Before anything, I humbly submit that I was able to wriggle out of the 'Canada new immigrant shackle' only through the grace of god.

If I may, here are some tips for 'succeeding' in Canada (Most of this has been discussed before)
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1) Think long term - Bring enough money to sustain yourself for 6 months atleast. There is no need to press the panic button, as there are atleast 31 million success stories. (Most of them are immigrants, or their parent's have been immigrants). Use a little bit of reverse psychology.. The Brits came to India and succeeded. The Brits went to Australia and succeeded. The Brits went to America and succeeded. It is now our turn. And we have not immigrated to Ethiopia or Somalia, but rather into a G-7 country. Having made our way here (the difficult part), all we need to do is exercise patience and perseverence.

2) Be prepared to 'not be working' for atleast 3 months. The $1=Rs.32 can be quite overwhelming, but you will soon get used to it. Remember, you are going to make the big bucks soon.Obviously, most of us want to start working right away, but remember, companies do not hire on the fly. Interviewing, and getting a job takes upto 6 months (even for the white Canadian),

3) Do not compromise on basic infrastructure such as independent phone, computer and internet. Yes, you can save money by sharing, going to libraries, blah.., but then your chances of succeeding reduce as well. One missed call, and you have potentially lost an employment opportunity. Most of us have spent several lakhs coming here.. why not spend another lakh for staying here.

4) Make sure that you get a TV and cable hookup. TV (channels such as CBC ) are useful source of local and national information. Use your free time to read the newspaper. I know, that Rs.32 is ridiculous amount for buying a newspaper, but it is worthwhile. Newspaper classifieds are a good source of temp jobs as well.

My advise about temp jobs -- Never do them full time.. Never do more than 4 hours a day. Spend your time researching, applying, etc.. Never ever succumb to the temptation of working full time on a labor jobs. It is not worthwhile. Having said that, my initial job in Canada was 12 hour shifts in a bottling plant (3 days and 2 nights, and then 3 nights and 2 days). It sapped all my energy, and I finally returned to India. I returned after a couple of months, and vowed never to do a GL job again. I intentionally left my safety shoes behind in India and returned back to Canada on the premise that 'failure was not an option'.

5) Resume writing - - While a good resume will not necessarily get you a job, a bad one abruptly puts an end to your chances. Whenever possible, make sure your forward your resume internally... Draw on resources such as HRDC and your consultant. (My consultant conducted a 4 day orientation, which was quite useful. I met a couple of counsellors, who were really good, and was inspired by the number of success stories)

6) Think beyond Mississauga and Brampton. I encourage people to find accomodation in downtown Toronto and other areas. I now work in Alberta, and never imagined that this place would be so vibrant and prosperous.

7) Morale - Keep a positive morale. Listen to success stories. Surround yourself with people with positive energy. I found it very difficult to maintain a positive attitude, after hearing one negative experience after another. People bickering and complaining, and venting their frustrations..All this totally dampened my spirit, and I almost gave up..my advise -- friends, please do not succumb to this. Stay away from negative energy. Luckily, I found a big inspiration in a friend of mine, who succeeded here in Canada, and helped (and is helping) others succeed.
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Remember, when the Pilgrim fathers initially came here to North America, all they had was faith and hope.

The Americans who headed west to Oregon were essentially coming to an uninhabited place. But they succeeded.

We have the education, talent, willingness to work hard, proved ourselves back home... there is no reason why we will not succeed here.. The only thing we probably need more of is faith, hope and a lot of strategy.

Do not worry about what happens to others. You are here for a reason, to pursue a dream, and do not give up.

Believe in God. He will show you a way!

Wish you the very best - Anand

Great analysis , Thanks for boosting our moral.

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Visit-
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CanadianDesan/

one of the best posts on the forum - a must read for everyone

Wish other similar thoughts are posted on this website and do not die in one's body without inspiring others.

Thks for the encouraging post.

Vijesh

great vision; great advice. Thanks!

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Deal With Reality or Reality Will Deal With You

The thoughts are similar to mine and the story is also similar to mine but the difference is He returned to India and i had nearly thought of returning and the second difference is he has already proved himself and i am on my way.

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Sucess is not an accident it is a result of hardwork with intelligence.

Great inspiration Anand.

Same story here buddy,but i m so much frustrated that i m probably on the verge of leaving canada.

I have already booked my tickets and may be going back in month of september.

I have tried lot of places for my field job but it is now almost 2 years but still nothing has come out of it and i m doing a labour job.

Now my company, where i worked is expanding and they want me back with almost double the salary what i was drawing 2 years back.

So i m tempted to return and forget about this land for ever but my friends are persuing me to not to do that as i m nearing my Citizenship but i think if i m going to work as labour then what will i do with this citizenship, i had not studied to work as a labour.

I have one daughter and she is still 5 years old and always ask one question that "Dad why don't you come back in evening as you did to come during our days in India". I want to play with you and Mom.

(Since i m doing labor job i have to work in shift -2 nd shift so that i can explore my job area)

I feel very upset on hearing this that i have not given a better life to my small little child by coming here.

I still remember and think When will those Happy days return?

so friends my point is not to discourage anybody as everybody has different mindset and their level of attempts are also different .

so i just want a frank opinion that what should i do ? Shall i go back? or keep on struggling.