How I went from being a pre-arrival participant to a member of Canada InfoNet

We are always happy to share our program participant’s success stories. This one is even more special: Yasmine participated in our program before immigrating to Canada and has recently joined the Canada InfoNet team.

My name is Yasmine and I took a risky decision and immigrated to Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. I arrived in July 2020, but I had been trying to gather information about Ontario, employment, the weather, accommodation, etc. for months before landing. After receiving my Confirmation of Permanent Residency, I signed up with different pre-arrival programs. Some were general like Planning for Canada (who referred me to JVS Toronto’s Canada InfoNet), and some were more specific to certain careers and industries.

After signing up with Canada InfoNet, I was matched with an Employment Specialist who was extremely helpful and informative. I had access to online courses that tackled job search skills and the workplace in Canada, and tools I needed for updating my resume to meet Canadian standards. I attended virtual job fairs and webinars organized by the program as well. All those interventions were crucial to creating a post-landing plan for me.

When I arrived in Canada, I started the long job-hunting journey. It’s usually tough in the beginning for a newcomer to find employment, but with a pandemic it was even more challenging. Between exploring the GTA and applying to jobs, I took up some freelance work with UpWork. My background is in Human Resources and Administration, so I tried using that to my advantage. This allowed me to utilize my skills and learn new ones while staying more positive during hard times.

My own experience made me realize that I wanted to help other newcomers who were going through similar experiences. I’ve always been passionate about giving back and doing meaningful work, so it was a no-brainer for me to start shifting my job search methods and focusing on the non-profit sector. I compiled a list of organizations I wanted to work for, and the pre-arrival agencies I used were on the top of that list. I regularly tracked their Careers pages and kept an eye out for anything that matched my skills and experience.

This strategy proved to work for me when I found the Online Mentoring Administrator position for the Canada InfoNet program posted on JVS Toronto’s website. I applied online and the rest is history. Now, I am both happy and proud to be working with one of the best services I personally used before immigrating to Canada. I believe that my success in landing a job with a leading non-profit organization could be attributed to using available resources prior to landing in Canada and being patient and flexible enough to change course when the current methods just don’t work.

Yasmine’s Employment Specialist from Canada InfoNet program shared that she was a very engaged and determined participant. She asked questions and clarifications when needed and successfully completed all the components that were outlined by the program. He states, “I was proud to have been Yasmine’s Employment Specialist, and now to see her join Canada InfoNet as a team member. I wish her continuous success in her career in Canada.”

Welcome to the team Yasmine!

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Every individual experience in immigration and job seeking is different and with its own challenges, which is why, creating your personalized job search strategy is very important. If you have been approved for immigration, our Employment Specialists at Canada InfoNet can help you develop that strategy even before you come to Canada.

The online mentoring program is an important component of Canada InfoNet. There have been over 1600 matches between mentors and mentees since 2016.

Online mentors are volunteers who have at least two years of professional experience in Canada in their field and are willing to share their knowledge and expertise in areas of employment, settlement and career-related educational goals. Mentees are internationally trained professionals approved for immigration who meet the eligibility criteria, including minimal language levels (CLB 7) required for online mentoring interactions.

The program offers structure throughout the mentoring process, including orientation, which guide both mentor and mentee on JVS Toronto’s online platform where interactions occur. We recently conducted an impact assessment which included a survey and focus groups of mentors and mentees and would like to share some key findings.

The assessment concluded that accurate, pre-arrival information from current, credible, sector-specific sources saves time and helps immigrating professionals manage expectations and conduct appropriate and effective gap analysis.

“The challenge immigrating professionals face is an expectation gap…I reduce the expectation gap…prepare them and reduce the gap, so they land with the right sense of expectations.” (Active mentor)

What Mentors Said

• 87% were very satisfied or satisfied with their mentoring experience
• 83% indicated they contributed to their mentee(s) knowledge of Canadian work culture and communication (including professional jargon, common phrases)
• 85% will continue to mentor in the future
• 100% outlined multiple ways in which they contribute to the success of immigrating professionals

What Mentees Said

• 70% were very satisfied or satisfied with their mentoring experience
• 77% indicated as a result of their participation in online mentoring, they increased their understanding of Canadian work culture and communication
• 77% were likely to become online mentors in the future
• 100% indicated the program contributed positively to the immigrating professional’s integration journey

The ways that mentees identify how they benefit from the mentorship vary, from achieving employment, building a network, and intangible, but valuable ways – building confidence, preparing their minds, pushing themselves out of their comfort zone.

In the same way, mentors understand they can contribute in a variety of ways as well. They help mentees adjust their short-term goals (manage expectations and conduct gap analysis), guide concrete actions such as ensuring mentees gather and bring necessary documents for future credentialing), “preparing their minds”, or “not sugar-coating” because it doesn’t help. Mentees find this information and guidance before arriving in Canada invaluable.

Another interesting piece of information we found was that close to half of mentees indicated that participating in pre-arrival online mentoring influenced their decision about where to work in Canada. Mentorship can impact the lives not only of mentees but of mentors as well, as the data below shows us:

What Mentors Said

We asked mentors what they felt were the benefits of the online mentoring program and the top 4 answers were:

1. Provides an opportunity to share my professional expertise
2. Makes a difference in an immigrating professional’s life
3. Helps immigrating professionals find employment
4. Helps me feel like a part of the larger community

What Mentees Said

We asked mentees what they felt were the benefits of the online mentoring program and the top 4 answers were:

1. Benefits all immigrating professionals
2. Helps me develop labour market tools (resumes, cover letters, interview preparation)
3. Helps me find employment faster
4. Helps me increase my confidence to enter the labour market

We are very thankful to have such a wonderful pool of volunteer mentors who go the extra mile to help their mentees as well as committed program participants who make the most out of this valuable experience. More results from the assessment will be available on our website shortly. 

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Every individual experience in immigration and job seeking is different and with its own challenges, which is why, creating your personalized job search strategy is very important. If you have been approved for immigration, our Employment Specialists at Canada InfoNet can help you develop that strategy even before you come to Canada.

JVS Toronto congratulates Karen Goldenberg on her appointment to the Order of Ontario which honours individuals whose exceptional achievements have left a lasting legacy in the province, in Canada, and beyond.

Karen served as President & CEO of JVS Toronto from 1999 to 2011. During her 12 years of service, Karen worked tirelessly to expand our services and build bridges with new communities. With her trademark enthusiasm and energy, Karen’s contributions made JVS Toronto a leader in social and employment services.

Since her retirement, Karen has remained committed to issues close to her heart through volunteerism and community building. She continues to be a dear friend to JVS Toronto, and a generous donor through the Karen Goldenberg Legacy Fund, which helps support the Agency’s Disability Services and Jewish Community programs.

Karen has been recognized with several awards for her leadership, including the Order of Canada in 2014, and has received honorary degrees. She has dedicated her professional and volunteer life to improving the lives of so many people.

Karen is an optimist, a mentor, and an exemplary leader. All of us at JVS Toronto congratulate her on this very deserving honour.

Forbes magazine rates Canada as the best country in the G-20 for business. Canada’s overall tax rate on new business investment is significantly lower than that of many other countries. There are also great individual startup hubs and incubators which support new businesses.

Research has shown that entrepreneurial rate among newcomers is more than double the rate for people born in Canada. Immigrants are increasingly turning to entrepreneurship as a career option. It’s proven to be a great alternative during challenging times when they are struggling to find meaningful employment.

In this webinar, you will learn about:

• How to start a new business
• Benefits of having a business in Canada
• Funding a business
• Expanding your existing business to Canada
• Best Businesses in Canada for new immigrants
• Useful resources for Entrepreneurs

[Read more…]