My Journey as a Sales Professional from India to Canada

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Immigration On My Mind

Immigration was always on my mind. Unlike many of my co-workers and friends, I always intended taking up permanent residence overseas, in a country that could give me the best return on my investment.

For me, immigration was always something worth putting your hard-earned money into.

See, my thinking is quite simple and straightforward.

When you invest in any immovable property, the market might crash or you might not get the same amount as you might have planned at the time of re-selling.

Immigration, however, is another matter altogether. When you decide to go overseas and spend in the visa and immigration process, the chances of going wrong are the bare minimum, if you apply in the correct way and are otherwise eligible.

People might ask what if you don't find a good job overseas? Okay, but even if you found a fairly good one you would be earning more than what you can hope to get back home.

Get my point?

Sales All the Way

Sales was my calling, so to speak. I always had the gift of the gab.

I could sell anyone anything, if I got down to it with conviction.

Intending to become a successful Sales Professional, and be nothing less than a Sales Manager some day, I undertook my MBA degree in Sales and Marketing.

Many told me to get a simple diploma for sales after my 12+. But, I decided it was much better to not cut corners and get a proper certification from a good business school in India.

I soon joined the professional field, gradually working my way to the top.

All this time, immigration was never out of my mind at any time. I had made up my mind to immigrate. I was just waiting for the right time and the ideal opportunity.

Sales Manager

I had become an Assistant Sales manager in my organization. Life was good. But, then it could always be better.

Luckily, my real sister got married somewhere around this time. Her husband was Canada-based, having lived in British Columbia for a long time with his parents.

Within less than a year of my sister's marriage, she moved to Canada. My sister's husband was also in the sales field, an added advantage for me.

It was my sister who suggested I finally make my Express Entry profile and seriously think of moving to Canada soon.

Is Express Entry really ‘express'?

Now, came the research and CV development phase.

I took up small online courses, many of them free, to further make my profile stand out from the rest.

I entered my profile in the Express Entry system of Canada. Simple to do. Apparently, you cannot directly apply for Canadian permanent residence.

You have to be invited by Canada before you can submit your application for taking up Canada PR.

For being invited, you must be good enough. Not all Express Entry profiles are invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

Profiles that are added in the Express Entry pool of candidates and are subsequently invited by Canada to apply can expect the processing of their application within 6 months at the most.

6 months processing time is the standard processing time for a complete application.

If someone submits an application that is not complete, or missing the needed documents in any way, it can take longer than 6 months to get Canada PR via Express Entry.

What's your NOC?

To be able to work in Canada, you will require a 4-digit code that is the unique identity for your specific occupation. This is the National Occupational Classification code used for classifying each of the jobs available in the Canadian labour market.

As a Corporate Sales Manager my NOC code was that of NOC 0601. The 0 in the beginning is for all managerial-level jobs.

Invited to Apply

After some months in the Express Entry pool, I did manage to get my invitation to apply from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Having a real sister in Canada also helped me a lot, getting me 5 points under the adaptability factor on my 67-points eligibility calculation.

Later, at the time of ranking points that are used in the Express Entry system also I got 15 points under additional points for my sister living in Canada as a permanent resident. This is the points score given as per the Comprehensive Ranking System used by IRCC for prioritizing candidates.

No, I did not have a job offer in Canada. I felt it was better to go to Canada first and look for a job later.

Applying for Canada PR

I submitted my complete application for Canada PR to IRCC. I also had to get my IELTS test score and ECA Report for applying for Canadian permanent residence.

In Vancouver

Finally, I took the flight to Vancouver in British Columbia. My sister lives in the province. We decided that I would be living with her for some time before I begin looking for my independent accommodation in BC.

Thankfully, I got through to Canada from India before the COVID-19 pandemic.