I light up when I talk about SOPA
Astrid Ene arrived in Canada with her husband in January 2017. After spending some time in Montreal, they are now settled in their original province of destination, Ontario. Astrid currently is working as an Audit Director for the Office of the Auditor General in Ottawa. She sent us her testimonial about how SOPA helped her and reading it warms our hearts.
We help our clients during their last steps of immigration process, once they got documents needed to join SOPA program, and they are getting ready to leave. They are excited, worried, stressed all at the same time. That’s where pre-arrival program steps in. We make sure that during one of the most stressful periods of their lives, our clients are not missing out on the important information. We provide one-on-one counselling sessions on settlement and employments needs, and our clients have access to our online courses on job search strategies, soft skills, working in Canada and more. We help them see, what they may not have thought about yet. We help them fill out the gaps in the information they are looking for or receiving. Seeing our clients light up when they talk about our program is what makes us deeply proud.
Thank you Astrid! We are confident that stories like yours will help immigrants, who are still outside of Canada, see the benefits of preparing before arriving! SOPA Teams are here to help on every step of your preparation!
Astrid Ene’s testimonial
Relocating to Canada was one of the best decisions of my life. Enrolling in the SOPA pre-arrival program was, by far, the smartest decision I’ve made. I can say with confidence that I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the SOPA program and amazing people that work there. They are there to help and support throughout what is, probably, one of the biggest changes in someone’s live.
The soft skills courses that I took before coming to Canada have helped me tremendously in understanding the Canadian culture, and understanding the differences within the culture in my home country. I understood the main differences and I had practical, real life examples that I could apply immediately. The courses have helped me shape the perception on workplace integration, and the importance of adaptability.
I received different useful information from SOPA, but what specifically helped me, was the following:
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Understanding the importance of adapting my resume to the position I am applying, and highlighting those skills that the potential employer would immediately find useful without wasting their time.
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I had the opportunity to practice interviews with recruiters that volunteer for SOPA. Their feedback was crucial. They helped me learn how to turn a potentially stressful discussion into an enjoyable conversation for both myself and the recruiter.
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SOPA counsellors and facilitators are very skilled in teaching how to anticipate questions in an interview and how to effectively prepare to answer them.
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Another thing that I found extremely valuable was SOPA’s labour market knowledge. It’s really impressive. Their clients come from so many backgrounds and areas, and yet SOPA is very well prepared! Starting with recommendations from the labour market in regards to good employers and companies to reaching out to directly, based on every client’s needs.
What more could one ask for? In brief, SOPA is changing lives, it’s making a significant impact and, ultimately, gains loyalty from every single person that was lucky enough to be their client. I encourage recruiters to partner with this amazing organization, as the results of the partnership won’t take long to see. SOPA has helped me in so many ways, both professionally and personally. I wish I could be here today in front of you, so you could see how I light up whenever I speak about SOPA.
Astrid Ene, SOPA Ontario Client
Are you approved to immigrate to Canada? Join SOPA today! You’ll arrive in Canada better prepared, more confident and enter the workforce sooner.
Settlement Online Pre-Arrival (SOPA) is an Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada (IRCC) funded program that delivers free pre-arrival services for job readiness, success and retention. Explore the free, pre-arrival resources, services and courses we offer at ArrivePrepared.ca.
