Lalit Doda is a Technical Support Consultant at Allscripts Healthcare Solutions
Navjot Kaur is an Underwriting Assistant at Intact Insurance
Lalit Doda and his wife Navjot Kaur moved to Canada – the land of opportunities – in 2015. “We chose to land on Canada Day to make it memorable, and celebrate that day always,” shares Navjot, who is an underwriting assistant at Intact Insurance.
Before moving to Canada, the couple did some research on the country and the opportunities it provides to new immigrants. “My husband worked with US and Canadian clients in India and was aware of the demand of Healthcare IT professionals in North America,” recalls Navjot, “Furthermore, we did some research and found through various resources that Canada is among the best places to live in around the globe. Hence we decided to move here.”
On arrival, they lived for three months at a rented basement in Brampton, arranged by Navjot’s brother. Eventually they moved to Vancouver. “We stayed in a house rented through the Airbnb website for the first three weeks till we arranged a rented space,” says Lalit.
It didn’t take much time for the couple to adjust to the surrounding and the people. “Luckily we came in July, so we felt that the weather was almost same as India. Furthermore, people were very helpful in guiding us during our initial days,” says Navjot.
Back in India, Navjot worked for Infosys as an HR Process Specialist and Lalit was working with Cerner Healthcare Solutions as Solution Designer. Despite having professional experience back home, the couple’s major difficulty in Canada was to find a suitable job in their respective domains. “It was a challenging experience,” narrates Navjot, “We met people who had different experiences, some got the job they had education in and others had a bad job experience.”
This made it difficult for the Doda family to focus on their own career aspirations. Eventually, Lalit got a job at Allscripts Healthcare Solutions. “My husband had worked earlier with Allscripts in Pune and they rehired him in Canada in October 2015,” adds Navjot. Yet, they learnt a great deal through their experience. “We learnt and developed ourselves the most during that period,” explains Lalit.
Lalit and Navjot have enjoyed their journey in Canada so far. “It has been exciting as well as challenging at the same time. People are welcoming and ready to help. We got to learn about diverse people, culture, cuisines and lifestyle,” they express.
According to the Doda family, there are a lot of aspects that make Canada a great country to stay in – the natural surrounding, good facilities, and diversity, to name a few. “Canada is really a beautiful country and people pay a lot of attention to preserve the nature and save the environment. It is so diverse and this makes it a really special place,” the couple states. Their only dislike – the crazy housing prices.
Lalit and Navjot hope to “continuously grow and develop ourselves and contribute to the community.”
Biggest obstacle faced so far in Canada:
Finding a job in one year time span in Canada.
Resolutions made for yourself or family:
To always keep learning new things and developing yourself.
Advice for immigrants:
Be flexible to work on temporary positions. It may or may not be related to your profession but keep your spirits high and be focussed on what you want to achieve in the long run and always maintain a learning attitude.
Memories of your homeland:
We really miss our family and friends back in India.
