hi everyone!
i came across this story at http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57242&page=54, thought it might help all of us, especially accountants in search of a new start in canada. it goes this way:
WINTER brought good news to Marie Romero, a Filipino immigrant in British Columbia, a western province of Canada. The expected flow of tourists to Whistler, a premiere ski resort located in the province, has given her a chance to work at the Four Seasons Hotel.
After three years of unsuccessful job searches, Marie, who holds a master's degree in education from the California State University, finds that right now housekeeping at Four Seasons is the best option she has in Canada.
"I pounded the pavement going from mall to mall in Vancouver applying for a job but never found one," says this experienced educator. She found a few all right-a sales associate position at a computer store that lasted a few months, as telemarketer, mystery shopper, a Christmas stint at the Gap-but nothing permanent and nothing by way of a career.
To keep herself from brooding and to enhance her resume, she volunteered at the museums in cities nearby and went back to school. But the uncertaintyof the past three years caught up with her this year, causing frustration and depression, which led her to seek therapy.
Marie's experience is nothing new to most Filipino newcomers in B.C. Not only do they find it difficult to continue the careers that they've worked so hard at in the Philippines, but sometimes, finding any job in the early years is like walking through the desert before reaching the promised land. They find out that starting a new life in the land of maple syrup is not sweet.
Antonia (not her real name) found this out first-hand when she moved her husband and two sons to Canada this year. "Canadian education and experience are given more weight in hiring," she says. "Most professionals are forced to accept casual and manual labor jobs just to be able to acquire the so-called Canadian experience."
The 51-year-old newcomer describes her family's move as drastic, something that radically altered their lifestyles: from a comfortable house to a basement suite, from a highly rewarding position with a government agency to unemployment. The endless "mismanagement and stealing of government resources" in the country crystallized their decision to get out of the Philippines. If their children have to have a bright future, they had to leave.
A beautiful picture
They did their due diligence before migrating. She and her husband personally checked out B.C. with Antonia's relatives, who are residents of the province and who painted a beautiful picture of life in British Columbia.
Reality, however, presented a different portrait. "I would like to believe that food is cheaper in the Philippines than here," she says. "But the two types of taxes being imposed on purchases have made the value of the dollar minimal."
She's getting anxious. A big source of her anxiety is being jobless. Knowing that her accounting certification and years of experience back home do not count for much in her new country, she's ready to take on almost anything. "Even a clerical position will do," she says. But even that is hard to come by for new immigrants.
Ask Maji Admana, former investigative agent with the National Bureau of Investigation and a Certified Public Accountant in the Philippines. She came to Canada with her husband and three children in February, 1997. The fear that she may never find a job cast a long shadow during her first year in Canada. It compelled her to go on overdrive on her job searches. "There was a period of about three months that I must have sent an average of 100 resumes a month," she recalls. No one responded.
But she held on. Her faith in God sustained her. "I knew that He had a plan for me," she says. When she did find work, it was with a security agency. She walked the beat at the Vancouver Public Library-three levels of underground parking and seven top floors by herself from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
The upgrade
When she would see her reflection in the mirror dressed in the dreary security uniform of black pants and grey shirt, she couldn't help but ask, "Oh Lord, what have I done to myself?"
She has done quite well since then. Maji is smart, driven and goal-oriented. Early on, she has figured out the first rule of competition: upgrade. If she wanted to achieve what she came for in Canada, she had to accept the truth, which was that her accounting title in the Philippines was not enough to make it in her new homeland. She needed to upgrade her credentials in her new country. She studied Certified Management Accounting, a program that combines accounting know-how with management skills.
School was tough but tougher was the combination of being employee, mother, wife and student. "I multi-tasked. I helped my children with their homework while doing dishes," she says. This was the routine at the Admana household for about five years. The stress caused canker sores. "As soon as I finished my CMA, the canker sores disappeared," Maji says.
The designation cost CDN $20,000. Although her employer paid part of it, she shouldered 75 percent of the expense. But the CMA is worth the money and the canker sores. She is now the assistant controller of a telecom company in Burnaby, B.C., and the potential to go higher is there. "If I play my cards right, my future is looking good," she says.
Single mother Elsie Edillor is applying the same approach. A self-employed accounting management consultant in Cagayan de Oro, she is working toward a designation in Certified General Accounting to upgrade her Philippine accounting degree. Being a CGA student helped her get her present job as accountant for a travel company in Vancouver.
If it were up to her, she would have stayed put in the Philippines. "I was happy with the way things were," she says. But her son wanted to pursue a film career, and Canada offered the opportunity. In April 2002, this single mother and her then 20-year-old son came to Canada. "I am here to support my only family-my son," she says.
The first year she worked as a billing clerk for a freight company and, to augment her income, as a cashier on a weekend graveyard shift at a casino. It took her four days to make up for lost sleep. They lived in cheap basement suites; one of them had an abandoned garage occupied by a big rat. These challenges-she never called them difficulties throughout the interview-did not dim her focus on why they migrated to Canada. "I was not disappointed. I was ready to face the challenge."
One tool that helped her get past the challenge of finding a job was networking. "Connect with people who can connect you with the work," she says. She and Maji got their present positions through their respective membership with the CGA and CMA. Marie's resourcefulness led her to connect with an immigrant services agency that helped her write and fax her resumes and locate job opportunities-all for free.
Network of support
Marie is amazed by the network of support that she found among Christians and fellow kababayans. "I am amazed that Filipinos here help total strangers. They don't care who you are or where you are from. If you need help, they help," she says.
So is Canada worth the pain? Elsie has no regrets. "I can see my son's dream in becoming involved in filmmaking coming true." Maji got what she wanted. "We have surpassed our achievements in the Philippines," she says. She sees a happy ending to her journey.
It's still too soon for Antonia to tell if Canada is worth the price of leaving a good career. The memory of the Philippines is still very fresh and the country beckons. "I am tempted to go back home," she admits. Her concern for her children, however, holds her back.
Marie's therapy is ongoing, but she's getting better. "I can see a little of the light at the end of the tunnel," she says. She has picked up lessons along the way: "It's not your diploma, not who you are. It's how you handle difficulties." She adds: "Have faith in God."
Coming from someone who has survived the test of fire for three years, the advice is worth more than a year's therapy.
God bless!
