13 hours ago
I am a newcomer to Canada. How can I network and build my career here?
Question: I am a newcomer to Canada. I don't have many connections here – do you have tips for how I can network and build my career?
We asked Sara Asalya, executive director at Newcomer Women's Services Toronto, to tackle this one.
The first thing I always tell any newcomer who reaches out for advice is to start by building a community. I'm speaking from my own lived experience as a newcomer and as someone who is leading a non-profit settlement agency that supports over 15,000 newcomers annually through settlement, employment, language training and networking opportunities.
Oftentimes, newcomer women will gravitate towards groups and people who look like them and who speak their their home language. That is very much needed because it's your support system as a newcomer, but you also have get outside of that comfort zone and start connecting with other communities.
You have to start learning new languages. I'm not saying learn English and French and Urdu and Arabic – every sector, every industry, every workplace has their own language. Once you know what kind of sector or career paths you want in Canada, learning that language becomes part of how you market yourself in different spaces. People often present themselves the same way all the time. But if you're speaking with an employer, a hiring manager or a community member, you have to code switch and meet people where they are at.
Social media can be a valuable way to build your community. But I think there has to be some awareness around how to use AI to your advantage. I see people posting on LinkedIn, and you can very easily tell that this is ChatGPT or this is AI and this is not a real human talking. They are all saying the same thing. I screen resumes at my organization and out of 100, there might only be one resume where there is a human connection. They are speaking from the heart. They have done the homework. They actually know what the organization is about. They are able to make a connection between the organization's mandate and their skill set.
When you are reaching out to people on LinkedIn, it's important to be very specific. You can't just say, 'I'm looking for a job, help me.' Do your research. What is this person's background? What is their skill set? What is their network? Be specific about why you want to connect with them.
You should also take advantage of in-person networking opportunities. For example, at our organization, we act as the bridge between the newcomer community and many employers, and we do networking events all the time, general ones and very industry specific. Networking is often really underrated for many newcomer women because the culture of networking does not exist in many places. I come from a culture where networking wasn't really a thing. It was all about working hard, getting high grades, getting a good degree, and this is how you're going to land a job. And so when I came here, it was almost a culture shock because I was like, where do I start?
I've been through this and it's really, really hard. It's such a lonely journey and sometimes you need to be patient [and] you need to be strategic, but at the same time don't lose hope.
The biggest misconception people have is that once they are in a job, networking stops. And I always tell them, the last thing you want networking for is for a job. You can find a mentor. You can learn something new. You can be part of a community. Your network is your net worth, as they say, right? So you need keep those lines of communication open.
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