Entredude,

I'm up for a informal meeting at a Timmy Ho's or some pub around downtown. Mishtar India (Samir) has been telling me for quite some time to meet up in downtown sometime and I haven't been able to.

This weekend sucks for me, but next weekend onward is good.

Chandresh, your suggestion for your place is very gracious indeed, but it may be easier to meet at a public place for starters. What say?

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Are you there?

BL,Chandresh , Entre and all friends who are interested .... i am all up for an informal meeting. Any weekend works for me between now till mid Oct.

You all are welcome at my place. If you prefer Timmy ho's ....any location works for me .....for suggestions how about the one at harbourfront on the lake (Queens quay and York st downtown ) .... i can arrange for free parking ....for 7-8 cars.

Let me know what works.

Samir

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What can be imagined, can be achieved.

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Orginally posted by ayaskant

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Orginally posted by Viks

I wont hire a desi if i smell curry from his clothes no matter how techie he is .....peirod.


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This reminds me of a similar story.

I had a friend in school who used to board the same school bus a few stops after my house. Every day, he used to sit either next to me or opposite me, in the Bus. And every day I made it a point to ask him \\\" You had fried eggs again today, for breakfast ? \\\" And he used to answer \\\" Yes, but how do you know ?\\\"

One day I decided to end my misery and tell him bluntly. So, when he came out with \\\" Yes, but how do you know ?\\\", I answered, \\\" Quite simple really, It's all over your shirt.\\\"

The next day, i was pleasantly surprised when my friend got onto the bus. He did not smell of eggs, and there was no stain in his shirt either.

In conclusion, I always believe that we can help out someone, by pointing out his fault in a subtle manner. If he gets the hint, he will correct himself. At the same time, we should take care not to offend / hurt the sentiments of any fellow human.



Ayaskant.

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Orginally posted by BlueLobster

Entredude,

I'm up for a informal meeting at a Timmy Ho's or some pub around downtown. Mishtar India (Samir) has been telling me for quite some time to meet up in downtown sometime and I haven't been able to.

This weekend sucks for me, but next weekend onward is good.

Chandresh, your suggestion for your place is very gracious indeed, but it may be easier to meet at a public place for starters. What say?

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Chandresh

Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!

Been reading posts on this site for the past couple of days, and finally decided to post one of my own.

I've been in Canada for about a year and a half, did a few things perhaps differently from what others generally do - landed in Canada on a visit, looked at the job market, found myself a job in a couple of weeks, went back to the Middle East where I had been employed, quit my previous job....before making the final move to Canada.

I work in my profession - am a US CPA - never had to volunteer jobs, labor jobs or anything of the sort. My earnings are comparable with my Canadian colleagues and provide me with an opportunity to enjoy a lot of the good things that life in Canada has to offer.

Reading thru the posts though, I was really reminded of my first visit to Canada. A lot of the Indian folks that I met seemed very negative......told me I would NEVER find employment......that Canada was a lousy place, that immigrants were discriminated against.....an Indian that I knew even asked me if I'd rehearsed saying 'your pizza is ready sir', since apparently (in his opinion), I was going to spend the rest of my life waiting tables here. They were wrong!

Fortunately I don't hang around too many Indians / desis anymore (I don't mean this to be derogatory to anyone on this board, its just that I can do without the general negativity)....

.......and yet I feel this need to post on this site, primarily to let anyone who's reading know that there is an alternative view, there are 'desis' who have settled in well, and who really like this country and the things that it has to offer.

From what I know, Indian job applicants come up short in a couple of areas:

- Language: lets not fool ourselves. Most Indians here would think we've got the best English language skills! Fact is we don't. A lot of us have miserable / non-existent grammar skills. We (me included) use very long sentences and some our language is archaic. I have seen Resume covering letters that actually say \"Please find attached herewith my detailed CV for your perusal\"........may still work in India, usually not very effective in North America. A lot of us also need to work on the way we pronounce our words..........I understand that a lot of applicants punctuate every sentence / phrase with \"Saar\" (Sir).......you really don't need to grovel, and 'Sir' isn't really used in a North American environment in any case.

Applicants' language ability is very important. Apart from communicating one's capabilities during the course of an interview, they are also important from the point of view of communicating with one's peers while on the job.

- Research ability: I've been told that a lot of applicants don't really research the company that they are looking to join, even though a lot of information is available on the internet. The lack of research shows up in not being able to carry on a smooth conversation during the course of an interview.

- Funny smells: I know a lot of you are offended by this, but unfortunately its become common perception that Indians have bad oral hygiene and that our clothes smell of curry.

- Bad attitude: Primarily a 'defeatist' attitude.......in Canadianspeak here, I hear recruiters saying that such people don't have the 'energy levels' to gel with a team.

I compiled these comments over a couple of casual conversations that I had with an HR Generalist from a mid-sized company and from a recruiter that I got to know - and I agree with them. They aren't scientific, aren't precise, and are just plain opinion. Some of you may want to accept it, others may not. I have my opinion and you are entitled to yours!

Thanks

Hello friends,
First off, despite all the squabbling we read on this site, I must congratulate, on behalf of this club, all the people who started this site. It is an extremely informative one. We have actually referred your site to immigrants of all nationalities to learn about the gruesome realities of survival ,more like sub-survival, jobs here in Canada despite being qualified in their countries. It is so blatantly true that more than 95% percent have to re-qualify here and while doing this they are forced to subsist at jobs in Macdonald’s, petrol stations, Sears and the like. Only the very few get jobs in their fields at good pay or even at an entry level.
Next, let me introduce myself. I am an Egyptian who has studied and lived in India for 17 years. I am the president of a club 0f 263 active members of all nationalities who have at one time or the other studied or stayed in India. We have people from Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Bahrain and many other places. We are also multi religion- Hindus, Muslims, Catholics, Buddhists, Zen, etc.
We would also like to point out that, all of us who studied in India- and some in top colleges like Davar’s school of Commerce, Management school in Ahmedabad, Xavier’s, Wadia’s, Ferguson plus many others, applied for jobs in India because the pay scale there is higher than in countries of our origin like Somalia, Ethiopia, Congo and even Egypt. However, despite having degrees from India, we were refused jobs in India, because, of course, as is understandable the Indian companies would prefer to employ Indians. The very few who did get jobs in India were employed by companies such as Bajaj that exported to these countries and thought it would be good PR to have a token employee of that country and also who could communicate with the many importers from there that did not speak English. The employers would not listen to our recommendations nor would they promote us. For that there were the Indian employees. In other words we were discriminated against. Only multi nationals like Coke, Pepsi, LG, Michelin who had head honchos from other countries did not discriminate against us. Despite having degrees from India and having Indian experience we were never promoted in Indian run companies. Therefore it is small wonder that the same happens here. Of course, you may argue that there are Mother Teresas who despite being of non Indian origin got the respect she did. Similarly, there is also Ujjal Dosanjh who has reached heights here. One has to see the fate of the majority.
You will also argue that Canada says it needs immigrants and India does not That is a completely different issue. The topic here is Canadian experience. So similarly I am saying that in India they want Indian experience and even then we are not promoted because we are foreigners. We can also say that India only wants our money to sustain their universities etc .etc. but we do not. We are thankful to them for their education. Somewhere I read that the MBA in a good college in India is better than here. I studied at Davar’s in Mumbai and U of T here and anytime and anyplace anyone desires, I will write in my blood that Davar’s is much much better than U of T. Whoever compiled that list that says U of T is in the top 25 is gravely mistaken and biased. Everyone in our club who has studied in a college in India that is worth its salt and in universities here as well will vouch that the instruction and level of sophistication in India is better than here even taking McGill into consideration.
Anyway the topic here is Canadian experience. We of this club do not find it an unusual request from the companies. All of this club have had tough initial years but those who have been here for 5 years or more are well satisfied, whether in their fields, related fields or unrelated fields. Many Indians I know also after 5 years are quite satisfied. The frustration arises in the initial years. That Ghulam Rassol went back to India, a total failure, is the exception rather than the rule.
Hoon Misri lakin dil hai Hindustani. Meri biwi Hindustani Muslim hai. Mere bacche dono Hindi aur Arbi bolte hai aur ham sablog Bollywood philmo ke aashiq hain. Aur han, Ganpatti ka puja bhi karte hain. Yesterday we went for the immersion.

To this site and all the contributors 2 thumbs up! You have helped people of all nationalities tremendously! You can find information on laptops and digital cameras as well! Ekdum jhakas!

Thanks again,

Desimisri.

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while in Rome do as the Romans do

Crenshaw and Desimisri
A Big warm welcome to the two new members !! , those are some very good posts from you.
I join you all in congratulating those who started and run this site.

Desi misri --- Bravo !!...ahlan wa saahlaan!! ...what a fresh perspective you bring ...

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Orginally posted by desimisri
I studied at Davar’s in Mumbai and U of T here and anytime and anyplace anyone desires, I will write in my blood that Davar’s is much much better than U of T.

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Thakyou for saying this ....when it comes from a you ,it carries a lot of wieght......i also shared the same feelings all along but no one buys it outside the desi cimmunity.

One can understand your comments about indian employers not hiring foriegn nationals. But lets put things in perspective , india has scores and scores of its own graduates as unemployed. The socio-economic structure is much much more complex with over a billion people.

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Hoon Misri lakin dil hai Hindustani. Meri biwi Hindustani Muslim hai. Mere bacche dono Hindi aur Arbi bolte hai aur ham sablog Bollywood philmo ke aashiq hain. Aur han, Ganpatti ka puja bhi karte hain. Yesterday we went for the immersion.

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Misri bhai ...i'd (or rather we 'd) love to meet you and your friends some time ...and it will be nice if more of your friends could share their veiws here.