🚀 From Bank Teller to Accidental Project Manager: My Immigrant Hustle (and Why I Quit)

Hello there,

Welcome to Canada

Let me tell you, landing your first job as an immigrant in Canada is no walk in the park. I came here in 2022, with a background as a bank teller back home. I started applying to relevant roles, hoping at least one would click - or so I thought. As my job search was going nowhere, I decided to change careers. I dove headfirst into training – Business Analysis, Scrum, Agile, Project Management, you name it, I got certified in CBAP and later PMP. As you can see, I was all over the place and changed my mind a few times.

Faking it, till I made it

Months turned into years, and my inbox was filled with rejection emails. Frustration was an understatement. Then, in early 2024, I stumbled on a Facebook group for Canadian immigrants. From various discussions in the group, I noticed that almost everyone juiced up their resume to get their first job.

So, I did what I felt I had to do. I revamped my resume. Maybe revamp is not the right word here. Let's just say my resume went through a major makeover. My previous experience, while valuable, didn't scream "project manager." So, with a heavy dose of desperation (and maybe a sprinkle of regret later), I tweaked those experiences to better align with the role. I made up a lot of past experiences and even deleted my LinkedIn profile.

Honestly, I felt like a fraud. But guess what? It worked! Within two months, I landed a project management job! I was happy as I resumed, but also very anxious. I was terrified of being found out every day. I went to work during the day and consumed as much learning as I could at night. I was faking it at work, but inside I was always in panic mode. Here's the crazy part: the more I pretended, the more I learned. The daily tasks, the required skills, the whole project management ecosystem – it started to click.

New Realization

The anxiety and worries faded away after about 2 months. But a bigger realization dawned on me – I hated the job. Now that I could see what project management is all about, I just hated every bit of it. This job hunt had taken two years, and I was determined to make it work. But after three soul-crushing months, I did the unthinkable - I quit. My side catering business, a side hustle, was taking off, and it was time to focus on it.

Sure, the fake resume wasn't ideal, but in the end, it pushed me to learn valuable skills and forced me to confront what I truly wanted. My advice to fellow immigrants? Before you start “faking it till you make it”, be sure you like it. Don’t just follow the bandwagon. Once you decide on a career path you like, get the skills, network like crazy, and be persistent. And most importantly, don't be afraid to walk away from a job that sucks the life out of you. There's a whole world of opportunities out there, even if we have to take a few unexpected turns to find them.