Job Wanted: Trang’s Story (2 of 2)

New graduates face plenty of challenges when they navigate the employment market for the first time. Job search for many is a frustrating and lengthy process, especially if you lack relevant work experience. 

Imagine being a new grad and new to the country.  Trang’s story will inspire you.

Trang and her husband Rakesh shared their story upon immigrating to Canada.  They knew they had to gain relevant work experience to land a full time job in their chosen industries.  Trang understood her limitations, and took the necessary measures to get experience to accompany her formal education in Food Technology.

Why She Was the Right Person for the Job

They came up with a plan, their ‘out of the box’ thinking and approach to finding a job got them noticed!  Trang landed an internship with Kosha Foods (see part 1 of this post).

Sujala Balaji the Founder of Kosha Foods looked past the limitations of being new to Canada and decided Trang was the right person to join Kosha Foods;

Trang is young and very motivated. Her unique approach to job searching showed me that she can find a way to make things work. She doesn’t easily accept failures or no for an answer. In the start-up world, unique and creative strategies to problem-solve is important and that’s what she demonstrated.

Trang was fearless while networking on the street, she proved that she’s a risk-taker and unafraid to do whatever’s needed to complete a task. Being a start-up, this is really important to Sujala.

Trang demonstrated some undeniable strengths–to not give up and hold on to your goals and dreams–even when times are difficult.

Sujala also noted Trang’s determination and relentlessness in networking and reaching out to potential employers, an admirable quality.  It takes guts and grit to do what she did.

Benefits of being a ‘New Comer’ to Canada

Being a ‘New Comer’ to Canada actually worked in Trang’s favour.

Being born and raised in a different country–one always brings a completely new and global perspective to any problem or situation. This is an added bonus that many employers overlook in traditional hiring practices, especially while considering candidates that have diverse international background 

Trang brings a positive attitude and great energy to Kosha. She is very practical and enthusiastic when confronted with new ideas, plus she’s a quick learner. Trang’s communication skills are very strong and continually improving, she also works very hard in adhering to deadlines.

Above all, Trang had the education and experience in the food industry, so hiring her to work for Kosha Foods was a win-win for both of us without a doubt.

A broad range of experience can be gained if your first job (or internship) is with a start-up.  Trang has worked on sourcing packaging materials, talking to third party labs for testing products for shelf-life, NFT, detailed market research on specific projects, sourcing ingredients and finding co-packers that meet their unique needs.  The needs are quite varied and Sujala needs a lot of support.  She counts on Trang and really appreciates her ability to take on any project thrown at her.

This is a great takeaway for a newly hired graduate or intern.  Take the opportunity to shine–be open to all and any challenges thrown at you–your enthusiasm and effort will be rated much higher than any minor oversight or mistake.

We all make mistakes, the key is to learn from them which is the whole point of ‘internships‘, nobody expects you to be an expert, your attitude and conscientiousness however, makes all the difference.

Exciting Times Ahead

Kosha Foods has officially launched.  As pace increases and the business starts to generate sales Sujala intends to recruit Trang full-time.  We couldn’t be happier or more optimistic about this outcome. Sujala sees the value Trang brings to her business, at an important time like this the people you have in your corner make or break the business.

We wish Kosha Foods ever success and will be there every step of the way supporting, encouraging and staffing them as they grow!

Start-Ups and FoodGrads

FoodGrads is committed to supporting food and beverage start-ups staff their organizations for FREE.

This is our commitment to ‘pay it forward’ and support people like Sujala whom we admire.  Those who are determined to make a difference and build something from scratch.  Hey, we know something or two about that ourselves!

For more information about how we can support your Food/Beverage start-up please email me at nicole@foodgrads.com.  If you have any comments we would love to hear from you.

About Kosha Foods:

Manufacturer of millet based gluten-free products to feed your mind, body and soul.

Millet Pancake Mix / Millet Breakfast Porridge / Millet Granola

(All products are naturally gluten-free, egg-free, soy-free, additive free)

Follow Kosha Foods on Facebook or visit the website.

A big thank you to Sujala and Trang for allowing us to feature them on our blog 🙂