I Japa at 40+ 🇳🇬 → 🇨🇦

I got my first job in Canada🇨🇦 in 4 weeks…after arrival and lost it in under 9 days. 😄 Welcome to my Japa reality. I came in eager, ready to “tap into the system,” experience this almighty Canadian work culture, and most importantly… start earning. Because let’s be honest, that Proof of Funds we all arrive with? It has wings. It flies away at the speed of light. So I jumped at the opportunity, after throwing almost 50 applications at different fields I had experience in, coming from Naija. First job. First taste of the system. First paycheck loading (or so I thought). Then boom, just like that, I was let go. No long story on this (yet)… but trust me, that one is coming someday. Was it painful? Yes. Was it humbling? Absolutely. Did it shake me? For a moment. But that short, almost embarrassing experience taught me more than comfort ever could. It opened my eyes to how things actually work here. It forced me to adjust quickly. It tested my mindset early. And more importantly… it confirmed something I already believed deep down: I’m built for this journey. Because moving abroad is not just about landing, it’s about adapting, failing, learning, and going again. No matter how long it takes. So yes, I lost my first job in less than 10 days… But I gained something far more valuable: clarity, resilience, and proof that I can keep going. And honestly? That’s a better foundation than any Canadian😃 #40PlusImmigrant #LifeAbroad #NewBeginnings

@chukschinedu Exactly! And the older the model of the car, the more liabilities the car brings, including insurance

@40PlusImmigrant I think buying a car isn’t much of a problem, it is getting a sound vehicle(beware of high mileage Kia/Hyundai/American autos lol) and the insurance payments that come with it.

I thought I knew how to use Google Maps… until I Japa! 🤣 As a JJC (Johnny Just Come), I came with confidence steeze. After all, I was a well-grounded student of Geography back home, and used maps sparingly when I had to. I thought navigation would be easy. Wetin Google Maps use my eyes see eehh! 🥴I passed my destination countless times, ended up in the wrong vicinity, got frustrated, gave up, and booked rides… only for the ride apps to charge me a few dollars, I was clinging on to, to get by in this land, and still drop me on the same street I had already walked past without realizing it was my destination. 🤣 That was when humility entered my personal group chat 😂. I had to abandon pride, slow down, relearn how to read maps properly, understand directions better, and pay attention to measurement in distance to cover, North-South-East-West turns, and how locations are structured here. All the time I goofed, and still goofing, because learning many things in this society is ongoing, I switch to making fun of myself, thinking about them, and talking to people about them, in comic ways😁. Many things to unlearn. Many things to relearn. Many simple life skills to adapt to. Japa go humble you. 😂

@chukschinedu You'd ask yourself if you won't die before the day ends 🤣

@40PlusImmigrant Standing under the cold or wind is gangster sha lol

@Koredekinging_ Sure, search for things you wanna learn on YouTube, prompt AI platforms to give you clues, search web engines, you can learn anything.

@40PlusImmigrant Is there any way one can develop all these before moving to Canada?

A great number of years of foreign work experience can still leave you struggling in Canada🇨🇦. One of the hard lessons in this Japa journey, when you’re over 40: experience alone is not enough. Here, it won't be that one is not pushing hard enough or, unqualified. Sometimes, it’s because your experience is not translated into what the system here understands. In Canada, employers often look beyond your job title. They want local certifications, safety training, Canadian experience, and proof that you understand the Canadian work culture and can work within their system. That’s why the majority of us may start with survival jobs, not because we lack skills, but because we have to learn the ropes and figure out how to position those skills in this market. The gap is not experience. The gap is translation. This is the raw truth!

@Kike_Sowemimo @sammy2jay1 😂😂

@sammy2jay1 @40PlusImmigrant I don learn

@hezxotuata @Ejisky1 🙏

@40PlusImmigrant @Ejisky1 Wow I love your willingness to help So many are stingy with info like this God bless you

I got a role with the Canadian Red Cross… before I even entered Canada. 😄 I landed a Volunteer Role with the Canadian Red Cross while in Nigeria, 1 month before I left. There is an edge in thoroughly making your own research about anything and everything about the country you want to move to before making that move. Trust me, all the vital information you’d get would help you settle in, and it would merge with the information people who were already there before you, would dish out to you. Having learned how vital volunteering is in the Canadian work culture, I started approaching preferred organisations once it was sure that our travel documents were in our hands. I remember that email and the subsequent call that followed from CRC to learn more about me and my drive to decide to join as a volunteer once I landed. It blew my mind that, oh, shit is possible. I felt seen and valued, and if I had failed that remote interview, I wouldn’t have been sad, because I was really proud that they even interviewed me. When I got the mail saying I had passed, it still felt like a mirage till I landed in Canada. After informing them of my availability, I had to wait 6 weeks to receive my Volunteer ID, which was sent to my doorstep via Canada Post. This one came after I was dramatically sacked (laughs 😄) from the first job I landed just 4 weeks after entering the country. That funny story is coming. With that ID, I was so wowed and eager, and I must say, the quality of training and protocols you are placed to take as a volunteer is no different from what the full staff get. You are assigned organizational email address, you pick the days you are available to show up, you are allowed to have the experience you are gathering with them to be on your resume, to help your job hunt, and you can be given reference if you land a job outside, sometimes you are sent vouchers for discounts in their partner shops and free to attend career improvement events, etc. My spouse also made the volunteering move when we landed and got a position in Customer Support in a Community Service Organisation, which I am not allowed to mention here. She also has a job now with that Canadian Work Experience. I still feel proud looking at my ID/Tag and its neck ribbon! 😄Volunteering culture is a big flex in Canada and in the Western world, and it can really open up great opportunities for you while you are on it or later on, and I am sure a lot of people here can attest to this. I still make time from my main job now to keep up with my volunteer position at the Canadian Red Cross, when I can, because it doesn’t stop. I volunteer in a department that works in line with health and safety, and it played a big role in landing me a job. If you are out there and still finding that job and have never tried stepping out to pick up a volunteer role in any organisation at all, give it a try… you’d never know! Udo!

@sammy2jay1 @Kike_Sowemimo na entirely different quadrant you go land in🤣, and either you spend and blow Uber or you call to buy more time for being late to any appointment

@Kike_Sowemimo @40PlusImmigrant Haha… once you are at a transit station, always make sure to check the bus numbers else you would see yourself in another part of town oh.

@chukschinedu Omo, I have calculated the obligations which will come fininacially ones I pick up a car. I am not ready yet, let me skill up fess, up my pay and extra hustle, then I get a car.

@40PlusImmigrant Udo nwanne! If I talk my own, you go laugh tire. Life abroad is humbling especially when you were doing well in Nigeria. Bus & train never leave you go before?

@sammy2jay1 @40PlusImmigrant The bus stop numbers! I have gone in the opposite direction several times😂

@Kike_Sowemimo @sammy2jay1 When you read the transit app atimes feel you have spotted your right stop, only to alight, and it is still 3 or more stops ahead 🤣My Bus and Train (Transit) episodes are coming, chaiii 🤣

@sammy2jay1 😃🤣

@40PlusImmigrant See… the planning is top notch, Nigeria can never get to this level unfortunately.

@chukschinedu Thanks. Part of the journey, Nwanne 🤣

@40PlusImmigrant 😅 sorry

@Ejisky1 Anytime, Man!

@40PlusImmigrant Thanks bro

2026 consultations on potential Express Entry reforms: canada.ca/en/immigration…

Word! 📌💯

UPDATE from British Columbia, Canada The BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) has been updated to support B.C.’s Look West strategy. The BC PNP will prioritize skilled workers that support public services and community well-being. This includes 36 in-demand occupations in healthcare, education, childcare, and veterinary care. • The BC PNP will deliver a time-limited, one-time initiative to retain up to 250 workers already working for a health authority in a cleaning or security role in a rural or remote community who meet program criteria. This will open in June 2026. • The Entry Level and Semi Skilled (ELSS) stream is officially closed. • The BC PNP will not be launching new student streams. • Going forward, the BC PNP will continue to issue targeted invitations for individuals creating high economic impact in B.C. to capture top talent across all sectors, including technology. • The list of priority occupations related to healthcare and construction has been updated, and the program will be expanding the list of ineligible occupations and employers to focus nominations on priorities. Details at welcomebc.ca/immigrate-to-b…

@Plus_Big_AY 👊👊

@40PlusImmigrant Thank you, I ain't stopping for no body

I wan Japa 😭😭😭😭 even passport I never get

@otunbakunle True!

@40PlusImmigrant That cannot be over-emphasised. This is what we don’t have where we come from.