Yauhan: 0:00

Students and international talents come over here. They come with a lot of hope, a lot of aspirations that Canada is the dream and I'm going to come over here. I'm going to settle quickly, I'm going to have a good education, good job in the fastest possible time. But guess what? That rarely happens. Control what you can control. Don't stress out about things you cannot control. And it's all about mindset. 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 the most adaptable, courageous and they're the most resilient talent out there.

Gurasis: 0:47

What are Yauhan's top three principles? How would you define them?

Yauhan: 0:50

Definitely number one.

Gurasis: 0:56

In the challenging journey of immigration, it's not just about the physical move from one place to another, but a holistic transformation. Taking care of one's well-being, both physically and mentally, is paramount for immigrants as they navigate the intricate paths of change. In this episode, we'll meet individuals who do not only understand the significance of holistic health for immigrants, but also excel in guiding them through the complexities of career transitions and personal development.

Gurasis: 1:25

Our guest is an industrial, organizational psychologist and career coach with a remarkable career spanning 15 years. He specializes in leading business transformation initiatives, contributing to the success of global firms like Deloitte, accenture and Walmart. He has also been a mentor to hundreds of professionals, helping them secure dream jobs at Canada's top consulting and corporate firms, including industry giants like Amazon, deloitte, ey and many more. In this episode, we'll explore his journey from growing up in India to moving to Dubai, a place that became a significant part of his life for a decade. We'll uncover how his cultural observations in Dubai shaped his perspectives and set the stage for his global career. We'll dive into his decision to move to Canada, the challenges he faced and the holistic approach he believes is vital for the well-being of immigrants. Please welcome Yauhan Mehta.

Yauhan: 2:21

Thank you, Gurasis, for such a wonderful welcome. I appreciate it.

Gurasis: 2:25

Of course, Yauhan, very excited to have you on the podcast and very, very excited for this conversation, so welcome.

Yauhan: 2:30

Likewise, I'm super pumped as well, and I look forward to this amazing and hopefully insightful and fun conversation with you today Awesome.

Gurasis: 2:40

So, Yauhan, this episode is actually part of my second season of the podcast and I basically aim to turn up the fun factor a little bit for the season, and obviously I do impart more and more knowledge. So I want to start by asking you some fun questions that I have for you, okay, so first tell us what's your go-to breakfast that you have.

Yauhan: 3:02

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 healthiest thing 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 of coffee and that's my breakfast, along with water.

Gurasis: 3:25

Okay, and are you like? Do you like you have a sweet too?

Yauhan: 3:28

do you want to have, like, sugar in your coffee or no, just black no, because see if I have sugar in my coffee or even excess of milk in my coffee, it breaks the fast. So for the fast to work, you cannot consume any more than 50 calories, okay. So if I put any kind of you know cream, excessive cream or sugar or milk, it breaks the fast. So typically it's black coffee or with a little bit of cream, but no sugar.

Gurasis: 3:51

Okay and are you doing it like from many years now or you started recently? I have.

Yauhan: 3:56

I've been doing it since 2019. Oh wow, so it's been four years now, okay great, okay.

Gurasis: 4:02

So my next question is share like a favorite song or a dialogue or a movie and tell us why it's significant to you.

Yauhan: 4:10

Ah, good question. I wasn't prepared for this, but I will try. From an English movie perspective, my favorite movie is Forrest Gump with Tom Hanks in it. I just love that movie and the story and his acting and think he received, uh, an award for that as well. In terms of hindi movies, which I used to watch a lot of, although I've scaled back now with 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 three actors, including my favorite actor, which is Amit Khan. I would say those are two of my favorites. I'm not a very good singer, so I'm not going to sing any songs from any movies. We'll maybe save that for another day after a couple of drinks.

Gurasis: 4:57

So next is if you had to teach one phrase in your mother tongue, what would it be and what does it mean?

Yauhan: 5:04

so I predominantly speak english, although with my parents it's in gujarati, and then with some of my friends I speak hindi as well. So there's a couple of different indian languages, but most of the phrases that I know are 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 be treated yourself. And that one is super important to me because it reflects so many of my personal values around compassion, kindness, caring, and I really love that and I try to practice it as much as I can as well.

Gurasis: 5:41

Okay, so now I'd like to take you back to the time you spent in India, or I would say like the first initial five years of your life in India. Tell us if you have any recollection of that time, or something that your parents might have shared with you. Tell us about that.

Yauhan: 5:54

Yeah, absolutely so, long, long time ago. I'm not that old, but this was a long time ago. Yes, so I was born in Mumbai and I quickly then was moved from Mumbai to Pune, which is a small city very close to Mumbai. I grew up over there, actually with my dad's mom, so my paternal, paternal, grandmom, and I lived with her for the first five to six years of my life. She really, really spoiled me.

Yauhan: 6:27

So there's a lot of memories around. You know playing with the neighborhood kids. You know, indoors, outdoors, lots of yummy treats. You know she treats me to, I think, ice cream every other day, chocolates. So lots of very fond memories playing, know, with other children's outdoors, which you don't get to see too much of in Canada, I mean one because of the weather, yeah, but then also you know everyone's kind of doing their own thing and have you know a few selective friend circles. But back home in India it was very different as a child. I really really cherish that. I would say those were the best years of my life and very fond memories so what made the family to move to dubai then yeah, so when I was about five or six years old.

Yauhan: 7:10

This is when my parents, who lived in dubai at the time okay, and because of work yeah, because of work, they were in dubai decided to then, uh, bring me to dubai as well for education, and so I joined them, along with my older brother, who grew up with my maternal grandma in Mumbai. So he was over there in Mumbai, I was in Pune, so the two of us moved to Dubai to join my parents and at that time we had another brother, a little baby, who was with my parents growing up in Dubai. So, yeah, it was a big, big change for me, very big change in terms of moving away from being attached to my grandmom for the first five, six years and obviously, the way a grandmom treats you and brings you up and comforts you's it's different, yeah, than you know any other family member. So I really missed that and I was very upset moving to Dubai.

Gurasis: 8:11

I'm sure I can relate to that. You know, I remember going to my grandmother's, even from the maternal side. I never unfortunately get to see the paternal side of my grandparents, but I did meet them, and not at once. I remember going to them and I remember going to them and staying for like 10 days and you come back with an extra kilo probably. You end up like eating a lot just staying at their house. So I see what you're saying absolutely they spoil.

Yauhan: 8:35

And now you know, I get to experience that with my kids and my mother spoiling them and my wife's mother spoiling them with lots of, you know, clothes and treats and everything. So I I completely relate.

Gurasis: 8:48

I think that never goes away, especially in indian households so you mentioned that you know your uh, your parents were living in dubai and you were still in india and from the one with your brother was another grandmother. You were another grandmother, so did you guys any time were meeting together like in the initial, initial five years of her life? Were your parents visiting? Was it like occasionally? How was that like?

Yauhan: 9:12

yeah, so they used to visit once a year, uh, when they had, you know, time off from work in dubai. So they came down to india once a year, which is when I got to meet them, but it was only for a couple of weeks, so it wasn't too extensive.

Gurasis: 9:27

But yes, we did, we did meet in between, okay, okay and if I ask you, if you had to teleport back to a particular place, or maybe like a particular occasion, what would it be?

Yauhan: 9:37

yeah, I mean my, my years growing up in Dubai were were good, but they were very much focused on, you know, mainly being home, not as much playing around outside, not as much socializing. It was mainly academic focused. So I would say, you know, if I was to go back in time, it's my days in Pune that I really, really cherish and I would love to teleport back, even for a few days, just to, you know, eat all that food and and not worry about doing intermittent fasting and just playing with my friends and being carefree, which, you know, now I get to witness that in my kids.

Gurasis: 10:19

I think those are the most precious days, okay so, speaking of you know your time in dubai, tell me about your high school. Like how was that for you? Like you know. I mean, what kind of school were you studying in? Or did that anyway, shaped you the way you are today? You know the time that you spent in high school there yeah.

Yauhan: 10:35

So high school over there? Good question, because the high school over there, I think, was very fundamental, of course, in shaping me from an academic perspective, from a behavior perspective. So in Dubai I went to a school called Indian High School. It was a school predominantly for Indians living in Dubai and it was the highest ranked school in Dubai in terms of academics. So, like I said, you know very much education and academics focused and I think that got me into a habit of really being disciplined, you know focusing on getting good grades, competition, but a healthy competition, and also some sports, although I didn't play too much of sports, but I was pretty good with a couple of things like swimming and table tennis and running. I was quite fast back in the day. So, yeah, the school played a huge role in terms of discipline, education and shaping. You know the person who I am today 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 were younger, but you still have, like you know, some understanding of the culture from India then coming to Dubai. How did that anyway, you know like, 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 it was for Indian students. Yeah, so, you know, a lot of my friends spoke in English, hindi, which was very comfortable for me, and the food was very similar Dubai versus India. So it didn't, it didn't feel like a big culture change. The culture change happened once 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 years old, so I would copy, you know, anil kapoor. I really liked him okay, and my first couple of movies that I watched, which was Ram Lakhan and Tezab, were both, you know, movies I watched with my grandmom in Pune, you know, at that age of five or six, yeah, and and since then I was a die-hard Anil Kapoor fan, so I would dress like him, wear kind of clothes like him. I wanted like long hair and I at the time he had a little bit of a of a hair, his hair kind of coming out over here on his forehead, so I wanted to emulate.

Yauhan: 13:10

I wanted to emulate that look as a five-year-old. 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 for you guys like so, you know, when we were in Dubai, there was not much in terms of further education beyond grade 12. So this is where my parents had to think about OK, once you know the kids are done with grade 12, where can we transition? So they started planning in advance and when I was in grade 9 and my older brother finished grade 12, so he moved over to the US because he wanted to go there and pursue his university and everything over there, versus me and my younger brother, they decided that Canada would be a better option for us. So we found immigration to canada.

Yauhan: 14:07

This was back in 2020, uh, sorry, back in 2000, back in 2000, sorry, uh, so 23 and a half years ago, is you know when I moved here with my parents? Uh, and that was a huge change for me, because Canada is nothing like Dubai in terms of, in terms of anything, to be honest with you the culture, the weather, the food, the people. It was a 360 degree change for me and at that time I was a little bit older as well.

Yauhan: 14:41

I was, I think, like 15, 16 years old, so I was more attuned to noticing things and paying attention 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 or emotions.

Yauhan: 14:57

Yeah, I mean, I don't have recollections of the exact first day, but I remember the first couple of days were were hard because I think we were not prepared with the right jackets, even though this was back in, I think we landed on like April, first week of April so we were not prepared with, you know, the right gear.

Yauhan: 15:17

It was cold at that time, especially coming from Dubai where the temperature goes to like plus 40. Absolutely, but if you come down to plus 10, that still feels quite cold. Yeah, um, and then, uh, you know, as the months went by, just seeing people dressed very differently once spring was done and, and july and august, and june, july, august hit, you know. It's like all the jackets are gone and people are in half the amount of clothing that they, you know, were wearing back in April. That was quite interesting to see as well. You would not see that back in Dubai. So and then, yeah, just getting used to living over here and trying to make sure I'm able to communicate with people effectively and they're able to understand me, and grocery shopping. I remember the first couple of days you know what we buy from here and converting everything from dollars back into dirhams.

Gurasis: 16:14

Those were, you know some initial memories for me so you know, I believe you, you were telling me earlier you were like just 15, I believe, when you came here. 15, 16, so yeah, so you know, I think at that age we all have this excitement and some aspirations of going abroad or just, like you know, seeing all these Western countries. So did you have any recollection of that time that? What were you thinking? Were you like excited to come here? Were you like nervous? Were you sad because you were leaving your friends back in Dubai that you made in the initial 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 super excited, to be honest with you, because I'm a person that does not like to make change and moving countries is a huge change. So even when I transitioned from India to Dubai, it was a big change which, you know, I didn't really settle well with me, even over here, because now I had made really good friends in Dubai from my school. You know it was. It was difficult, I was not excited, I was sad, I wanted to continue, you know, being in Dubai. But once I came here and once I started life over here, it took some time. It took some time to get over that initial change and now, no complaints, 23 years later, more than happy to be here and, of course, you know, settled here, raising a family over here. It's an amazing, amazing country, uh, for new immigrants, you know, and we can talk about how you can be successful, because not every person who comes 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 something that that you were not prepared for, or something that shocked you a lot? That, oh my god, like I never seen this before, maybe, you know, like a certain I don't know, for example, uh, like it's the size of an onion would be this big. I haven't ever seen that in india, 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, I had not experienced or I had not seen that in Dubai or in fact in India as well. So, for example, vegetables like broccoli right, we never had exposure to broccoli. Now maybe Dubai has it, but at that time, you know, back in the 2000s, they didn't have broccoli over there. Zucchini was another thing. I thought zucchini was cucumber, but it was completely different. So so those kind of things and just seeing everything so properly kept, properly maintained, you know, the floors squeaky clean in the grocery stores, like our first few shopping experiences were at Metro and they really, you know, do a good job with giving fresh vegetables, fruits and produce. So all of that, all of that was quite interesting to me. But yes, broccoli is something that stands out.

Gurasis: 19:06

I would like to get into. You know your career choice of getting into psychology and I remember you were telling me that how your experience of living across geographies has definitely, you know, helped you understand human behavior a little bit more and also very curious about the human interactions that you have had. You know, throughout your experiences and the people you have met and that's what led you to psychology tell us a little bit more about your decision of getting 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 too much about psychology. So in my first year finishing high school, my first year, I actually got admission at University of Toronto, in their downtown campus, uh, in engineering. So I did one year of engineering but then I dropped out of it for a couple of reasons. One I felt, uh, it did not align with, you know, my interest and and also there was misalignment with my skill set. So I mean.

Yauhan: 20:06

I mean I'm good with math and physics and stuff, but not so good and not so interested that I would, you know, spend four years focused on that. So then I was thinking, ok, what else can I get into? And obviously my parents weren't too happy because they wanted me to complete the four years in engineering. I had to really convince them that you know psychology and the study of people and the study of human behavior is something that I've always been fascinated with. You know people and why people behave in certain ways, why they do things. They do how they think, how they feel, how they act.

Yauhan: 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 do something else, because an undergraduate degree in psychology is not going to get you much. So I said, ok, let's make a deal. I will leave engineering, I will move into psychology, but I will do something with the degree after. Either pursue a master's or, you know, get some additional credentials or certifications, which is what I ended up doing. Or, you know, get some additional credentials or certifications, which is what I ended up doing a master's in industrial organizational psychology, which is essentially psychology of the workplace.

Gurasis: 21:13

Yeah, and how that I remember asking you earlier. I will ask you the same question again. Can you tell us, like, how putting on the psychology lens has influenced your personal life or interactions with others?

Yauhan: 21:26

Yeah. So psychology has taught me a lot of things because the courses I took in psychology ranged from, you know, cognitive psychology, which is study of the 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 good understanding of, you know people whose mental health is not the best.

Yauhan: 21:51

And I mean I have been through that journey and I, you know, I go through that journey even now, where there's always, you know, a little bit of anxiety, a little bit of uncertainty, and I know a lot of people face that, especially in Canada I think it's one out of five or six people who experience some sort of mental health difficulty. So it really helped me to understand and appreciate you know people and their journeys and their lives, and not take life for granted and be mindful of you know everybody is going through something. So being very mindful of you know everybody's is going through something, so being very mindful of that and being respectful of that. And you know friends have taught me along the way to to be mindful of that because as a person I can be very mischievous, so sometimes I need a little bit of reminder to to you know, stay within my boundaries and and not be too mischievous, because you never know what people are going through, yeah, uh, so.

Gurasis: 22:52

So that's yeah many, many life lessons from my four years doing psychology I think this is also something I touch a lot on, the podcast, which is not, you know, jumping to conclusions and just just all you 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 professional setting, in your personal setting or even like on the street, sometimes people just get affected by certain ways people react. But I think we have to keep our calm 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 looks a 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 to frustration. Think that only leads to frustrations and that only leads to negativity in society. So you're right, I I strongly believe in being compassionate and being kind, and that's why my favorite quote is you know, treat other people like how you'd like to be treated. Obviously, everybody wants to be treated with respect and kindness, so, so you have to lead it that way in order for you to receive that from other people.

Gurasis: 24:09

As well, tell me, like how, just understanding again of the human behavior and even understanding of the psychology how that has impacted your personal decision making choices?

Yauhan: 24:18

so yeah, I would say not just my, my studies. I think my life and my experiences in life have really matured me. So you know, as a kid I was very mischievous. I mean I still I think I am very mischievous, although I have to, you know, be a little careful now around the kids because they are, I'm role modeling for them so I can't be too naughty in front of them. But you're to answer your question, yes, I think. More than education, I think my life experiences have taught me things and have matured me to just be a different person in different stages of my life.

Yauhan: 24:59

So, as a child compared to a teenager again. That mischief continued as a teenager as well, but I knew quickly that I had to take my education, my career, seriously. So then that transitioned well into you know me doing well academically, doing my master's and then working in good companies, yeah. So I would say yeah, a combination of both studies as well as values from my parents, you know, interactions with friends, and, and, and just life experiences so if I ask you what are, what are johan's like top 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, very important, and I actually have made lots of choices, including career choices, based on family values. So, for example, my role with Deloitte right now is remote and it does not involve traveling, which is what I used to do in my previous consulting roles. But ever since I've had kids, I purposefully chose this role to prioritize my family and schedule my work around my family as opposed to the other way around. Okay, the other thing that I value as well is, from a soft skill perspective, I really value empathy, so understanding people, putting yourself in their shoes, understanding their thoughts, their behaviors, and I think psychology has really made this a core value for me. I also really value education and continuous learning, because, as human beings, if we stop learning, we stop growing.

Yauhan: 26:46

So I tell this to myself, I tell this to my family, my kids now continuous learning because, as, as human beings, if we stop learning, we stop growing so I tell this to myself, I tell this to my family, my kids now, that always be curious, always be curious to learn new things, and this is how you will grow personally as well as professionally so those would be my top three.

Gurasis: 27:02

So family empathy and just keep on learning continuous learning yes empathy and just keep on learning, continuous learning.

Gurasis: 27:12

Yes, since you work very closely with international students and you do, I mean, interact with thousands of them and and something that you know where you've also used the term, the soul searching before the job searching, and and I think I love personally, like that that thing. So tell me I want to share with us, like some insights. You know how someone who is getting into this process of introspection, or identifying your personal values and developing soft skills, can help international students stand out in the job market and obviously 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 give you, um, I'll give you kind of like my my most fundamental and important tips over here, right, and I hope a lot of students and job seekers and international talent can listen to this. So, obviously, when, when students and international talents come over here, they come with a lot of hope, a lot of aspirations that you know, canada is the dream and I'm going to come over here, I'm going 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, and especially in the last couple of years where the market has been so uncertain and even right now, as we record this in, you know, november of 2023, it's a very, very tough market out there Lots of layoffs, lots of hiring freezes.

Yauhan: 28:28

So the first thing is what I tell people is control what you can control and don't stress out about things you cannot control. So point number one is all about mindset, right? Are you maintaining a mindset where you know nothing is really working out for me? I don't trust myself, I'm not good enough, I'm not capable enough, or are you telling yourself 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'm worthy, I know I'm smart and I can overcome all of these hurdles and it's just a matter of time before I achieve success. So number one is you know positive mindset, optimistic outlook, you know in your career and your life.

Yauhan: 29:18

Point number two, I would say Gurases, is being very clear on where you want to go. So this is the whole career clarity piece. A lot of people what they do is they take the resume and they start applying for a lot of jobs or they start updating their LinkedIn profile, hoping something works out. This seldom is effective in terms of a strategy, because if you don't know where you want to go, it's really hard to craft documents that align where you want to go right. So be sure about you know what is it that you want to go after.

Yauhan: 29:54

So what industry, what role, what kind of companies do you want to work for and why? Right. For each decision you make, ask yourself why. Why do you want to work for a Deloitte, yeah. Why do you want to work for a EY? Right. And if it's just about their name and their reputation. That's not deep enough. You have to find something about either their product or their service, or the way they treat their employees or the experience they provide to their clients. Right, it's kind of that deeper level that's required.

Yauhan: 30:26

So step number two is clarity. Step number three is then, once you have clarity in terms of where you want to go, you create a plan on how you will get there. Yeah, okay, so what is that you want to do? And then you bridge the gap between okay, this is where I am right now. Let's say, I want to become a project manager, but I see that a lot of project manager jobs require the PMP certification. So, of course, if I want to stand out, I should get the PMP certification. Or a lot of the jobs I'm looking for are junior level project management jobs. They don't require the PMP. Instead, they require maybe a CAPM, which is a junior level designation, but they require experience in X Y, z. So I think I need to upskill myself first, or educate myself first, before I become a good, strong candidate.

Yauhan: 31:15

So there is a little bit of introspection, there's a little bit of planning, assessment required, and then, once you do that, you know basically, there are two ways to land interviews. Number one, applying for jobs. Number two, networking. And then, once you get interviews, you know nobody is born to be a good interviewer and, you know, deliver exceptional results in interviews. It comes with a lot of practice, a lot of preparation. So people who take the time to prepare and practice, I feel doesn't matter how qualified you are or how qualified you're not, they are the ones who excel and put that interview into a job. You know, once you have the offer, also do some research on your value and your worth. Right. Just because you're an international student, you don't have experience in Canada, does not mean you can settle for, or does not mean you should settle for, 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 career clarity and make a plan for everything where you really want to go and obviously not setting yourself short that in any way just because you're international students. I think I can't emphasize more I've been talking about this from past one year now that just because you're an immigrant in any way, you are not less than anybody else. You know, and you don't have to like hesitate to even like show off your skills that you already brought from like international experience. You know, never hesitate to do that for sure.

Yauhan: 32:45

Absolutely, absolutely, in fact. Hesitate to do that for sure. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. In fact, international talent are the most adaptable, they are the most courageous and they're the most resilient talent out there. Right, it takes a lot of courage and guts to move from your home country to a brand new country, oftentimes, you know, without parental support, because the parents are back home or the siblings, the family, extended families back home. So it takes a lot. Just the fact that you moved here in itself speaks a lot about your. You know your resilience, your grit, so wear that as a badge of honor and be extremely proud of that. You come over here with experience, or you have global experience. You come here speaking different languages, right, so you know the locals over here don't have that, or they haven't had the opportunity to have that which you do. So that is your differentiating factor, that's your unique value proposition. So identify what that is and then be able to clearly communicate that to potential employers.

Gurasis: 33:50

Yeah, I think you've said it perfectly and I really hope it encourages any of our international students who are listening, or even the aspiring immigrants who are planning to move abroad. I hope so too. Before we get into the final segment of the podcast, I've introduced this new segment in this season and I call it Know your Host, where I give my guests an opportunity to ask me any question that you would like to ask.

Yauhan: 34:20

Awesome, I was waiting for that. Okay, what are the top three lessons that you've learned that have really helped you? You know, grow as a person, grow as a professional. What were those top three lessons?

Gurasis: 34:40

Sure, I'll talk about like growing as a person first, definitely I think I have mentioned it so many in the podcast as well I grew up in like a very patriarchal household and I had like a certain way of seeing things and I think, after coming here, just interacting with people and getting exposed to so many cultures and, uh, you know languages as well and and just interacting with these people, I think I've understood it's important to shed few things which are not serving you anymore, and it's okay to unlearn and relearn some new things.

Gurasis: 35:01

That's something I think I have learned, uh, personally, for sure, and for professionally, something I have learned is that which also you also talk a lot about, that which is, uh, you know, hard skills definitely get you a job, but soft skills are something which retain you at the job, and I think I have witnessed some examples where they are people who are like professionals in their career, amazing decades of experience but they would let go just because they were not basically like a team player. You know, I have seen that that people will let go in that sense. So, yeah, these are the. These are the two things I would say I have definitely learned, uh, throughout my journey. I love that.

Yauhan: 35:39

I love that. That's. That's lots of good insights and, you know, in those couple of tidbits over there, thank you for sharing. Um, I know you asked me this question 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 you recall, can you recall a dialogue from that that really stood out to you? It could be uh serious, it could be comical as well.

Gurasis: 36:08

Yeah, no, definitely I have an answer to that. You know, I always do my research before I ask other guests, so so you should know the answer to the questions you ask other people absolutely yeah, I always know that.

Gurasis: 36:18

So this, so I think I'll I'll take it to go back to my time in 2021 when I was like really going through a really hard phase from, like, my initial four months. I think I don't even remember those four months anymore because there was so much happening and because my work permit was expiring. I was left with like three months. I wasn't getting any job. I was let go of my, the job I was doing already I was. I was asked to leave the house as well. I had no house.

Gurasis: 36:43

So many things just going on in my mind at that time. Tons of things you know and I think at that time I things you know and I think at that time I just it was, it's an old movie, it's it's I don't know. It's like a 90s or early 2000s. I believe. It's a will smith movie that features 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 is is part of your bigger, bigger journey. It's part of your journey and if you just get bogged down by all these huddles, pull yourself up and just continue moving, continue putting your effort and continue doing the best you can in that particular situation. Focus on the things that you can control. You can't control what is not in your control.

Gurasis: 37:29

I think I give the example earlier also in terms of international student journey. The things which is in your control is to go ahead and apply to a certain work permit or a job or anything as per the requirements. That's in your control. Whether the immigration office will reply back to you or not, you don't know that. When they're going to reply you back, you don't know that. When is the recruiter going to respond you back or no, you don't know that. So, doing the best that you can and continue doing your thing and just uh, I think that will let you to pursue your happiness. I would say that, yeah, so that movie is definitely uh left an impact on me. Yeah, that's how I'll answer that.

Yauhan: 38:02

Yeah, no, that's a. That's a great movie. Uh, I love watching that movie as well. There were so many lessons absolutely um on happiness, on life in general, that that movie teaches you. Yeah, love it love it. I'll ask you one more question do you cook and um? What is your favorite food to eat? You could eat that any day, all day.

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 is my last guest actually asked me this question regarding cooking, so like what's something you discovered? And I told them I think I discovered a cook within me when I came to canada. I didn't know I could go back and only maggie or maybe like boil some eggs or laboskisadilla, but here, yes, I cook, I cook a lot. I think I obviously I cook indian. I've also tried. I actually I cook a lot of like chinese, very similar to indian as well, like indo-chinese I cook. I cook a lot of like mexican as well. I cook some thai food as well, and so I think I've cooked mediterranean, obviously very similar spices and everything.

Gurasis: 39:04

But I do cook that and something which I think my staple food is. It's very boring answer, but this is dal chawal, or how we call it lentils and rice. I think I can have that anytime every day lentil soup, how people call it. I think that's the, that's the therapy for me. I love just having a simple, plain yellow dal, so to say we call it. So, yeah, I think, uh, this is something I would say, so when when are you inviting me over for dinner?

Gurasis: 39:32

whenever you say, whenever you are available I'm sure you have a busy schedule, but whenever I'm in toronto next or whenever you are in montreal next, we have to connect for sure.

Yauhan: 39:42

Yeah, yes, no, I have a busy schedule. You know, after all of those dishes you mentioned, you know Indian, Indo-Chinese and Mediterranean and Mexican I was like, no, I think you know what you're doing. I should probably make a trip to Montreal soon to try that 100%.

Gurasis: 40:00

You know 100%. I'm not sure you'll love it or not. My friends say they love it, they enjoy it. You know, so I'm sure you'll love it as well.

Yauhan: 40:09

I don't have very high standards when it comes to food, so, uh, anything that you serve me would be good, okay, so thank you. Thank you for sharing that would. Uh, was lovely to know that there's a cook hidden inside grasses as well, and you've discovered that talent for yourself. So now you're on. I would like to go to the final segment of the podcast.

Gurasis: 40:24

I call it beneath the accent. I'm going to ask a couple of questions podcast. I call it Beneath the Accent. I'm going to ask a couple of questions. You can answer them in one word or a sentence, or however you feel like. The idea is just to know a little bit more about Johan. So ready, absolutely, let's go for it. Tell me an advice you would like 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 give myself was, you know, always remember the consequences of your actions, because every action you take, whether or not you take no action, remember what consequences it could have for yourself, for people and the community. That's one lesson that I have learned. Um, sometimes you know the hard way 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 that you know it's all about blasting thousands of applications and hopefully one of them will help you land a job. So I remember that distinctly. I won't mention name, but I remember that distinctly, coming from a couple of sources, and we know now that that is absolutely the worst way of landing a job of course okay.

Gurasis: 41:48

Is there any one dish from your home country that always brings you comfort and nostalgia?

Yauhan: 41:52

so when I was growing up in puna, um, I used to eat a lot of biryani, and biryani since then has, you know, stayed with me and I love it. So you know, similar to how you eat dal and rice, for me I can eat biryani anytime, any day breakfast, 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 in touch?

Yauhan: 42:19

um, yes, actually I made a few friends. So I was that way, I was not very shy, I was quite outgoing. I did make a few different friends in high school and, believe it or not, two of my friends that I made are still my best friends today. Okay, even after 23 years. We message almost on a on a weekly basis and it's amazing to see, you know, people who you went 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 friend actually just his wife delivered twin babies two days ago. Oh, wow, so that was very exciting to see and, you know, very happy for him yeah, okay.

Gurasis: 43:06

So what's that one tradition that you have adopted wholeheartedly and what's one from your home country that you have introduced to your Canadian friends if you have like?

Yauhan: 43:14

myself. Actually, a lot of my friends are friends from high school, uh, for many, many years, and then we've made some friends recently as well. So no tradition. I mean they know all of the indian traditions that I know, so I haven't made them adopt any traditions, uh, but some traditions that I didn't use to celebrate back then. Uh, that we celebrate over here is thanksgiving, okay, right, so the festival of thanksgiving, we get together as a family. We don't do like turkey or anything like that, it's just getting together having a meal. My wife is of Chinese descent, so we also celebrate now Chinese New Year, so that's a big tradition for us to do every single year. And for the kids it's Halloween, right, so there was no Halloween concept back in India or Dubai, and Halloween just passed, so my house is filled with candy, okay, so if you cook food for me, I will give you one full box of chocolates Up for it.

Gurasis: 44:21

So you said your wife is from Chinese descent, so how many languages are spoken in your 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, the chinese, you know, uh, ancestry and the looks, uh, but you know and, and and she speaks. She speaks, uh, you know, fluent hindi because born and raised in mumbai.

Gurasis: 44:48

Of course, yeah, um, so it's just, it's just hindi and english okay, and do you make that conscious effort to instilled like, for example, hindi or it in your children?

Yauhan: 44:59

I wish I did. Unfortunately, you know, ever since my wife and I have been together, we spoke to each other in english. Okay, uh, even though both of us can't speak in hindi, for some reason, we always communicated with each other in english. Okay, uh, even though both of us can speak in hindi, for some reason we always communicated with each other in english, and so it became a little bit odd for us to talk to the children in a different language. So something I regret is is not, uh, not talking in, you know, either hindi or gujarati, or little bit of Chinese that she knows with them. So, yeah, lessons you learn as you 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 and analysis, so I don't I can't think of anything recent that I bought 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 list is to give him, you know, the best possible experience growing up, just like how I've done for my daughter so far, and prioritizing that, because family is top priority for me. In terms of work, it would be, you know, continuing to do a little bit of my coaching, you know also continuing to work for Deloitte, while maintaining the work-life harmony. And we have a trip coming up in December, so next month we are taking the kids to Disney, so looking 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 to my value of kindness and empathy, one law that I would create is just being kind to people, irrespective of what they do, what they say, how they treat you. So the law of kindness by Johann Einstein.

Gurasis: 46:48

Finally describe Canada in one word or a sentence.

Yauhan: 46:51

Opportunity. I think you know Canada brings thousands and millions of people, and that's one word I would use to describe it. It's a land of opportunities for a reason, and if you admire and appreciate, you know what it can 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 keep doing?

Yauhan: 47:15

what you're doing, keep cooking what you're cooking, uh, and and and. Just keep making such a big difference in people's lives through, you know, sharing people's stories, uh, teaching people different lessons. So I love what you do, and, and kudos to you for spending so much energy, time and effort behind this and and and. You really are inspiring so many people all across canada and, you know, in the world as well.

Gurasis: 47:40

So thank you. Thank you, ron, for being on the podcast. Thank you for your kind words and adding value to my listeners. Thank you, thanks a lot, thank you so much for having me.

Yauhan: 47:50

It's absolute honor and I really enjoyed our fun conversation together, wishing you all the very best.