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Mentoring Program: Getting results
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Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) launched the fourth round of the mentoring program on September 19, 2012. Unlike the previous editions, when the ICCC had collaborated with other agencies to help facilitate the program, the ICCC decided to run the fourth round on its own. Also, unlike the previous editions, where the mentees were restricted to one or two specific sectors, for the fourth round, the ICCC decided to give an opportunity to be mentored in all requested sectors.
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As a result of this decision, the ICCC was able to provide the mentoring program with 21 mentees from a variety of sectors such as aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, marketing and communications, banking and finance, digital media, finance, import and export business, insurance, investment, information technology and legal services. Altogether 13 mentors from these sectors, most of whom are long-time members of the Chamber, were selected for the program.
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Sanjay Makkar, Vice President and Director, Affinity Programs, ICCC, and an insurance professional in Canada for over a decade, was the mentor in the insurance sector. He was entrusted the responsibility of mentoring Nikhil Parchure, a newcomer with significant experience in the insurance sector in India.
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Sanjay is the Principal of KMI Brokers, a leading GTA-based insurance firm, and a thorough professional. He whetted Nikhil’s abilities during his interactions. He then put him through the works at his firm, asking him to shadow all the tasks undertaken at the brokerage. After thoroughly assessing Nikhil’s abilities and exposing him to all possible scenarios, Sanjay offered him a job at KMI Brokers.
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“He is enthusiastic and has the requisite skills for the position we have offered him. I sought the opinion of my partners, and they all agreed. We will focus on developing his abilities to sell,” Sanjay said, explaining his decision to hire Nikhil.
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| For Nikhil it has been a dream come true. Describing his earlier frustration soon after his arrival in Canada, Nihkil said, “I worked as an insurance professional in India and started my preparations for a job search back in India before moving here in May 2012. The Canadian insurance market had opportunities and I believed that with my qualifications and experience, finding a job would not be difficult. Unfortunately, the reality was very different. I started posting my resumes online with every insurance company, but there was no response." |
| Describing the agonizing period when he was making no headway, Nikhil said, "I started posting my resumes online with every insurance company. There was no response and I continued doing so for the next three months. I was getting frustrated and I kept thinking that perhaps I was doing something wrong. Was something wrong with my resume, did I not have adequate experience, was it the lack of Canadian experience. I just couldn't figure out the cause." |
In desperation, Nikhil started attending workshops on job search, networking and resume writing. "I modified my resume to the Canadian specifications. But that didn't help," he explains, adding, "Eventually, I shifted my focus from an insurance job to any job because I desperately needed a job. I started applying for all kinds of jobs - survival, part-time full-time, but in vain. I was about to give up and return to India."
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The turnaround happened when Nikhil responded to Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce's call for applications for the fourth round of the mentoring program. Nikhil described his sense of elation thus: "One fine day in August I got a mail from ICCC on a mentorship program. I was shortlisted as a mentee and in September we had the first session which was a formal introduction to the program. Mr Sanjay Makkar was assigned as my mentor and as the program had defined we had our first meeting."
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Nikhil observed that meeting Sanjay was one of the “best days since my landing.” He noted that the ICCC is doing a great job connecting newcomers to successful professionals from the same industry. “I would like to thank ICCC for initiating and developing such a wonderful program which is helping newcomers to achieve their dreams.”
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| In conclusion, Nikhil advised newcomers facing a similar situation, "Never give up. If you ever feel like giving up, just try it for one last time and keep doing it. In five months I was never shortlisted for any interview. The day I got placed, I received five calls for interview within a week. So you never know when the opportunity will knock your doors. Determination and patience are the only mantras I can offer from my experience." |
