Maninder Dhaliwal came to Canada in 1999 to study engineering. While she later found work in her field, she felt stuck in a job that wasn’t a particularly good fit.
Dhaliwal felt obligated to stay in the job she had trained for.
“You have an education, you think this is your job, and you think this is what you’re going to do for the rest of your life,” Dhaliwal said.
Dhaliwal credits the help of mentors for allowing her transition to a career she loves.
From December 2012 to February 2014, she was executive director of Tradeworks Training Society, a social enterprise that trains women in the trades. She recently began working on a new venture: developing the export market for Canadian food and wine to India through Lions Gate Export Group, a company she co-founded in 2013.
“The lesson that I’ve learned … is [the importance of] having mentors that you connect with personally,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if they’re in the same industry, but they are people that you get along with and have lived longer than you, done more than you.”
One of those mentors is well-known Vancouver businessman and philanthropist Joe Segal, whom Dhaliwal met at a Vancouver Board of Trade event.
“He talked about coming to B.C. as a young man, building his business from scratch,” Dhaliwal said. “I told him that I came to Canada with a couple bucks in my pocket not knowing anyone. … He understood what I was going through, and from him I learned building your life one step at a time.”
Segal urged her to take a chance on a different career.
“One of the things Joe’s always said to me is that your work takes such a large part of your life,” Dhaliwal said. “[The right work] will ignite a fire, a passion in you. [You’ll say], ‘Oh my god, this is such a good fit.’”
On paying it forward | “[Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia] took me under her wing … and from her I learned generosity and relationship-building. If somebody needs help, asks you for help – go and help them. Because it’s all about people. Opportunities, jobs, business deals, they don’t float about themselves – they’re all about relationships.”
Has a work or life challenge taught you a key career lesson? Contact Jen St. Denis at [email protected].
