Friend Lands Job in Canada While on the Hunt for Salt

In Canada, job hunting is challenging, mainly for international students like myself. There are various reasons behind it, which include no Canadian experience, lack of required skills, no referrals, and many more. I have been unemployed in Canada for almost two months.

As per the Labour Force Survey, January 2024, the unemployment rate in Canada is 5.7%, which means that out of the total labor force in Canada, 5.7 % of individuals willing to work are jobless now. Despite this rate, one of my friends got hired unexpectedly.

Today, I will not talk about the unemployment rate in Canada because the media, politicians, influencers, and almost everyone are talking about it. I want to talk about the story of my friend, Arun, who unexpectedly got a job in Canada while searching for a store to buy Salt.

Arun (a made-up name) recently arrived in Canada to pursue an MBA at the University Canada West. He is my classmate, and when I asked him how he found a job, he told me his exciting story. As I always ask my employed friend, how did they get the job?

Arun was living with his family friend in Metrotown for a few days. Later, he shifted to a new home in a nearby place. Arun thought of cooking his first dinner in Canada, but he didn’t find the key ingredient: salt. A Nepali girl was staying in the same house, so he asked her where he could get the salt. The girl also recently moved to Canada, so she had no idea. Instead, she said she has been using MSG (partial replacement of salt) to cook the food and advised her to do the same.

But the young Arun didn’t like her idea, so he searched for the salt. While walking for almost an hour, he found an Indian store; he got his salt. I think that day he was the happiest man in the world. Arun shared that at that time, he didn’t know about the other stores where he could get the salt.
Later, other Nepalese international students came to reside in the same house. And for the grocery and salt, Arun took them to that store. The store became more than just a source of salt for Arun. He started going regularly to that store since the flavors and ingredients of Indian spices matched the Nepalese cuisine.

He started visiting the stores regularly to buy groceries, so he became a regular customer. One day, he asked the store owner whether he had some jobs, and immediately, the store owner offered him the job.

Arun’s story serves as a reminder to persist in our pursuits. Even amid uncertainty and unemployment, opportunities may present when we least expect them. Let’s keep searching, for who knows what we might find while hunting for something as simple as salt.