Read Lola’s journey of coming to Canada as a newcomer and starting over with Career Edge!
Lola Pitan
Talent Specialist
Before moving to Canada, I had heard lots of stories about challenges and difficulties often faced by so many skilled newcomers when it comes to securing jobs due to their lack of a Canadian work experience. That’s why I decided to take a different approach.
I set out to obtain Canadian education through a college diploma course in Honors Business Administration with a focus in Human Resources to help smoothen my transition from Law (which was my original professional background) to Human Resources. As my program gradually came to an end, the fear and uncertainty of a pandemic era job market started setting in and it was at this point that I heard about Career Edge.
My journey with Career Edge started in early 2021. My spouse had advised that, as a newcomer, I should consider applying for entry level roles, as well as internship opportunities. I read about Career Edge and was amazed at its great work and vision, so I registered for the program, started receiving job notifications, and began applying for HR related roles.
I applied unsuccessfully for over 30 roles, on the Career Edge website and other platforms as well, until a Talent Specialist Intern role opened at Career Edge. Not only did I apply for the position, but I also reached out to the Hiring Manager on LinkedIn to personally share my interest in the position. They wrote back, 3 interviews followed within the week, and I received an offer letter at the end of same week – unbelievable, right? Yes! That’s what Career Edge does – changes lives.
When people ask me what I do, I always like to tell them that I’m in the people business. I help build careers; I assist people in finding meaning in life through purposeful work. What better platform to do this than Career Edge – supporting newcomer or internationally qualified professionals, women, and people of colour like myself in breaking down barriers to employment; helping persons living with disability and recent graduates forge a pathway in a competitive job market.
How much more fulfilling does a job get than to wake up in the morning with daily goals focused on transforming lives with meaningful opportunities? Everyday at Career Edge is living a dream to change and impact my world for the better.
I’m grateful to the entire team at Career Edge for this incredible opportunity; the mentoring, the real-life Canadian work experience, the amazing networking opportunity and now, I’m so proud to be an alumnus of the Career Edge program.
Over the coming months, hear stories right from our very own staff about why Career Edge and the work that they do is so important to them.