An Adventure Across The World

An adventure on the other side of the world – this is what Winnie Law and her family are calling their move to Canada. They moved from Auckland, New Zealand, to Calgary, Alberta, this summer. A supply chain management professional, Winnie found out about the SOPA program while looking online for a job and registered right away. Just four weeks after arriving in Canada, Winnie was invited for a job interview that landed her a job in her field.

“Before I joined SOPA I had little confidence in what job search strategy I should use to find a job in Canada.” said Winnie. That changed once she enrolled in the Job Search Strategies course. She learned about Canadian-style resumes and the importance of tailoring her resume to match each job she applied for. “I had an awesome facilitator who provided me with lots of feedback," said Winnie. "The course helped me to boost my confidence. I became more prepared, with an understanding of the best job search strategies in Canada.” 

Besides working on improving her job searching strategies, Winnie also enrolled in the Soft Skills: Professional Communication course to learn about Canadian workplace culture. She felt supported and already immersed in the new culture every time she met with SOPA staff through the online platform.

According to her Soft Skills facilitator Rubirose Ong, “Winnie was very diligent and resourceful.”

After Winnie and her family arrived in Calgary, she followed-up on the referrals she got from SOPA and reached out to immigrant settlement services, attended workshops, volunteered, and all the while kept applying for jobs. Although not everything she tried resulted in a job interview, she did connect with people in her industry and learned about alternative career paths.

“I found that the best approaches during my job search were following up after each job application and attending networking events.” added Winnie. She and her SOPA facilitators credit her successful job search to her determination and a positive attitude.

Winnie's advice for newcomers: “Be open-minded. Be ready to explore various opportunities, and make sure you reach out to people.”

A version of this article appears at https://arriveprepared.ca/news/. 

“Calgary bridges" by davebloggs007 is licensed under CC BY 2.0