About 250,000 immigrants arrive to Canada each year. Most of them settle down, and find jobs, and many of these jobs are in the IT (I’d say even most of these jobs are, or were, until recent ridiculous changes in the occupation list came into effect, but then I am an IT person myself, so my perception is inevitably biased).

Now, finding a job in an unknown country with a culture that may be radically different from your own is hard. You may not know hundreds of little things – and, what’s worse, you may not even know that you don’t know. For example, if, in your culture, people routinely eat raw onions, you might eat them before a job interview, because no one told you that it might create any problems. Likewise, if in your country a woman’s office outfit normally includes a low-cut blouse and/or a miniskirt, tons of make-up and a bucketful of perfume, you would naturally dress that way to be interviewed for a position of, say, a system administrator. You’ve done that all your life, and everybody around you did, so what’s wrong with that?

When you look for a job, you need someone to tell you basic things, even if you were born in this culture, and so much more if you haven’t. Here’s a story from the wonderful book by Cathie Black, “Basic Black”, full of career advice and insightful comments, that I strongly recommend (you can read big chunks of it right at the Amazon website).

When I was just out of college, working at Holiday magazine, I had a roommate who worked as the assistant to the cartoon editor at another magazine. She’d been there about a week, and one evening when she came back to our apartment, we got talking about our days…

“My boss writes his letters on a yellow legal pad,” she told me.

“Can you read his writing?” I asked.

“Why?”

“Well,” I said, “deciphering someone’s handwriting to type a letter is always so hard.”

She looked at me blankly. “I don’t type them,” she said. “I just fold them, stick them in envelopes, and send them out.”

Now, I was pretty inexperienced myself at that point, but I knew that sending out hand-scrawled letters on yellow lined paper just couldn’t be right. “I don’t think that’s what your boss has in mind,” I said. “I’m pretty sure he’s expecting to get those back, typed, so he can sign them.”

Her face went pale. “Oh my God!” she shrieked. “He never told me that!”

Well, no, he didn’t – because it wasn’t his job to make sure she understood the basics of her duties. The story’s funny now, but I guarantee it wasn’t funny for my roommate when she went to work the next day and had to tell her boss what she’d been doing. In any work environment, it’s essential to know what’s expected – the dos, the don’ts, and the don’t-forgets. And if there’s anything you’re unsure of, ASK SOMEONE WHO KNOWS.

It is easy for Cathie Black to say, “ask someone who knows”. But who can you ask if you are new to the country? The girl from the previous example was born in the USA, had no language barrier to fight, and still she made such an obvious error! How much harder is the task of people who come into a new country and have to prove that their education and skills are adequate to take a job with all its responsibilities. They need help with everything, from resume writing to business dress code tips to direction in word choice.

Now, there are lots of programs that help new immigrants settle down in Canada and adapt themselves to the job market. One of such centres, MicroSkills Development Centre, offers employment advice to newcomers and various programs for women and youth. MicroSkills people are “someone who knows” and are eager to help. One of MicroSkills programs is directed at women looking for jobs that require information technology skills.

The only one of its kind in Canada, WTI offers training and certification for women who want to enhance their skills and acquire up-to-date qualifications for jobs that are in demand. WTI serves women at all levels of education and skill, from women with little or no experience with computers to women who are internationally trained IT professionals needing the latest industry recognized certifications for jobs in the local labour market.

All MicroSkills programs include:

  • An overview of labour market trends
  • Enhancing interpersonal skills for business
  • Assistance with job search and career planning
  • Technology training for industry recognized certifications
  • Off-site work experience placement

MicroSkills started 26 years ago (and celebrated a quarter-of-a-century anniversary last year). It started with “microfilm/office skills training for immigrant women”. Do you even know or remember what microfilms are? I bet you don’t. Technologies go, but the good you did remains forever. Thanks to MicroSkills, over 97,000 people over 25 years were able to have satisfying, intellectually stimulating careers instead of monotonous and drab low-paid jobs.

To better achieve its goals, MicroSkills partnered up with Wired Woman society. Wired Woman encourages women to explore opportunities in technology, science and new media and to build successful careers in these sectors. In addition to various networking events and workshops, Wired Woman runs a mentorship program.

Mentorship is “asking someone who knows”. A mentor is someone who has experience and knowledge and shares it with others. Mentorship is about people learning from each other and applying the learning. It is a nurturing process that provides an opportunity for more experienced people to share their professional knowledge and expertise with others who are less experienced.

A mentor will help you, not only to find a job, but orient you in the rough waters of office politics and give your aimless travel a direction. You will be able to ask her (and yourself!) questions like:

- What is the smartest next step for building my career?

- Are my skills actually better suited to a different kind of work from what I do now?

- How can I use my contacts to create new opportunities for myself?

In her message to MicroSkills, Michelle Jean, the Governor General of Canada said:

“In a world in which indifference and the “everyone for themselves” mentality is gaining the upper hand, organizations like Microskills are the models of engagement and mutual assistance. In 25 years, you have touched the lives of thousands of women, men and youth, many of them new Canadians searching for a fresh start. You have given them the tools to succeed and the self confidence to pursue their dreams.”

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(By the way, if you believe you have experience and are willing to share, or if you could use some unbiased advice and nurturing in your career, contact Wired Woman! Applications for prospective mentors and mentees are accepted all year long.)

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