My journey as a Sales Manager from India to Canada (Ontario)

Sales is what my career is all about. A Sales Manager by profession, an immigrant by choice.

My story, in my style. You can call me Rahul. Rahul Singh, to do my parents a favour.

Well, sales is what actually drives a company. Literally speaking. No matter what innovation you come up with, no matter how ethical your company claims to be, if it does not translate into sales, nothing has been gained. Trust me. I know what I am talking about.

Having spent 10+ years in sales, I know exactly what I’m talking about.

Profits are what fuel a company. More so, a commercial company. And it is the job of the Sales Manage in charge to make that happen. It is the Sales Manager that is the one responsible for ensuring that the finished product finds its way into the home of the consumer, come what may.

Becoming a Sales Manager takes a lot of work. One does not become a Sales Manager overnight. Typically, a minimum of 5 years of “selling experience” will be needed before one can expect to become a Sales Manager.

The route to a Sales Manager’s post begins with getting a bachelor’s degree in either public relations, business marketing or marketing.

I was lucky to get campus placement while I was doing my MBA. I got job offer from Tata Consultancy Services. It was a really good exposure for me.

I learnt a lot from TCS. How to focus on our clients, public speaking, and how to best project a company during sales. Added to that is the fact that TCS is a more than big enough company for a fresher.

I did get the best career launchpad anyone could wish for. But I wanted to do something on my own after 2 years down the line. That was the time when we floated a start-up between 3 of us friends.

Though we did our best and tried to get our start-up going, we had to wind up eventually.

That was probably the roughest time in my life. But that was also the time when I decided to go away from it all for some time. I took up a job in an MNC and began with my Canada immigration application also.

I really worked hard for my immigration process. I did all the background research that I could manage in my busy schedule. To be on the safe side, I decided to proceed with my immigration for Canada at the same time that I began with Australia skilled migration processing.

I was not taking any chances this time. I really had to make it work for me. While I was pretty confident that I could do it on my own, I decided to get professionals on board to make it doubly sure.

As my friend said to me – wiser after his own bad Canada immigration experience with a fake consultant – that it is always better to make it the first time around itself. After wasting many years (yes, years) and a lot of money after fake lies and tall promises of a smooth-talking consultant offering “guaranteed visa”, my friend told me to be extra careful in my own case.

So, I decided to get a consultant to work with me on my immigration file. Today, there are so many consultants in every gali and mohalla that it does get confusing.

My selection process for a consultant that would be worth my time and effort. I only looked at those that had been in the business for 10+ years. For a consultant to have stayed that long, they surely must be doing at least something right.

Also, I made it a point to only shortlist those that had overseas offices. In my personal opinion, while an office in India can be easy, getting the right permissions to set up office abroad does require a good amount of professionalism.

I looked at many consultants. I decided to go with Y-Axis. I know these people charge a bit more. But their track record was the best.

They also had the best market opinion of all. I asked many people, offline as well as online. I only took advice from people that had themselves taken Y-Axis services so they could give me their first-hand experience and not only tell me some story of what they heard about someone that they know remotely.

During all this time I got around 2 years’ valuable experience in sales as an assistant sales manager.

I made it a point to get as much experience of attending public seminars and workshops by working on my public speaking and image.

To cut a long story short, I ultimately took the complete Canada immigration package from Y-Axis. I paid in instalments. They are quite good at what they do. I also did the company profiling for Australia immigration from them, but did not begin with the application processing as I could not afford 2 immigration applications at the same time.

For the moment, I decided to focus on Canada only. There was no family involved and I would be travelling to Canada alone with no dependants, so it was easier for me.

Unfortunately, with the sudden lockdowns due to Corona, I could not give my IELTS as per the schedule. I had to instead give the IELTS indicator test. ECA report I had with me, so it was one less headache for me.

I began the process by first getting my documentation ready. ECA, IELTS. Then I also took my time to decide the occupational code as per Canada that would be applicable to my situation. I found out my job code for Canada immigration was NOC 0601 (corporate sales manager).

I then prepared everything else and made my Express Entry profile for Canada immigration as a skilled worker through the Federal Skilled Worker Program that comes under the Express Entry system managed by the federal government of Canada.

I could not decide which province would work for me. Keep in mind if you take the Canadian Provincial Nominee Program route you will have to live within the province or territory that had nominated you to IRCC for Canada PR. I think at least some years you have to stay in that province after being given your Canadian permanent residence.

I took the ‘all provinces’ option without specifying any one in particular. That way my profile would be visible to all provinces with Express Entry linked PNP streams.

I did manage to get a nomination through British Columbia. But I didn’t accept and waited for an invitation through Ontario’s PNP. Some of my old college friends had settled down in Ontario so I decided to go that way too. In my case, I know I wanted to get away from it all. But I did want someone near me in Canada just in case.

Looking back, I am happy the draw was a targeted draw so I got through. Only 9 occupations were issued invitations in November 12 OINP draw. Once I got the invitation, everything went so fast.

My complete application was prepared and submitted much before the deadline allotted by the OINP. I think it was 30 or 45 days. Not sure. All the application preparation was done by the Canada process team at Y-Axis. They were very professional all through. Even with the COVID-19 situation, they would give me all alerts and updates with connection to my application.

After completing my PNP application and submitting to OINP, I got to the so-called part 2 of the application process. That is of waiting for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada [IRCC] to take notice of your Express Entry profile and of inviting you to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

Please keep in mind that there is no way that you can apply directly for Canada PR. The route to Canada PR through the Express Entry system is by invitation only. You cannot apply directly unless IRCC sends you an invitation, an Invitation to Apply [ITA].

It is the profiles with the most number of points on the ranking system used by Canada that receive an IRCC invitation. Maximum points are 1200. But anything 500+ is good enough. Usually, profiles that have been invited in 2020 have been with CRS somewhere around 470.

Remember that the points I am talking about are not the same as the 67-points eligibility for Canada immigration and eligibility for the Federal Skilled Worker Program or FSWP that is managed by Canada through the Express Entry system.

The 67-point Canada eligibility is not the same as the 1200 points ranking in Express Entry pool. Both are different. I would suggest anyone to look through the official IRCC website to understand how the points are given. The wife or husband is also given points, depending on their situation. There is a different rule and different points given for spouse going to Canada with the main applicant and when the main applicant is going alone or does not have a spouse or partner.

Understating the CRS is very important as you can then see for yourself as to what your chances are of getting an ITA by IRCC even if you use any other Canada eligibility calculator or CRS calculator tool online, always double check with IRCC.  They keep updating the points system. Only the official government websites of the federal government of Canada is sure to have all the updates and the latest information.

They issued 5k invitations to apply in that round of Express Entry invitations. I am lucky I got through. I think there were over a lakh profile in the Express Entry pool that time.

The PNP nomination got me 600 CRS points. These people issue a nomination certificate. Details have to be entered in the Express Entry profile accordingly. You can manage and update your Express Entry easily on your own. There is nothing difficult to understand there. But if you have any doubt, get professional advice like me.

To be honest, average middle class people like me have a fear of immigration. Somehow we fear the process itself. It is easy to advise others. But we get cold feet in our own situation. There is too much time and money involved.

With the invitation from IRCC received, my complete Canada permanent residence application was submitted within a week. As advised by my Y-Axis consultant, we had already kept all the documentation and details worked out much in advance. All that was needed was the invitation. They call it preparing a Decision Ready Application that is complete in all ways.

Y-Axis team works hard to remove all the common issues and reasons for rejection that might appear. They have good experience in dealing with complicated Canadian permanent residence files too. I actually met a woman in the Y-Axis office lobby with 2 past rejections with other consultants. She had tried out some other consultants on advice of her family and friends. Now, she was at Y-Axis. I don’t know if she got though the third time. I really hope she did. She sounded desperate after having lost so much time and money with fake immigration consultants.

Some days bask I landed in Canada. The journey is pretty long. And with Corona situation, it was longer. Mask, sanitizer, temperature checking, covid test. Right from the airport in India to reaching Canada, all is about mainly following protocol for the virus situation.

Anyway, I made it. Even with the corona thing. Still learning my way about. Getting  to know the community. I’m in Ottawa right now as my job requires me to be here. I have planned on getting some experience in our Ottowa branch before I apply for a transfer to a less crowded city.

Been good so far. No complaints at all. Honestly, I got through to Canada sooner than I thought. Many told me not to apply in the lockdown and travel restriction situations globally. But I did it anyway. Happy I listened to my own gut instinct.

I really am glad it worked out the first time around with Y-Axis. Though I had a back-up plan prepared for Australia skilled migration in case I did not get through to Canada, I’m happy I did not have to use it. No problem with Australia. But I had to get on my work overseas dream as soon as possible. Canada got me.