I am forced to write this article because there are so many negative
posts on Canadian desi. Just wanted to share my story to tell you all
that job situation is not all that bad and hopeless as one starts
feeling it is, after going through all the negative posts here.

I am software engineer by profession. Came to Canada in 2002 and went
back to India after spending one month here. Got married and finally
arrived in Calgary for good in Dec, 04. Probably it was not a good
time to come here because hiring is pretty low in December and January
due to Christmas and New Year vacations. I came here alone. Sponsored
my wife and then started looking for a job in my field. Started
putting my resume on jobsites like http://www.monster.ca" rel="nofollow">LINK, http://www.workopolis.com" rel="nofollow">LINK
etc. etc. Also started forwarding my resume to couple of contacts in
Toronto area, started applying through news papers etc. etc. Didn't
get any response from anywhere after applying to somewhere around 50
places including jobsites, job alerts, newspapers etc. And then came
across canadiandesi.com. Went through some of the posts and believe me
really started cursing myself that why did I leave such a well paying
job with MNC in Gurgaon with such a good future. Thought of packing my
bags and going back because I still had my job back in India. I had
come here on a 2 months leave but as they say – You come to Canada you
commit a mistake, you go back and you commit a blunder. So just
thought of giving Canada some more time. Finally no more leave
extension was possible and so had to resign with heavy heart of
course.

Some people suggested me to move to Toronto area because there are
more jobs there but then there are more people too. I was even
suggested to do any odd job to pass time but I was kind of determined
not to do that – one reason because I was staying at my uncle's place
and so dint have to bother about any bills or anything. It was
beginning of Feb by then. Christmas and New Year fever was over and
job situation was picking up a bit. So with renewed energy and vigor,
I started job hunting again. Came across some more jobsites like
http://www.thingamajobs.ca" rel="nofollow">LINK, http://www.appliedthought.ca" rel="nofollow">LINK, etc. Reformatted my resume
and posted on these sites. Also applied to 2-3 jobs through local
newspaper Calgary Herald. Meanwhile kept on brushing up my concepts in
.NET/Oracle/SQL Server.

Finally one fine day got a call from appliedthought.ca staff about an
opening with a company in Edmonton. Telephonic interview was arranged
which went off very well because I was well prepared. Then company took an online test on .NET and was offered a permanent job as software developer in .NET. Dream come true!!! I joined there on March 1 and am happy to get a job in my field which
seems to be such a remote possibility after going through Canadian
Desi posts. And its not that I am saying that situation is not bad
just because I got one job. Its that ever since I have got 8 calls – 5
for contract positions ranging from 2 to 8 months in Calgary out of which one was having good scope of becoming permanent. Other 2 were through the ones which I had applied through Calgary Herald and that too on the basis of my
non-Canadian experience. So far I haven't updated my resume with my
Canadian experience. So job situation in Calgary/Edmonton area is
quite good atleast in .NET. Out of last 2, I have cleared final rounds
of both of them and hoping to get offers from both sometime next week.
By no means it's a success story. Probably it takes a lot more than
getting one job to make a good success story but atleast things have
started moving in right direction.

Couple of observations which I have made during job hunting and which
helped me a lot:

• Spend time on resume. Try to look at it with employer's eyes and see
if you had been the employer would you have been impressed by your
resume
• Customize your resume according to job advertisement. Give the
employer what he wants. Its better to apply to 5 jobs with customized
resume than to apply to 20 jobs with same resume for all
• Brush up your concepts meanwhile and be prepared because sometimes
you might be called for an interview on very short notice of 2-3 days
types
• Get a laptop/desktop. Money spent will be worth every penny
• Get a cellphone and put the number on your resume making it easy for
employer to contact you and you won't miss it
• And above all don't lose heart if you don't get response. Keep
applying. Its when the things get worse that you must not quit.
• Put your resume on major jobsites like http://www.monster.ca" rel="nofollow">LINK,
http://www.workopolis.com" rel="nofollow">LINK but particularly on less known like
http://www.appliedthought.ca" rel="nofollow">LINK because atleast I got my first job not through
monster or workopolis but through applied thought.
• If possible come here alone, stay at some friend/relative's place if
possible and don't think of doing any odd job because once you start
doing that you start getting used to that and end up doing that only.

All I wanted to say was that don't be negative. If you have patience
and perseverance, you'll surely make it sooner or later.

But east or west, India is the best. If you are well settled back in
India, Canada is not worth the struggle of starting from scratch.