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What does it truly take for international talent to thrive in Canada? Beyond skills and qualifications, success hinges on something more fundamental - mindset, clarity, and strategic planning.
Yauhan Mehta, an industrial-organizational psychologist and career coach with 15 years of experience, unravels the complex journey of immigration through his own story of moving from India to Dubai and finally to Canada. Having helped hundreds of professionals secure positions at top firms like Amazon, Deloitte, and EY, Yauhan brings a unique perspective on what makes international talent stand out in a competitive job market.
Many newcomers arrive with dreams of quick settlement, only to face unexpected challenges. "Students and international talents come with a lot of hope, a lot of aspirations that Canada is the dream... But guess what? That rarely happens," Yauhan reflects. The solution begins with controlling what you can control and maintaining unwavering self-belief despite rejections. This psychological foundation proves crucial for immigrants navigating their new reality.
Yauhan introduces his powerful concept of "soul searching before job searching" - a three-step approach that transforms career transitions. First, develop a positive mindset. Second, gain absolute clarity about your career direction before crafting applications. Third, create a strategic plan to bridge any qualification gaps. This methodical approach has helped countless international professionals overcome the common pitfall of sending countless unfocused applications with minimal results.
The most inspiring takeaway? International talent should view their immigrant experience as a strength rather than a disadvantage. "International talent are the most adaptable, courageous and they're the most resilient talent out there," Yohan emphasizes. Your multilingual abilities, cultural adaptability, and global perspective are unique selling points that set you apart.
Join us for this empowering conversation that will transform how you view the immigrant journey and provide actionable strategies to achieve your professional goals in Canada. Whether you're an international student, a recent immigrant, or considering a move abroad, Yauhan's insights offer the blueprint for turning challenges into stepping stones toward success.
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I'm going to settle quickly,I'm going to have a good
education, good job in thefastest possible time.
But guess what?
That rarely happens.
Control what you can control.
Don't stress out about thingsyou cannot control.
And it's all about mindset.
(00:21):
I am getting rejections.
Yes, I'm not getting interviews.
Yes, I'm struggling with X, Y,Z, but I have self-belief.
International talent are themost adaptable, courageous and
they're the most resilienttalent out there.
Gurasis (00:47):
What are Yauhan's top
three principles?
How would you define them?
Definitely number one.
In the challenging
journey of immigration, it's not
just about the physical movefrom one place to another, but a
holistic transformation.
Taking care of one's well-being, both physically and mentally,
(01:08):
is paramount for immigrants asthey navigate the intricate
paths of change.
In this episode, we'll meetindividuals who do not only
understand the significance ofholistic health for immigrants,
but also excel in guiding themthrough the complexities of
career transitions and personaldevelopment.
Our guest is an industrial,organizational psychologist and
(01:28):
career coach with a remarkablecareer spanning 15 years.
He specializes in leadingbusiness transformation
initiatives, contributing to thesuccess of global firms like
Deloitte, accenture and Walmart.
He has also been a mentor tohundreds of professionals,
helping them secure dream jobsat Canada's top consulting and
corporate firms, includingindustry giants like Amazon,
(01:50):
deloitte, ey and many more.
In this episode, we'll explorehis journey from growing up in
India to moving to Dubai, aplace that became a significant
part of his life for a decade.
We'll uncover how his culturalobservations in Dubai shaped his
perspectives and set the stagefor his global career.
We'll dive into his decision tomove to Canada, the challenges
(02:11):
he faced and the holisticapproach he believes is vital
for the well-being of immigrants.
Please welcome Yauhan Mehta.
Yauhan (02:21):
Thank you, Gurasis, for
such a wonderful welcome.
I appreciate it.
Gurasis (02:25):
Of course, Yauhan, very
excited to have you on the
podcast and very, very excitedfor this conversation, so
welcome.
Yauhan (02:30):
Likewise, I'm super
pumped as well, and I look
forward to this amazing andhopefully insightful and fun
conversation with you todayAwesome.
Gurasis (02:40):
So, Yauhan, this
episode is actually part of my
second season of the podcast andI basically aim to turn up the
fun factor a little bit for theseason, and obviously I do
impart more and more knowledge.
So I want to start by askingyou some fun questions that I
have for you, okay, so firsttell us what's your go-to
breakfast that you have.
Yauhan (03:02):
So I actually do
intermittent fasting, okay, so I
don't have a go-to breakfast.
Uh, I skip breakfast.
I know it's not the healthiestthing for some people.
For me it works out really well, so I skip breakfast and I go
right away to lunch for, uh,breakfast, I guess, if you call
it, I have coffee.
Okay, um, a couple of cups ofcoffee and that's my breakfast,
(03:24):
along with water.
Gurasis (03:25):
Okay, and are you like?
Do you like you have a sweettoo?
Yauhan (03:28):
do you want to have,
like, sugar in your coffee or no
, just black no, because see ifI have sugar in my coffee or
even excess of milk in my coffee, it breaks the fast.
So for the fast to work, youcannot consume any more than 50
calories, okay.
So if I put any kind of youknow cream, excessive cream or
sugar or milk, it breaks thefast.
(03:48):
So typically it's black coffeeor with a little bit of cream,
but no sugar.
Gurasis (03:51):
Okay and are you doing
it like from many years now or
you started recently?
I have.
Yauhan (03:56):
I've been doing it since
2019.
Oh wow, so it's been four yearsnow, okay great, okay.
Gurasis (04:02):
So my next question is
share like a favorite song or a
dialogue or a movie and tell uswhy it's significant to you.
Yauhan (04:10):
Ah, good question.
I wasn't prepared for this, butI will try.
From an English movieperspective, my favorite movie
is Forrest Gump with Tom Hanksin it.
I just love that movie and thestory and his acting and think
he received, uh, an award forthat as well.
In terms of hindi movies, whichI used to watch a lot of,
(04:31):
although I've scaled back nowwith family and kids um, I love
the movie three idiots.
Okay, uh, it's just a very,again, very powerful story with
amazing acting, uh, by all threeactors, including my favorite
actor, which is Amit Khan.
I would say those are two of myfavorites.
I'm not a very good singer, soI'm not going to sing any songs
(04:52):
from any movies.
We'll maybe save that foranother day after a couple of
drinks.
Gurasis (04:57):
So next is if you had
to teach one phrase in your
mother tongue, what would it beand what does it mean?
Yauhan (05:04):
so I predominantly speak
english, although with my
parents it's in gujarati, andthen with some of my friends I
speak hindi as well.
So there's a couple ofdifferent indian languages, but
most of the phrases that I knoware in english, so I'll tell you
one in english which is uh,treat others just in the same
way that you'd like to betreated yourself.
(05:24):
And that one is super importantto me because it reflects so
many of my personal valuesaround compassion, kindness,
caring, and I really love thatand I try to practice it as much
as I can as well.
Gurasis (05:41):
Okay, so now I'd like
to take you back to the time you
spent in India, or I would saylike the first initial five
years of your life in India.
Tell us if you have anyrecollection of that time, or
something that your parentsmight have shared with you.
Tell us about that.
Yauhan (05:54):
Yeah, absolutely so,
long, long time ago.
I'm not that old, but this wasa long time ago.
Yes, so I was born in Mumbaiand I quickly then was moved
from Mumbai to Pune, which is asmall city very close to Mumbai.
I grew up over there, actuallywith my dad's mom, so my
(06:17):
paternal, paternal, grandmom,and I lived with her for the
first five to six years of mylife.
She really, really spoiled me.
So there's a lot of memoriesaround.
You know playing with theneighborhood kids.
You know, indoors, outdoors,lots of yummy treats.
You know she treats me to, Ithink, ice cream every other day
(06:39):
, chocolates.
So lots of very fond memoriesplaying, know, with other
children's outdoors, which youdon't get to see too much of in
Canada, I mean one because ofthe weather, yeah, but then also
you know everyone's kind ofdoing their own thing and have
you know a few selective friendcircles.
But back home in India it wasvery different as a child.
(06:59):
I really really cherish that.
I would say those were the bestyears of my life and very fond
memories so what made the familyto move to dubai then yeah, so
when I was about five or sixyears old.
This is when my parents, wholived in dubai at the time okay,
and because of work yeah,because of work, they were in
dubai decided to then, uh, bringme to dubai as well for
(07:20):
education, and so I joined them,along with my older brother,
who grew up with my maternalgrandma in Mumbai.
So he was over there in Mumbai,I was in Pune, so the two of us
moved to Dubai to join myparents and at that time we had
another brother, a little baby,who was with my parents growing
(07:44):
up in Dubai.
So, yeah, it was a big, bigchange for me, very big change
in terms of moving away frombeing attached to my grandmom
for the first five, six yearsand obviously, the way a
grandmom treats you and bringsyou up and comforts you's it's
different, yeah, than you knowany other family member.
(08:06):
So I really missed that and Iwas very upset moving to Dubai.
Gurasis (08:11):
I'm sure I can relate
to that.
You know, I remember going tomy grandmother's, even from the
maternal side.
I never unfortunately get tosee the paternal side of my
grandparents, but I did meetthem, and not at once.
I remember going to them and Iremember going to them and
staying for like 10 days and youcome back with an extra kilo
probably.
You end up like eating a lotjust staying at their house.
(08:32):
So I see what you're sayingabsolutely they spoil.
Yauhan (08:35):
And now you know, I get
to experience that with my kids
and my mother spoiling them andmy wife's mother spoiling them
with lots of, you know, clothesand treats and everything.
So I I completely relate.
Gurasis (08:48):
I think that never goes
away, especially in indian
households so you mentioned thatyou know your uh, your parents
were living in dubai and youwere still in india and from the
one with your brother wasanother grandmother.
You were another grandmother,so did you guys any time were
meeting together like in theinitial, initial five years of
her life?
Were your parents visiting?
(09:08):
Was it like occasionally?
How was that like?
Yauhan (09:12):
yeah, so they used to
visit once a year, uh, when they
had, you know, time off fromwork in dubai.
So they came down to india oncea year, which is when I got to
meet them, but it was only for acouple of weeks, so it wasn't
too extensive.
Gurasis (09:27):
But yes, we did, we did
meet in between, okay, okay and
if I ask you, if you had toteleport back to a particular
place, or maybe like aparticular occasion, what would
it be?
Yauhan (09:37):
yeah, I mean my, my
years growing up in Dubai were
were good, but they were verymuch focused on, you know,
mainly being home, not as muchplaying around outside, not as
much socializing.
It was mainly academic focused.
So I would say, you know, if Iwas to go back in time, it's my
(09:57):
days in Pune that I really,really cherish and I would love
to teleport back, even for a fewdays, just to, you know, eat
all that food and and not worryabout doing intermittent fasting
and just playing with myfriends and being carefree,
which, you know, now I get towitness that in my kids.
Gurasis (10:19):
I think those are the
most precious days, okay so,
speaking of you know your timein dubai, tell me about your
high school.
Like how was that for you?
Like you know.
I mean, what kind of schoolwere you studying in?
Or did that anyway, shaped youthe way you are today?
You know the time that youspent in high school there yeah.
Yauhan (10:35):
So high school over
there?
Good question, because the highschool over there, I think, was
very fundamental, of course, inshaping me from an academic
perspective, from a behaviorperspective.
So in Dubai I went to a schoolcalled Indian High School.
It was a school predominantlyfor Indians living in Dubai and
it was the highest ranked schoolin Dubai in terms of academics.
(10:59):
So, like I said, you know verymuch education and academics
focused and I think that got meinto a habit of really being
disciplined, you know focusingon getting good grades,
competition, but a healthycompetition, and also some
sports, although I didn't playtoo much of sports, but I was
(11:21):
pretty good with a couple ofthings like swimming and table
tennis and running.
I was quite fast back in theday.
So, yeah, the school played ahuge role in terms of discipline
, education and shaping.
You know the person who I amtoday and you know the career
that I've had.
Gurasis (11:41):
What about the culture?
Any culture observations?
You had Any certain experiences, year that I've had for sure.
What about the culture?
Any culture observations?
You had any certain experiences?
Obviously, yes, you wereyounger, but you still have,
like you know, someunderstanding of the culture
from India then coming to Dubai.
How did that anyway, you knowlike, affected you in any way?
Yauhan (11:56):
I don't, or I didn't
feel at the time, that it was a
huge cultural change because,like I said, you know the school
was Indian high school, so itwas for Indian students.
Yeah, so, you know, a lot of myfriends spoke in English, hindi
, which was very comfortable forme, and the food was very
(12:16):
similar Dubai versus India.
So it didn't, it didn't feellike a big culture change.
The culture change happenedonce I left Dubai.
That was massive and what?
Gurasis (12:25):
what was your dream
career growing up?
Yauhan (12:28):
uh, I had a couple so I
wanted to become an actor, but
this is when I was five yearsold, so I would copy, you know,
anil kapoor.
I really liked him okay, and myfirst couple of movies that I
watched, which was Ram Lakhanand Tezab, were both, you know,
movies I watched with mygrandmom in Pune, you know, at
(12:51):
that age of five or six, yeah,and and since then I was a
die-hard Anil Kapoor fan, so Iwould dress like him, wear kind
of clothes like him.
I wanted like long hair and Iat the time he had a little bit
of a of a hair, his hair kind ofcoming out over here on his
forehead, so I wanted to emulate.
I wanted to emulate that look asa five-year-old.
(13:12):
Um, so yeah, that that was it.
Gurasis (13:17):
Um, yeah so let's just
pivot towards your transition
towards Canada.
Yauhan (13:25):
Tell us, like, what
influenced the family to come
here and how was the process foryou guys like so, you know,
when we were in Dubai, there wasnot much in terms of further
education beyond grade 12.
So this is where my parents hadto think about OK, once you
know the kids are done withgrade 12, where can we
transition?
So they started planning inadvance and when I was in grade
(13:48):
9 and my older brother finishedgrade 12, so he moved over to
the US because he wanted to gothere and pursue his university
and everything over there,versus me and my younger brother
, they decided that Canada wouldbe a better option for us.
So we found immigration tocanada.
This was back in 2020, uh, sorry, back in 2000, back in 2000,
(14:12):
sorry, uh, so 23 and a halfyears ago, is you know when I
moved here with my parents?
Uh, and that was a huge changefor me, because Canada is
nothing like Dubai in terms of,in terms of anything, to be
honest with you the culture, theweather, the food, the people.
(14:35):
It was a 360 degree change forme and at that time I was a
little bit older as well.
I was, I think, like 15, 16years old, so I was more attuned
to noticing things and payingattention to such kind of you
know, cultural differences.
Gurasis (14:52):
Tell us about your
first day, if you remember.
How was that?
Like Any initial thoughts oremotions.
Yauhan (14:57):
Yeah, I mean, I don't
have recollections of the exact
first day, but I remember thefirst couple of days were were
hard because I think we were notprepared with the right jackets
, even though this was back in,I think we landed on like April,
first week of April so we werenot prepared with, you know, the
(15:17):
right gear.
It was cold at that time,especially coming from Dubai
where the temperature goes tolike plus 40.
Absolutely, but if you comedown to plus 10, that still
feels quite cold.
Yeah, um, and then, uh, youknow, as the months went by,
just seeing people dressed verydifferently once spring was done
and, and july and august, andjune, july, august hit, you know
(15:39):
.
It's like all the jackets aregone and people are in half the
amount of clothing that they,you know, were wearing back in
April.
That was quite interesting tosee as well.
You would not see that back inDubai.
So and then, yeah, just gettingused to living over here and
trying to make sure I'm able tocommunicate with people
(16:02):
effectively and they're able tounderstand me, and grocery
shopping.
I remember the first couple ofdays you know what we buy from
here and converting everythingfrom dollars back into dirhams.
Gurasis (16:14):
Those were, you know
some initial memories for me so
you know, I believe you, youwere telling me earlier you were
like just 15, I believe, whenyou came here.
15, 16, so yeah, so you know, Ithink at that age we all have
this excitement and someaspirations of going abroad or
just, like you know, seeing allthese Western countries.
So did you have anyrecollection of that time that?
(16:35):
What were you thinking?
Were you like excited to comehere?
Were you like nervous?
Were you sad because you wereleaving your friends back in
Dubai that you made in theinitial years?
How was that like for?
Yauhan (16:44):
you initial years.
How was that like for you?
Yeah, so I was.
I don't think I was superexcited, to be honest with you,
because I'm a person that doesnot like to make change and
moving countries is a hugechange.
So even when I transitionedfrom India to Dubai, it was a
big change which, you know, Ididn't really settle well with
me, even over here, because nowI had made really good friends
(17:06):
in Dubai from my school.
You know it was.
It was difficult, I was notexcited, I was sad, I wanted to
continue, you know, being inDubai.
But once I came here and once Istarted life over here, it took
some time.
It took some time to get overthat initial change and now, no
complaints, 23 years later, morethan happy to be here and, of
(17:30):
course, you know, settled here,raising a family over here.
It's an amazing, amazingcountry, uh, for new immigrants,
you know, and we can talk abouthow you can be successful,
because not every person whocomes over here likes it and and
is able to settle well.
Gurasis (17:46):
Yeah, so we can dive a
little bit into that later on,
of course and is this somethingthat that you were not prepared
for, or something that shockedyou a lot?
That, oh my god, like I neverseen this before, maybe, you
know, like a certain I don'tknow, for example, uh, like it's
the size of an onion would bethis big.
I haven't ever seen that inindia, you know.
Yauhan (18:04):
So that was like shock
for me, something similar or
anything, if you remember yeah,I felt some of the vegetables in
the grocery stores I hadn't, Ihad not experienced or I had not
seen that in Dubai or in factin India as well.
So, for example, vegetableslike broccoli right, we never
had exposure to broccoli.
(18:24):
Now maybe Dubai has it, but atthat time, you know, back in the
2000s, they didn't havebroccoli over there.
Zucchini was another thing.
I thought zucchini was cucumber, but it was completely
different.
So so those kind of things andjust seeing everything so
properly kept, properlymaintained, you know, the floors
squeaky clean in the grocerystores, like our first few
(18:48):
shopping experiences were atMetro and they really, you know,
do a good job with giving freshvegetables, fruits and produce.
So all of that, all of that wasquite interesting to me.
But yes, broccoli is somethingthat stands out.
Gurasis (19:06):
I would like to get
into.
You know your career choice ofgetting into psychology and I
remember you were telling methat how your experience of
living across geographies hasdefinitely, you know, helped you
understand human behavior alittle bit more and also very
curious about the humaninteractions that you have had.
You know, throughout yourexperiences and the people you
have met and that's what led youto psychology tell us a little
(19:28):
bit more about your decision ofgetting into it and how was that
whole experience for you like?
Yauhan (19:33):
so very, very
interesting experience for me
getting into psychology.
So I actually did not know toomuch about psychology.
So in my first year finishinghigh school, my first year, I
actually got admission atUniversity of Toronto, in their
downtown campus, uh, inengineering.
So I did one year ofengineering but then I dropped
(19:55):
out of it for a couple ofreasons.
One I felt, uh, it did notalign with, you know, my
interest and and also there wasmisalignment with my skill set.
So I mean.
I mean I'm good with math andphysics and stuff, but not so
good and not so interested thatI would, you know, spend four
years focused on that.
So then I was thinking, ok,what else can I get into?
(20:17):
And obviously my parentsweren't too happy because they
wanted me to complete the fouryears in engineering.
I had to really convince themthat you know psychology and the
study of people and the studyof human behavior is something
that I've always been fascinatedwith.
You know people and why peoplebehave in certain ways, why they
do things.
They do how they think, howthey feel, how they act.
(20:41):
So I said let's give this a try.
Their condition was you know,once you finish your undergrad,
you have to go on to dosomething else, because an
undergraduate degree inpsychology is not going to get
you much.
So I said, ok, let's make adeal.
I will leave engineering, Iwill move into psychology, but I
will do something with thedegree after.
Either pursue a master's or,you know, get some additional
(21:04):
credentials or certifications,which is what I ended up doing.
Or, you know, get someadditional credentials or
certifications, which is what Iended up doing a master's in
industrial organizationalpsychology, which is essentially
psychology of the workplace.
Gurasis (21:13):
Yeah, and how that I
remember asking you earlier.
I will ask you the samequestion again.
Can you tell us, like, howputting on the psychology lens
has influenced your personallife or interactions with others
?
Yauhan (21:26):
Yeah.
So psychology has taught me alot of things because the
courses I took in psychologyranged from, you know, cognitive
psychology, which is study ofthe brain, to human behavior,
which is how we feel, how we act.
I also had courses in, you know, psychological disorders, right
.
So that gave me a goodunderstanding of, you know
(21:47):
people whose mental health isnot the best.
And I mean I have been throughthat journey and I, you know, I
go through that journey even now, where there's always, you know
, a little bit of anxiety, alittle bit of uncertainty, and I
know a lot of people face that,especially in Canada I think
it's one out of five or sixpeople who experience some sort
(22:10):
of mental health difficulty.
So it really helped me tounderstand and appreciate you
know people and their journeysand their lives, and not take
life for granted and be mindfulof you know everybody is going
through something.
So being very mindful of youknow everybody's is going
through something, so being verymindful of that and being
respectful of that.
(22:31):
And you know friends havetaught me along the way to to be
mindful of that because as aperson I can be very mischievous
, so sometimes I need a littlebit of reminder to to you know,
stay within my boundaries andand not be too mischievous,
because you never know whatpeople are going through, yeah,
uh, so.
Gurasis (22:52):
So that's yeah many,
many life lessons from my four
years doing psychology I thinkthis is also something I touch a
lot on, the podcast, which isnot, you know, jumping to
conclusions and just just allyou can do is just be kind to
people.
Yauhan (23:06):
You never know what
they're coming from you know
what is going on in their lives.
Gurasis (23:10):
And I think it can
happen in any way.
When you're in a professionalsetting, in your personal
setting or even like on thestreet, sometimes people just
get affected by certain wayspeople react.
But I think we have to keep ourcalm and give people benefit of
the doubt and let them be.
Yauhan (23:26):
Yeah, and you know, we
also, as human beings, make a
lot of assumptions, yeah, right.
So just because somebody looksa certain way or somebody sounds
a certain way, we feel, oh,this person is.
You know, we categorize people,right, yeah, based on their
looks, based on, you know,appearances, their clothing,
their choices.
And I think that only leads tofrustration.
(23:47):
Think that only leads tofrustrations and that only leads
to negativity in society.
So you're right, I I stronglybelieve in being compassionate
and being kind, and that's whymy favorite quote is you know,
treat other people like howyou'd like to be treated.
Obviously, everybody wants tobe treated with respect and
kindness, so, so you have tolead it that way in order for
you to receive that from otherpeople.
Gurasis (24:09):
As well, tell me, like
how, just understanding again of
the human behavior and evenunderstanding of the psychology
how that has impacted yourpersonal decision making choices
?
Yauhan (24:18):
so yeah, I would say not
just my, my studies.
I think my life and myexperiences in life have really
matured me.
So you know, as a kid I wasvery mischievous.
I mean I still I think I amvery mischievous, although I
have to, you know, be a littlecareful now around the kids
because they are, I'm rolemodeling for them so I can't be
(24:40):
too naughty in front of them.
But you're to answer yourquestion, yes, I think.
More than education, I think mylife experiences have taught me
things and have matured me tojust be a different person in
different stages of my life.
So, as a child compared to ateenager again.
(25:03):
That mischief continued as ateenager as well, but I knew
quickly that I had to take myeducation, my career, seriously.
So then that transitioned wellinto you know me doing well
academically, doing my master'sand then working in good
companies, yeah.
So I would say yeah, acombination of both studies as
(25:24):
well as values from my parents,you know, interactions with
friends, and, and, and just lifeexperiences so if I ask you
what are, what are johan's liketop three principles?
Gurasis (25:37):
how would you define
them?
Yauhan (25:38):
definitely number one is
family, and I mean doesn't need
too much of a definition here,but family and and you know,
being around people who I love,who I care about and who care
about me, is very, veryimportant, and I actually have
made lots of choices, includingcareer choices, based on family
values.
So, for example, my role withDeloitte right now is remote and
(26:04):
it does not involve traveling,which is what I used to do in my
previous consulting roles.
But ever since I've had kids, Ipurposefully chose this role to
prioritize my family andschedule my work around my
family as opposed to the otherway around.
Okay, the other thing that Ivalue as well is, from a soft
skill perspective, I reallyvalue empathy, so understanding
(26:28):
people, putting yourself intheir shoes, understanding their
thoughts, their behaviors, andI think psychology has really
made this a core value for me.
I also really value educationand continuous learning, because
, as human beings, if we stoplearning, we stop growing.
So I tell this to myself, I tellthis to my family, my kids now
continuous learning because, as,as human beings, if we stop
learning, we stop growing so Itell this to myself, I tell this
(26:51):
to my family, my kids now, thatalways be curious, always be
curious to learn new things, andthis is how you will grow
personally as well asprofessionally so those would be
my top three.
Gurasis (27:02):
So family empathy and
just keep on learning continuous
learning yes empathy and justkeep on learning, continuous
learning.
Yes, since you work very closelywith international students and
you do, I mean, interact withthousands of them and and
something that you know whereyou've also used the term, the
soul searching before the jobsearching, and and I think I
(27:22):
love personally, like that thatthing.
So tell me I want to share withus, like some insights.
You know how someone who isgetting into this process of
introspection, or identifyingyour personal values and
developing soft skills, can helpinternational students stand
out in the job market andobviously make a successful
transition into a new country.
Yauhan (27:42):
Tell us all about that I
mean, I can speak for hours and
hours about it, but I will giveyou, um, I'll give you kind of
like my my most fundamental andimportant tips over here, right,
and I hope a lot of studentsand job seekers and
international talent can listento this.
So, obviously, when, whenstudents and international
talents come over here, theycome with a lot of hope, a lot
(28:02):
of aspirations that you know,canada is the dream and I'm
going to come over here, I'mgoing to settle quickly, I'm
going to have a good education,good job in the fastest possible
time.
But guess what?
That rarely happens, right, andespecially in the last couple
of years where the market hasbeen so uncertain and even right
now, as we record this in, youknow, november of 2023, it's a
(28:23):
very, very tough market outthere Lots of layoffs, lots of
hiring freezes.
So the first thing is what Itell people is control what you
can control and don't stress outabout things you cannot control
.
So point number one is allabout mindset, right?
Are you maintaining a mindsetwhere you know nothing is really
(28:45):
working out for me?
I don't trust myself, I'm notgood enough, I'm not capable
enough, or are you tellingyourself that, yes, you know, I
am getting rejections.
Yes, I'm not getting interviews.
Yes, I'm struggling with X, y,z, but I have self-belief.
I know I'm capable, I know I'mworthy, I know I'm smart and I
(29:06):
can overcome all of thesehurdles and it's just a matter
of time before I achieve success.
So number one is you knowpositive mindset, optimistic
outlook, you know in your careerand your life.
Point number two, I would sayGurases, is being very clear on
where you want to go.
So this is the whole careerclarity piece.
(29:27):
A lot of people what they do isthey take the resume and they
start applying for a lot of jobsor they start updating their
LinkedIn profile, hopingsomething works out.
This seldom is effective interms of a strategy, because if
you don't know where you want togo, it's really hard to craft
(29:47):
documents that align where youwant to go right.
So be sure about you know whatis it that you want to go after.
So what industry, what role,what kind of companies do you
want to work for and why?
Right.
For each decision you make, askyourself why.
Why do you want to work for aDeloitte, yeah.
Why do you want to work for aEY?
(30:08):
Right.
And if it's just about theirname and their reputation.
That's not deep enough.
You have to find somethingabout either their product or
their service, or the way theytreat their employees or the
experience they provide to theirclients.
Right, it's kind of that deeperlevel that's required.
So step number two is clarity.
Step number three is then, onceyou have clarity in terms of
(30:31):
where you want to go, you createa plan on how you will get
there.
Yeah, okay, so what is that youwant to do?
And then you bridge the gapbetween okay, this is where I am
right now.
Let's say, I want to become aproject manager, but I see that
a lot of project manager jobsrequire the PMP certification.
So, of course, if I want tostand out, I should get the PMP
(30:54):
certification.
Or a lot of the jobs I'mlooking for are junior level
project management jobs.
They don't require the PMP.
Instead, they require maybe aCAPM, which is a junior level
designation, but they requireexperience in X Y, z.
So I think I need to upskillmyself first, or educate myself
first, before I become a good,strong candidate.
(31:15):
So there is a little bit ofintrospection, there's a little
bit of planning, assessmentrequired, and then, once you do
that, you know basically, thereare two ways to land interviews.
Number one, applying for jobs.
Number two, networking.
And then, once you getinterviews, you know nobody is
born to be a good interviewerand, you know, deliver
(31:39):
exceptional results ininterviews.
It comes with a lot of practice, a lot of preparation.
So people who take the time toprepare and practice, I feel
doesn't matter how qualified youare or how qualified you're not
, they are the ones who exceland put that interview into a
job.
You know, once you have theoffer, also do some research on
(31:59):
your value and your worth.
Right.
Just because you're aninternational student, you don't
have experience in Canada, doesnot mean you can settle for, or
does not mean you should settlefor, a low-paying job.
Gurasis (32:10):
Always remember your,
your worth and be able to
confidently negotiate yeah, no,I think that's some great
takeaways I have, you know,definitely having that positive
mindset, getting that careerclarity and make a plan for
everything where you really wantto go and obviously not setting
yourself short that in any wayjust because you're
international students.
I think I can't emphasize moreI've been talking about this
(32:31):
from past one year now that justbecause you're an immigrant in
any way, you are not less thananybody else.
You know, and you don't have tolike hesitate to even like show
off your skills that youalready brought from like
international experience.
You know, never hesitate to dothat for sure.
Yauhan (32:45):
Absolutely, absolutely,
in fact.
Hesitate to do that for sure.
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
In fact, international talentare the most adaptable, they are
the most courageous and they'rethe most resilient talent out
there.
Right, it takes a lot ofcourage and guts to move from
your home country to a brand newcountry, oftentimes, you know,
without parental support,because the parents are back
(33:07):
home or the siblings, the family, extended families back home.
So it takes a lot.
Just the fact that you movedhere in itself speaks a lot
about your.
You know your resilience, yourgrit, so wear that as a badge of
honor and be extremely proud ofthat.
You come over here withexperience, or you have global
(33:28):
experience.
You come here speakingdifferent languages, right, so
you know the locals over heredon't have that, or they haven't
had the opportunity to havethat which you do.
So that is your differentiatingfactor, that's your unique
value proposition.
So identify what that is andthen be able to clearly
communicate that to potentialemployers.
Gurasis (33:50):
Yeah, I think you've
said it perfectly and I really
hope it encourages any of ourinternational students who are
listening, or even the aspiringimmigrants who are planning to
move abroad.
I hope so too.
Before we get into the finalsegment of the podcast, I've
introduced this new segment inthis season and I call it Know
your Host, where I give myguests an opportunity to ask me
(34:11):
any question that you would liketo ask.
Yauhan (34:20):
Awesome, I was waiting
for that.
Okay, what are the top threelessons that you've learned that
have really helped you?
You know, grow as a person,grow as a professional.
What were those top threelessons?
Gurasis (34:40):
Sure, I'll talk about
like growing as a person first,
definitely I think I havementioned it so many in the
podcast as well I grew up inlike a very patriarchal
household and I had like acertain way of seeing things and
I think, after coming here,just interacting with people and
getting exposed to so manycultures and, uh, you know
languages as well and and justinteracting with these people, I
think I've understood it'simportant to shed few things
which are not serving youanymore, and it's okay to
unlearn and relearn some newthings.
(35:01):
That's something I think I havelearned, uh, personally, for
sure, and for professionally,something I have learned is that
which also you also talk a lotabout, that which is, uh, you
know, hard skills definitely getyou a job, but soft skills are
something which retain you atthe job, and I think I have
witnessed some examples wherethey are people who are like
(35:23):
professionals in their career,amazing decades of experience
but they would let go justbecause they were not basically
like a team player.
You know, I have seen that thatpeople will let go in that
sense.
So, yeah, these are the.
These are the two things Iwould say I have definitely
learned, uh, throughout myjourney.
I love that.
Yauhan (35:39):
I love that.
That's.
That's lots of good insightsand, you know, in those couple
of tidbits over there, thank youfor sharing.
Um, I know you asked me thisquestion so I'm going to put it
back to you.
Uh, what is you know a movie or, um, you know documentary that
left an impact in your life?
Sure, and, and can you, can yourecall, can you recall a
(36:02):
dialogue from that that reallystood out to you?
It could be uh serious, itcould be comical as well.
Gurasis (36:08):
Yeah, no, definitely I
have an answer to that.
You know, I always do myresearch before I ask other
guests, so so you should knowthe answer to the questions you
ask other people absolutely yeah, I always know that.
So this, so I think I'll I'lltake it to go back to my time in
2021 when I was like reallygoing through a really hard
phase from, like, my initialfour months.
I think I don't even rememberthose four months anymore
(36:30):
because there was so muchhappening and because my work
permit was expiring.
I was left with like threemonths.
I wasn't getting any job.
I was let go of my, the job Iwas doing already I was.
I was asked to leave the houseas well.
I had no house.
So many things just going on inmy mind at that time.
Tons of things you know and Ithink at that time I things you
know and I think at that time Ijust it was, it's an old movie,
(36:51):
it's it's I don't know.
It's like a 90s or early 2000s.
I believe.
It's a will smith movie thatfeatures will smith's called the
pursuit of happiness, you know,or maybe happiness, you know
how they call it.
I think that movie in general,uh, really left an impact on me
that all that comes your way isis part of your bigger, bigger
(37:12):
journey.
It's part of your journey andif you just get bogged down by
all these huddles, pull yourselfup and just continue moving,
continue putting your effort andcontinue doing the best you can
in that particular situation.
Focus on the things that youcan control.
You can't control what is notin your control.
I think I give the exampleearlier also in terms of
international student journey.
(37:33):
The things which is in yourcontrol is to go ahead and apply
to a certain work permit or ajob or anything as per the
requirements.
That's in your control.
Whether the immigration officewill reply back to you or not,
you don't know that.
When they're going to reply youback, you don't know that.
When is the recruiter going torespond you back or no, you
don't know that.
So, doing the best that you canand continue doing your thing
(37:53):
and just uh, I think that willlet you to pursue your happiness
.
I would say that, yeah, so thatmovie is definitely uh left an
impact on me.
Yeah, that's how I'll answerthat.
Yauhan (38:02):
Yeah, no, that's a.
That's a great movie.
Uh, I love watching that movieas well.
There were so many lessonsabsolutely um on happiness, on
life in general, that that movieteaches you.
Yeah, love it love it.
I'll ask you one more questiondo you cook and um?
What is your favorite food toeat?
You could eat that any day, allday.
Gurasis (38:24):
Okay, great question is
and yes, I do cook, I love
cooking, I was mentioning it.
Yeah, I actually obviously,like back in india, I've hardly
cooked, and the funny thing ismy last guest actually asked me
this question regarding cooking,so like what's something you
discovered?
And I told them I think Idiscovered a cook within me when
I came to canada.
I didn't know I could go backand only maggie or maybe like
(38:45):
boil some eggs or laboskisadilla, but here, yes, I cook, I cook
a lot.
I think I obviously I cookindian.
I've also tried.
I actually I cook a lot of likechinese, very similar to indian
as well, like indo-chinese Icook.
I cook a lot of like mexican aswell.
I cook some thai food as well,and so I think I've cooked
mediterranean, obviously verysimilar spices and everything.
But I do cook that and somethingwhich I think my staple food is
(39:08):
.
It's very boring answer, butthis is dal chawal, or how we
call it lentils and rice.
I think I can have that anytimeevery day lentil soup, how
people call it.
I think that's the, that's thetherapy for me.
I love just having a simple,plain yellow dal, so to say we
call it.
So, yeah, I think, uh, this issomething I would say, so when
(39:31):
when are you inviting me overfor dinner?
whenever you say, whenever youare available I'm sure you have
a busy schedule, but wheneverI'm in toronto next or whenever
you are in montreal next, wehave to connect for sure.
Yauhan (39:42):
Yeah, yes, no, I have a
busy schedule.
You know, after all of thosedishes you mentioned, you know
Indian, Indo-Chinese andMediterranean and Mexican I was
like, no, I think you know whatyou're doing.
I should probably make a tripto Montreal soon to try that
100%.
Gurasis (40:00):
You know 100%.
I'm not sure you'll love it ornot.
My friends say they love it,they enjoy it.
You know, so I'm sure you'lllove it as well.
Yauhan (40:09):
I don't have very high
standards when it comes to food,
so, uh, anything that you serveme would be good, okay, so
thank you.
Thank you for sharing thatwould.
Uh, was lovely to know thatthere's a cook hidden inside
grasses as well, and you'vediscovered that talent for
yourself.
So now you're on.
I would like to go to the finalsegment of the podcast.
Gurasis (40:24):
I call it beneath the
accent.
I'm going to ask a couple ofquestions podcast.
I call it Beneath the Accent.
I'm going to ask a couple ofquestions.
You can answer them in one wordor a sentence, or however you
feel like.
The idea is just to know alittle bit more about Johan.
So ready, absolutely, let's gofor it.
Tell me an advice you wouldlike to give to your younger
self, and at what age.
Yauhan (41:01):
So definitely at my
teenage years, when I was a
little bit off track.
Advice I would like to givemyself was, you know, always
remember the consequences ofyour actions, because every
action you take, whether or notyou take no action, remember
what consequences it could havefor yourself, for people and the
community.
That's one lesson that I havelearned.
Um, sometimes you know the hardway growing up.
Gurasis (41:18):
Okay, is there any
worst advice someone ever gave
you?
Yauhan (41:21):
yeah, when I was, you
know, job searching myself, um,
I used to receive advice thatyou know it's all about blasting
thousands of applications andhopefully one of them will help
you land a job.
So I remember that distinctly.
I won't mention name, but Iremember that distinctly, coming
from a couple of sources, andwe know now that that is
(41:42):
absolutely the worst way oflanding a job of course okay.
Gurasis (41:48):
Is there any one dish
from your home country that
always brings you comfort andnostalgia?
Yauhan (41:52):
so when I was growing up
in puna, um, I used to eat a
lot of biryani, and biryanisince then has, you know, stayed
with me and I love it.
So you know, similar to how youeat dal and rice, for me I can
eat biryani anytime, any daybreakfast, lunch, dinner, okay
so you said you moved here,obviously like by the age of 15.
Gurasis (42:14):
Do you remember your
first friend that you made in
canada, and are you still intouch?
Yauhan (42:19):
um, yes, actually I made
a few friends.
So I was that way, I was notvery shy, I was quite outgoing.
I did make a few differentfriends in high school and,
believe it or not, two of myfriends that I made are still my
best friends today.
Okay, even after 23 years.
We message almost on a on aweekly basis and it's amazing to
(42:43):
see, you know, people who youwent to high school with now
growing up with you.
You know university years,adult, uh, you know getting
married around the same time.
Kids, um, and my best friendactually just his wife delivered
twin babies two days ago.
Oh, wow, so that was veryexciting to see and, you know,
(43:03):
very happy for him yeah, okay.
Gurasis (43:06):
So what's that one
tradition that you have adopted
wholeheartedly and what's onefrom your home country that you
have introduced to your Canadianfriends if you have like?
Yauhan (43:14):
myself.
Actually, a lot of my friendsare friends from high school, uh
, for many, many years, and thenwe've made some friends
recently as well.
So no tradition.
I mean they know all of theindian traditions that I know,
(43:35):
so I haven't made them adopt anytraditions, uh, but some
traditions that I didn't use tocelebrate back then.
Uh, that we celebrate over hereis thanksgiving, okay, right,
so the festival of thanksgiving,we get together as a family.
We don't do like turkey oranything like that, it's just
getting together having a meal.
My wife is of Chinese descent,so we also celebrate now Chinese
(43:57):
New Year, so that's a bigtradition for us to do every
single year.
And for the kids it's Halloween, right, so there was no
Halloween concept back in Indiaor Dubai, and Halloween just
passed, so my house is filledwith candy, okay, so if you cook
food for me, I will give youone full box of chocolates Up
(44:18):
for it.
Gurasis (44:21):
So you said your wife
is from Chinese descent, so how
many languages are spoken inyour house now?
Yauhan (44:27):
So she is, she's of
chinese descent, but she's born
and raised in mumbai.
Okay, um, so she has the, thechinese, you know, uh, ancestry
and the looks, uh, but you knowand, and and she speaks.
She speaks, uh, you know,fluent hindi because born and
(44:47):
raised in mumbai.
Gurasis (44:48):
Of course, yeah, um, so
it's just, it's just hindi and
english okay, and do you makethat conscious effort to
instilled like, for example,hindi or it in your children?
Yauhan (44:59):
I wish I did.
Unfortunately, you know, eversince my wife and I have been
together, we spoke to each otherin english.
Okay, uh, even though both ofus can't speak in hindi, for
some reason, we alwayscommunicated with each other in
english.
Okay, uh, even though both ofus can speak in hindi, for some
reason we always communicatedwith each other in english, and
so it became a little bit oddfor us to talk to the children
in a different language.
So something I regret is is not, uh, not talking in, you know,
(45:24):
either hindi or gujarati, orlittle bit of Chinese that she
knows with them.
So, yeah, lessons you learn asyou go.
Gurasis (45:32):
And is there something
you recently bought and you now
regret?
Yauhan (45:36):
I'm very careful with
whatever I buy.
I do a lot of research andanalysis, so I don't I can't
think of anything recent that Ibought that was not good value
or that I wanted to return.
Gurasis (45:47):
So what's next on your
bucket list?
Yauhan (45:49):
So we just had a baby
who is now five months old.
So the next on my bucket listis to give him, you know, the
best possible experience growingup, just like how I've done for
my daughter so far, andprioritizing that, because
family is top priority for me.
In terms of work, it would be,you know, continuing to do a
(46:10):
little bit of my coaching, youknow also continuing to work for
Deloitte, while maintaining thework-life harmony.
And we have a trip coming up inDecember, so next month we are
taking the kids to Disney, solooking forward to that.
Gurasis (46:26):
So you have to create
this one law that everybody has
to follow.
What?
Yauhan (46:30):
would it be?
I think, coming back again tomy value of kindness and empathy
, one law that I would create isjust being kind to people,
irrespective of what they do,what they say, how they treat
you.
So the law of kindness byJohann Einstein.
Gurasis (46:48):
Finally describe Canada
in one word or a sentence.
Yauhan (46:51):
Opportunity.
I think you know Canada bringsthousands and millions of people
, and that's one word I woulduse to describe it.
It's a land of opportunitiesfor a reason, and if you admire
and appreciate, you know what itcan offer you.
I think there's so much.
Gurasis (47:10):
And lastly, if you
could leave me with one piece of
advice, what would it be keepdoing?
Yauhan (47:15):
what you're doing, keep
cooking what you're cooking, uh,
and and and.
Just keep making such a bigdifference in people's lives
through, you know, sharingpeople's stories, uh, teaching
people different lessons.
So I love what you do, and, andkudos to you for spending so
much energy, time and effortbehind this and and and.
You really are inspiring somany people all across canada
(47:38):
and, you know, in the world aswell.
Gurasis (47:40):
So thank you.
Thank you, ron, for being onthe podcast.
Thank you for your kind wordsand adding value to my listeners
.
Thank you, thanks a lot, thankyou so much for having me.
Yauhan (47:50):
It's absolute honor and
I really enjoyed our fun
conversation together, wishingyou all the very best.