To make a reasonable decision on immigration and to be better prepared for the Canadian job market, Maziar Taheri, an Iranian electrical engineer with a background in sales and marketing, made two short trips to Toronto before moving to Canada with his family. During these two-week trips Taheri met with friends in Ontario, talked to them about the job opportunities in the country, asked them how they managed their businesses, spent time at their work places and gathered as much information as possible about the standard of living in Canada.He says these two trips helped him get a realistic idea about his chances in the job market and saved him a lot time, money and struggles when he finally immigrated to Canada.
“Some people decide to move to Canada without knowledge of the requirements of the job market here,” he says, “and when they come, they have to spend a lot more energy – and there is also a big risk of spending much more money than necessary. It can be a great pain for some of them and it can also reflect on their families. In fact, they could have done something in their countries to be better prepared and save time, funds, spirit, everything. To me, these two short trips helped me to have a better start in Canada.”
It took seven months for Taheri to find a professional job he likes. The first two and a half months in Canada he attended two courses for internationally trained professionals through ACCES Employment Services. The first one was Sales and Marketing Connection at Humber College,Toronto. In addition to presenting the specifics of sales and marketing in Canada, the program included resume writing and interview skills. The other course Taheri attended was Leaderships in Project Management at Ryerson University. There he received useful information on the management concepts in Canada, as well as on team building, conflict management and leadership styles.
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Immediately after finishing the two programs, Taheri started working for a small company in Toronto. Unfortunately, the company was not in a good financial situation and couldn’t pay him the salary he deserved, so two and a half months later Taheri was unemployed, looking for a job.
That was his the most difficult time in Canada. “I heard from my friends that looking for a job was a full-time job and I realized that it was true,” he says. “Sometimes I was working 12 hours a day – writing resumes, reading job postings and companies’ websites, going to job fairs and to interviews. But I had made the decision to come to Canada and start my life here, so I was determined to get a good job and I am happy that I found it.”
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“I tried to socialize with immigrants, who had started years ago and have succeeded. I tried to learn about their experiences, to hear how they solved their problems, what their approach was and this helped me a lot.”
To cheer up and to stay motivated during his job search, Taheri decided to avoid talking to negative people and instead to socialize with successful friends and acquaintances with positive attitude. ”Everywhere we can find people with low spirit and pessimistic views,” he says, “but it doesn’t help to communicate with them – focussing only on problems and difficulties doesn’t help. So I tried to socialize with immigrants, some of them already Canadian citizens, who had started years ago and have succeeded. I tried to learn about their experiences, to hear how they solved their problems, what their approach was and this helped me a lot. I realized that all of them started with many challenges but they tried to keep a balance and to make realistic plans and solve things step by step. It took them time and energy but they have succeeded and I really enjoyed listening to their stories.”
Being an electrical engineer with experience in EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) projects, oil and gas, and sales and marketing of industrial equipment, Taheri found his current job in Calgary and is now working for one of Canada’s leading engineering companies.
“When I was planning to move to Canada,” he says, “most of my friends were landing in Toronto, and we also had relatives in Vancouver. So I had just two alternatives in my mind –Toronto and Vancouver. I decided to land in Toronto because of my close friends there. At that time I didn’t know much about Calgary. But little by little I understood that something very interesting was going on there – related to my experience and my education. And I decided to move to Calgary. Now I am happy to live here. If I knew about Calgary before coming to Canada, I would have moved here directly, but unfortunately I didn’t have enough information.”
Taheri thinks Calgary has a more relaxed and harmonious society. There is a reason for that. “The weather is not very nice,” he explains. “Winters are very cold and very long. For that reason non-professional people won’t come to Calgary. Very few newcomers would land here – most of the immigrants go to Toronto and Vancouver, which has resulted in the existence of many different societies, appearances and behaviours there. As for Calgary, mainly professionals who have jobs move here. Those who come have very clear ideas about their career goals. They also earn enough income to meet their financial needs. This makes the society more balanced and steady. Also, there are fewer crimes here. I like Vancouver– it is very beautiful and has good weather, it is nice to visit, but I prefer to live in Calgary.”
Although he found a professional job and stability in less than a year, Taheri thinks skilled immigrants should be patient and prepared for not having in the first two or three years in Canada the same life standards they have had back home. Also, he advises newcomers’ spouses to be understanding and all family members to remember why and what for they have left their own countries, relatives and friends. Taheri also recommends new immigrants to carefully spend their savings and to avoid taking financial risks in their first years in Canada.
By Lucy Slavianska
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