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Proud to be in Canada, EH!
| Guest post by: Hannah McKinnon |
Article Overview: Moving to a new country is always a challenge, but for me, moving to Canada has been a very interesting and pleasant experience so far.
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Free Download - Proud to be in Canada, EH! By Hannah McKinnon |
Proud to be in Canada, EH!
Before
moving to Oakville
in July last year, I had heard Ontarians don’t have the best reputation when it
comes to the legendary Canadian friendliness. I was told Ontarians are apparently
somewhat aloof and cool compared to other areas of this magnificent country.
Therefore
when my Canadian husband and I moved from our home in Switzerland to Oakville, I was expecting a somewhat lukewarm
reception from the locals. How wrong I was!
On the day
after our arrival I was at the local park with our boys and got into a
conversation with another mum who was there with her sons. It turned out her
kids attend the same school as the one we had registered our boys for. She
filled me in on the details about the school and gave me lots of information on
local activities and things to do come rain or shine.
A few days
later, we went to the bank to sort out our finances. I almost fell over when
the bank manager, whom we had never met before, greeted us by our first names,
which is completely unheard of – and more than frowned upon - in very formal Switzerland.
The same
happened with our insurance broker and our real estate agent; first name basis
immediately, friendly, polite, helpful and genuinely interested in us as
people, asking where we were from, what had brought us here – and we ended up
chatting more as friends than business partners. Oh – and they are very
knowledgeable and extremely professional to boot.
By the time
I decided to start my own business with a new concept, Pooling People, last January, I
knew I was in the right place to do so and so far I have not been disappointed.
All of the events I have attended have provided me with so many great
connections, not only on a business but also on a personal level. Again, people
have surprised me with their genuine interest and enthusiasm for my business,
making suggestions about companies to approach and ways of doing so, giving me
information about places to advertise, people to speak with and networking
events to go to. All this comes naturally and openly without even expecting
anything in return, which makes it even more fun to be able to give back.
When I
presented PoolingPeople.ca at Burlington's Innovation Night at DeGroote School of Business and also at Hamilton’s
first ever Demo Camp at Slainte Irish Pub I was overwhelmed by the positive
reaction I received. The business concept created a great buzz and was tweeted
and blogged about. I was welcomed with open arms and it felt more like nights
out with friends than business events.
Some
Europeans regard Canadian friendliness as superficial. “When I’m asked ‘How are
you today?’ they say, “I could answer ‘My wife left me, my dog died and my arm
has fallen off’ and I’d still get “OK well, have a nice day!” as a response
because they don’t actually care”.
Personally,
I don’t think that’s true. Canadians have a genuine interest and curiosity
about the people they meet, whatever the origin and background. In the eight
months I have been here, not once have I been made to feel like a foreigner or
unwelcome – on the contrary.
In many countries
I have visited I have observed a tolerance of different cultures. In Canada
I see a celebration of them. This is something other countries would do well to
emulate.
Someone
asked me if I thought I’d ever feel Canadian. I guess it’s unlikely because the
fact is I’m British and Swiss. But it doesn’t matter, because I’m very proud to
be in Canada.
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Article Tags: Canada, Canada eh, foreigner, moving to Canada, new business venture, startup
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About the Author: Hannah McKinnon RSS for Hannah's articles - Visit Hannah's website McKinnon is leveraging her start-up experience with PoolingPeople.ca, the only online platform enabling companies to temporarily borrow and lend or permanently transfer their employees. A multilingual professional who has worked in the Swiss, German, Dutch and UK markets, McKinnon's most recent position was with Talisman Software. Joining Talisman in 1995, McKinnon was the third person to be hired with the company when it was in its start-up years. As joint-managing director for the European IT recruitment and consultancy company, McKinnon was instrumental in implementing structure and organization that enabled sales to thrive, growing the company's revenues from $2.5 million in 1995 to $100 million in 2009. With a diverse, international background, McKinnon immigrated to Toronto in 2010 with her family, and launched her entrepreneurial endeavor PoolingPeople.ca in January 2011. Based in Canada, the company provides employers with a platform where they can temporarily borrow and lend or permanently transfer employees among members, helping to manage their fluctuating staffing needs, lower recruitment and downtime costs, reduce redundancies and increase profitability. Click here to visit Hannah's website   A new approach to staffing Networking woes Proud to be in Canada EH Interview Tips Tricks for Companies |
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