I will like to sincerely apologize to those who have recently sent me PMs as i may not be able to personally reply to everyone due to time constraint. Thus, i will try to respond to the general theme of the PMs here, hoping others can learn too...
I immigrated to Canada in December 2013, under NOC 1122 after being rejected in 2011... I landed in
Saskatoon-Saskatchewan with my wife (As i have a family member based there). I immediately set out to visit the newcomers center, passed my driving test and opened my account with Scotiabank after Royal bank refused to approve a Credit card for me despite my willingness to secure it (I still dey vex with those guys
)
I had to return to my job in Naija by the end of January 2014 without my wife because i still had an international job that paid me in US dollars hoping to come back finally by June 2014. Unfortunately, my newly wedded wife was constantly disturbing me to return else she will hope on plane to join me in Africa. Thus, i prayed for God's grace and tendered my resignation in April 2014 but my wonderful boss refused to accept it and told me to rather go on an "Extended" annual vacation to see how things go in Canada.
During this period, my PR card application was rejected due to the passport photo not meeting up to standards but my wife replied with another set of Photos which was accepted. I returned to Canada in the first week of April, attended some newcomer classes to fix up my resume which also included a free First aid & CPR training and training on how to conform to the Canadian workplace.
I was privileged to have a very attractive linkedin profile, so i didn't need to apply too much for jobs as recruiters were regularly contacting me for offers. My current job followed the same path as i was contacted via Linkedin, Shared my resume, attended 3 interviews and the job was mine by the end of May 2014 !
The whole process wasn't as easy and straightforward as i have written it but i will say i was blessed with good friends & family and most of all God's grace(I will also like to use this opportunity to thank my mentor
"Jibaba" who was a great friend and confidant at every step of the process for me (i can't believe i still haven't met him personally yet
)).
I also started my preparation for Canada as early as when i applied for my Visa by doing all the
necessary & relevant I.T certifications before i landed and maintaining an up to date and attractive Linkedin profile.
Most of the PM's i receive like the cost of living in Canada and necessary certifications or credential exams in Canada can be found by a simple
Google search, there are tons of information online that relates to each one of us, all we need do is spend more time learning from other people's experience.
I must say at this point, there is no "Silver Bullet", as everyone's story will always be different but my recipe for success in Canada is;
Preparation, Networking and most of all
God's grace !
All the best guys !
God bless.
