What’s One Lesson You Learned as a Newcomer That You Wish You Knew Earlier? (Let’s Help Future Newcomers) · Breakthrough Elites

What’s One Lesson You Learned as a Newcomer That You Wish You Knew Earlier? (Let’s Help Future Newcomers)

I’ve been living in Toronto for almost 3 years now, and like many of you, I came here as a newcomer trying to figure out the Canadian job Market. One thing I’ve noticed is that every newcomer goes through the same confusion, the same mistakes, and the same surprises — but no one tells you the truth early enough.

When I graduated in Cybersecurity, 90% of my classmates said the next step was to get a CISSP.But after attending events, talking to seniors, and researching the market, I realized something surprising:

👉 Most experienced professionals didn’t even have CISSP. So certifications help — but they are not the “golden ticket.”

Before joining Breakthrough Elite, I had already studied ATS deeply, so I understood how resume filtering worked.But BTE opened my eyes to the human side of hiring — things nobody teaches newcomers:

Saying “job requisition” instead of “job posting”
Understanding WIW (Who Interviews Who)
Realizing the interview is 70% the recruiter evaluating you, and 30% you evaluating them
Challenging the recruiter by asking smart, confident questions
Learning that communication matters as much as technical skills

These are things I wish someone had told me on day one in Canada.

And that’s why I’m writing this post — not just for myself, but for future newcomers who will join this community next year… or five years from now.

👉 What’s one lesson you learned as a newcomer in Canada that you wish you knew earlier?

It could be about:

Networking
Confidence
Interviews
Recruiter conversations
Certifications
Job expectations
Soft skills
Market realities
Mistakes you made early on

Let’s build something valuable for the next generation of newcomers — so they don’t repeat the same struggles we all faced.Even one sentence from you could change someone’s journey. 🙏

@Alex B

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