10 REASONS WHY AN IMMIGRANT MIGHT NEED A JOB SEARCH COACH

1. DID YOU KNOW THAT the Hidden Market represents 80 to 85% of all available jobs in Canada?
What does it mean for an immigrant? It means that majority of jobs are filled in without being advertised. If a job seeker does not know about hidden market strategies, the best job opportunities are missed. We might help in exploring many hidden market job search techniques. We also conduct industry specific company/contacts research for our clients

2. DID YOU KNOW THAT many Canadian employers use behavior-based interview questions to learn about your skills and abilities?
What does it mean for an immigrant? It means that while being interviewed by a Canadian employer you might need to use other answers — interviewing techniques that the ones you’ve used in your home country. A good example is a STAR approach, where ‘S’. is a situation, ‘T’ stands for a task… We might help to prepare a candidate for a behavior-based interview with emphasis on specific profession/industry.

3. DID YOU KNOW THAT employers look for specific key words while reviewing job applications for professional jobs?
What does it mean for an immigrant? It means that you need to know how to customize your resume to include key verbs/nouns/abbreviations into your resume. We might help!

4. DID YOU KNOW THAT BC’s Human Resource professionals listed ‘a lack of English communication skills & accent’ as the barrier #1 for immigrants to be employed? (BC HRMA Survey 2007, Immigrant Talent Integration Project, phase 1)
What does it mean for an immigrant? It means that employers are not so much worried about immigrant technical abilities but broken English might be an issue for a professional immigrant to build a carrier in BC’s company. There are many free and nominal fee resources available to immigrants in BC to improve their professional English skills and accent.

5. DID YOU KNOW THAT there at over 200 non profit (NGO) agencies in BC providing over 1000 job search related programs.
What does it mean for an immigrant? Well, how do you know which program to take and which program will provide you with the best results possible? You need to know about the organization and history of the program and its past results. Often, taking a program /using a service which are closer to your home simply won’t do it.

6. DID YOU KNOW THAT majority of NGOs job search programs offer the same strategies for young and mature immigrant professionals without differentiating between professional & cultural backgrounds and other job seeker demographic characteristics?
What does it mean for an immigrant? It means that women and men with different levels of English and educational backgrounds and with different employment barriers are helped in pretty much the same fashion and, often, in the same room. Personal coaching might address some very individual challenges in the job search process

7. DID YOU KNOW THAT Canadian Business produced a list of Top 50 Diversity Canadian Companies (2004) and another award (Top 20 Companies for New Canadians) was introduced in 2008?
What does it mean for an immigrant? The world is changing and more and more companies recognize immigrant talent. However, how do you know which companies ‘immigrant friendly’ and/or expanding and /or have EEO policies and/or have an assigned person whose job to help unrepresented groups (including immigrants) to be hired? We might help you to learn more about such companies in your industry and connect you with these scarce resources.

8. DID YOU KNOW THAT there is a difference between an interview (even an informational interview) and the meeting?
What does it mean for an immigrant? Well, your ability to differentiate between these two concepts might help you to set up MEETINGS vs. INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS. There are distinct steps, behaviours and goals in setting up a meeting to get to know the person and the company.

9. DID YOU KNOW THAT volunteering actually helps in obtaining meaningful employment? SMART volunteering, though.
What does it mean for an immigrant? You need to understand how SMART volunteering works. It might be industry-related volunteering, and/or volunteering where you could meet a CEO of the company you might want to apply to, etc. We might help to identify such opportunities for you.

10. DID YOU KNOW THAT your success in securing employment and advancing in your career depends on 4 major components and experience and education is only a fraction of it? Contact us to learn more.