadian job board.

It's guaranteed failure.

People should seek professional help and to take it a step further, they should learn the methodology of Canadianizing your resume to suit the managers needs. A big part of this is knowing how to market your job experience in a way that pleases a Canadian hiring manager and recruiter.

One of my favorite tools for doing a quality check on the resume is jobscan. This tool allows you to compare your uploaded resume to the copy pasted job description side by side and score it for compliance.

#5 Not using bridging services

During one of the breaks at the conference I walked up to table where three strangers were sat. I introduced myself and they turned out to be a nurse, a physician and a dentist.

To my relief, they were all already enrolled in a bridging program at York Univeristy, one of the most popular hosts of bridging programs.

But in most cases, I find that a lot of people don't utilize these services. I hear them say “I have over twenty years of experience, why should I go back to learning something I have been doing ?”

Look, I understand it's not easy to feel like you're going back to paying your dues in your career. But you are getting a fresh start in a new country.

It takes courage to leave your family and friends behind to move to a new country in hopes of a better life.

Well guess what - it takes courage to choose to take a step back in your career too.

When I applied for a job, I applied for a position that was two levels below the job I had in Dubai. But because I took an active approach to it, that job application revealed a hidden job that was one level higher and unadvertised, that the recruiter thought I was better suited for.

And two years later, after working my ass off on that job even though it was a lower position from before, and using the smarts and the experience and the work ethics I developed from my 12 year career prior to landing in Canada, I got a promotion back to my managers position.

If you have the humility to learn and the courage to temporarily refresh your career and the vision to get back the career you left behind, you will eventually start to see the hopes become reality.

An expert I follow say that it may take anywhere from 6–12 years in average for a Canadian newcomer to get back the quality of life you left behind. I'm on year 3.

Don't let pride delay the process.

To sum up…

Canada welcomes diversity in the workplace. That is what the Gateway 2017 conference was all about.

But what they did not mention, and this is my personal insight, is that one place where diversity is not accepted is the norms of business conduct.

Your diversity will be accepted from your fresh ideas, creative innovation and dynamic insights.

But when you communicate, when you lead teams, when you make presentations, when you attend meetings, when you make a sales pitch, when you care for patients, when you ask for a raise, when you work with your boss and every other aspect of business conduct you can think of, it's done one way - the Canadian way.

Anyone migrating here should literally study what this person wrote. I feel this person also missed two points.

1. There are several ways to get to your destination. Have an open mind.

2. Don't chase job titles. Chase stability and what makes sense.

olajide21:



@mummyjaygirls when are you landing?

My brother December o, and weather today at Edmonton is -18 and they say its just doing press up.

MummyJaygirls:


My brother December o, and weather today at Edmonton is -18 and they say its just doing press up.

-18? Don't worry, you would be fine God willing.... I wish you the best and a.good life in Canada.

Blackbuddy:
Please see this article/opinion copied from Quora. It contains a lot of key points and nuggets about how to settle down professionally in Canada. Please note again, it was copied from Quora https://www.quora.com/Why-do-so-many-skilled-immigrants-complain-that-they-do-not-get-jobs-in-Canada

That eye contact thing...I once learnt in an OB class that, culturally in the US, not making eye contact means you are lying..so by default a recruiter would think you are lying at an nterview....meanwhile in Nigeria you would appear forward and confrontational...these are the real issues- CULTURE.

Thanks Blackbuddy for sharing!

Very informative

Blackbuddy:
Please see this article/opinion copied from Quora. It contains a lot of key points and nuggets about how to settle down professionally in Canada. Please note again, it was copied from Quora https://www.quora.com/Why-do-so-many-skilled-immigrants-complain-that-they-do-not-get-jobs-in-Canada

2 days ago, I attended Gateway 2017 in Markham, Ontario. It was a free conference for newcomers to Canada who were struggling to find work, giving them an opportunity to express their concerns, ask questions and networking with CEOs and other Canadian professionals.

I got to see first hand the complaints of skilled immigrants who do not get jobs in Canada, and this is what I found.

#1 Misunderstanding what Canadian Experience means, and no one explaining what it really is

Almost everyone was talking about Canadian experience. They even had a panel discussion about it.

One woman from Nigeria came up to the mic and was angry at the Canadian system. You could hear it in her voice - “How can I get Canadian Experience if I don’t have a job? I have been looking for a job for 8 YEARS!”

After her rant about Canadian experience which went on for 10 minutes, I asked random people “Would you hire that person?” They all replied “No way in hell!”

A lot of people think that Canadian experience is about working in Canada. It is not! This is my personal definition of Canadian experience:

A hiring manager’s perception of your soft skills and knowledge of Canadian work culture.

Here is the strange part. A lot of people were saying they were getting calls for interviews, but it never converted to a job.

Think about it, if you got called for a job interview, the hiring manager already knows you have not worked in Canada from your resume. Why would he or she call you for the interview if it was a problem?

What most likely happened was that during the interview, you failed to demonstrate the soft skills that the job needs. Either your communication skills were bad, or you downplayed your accomplishments when asked to talk about your experience. Once recruiter told me that some people she interviews don’t even make eye contact when they speak.

At this stage in the interview, either Canadians are too polite, or they fear a discriminatory law suit, so they just tell “You don't have Canadian experience” or “You are over qualified”, when what they really mean is “Your English is poor” or “My team will have a hard time understanding your accent” or “Based on your stories it doesn't sound like you accomplished alot”.

I was on a panel discussion myself talking about my experience as a newcomer. A gentleman at the back of the room told me that whenever he goes into an interview, he is always told that he is “overqualified”.

I gave him advice on how to tackle an “overqualified” problem, but when he spoke to me I knew straight away what his problem was, but I was too embarrassed to tell him in front of the whole room.

Unfortunately, he did not privately speak to me after the talk, else I would have told him “Canadian recruiters are telling you’re overqualified because they are hesitant to tell you the real reason - it’s your English”. His English was so bad, I wonder how he ever managed to pass his IELTS.

I’m not saying this is the fault of the candidate. This behavior stems not from your experience but from the culture of the country you came from. Maybe English is not your first language, maybe in your culture you’re not allowed to talk highly of yourself and give all the glory to your bosses. Maybe it’s in your culture to remain silent and not make eye contact out of respect.

The bottom line is, you need to understand how Canadians think and what hiring managers and recruiters expectations are to get past the Canadian experience problem.

Unless you do the research, or ask the right people who aren't afraid to give you an honest answer, and most importantly upgrade your English language skills, skilled immigrants will continue to complain about not getting jobs.

#2 Not taking an active approach to your job search

This is how I personally had success in Canada, securing three job offers in two weeks.

If you just machine gun your generic resume to online jobs and rely on technology to do the rest you will be job searching for a long time.

Machines don't hire you. Humans do. So you have to demonstrate to the hiring manager that you are willing to work hard and think outside the box.

This is why I customize my resume and personalize my cover letter for every job application, and created my own personal website (connelvalentineresume.com) to stand out.

I used the same tactics when I applied for a mangers job within my company and I got the job again, so I'm confident it works.

As long as you're aware of the process, the expectations of the hiring manager and skills in resume and cover letter writing you can increase the chances of landing that job 10 fold.

#3 Not using publically available services

If it's free it's probably not worth it right? Not in Canada! If you want to see the Canadian tax dollars at work, make use of the public services that are available to you.

New immigrants do not use these services either because they are too proud or they do not feel it's worth it.

From this conference that I attended, where these companies that host these services were present, you will see the quality in what they provide.

They may not get you the perfect job, but will fit you into a well established company and then it's up to you to work your way up.

My cousin used Costi when she was trying to get back into finance and they placed her with a logistics company doing account receivables where she is now a full time employee after proving her worth and working hard.

I have personally hired and trust candidates from Npower Canada.

This conference that I attended, Gateway 2017, hosted by the York Region is an example of what Canada is prepared to do for it’s new immigrants - for FREE! It was held at Hilton hotel, hosted by a Canadian TV host, attended by the mayor of Markham and CEOs of companies in the York region.

Canada takes it’s free services very seriously.

#4 Not Canadianizing your resume

Someone at the conference mentioned that their resume was 6 pages long!

People think they can throw all their experiences up on a word document and mail blast it to every Canadian job board.

It's guaranteed failure.

People should seek professional help and to take it a step further, they should learn the methodology of Canadianizing your resume to suit the managers needs. A big part of this is knowing how to market your job experience in a way that pleases a Canadian hiring manager and recruiter.

One of my favorite tools for doing a quality check on the resume is jobscan. This tool allows you to compare your uploaded resume to the copy pasted job description side by side and score it for compliance.

#5 Not using bridging services

During one of the breaks at the conference I walked up to table where three strangers were sat. I introduced myself and they turned out to be a nurse, a physician and a dentist.

To my relief, they were all already enrolled in a bridging program at York Univeristy, one of the most popular hosts of bridging programs.

But in most cases, I find that a lot of people don't utilize these services. I hear them say “I have over twenty years of experience, why should I go back to learning something I have been doing ?”

Look, I understand it's not easy to feel like you're going back to paying your dues in your career. But you are getting a fresh start in a new country.

It takes courage to leave your family and friends behind to move to a new country in hopes of a better life.

Well guess what - it takes courage to choose to take a step back in your career too.

When I applied for a job, I applied for a position that was two levels below the job I had in Dubai. But because I took an active approach to it, that job application revealed a hidden job that was one level higher and unadvertised, that the recruiter thought I was better suited for.

And two years later, after working my ass off on that job even though it was a lower position from before, and using the smarts and the experience and the work ethics I developed from my 12 year career prior to landing in Canada, I got a promotion back to my managers position.

If you have the humility to learn and the courage to temporarily refresh your career and the vision to get back the career you left behind, you will eventually start to see the hopes become reality.

An expert I follow say that it may take anywhere from 6–12 years in average for a Canadian newcomer to get back the quality of life you left behind. I'm on year 3.

Don't let pride delay the process.

To sum up…

Canada welcomes diversity in the workplace. That is what the Gateway 2017 conference was all about.

But what they did not mention, and this is my personal insight, is that one place where diversity is not accepted is the norms of business conduct.

Your diversity will be accepted from your fresh ideas, creative innovation and dynamic insights.

But when you communicate, when you lead teams, when you make presentations, when you attend meetings, when you make a sales pitch, when you care for patients, when you ask for a raise, when you work with your boss and every other aspect of business conduct you can think of, it's done one way - the Canadian way.

MummyJaygirls:


@dupyshoo got hers through post, she said hers was wrapped.

You can tell who will be posting it to put it in a book,

Thanks MummyJaygirls

olajide21:

Mails leaving Canada go through scanners. The scanner might reveal the card and it might be confisticated. I heard there is a way you can write an authorisation letter or /and send it via USA. Don't how easy/ true this is.

@mummyjaygirls when are you landing?

Thanks olajide21. It is the fear of it being confiscated that is making me ask.

olajide21:


-18? Don't worry, you would be fine God willing.... I wish you the best and a.good life in Canada.

Amin, thanks

Thank so blackbuddy. This is why I always stress that any immigrant coming to Canada should try to attend sessions at government funded employment services. Secondly, I know our accent is thick(I also have problem with this but working on it) but please let's try to mimic the way they speak. An average Canadian doesn't have ears for accent. If they can't decipher your accent they conclude that you cannot communicate. Unless you are in engineering or computer line of work, then you may get away with me. It's not only us, they also have problems with British and Australian accents too. Let's try to do what will make our lives easier as we start a new life in this country.

bless you for this!

Blackbuddy:
Please see this article/opinion copied from Quora. It contains a lot of key points and nuggets about how to settle down professionally in Canada. Please note again, it was copied from Quora https://www.quora.com/Why-do-so-many-skilled-immigrants-complain-that-they-do-not-get-jobs-in-Canada

2 days ago, I attended Gateway 2017 in Markham, Ontario. It was a free conference for newcomers to Canada who were struggling to find work, giving them an opportunity to express their concerns, ask questions and networking with CEOs and other Canadian professionals.

I got to see first hand the complaints of skilled immigrants who do not get jobs in Canada, and this is what I found.

#1 Misunderstanding what Canadian Experience means, and no one explaining what it really is

Almost everyone was talking about Canadian experience. They even had a panel discussion about it.

One woman from Nigeria came up to the mic and was angry at the Canadian system. You could hear it in her voice - “How can I get Canadian Experience if I don’t have a job? I have been looking for a job for 8 YEARS!”

After her rant about Canadian experience which went on for 10 minutes, I asked random people “Would you hire that person?” They all replied “No way in hell!”

A lot of people think that Canadian experience is about working in Canada. It is not! This is my personal definition of Canadian experience:

A hiring manager’s perception of your soft skills and knowledge of Canadian work culture.

Here is the strange part. A lot of people were saying they were getting calls for interviews, but it never converted to a job.

Think about it, if you got called for a job interview, the hiring manager already knows you have not worked in Canada from your resume. Why would he or she call you for the interview if it was a problem?

What most likely happened was that during the interview, you failed to demonstrate the soft skills that the job needs. Either your communication skills were bad, or you downplayed your accomplishments when asked to talk about your experience. Once recruiter told me that some people she interviews don’t even make eye contact when they speak.

At this stage in the interview, either Canadians are too polite, or they fear a discriminatory law suit, so they just tell “You don't have Canadian experience” or “You are over qualified”, when what they really mean is “Your English is poor” or “My team will have a hard time understanding your accent” or “Based on your stories it doesn't sound like you accomplished alot”.

I was on a panel discussion myself talking about my experience as a newcomer. A gentleman at the back of the room told me that whenever he goes into an interview, he is always told that he is “overqualified”.

I gave him advice on how to tackle an “overqualified” problem, but when he spoke to me I knew straight away what his problem was, but I was too embarrassed to tell him in front of the whole room.

Unfortunately, he did not privately speak to me after the talk, else I would have told him “Canadian recruiters are telling you’re overqualified because they are hesitant to tell you the real reason - it’s your English”. His English was so bad, I wonder how he ever managed to pass his IELTS.

I’m not saying this is the fault of the candidate. This behavior stems not from your experience but from the culture of the country you came from. Maybe English is not your first language, maybe in your culture you’re not allowed to talk highly of yourself and give all the glory to your bosses. Maybe it’s in your culture to remain silent and not make eye contact out of respect.

The bottom line is, you need to understand how Canadians think and what hiring managers and recruiters expectations are to get past the Canadian experience problem.

Unless you do the research, or ask the right people who aren't afraid to give you an honest answer, and most importantly upgrade your English language skills, skilled immigrants will continue to complain about not getting jobs.

#2 Not taking an active approach to your job search

This is how I personally had success in Canada, securing three job offers in two weeks.

If you just machine gun your generic resume to online jobs and rely on technology to do the rest you will be job searching for a long time.

Machines don't hire you. Humans do. So you have to demonstrate to the hiring manager that you are willing to work hard and think outside the box.

This is why I customize my resume and personalize my cover letter for every job application, and created my own personal website (connelvalentineresume.com) to stand out.

I used the same tactics when I applied for a mangers job within my company and I got the job again, so I'm confident it works.

As long as you're aware of the process, the expectations of the hiring manager and skills in resume and cover letter writing you can increase the chances of landing that job 10 fold.

#3 Not using publically available services

If it's free it's probably not worth it right? Not in Canada! If you want to see the Canadian tax dollars at work, make use of the public services that are available to you.

New immigrants do not use these services either because they are too proud or they do not feel it's worth it.

From this conference that I attended, where these companies that host these services were present, you will see the quality in what they provide.

They may not get you the perfect job, but will fit you into a well established company and then it's up to you to work your way up.

My cousin used Costi when she was trying to get back into finance and they placed her with a logistics company doing account receivables where she is now a full time employee after proving her worth and working hard.

I have personally hired and trust candidates from Npower Canada.

This conference that I attended, Gateway 2017, hosted by the York Region is an example of what Canada is prepared to do for it’s new immigrants - for FREE! It was held at Hilton hotel, hosted by a Canadian TV host, attended by the mayor of Markham and CEOs of companies in the York region.

Canada takes it’s free services very seriously.

#4 Not Canadianizing your resume

Someone at the conference mentioned that their resume was 6 pages long!

People think they can throw all their experiences up on a word document and mail blast it to every Canadian job board.

It's guaranteed failure.

People should seek professional help and to take it a step further, they should learn the methodology of Canadianizing your resume to suit the managers needs. A big part of this is knowing how to market your job experience in a way that pleases a Canadian hiring manager and recruiter.

One of my favorite tools for doing a quality check on the resume is jobscan. This tool allows you to compare your uploaded resume to the copy pasted job description side by side and score it for compliance.

#5 Not using bridging services

During one of the breaks at the conference I walked up to table where three strangers were sat. I introduced myself and they turned out to be a nurse, a physician and a dentist.

To my relief, they were all already enrolled in a bridging program at York Univeristy, one of the most popular hosts of bridging programs.

But in most cases, I find that a lot of people don't utilize these services. I hear them say “I have over twenty years of experience, why should I go back to learning something I have been doing ?”

Look, I understand it's not easy to feel like you're going back to paying your dues in your career. But you are getting a fresh start in a new country.

It takes courage to leave your family and friends behind to move to a new country in hopes of a better life.

Well guess what - it takes courage to choose to take a step back in your career too.

When I applied for a job, I applied for a position that was two levels below the job I had in Dubai. But because I took an active approach to it, that job application revealed a hidden job that was one level higher and unadvertised, that the recruiter thought I was better suited for.

And two years later, after working my ass off on that job even though it was a lower position from before, and using the smarts and the experience and the work ethics I developed from my 12 year career prior to landing in Canada, I got a promotion back to my managers position.

If you have the humility to learn and the courage to temporarily refresh your career and the vision to get back the career you left behind, you will eventually start to see the hopes become reality.

An expert I follow say that it may take anywhere from 6–12 years in average for a Canadian newcomer to get back the quality of life you left behind. I'm on year 3.

Don't let pride delay the process.

To sum up…

Canada welcomes diversity in the workplace. That is what the Gateway 2017 conference was all about.

But what they did not mention, and this is my personal insight, is that one place where diversity is not accepted is the norms of business conduct.

Your diversity will be accepted from your fresh ideas, creative innovation and dynamic insights.

But when you communicate, when you lead teams, when you make presentations, when you attend meetings, when you make a sales pitch, when you care for patients, when you ask for a raise, when you work with your boss and every other aspect of business conduct you can think of, it's done one way - the Canadian way.

honey86:
Thank so blackbuddy. This is why I always stress that any immigrant coming to Canada should try to attend sessions at government funded employment services. Secondly, I know our accent is thick(I also have problem with this but working on it) but please let's try to mimic the way they speak. An average Canadian doesn't have ears for accent. If they can't decipher your accent they conclude that you cannot communicate. Unless you are in engineering or computer line of work, then you may get away with me. It's not only us, they also have problems with British and Australian accents too. Let's try to do what will make our lives easier as we start a new life in this country.

I dont know much about computing, but in Engineering, your English (oral and written) must be excellent. You would be required to write alot of technical reports and communicate with different types of audiences. In field roles, not communicating clearly can get someone killed whether in the Oil, Civil, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering fields. In my opinion, there is no need to mimic. Speaking clearly and correctly would be okay.

honey86:
Thank so blackbuddy. This is why I always stress that any immigrant coming to Canada should try to attend sessions at government funded employment services. Secondly, I know our accent is thick(I also have problem with this but working on it) but please let's try to mimic the way they speak. An average Canadian doesn't have ears for accent. If they can't decipher your accent they conclude that you cannot communicate. Unless you are in engineering or computer line of work, then you may get away with me. It's not only us, they also have problems with British and Australian accents too. Let's try to do what will make our lives easier as we start a new life in this country.

You are right. Our thick accent is kinda a prob. I was on call with a white woman some days ago requesting for employment identification number for one of my service I render online. So she was asking for my address. And I called it with our thick accent ...she couldn't get it. She kept on asking me to repeat it.

The word I was calling was Shuttle Street but she finds it hard getting the shuttle correctly cuz I was pronouncing it Shutto as we normally pronounce it in Nigeria but hell no she still couldn't get it. A mind was then telling me why not pronounce it the America way? I decided to go the America way and pronounced it Shurro street with little d sound...that was wen she got it. Since then I have been using You tube to practice America accent cuz Canadians still speak like the Americans .

The trick is that they don't pronounce words with force.....as British do. British accent is too thick. Same with Australia. I prefer the American accent cuz u don't stress your mouth too much pronouncing words. Just a slight movement of your mouth and you are done.

salford1:

I dont know much about computing, but in Engineering, your English (oral and written) must be excellent. You would be required to write alot of technical reports and communicate with different types of audiences. In field roles, not communicating clearly can get someone killed whether in the Oil, Civil, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering fields. In my opinion, there is no need to mimic. Speaking clearly and correctly would be okay.

Thanks sage.
Planning to land in Barrie, ON. I have a friend there. Hoping to land by month end once COPR land.

I think it's not just about working on the Canadian accent.
Nigerians generally do not speak proper english. We pronounce "ask" as "axe" and "thing" as "tin". We say "on the tv" instead of "switch on the tv" and so many other mistakes.
I work with expats and in all my travel, I have never had a problem being understood, neither did I have to acquire an accent. Afterall, they won't ask someone with a german, french or spanish accent to acquire a Canadian accent.
If we speak clearly and pronouce our words properly, they won't have an issue understanding us.
The accent will come eventually while interacting with them daily. But for now, let's try to pronounce "th" and "sk" etc, work on the "h" factor and use the correct tenses and words.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhA3zeELPzc


This video further supports the Quora post by @Blackbuddy

[quote author=Blackbuddy post=61910441]
Hi Blackbuddy, I'm trying to decide the best city to stay in the GTA. top on my list is Missisauga/burlington/oakville. My major consideration is lower cost of living, access to good jobs and good environment to raise kids. Any help will be appreciated.

Hi Blackbuddy, I'm trying to decide the best city to stay in the GTA. top on my list is Missisauga/burlington/oakville. My major consideration is lower cost of living, access to good jobs and good environment to raise kids. Any help will be appreciated.

Blackbuddy:


Hi, you can also get tinned palm oil from the Asian (Chinese) stores like Grant's Foodmart at 3415 Dixie Rd, Mississauga, ON L4Y 2B1. It's right at the intersection of Dixie and Bloor and they also have beef, goat and fish, even fresh point and kill right there. Also try African Caribbean Grocery at 63 Dundas Street West, Mississauga. You will get palm oil in small kegs there as well as gari, semo, melon and other Naija staples. All the Oceans Fresh Food Market stores (Chinese owned) have assorted fish & meat selections with entrails if you want. In this winter, pepper soup is a must to help you cope for the 5 months ahead.

For more meat, try Kabul Farms Supermarket at 255 Dundas St West in Mississauga. If you don't mind going far then Laurie Meat is good at 1696 Jane Street, at Jane and Lawrence West, York/Toronto but I personally prefer Sisi Meats at 2734 Jane Street, Toronto. The owner, Dominic, an Italian, is much neater than Laurie and I always go to him for full goat. If you can get some friends together, you can buy a whole cow and Dom will split it up for you guys.

For occasional cooked meals, try Village Suya at 900 Rathburn Road West, Mississauga. Evcen oyinbos recommend the place. Another one to try if you like to stroll is Get Grill at 7910 Hurontario St, Brampton. Hope these help.

Hello everyone. I would like to know if there is anyone in Nova Scotia here. We have not gotten our PPR yet but by Gods grace before the end of November. We are PNP and as I would like to know how the life is over at Nova Scotia. I haven’t seen any one talk of Nova Scotia here.
Any help will be appreciated