Are you nuts? Are you running away from something? Can you still cope with a new way of life, in a strange land, in a new culture? These are questions from family and friends that deafeningly reverberated when we expressed our intention to migrate to Canada in 1997.
The decision was indeed difficult as my wife and I were practically at the peak of our careers and there was really no compelling reason for us to seek greener pastures elsewhere. Everybody we talked to, had a sad story about some Executive “kababayans” who could not find work in their profession but had to settle with anything that was available. We even spoke with some acquaintances who actually came back from Canada because they could not find decent jobs.
I started to waiver and get cold feet but the thought of a better future for my children was more than enough to strengthen my resolve. I just thought I would be giving them options. I will be gaining a new country for them. I will give them the opportunity to take the best of both worlds. They will never lose the Philippines anyway, as it will always be there for them. My wife and I brushed off all those fears. We steeled ourselves, lowered our expectations and readied ourselves for the worst scenarios.
We landed in Vancouver, Canada and immediately after settling down, I focused on getting any job to plug the financial haemorrhage. Everybody was advising me not to be very choosy, as Canadian companies will usually require some Canadian work experience before they hire you. It was a catch 22 situation as how can I get experience if I am not hired? Contrary to local advice, I applied for managerial positions and highlighted both my experience and credential as a Certified Purchasing Manager.- CPM I must have sent more than a hundred applications all over Canada and to my pleasant surprise, I had a number of positive responses. My dilemma was to be a big fish in a small pond or to start all over again as a small fish in the sea. I chose the former as I could not see myself getting directions from inexperienced high flying greenhorns.
It is given that the most crucial stage in any employment seeking process is getting that personal interview. Once you have your foot in the door then it is all up to you to get chosen for the job. This is where I played my credential as a Certified Purchasing Manager - CPM to the hilt. North American employers are very skills- oriented. When they need a purchasing man, they will seek somebody certified to do the job. Your being an engineering scholar from UP or an MBA dean’s list student from Ateneo are inconsequential. Having been president of PISM or a “Gawad Sinop” awardee and chosen as Best Supply Chain Practitioner in the Philippines will not even ring a bell. Some employers may not even know where the Philippines is. But when you tell them you are a Certified Purchasing Manager by the National Association of Purchasing Management – NAPM in the USA, they listen and they look at you in another light. They can now relate with your credentials, as they know exactly what entails to become a CPM. It opens the door for you. It is really up to you now to project the very best in you and convince them that you are the best person for the job.
I must have made a good impression as I was actually offered jobs in two of the three interviews I did. I accepted the offer from Accent Stainless Steel Corporation / Newlands Systems for a Materials Manager position. Being in Vancouver for barely a month, the offer was actually beyond my expectations. I had been conditioning myself to accept the first available job even a factory worker or a gasoline boy, whatever it is, but the Lord in His good graces had looked kindly on me.
In my experience, the CPM designation is the only credential in field of purchasing and materials management that some potential employers recognized. It opens windows of opportunity. All other qualifications like non-Canadian work experience and Philippine degrees were to some extent trivialized. In a way, the CPM certification levels the playing field. It gives notice to everyone that whatever your ethnic background, you are on equal footing with anybody in the profession. It elicits respect from colleagues and superiors, particularly with suppliers. Some people can be condescending if you are from the third world but as soon as they learn that you are a certified practitioner, you can sense a subtle shift in how they deal with you. You are treated with more respect and deference.
It is not all roses though as I had an isolated unfortunate discrimination experience in a Costco parking lot a few years upon arrival in Canada. One white guy mistakenly thought I did not return my cart and he put it at the back of my vehicle. Not intimidated with his bulk and size, I got off the vehicle and placed the same cart at the back of his vehicle and shouted – “That is not my cart”.And he shouted back “ You can not do that here. GO BACK to your own country”. My blood pressure really shot up and at the top of my voice – I shouted back. “This is my country now! We are all immigrants with one big difference your white ancestors stole the lands of the First Nations people” And drove off quickly before he can physically assault me. This rarely happens. Canadians are generally polite, restpectful and kind.
The CPM designation obviously was my stepping board to positions of greater responsibility. I capitalized on the initial confidence and re-build my career from there. Now, I am Vice President and General Manager of a company that manufactures world-class brewery systems, food processing and environmental equipments. I never thought I would make it this far here in North America but God is good and the story does not end there as the real success for me was not how I reached this position, but how our lives were changed in Canada.
I have never been a religious person and in fact I have veered more on irreverence. But I started to have a new perspective in life soon after we joined Couples for Christ. I began to re-define success with not what you have done for yourself but for what you are giving out from yourself. I am very fortunate that my wife shares this belief with me and as a couple we have become actively involved with Couples for Christ especially on their work for the poor. My wife and I are currently the couple head of the ANCOP committee on Corporations, Foundations and Government and we are deep in our work soliciting donations for Gawad Kalinga.
Now as I looked back and try to assess the best thing that happened to me in Canada, undoubtedly, the answer will be simply – knowing God and how I found peace and joy using His gifts and blessings to serve Him and His people better. And if I seek the reason that brought me here to Canada, simply it was CPM – it was Christ’s Plan for Me.
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