July 24, 2024 Leave a Comment

Celebrating 20 Years of Mentoring Services

Celebrating 20 Years of Mentoring at JVS Toronto: Empowering Skilled Immigrants to Achieve Career Success

For the past 20 years, JVS Toronto has been dedicated to helping skilled immigrants reach their career goals in Canada. With a rich history dating back to 1947, JVS Toronto has been at the forefront of meeting the needs of a rapidly changing world, always with a commitment to its vision of ensuring every individual has opportunities for employment. Mentoring has played a critical role in this journey, and today, JVS Toronto is proud to celebrate 20 years of successful mentoring initiatives.

Mentoring is a valuable tool for individuals seeking to establish their careers in a new country. JVS Toronto offers a range of mentoring services, including online mentoring, group mentoring, and in-person mentoring. These programs have been designed to support and empower skilled newcomers, providing them with the guidance, resources, and confidence they need to succeed in the Canadian labour market.

One of the key highlights of JVS Toronto’s mentoring initiatives is the online pre-arrival mentoring offered through the Canada InfoNet program. This unique service provides skilled immigrants with one-on-one and occupation-specific career support before they even arrive in Canada. With the right guidance and support at the right time, mentees can develop the labour market tools they need and increase their confidence to enter the Canadian labour market.

JVS Toronto has also formed strategic partnerships with various ethno-specific and occupation-specific organizations to offer group mentoring to their members and clients. These collaborations are a testament to JVS Toronto’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, and they have proven to be a great success. The organization also works closely with partners like World Education Services, training immigrant-led organizations to offer group mentoring to their communities.

As a community partner of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council, JVS Toronto shares the common vision of helping newcomers connect with a mentor. With this partnership, newcomers receive valuable coaching and are able to build upon their international professional experience to secure relevant career opportunities within the Canadian workforce.

In conclusion, JVS Toronto is committed to helping skilled immigrants achieve their career goals in Canada. Over the past 20 years, the organization’s mentoring initiatives have been a critical component in empowering and supporting individuals as they navigate the labour market. Looking forward, JVS Toronto is eager to continue improving and growing its mentoring programs, building upon its past successes and ongoing collaboration with current and future partners.

May 15, 2018 Leave a Comment

Volunteering Opportunities in the City

Diverse volunteers taking a selfie together

Perhaps you have given some thought to the idea that volunteering is a good way to ‘get a foot in the door’ of your favourite business, but have you considered it a way to expand your network, meet other like-minded people and boost your resume?

Right now, as summer events ramp up, cities like Toronto are brimming with seasonal events that can connect you to hundreds of other people who are interested in the same causes and activities as you. Also, if you perform well, you may just be considered the next time people are hiring for paid positions.

There are a variety of events that occur throughout the city covering cultural festivals, food and drink events, and various charity fundraisers, just to name a few.

Do you have a passion for a specific cause, or a personal connection to a particular health issue? Why not consider contacting a local organization and asking to be put on their volunteer list? You can find organizations of interest by calling 211 in Toronto, or checking out Toronto 211 online.

Volunteering is also a great way to be exposed to different type of jobs that you may not have previously considered; you might even find that you enjoy doing something that you never thought you’d be interested in before.

Here are some handy do’s and don’ts for volunteering:

Volunteer for something you think you might enjoy: If you’re going to give your time to a cause, try thinking of something that will not only look good on your resume, but is also something that you are passionate about. If you’re happy and fulfilled, it can have a profound impact on how well you do and the references you can gather.

Be punctual: Take your volunteer work as seriously as you would a job. If you show up late for your shift, potential employers will remember this and it may affect your recommendation or chances to be considered in the future.

Dress appropriately: If it’s casual and you’re going to be on your feet all day, wear comfortable shoes and clothing. If it is more formal, dress the part.

Be respectful of everyone: You never know who you’re going to meet — treat everyone as your next potential employer or colleague.

Be willing to do something you don’t enjoy: You may be asked to help with something like clean-up, or perhaps something seemingly unimportant such as inflating balloons. Remember that no one likes to do these odd jobs, but they still have to be done. Your willingness to participate in the less glamorous positions will be noted. Of course, never do something that you think may be harmful to your health or that you really cannot do.

Don’t wait until the last minute to volunteer for events, the most coveted spots are typically grabbed up quickly. Don’t let that discourage you though, there are so many positions you can apply for—just keep in mind you may not get your first choice.

Perhaps the most important advice I can offer however, is that no matter which organization you choose, have fun! You’re bound to learn something new, you’ll meet new people, possibly make new friends and you’ll definitely take something positive out of your experience.

Now here are some websites that offer links to volunteer opportunities:

Volunteer With the City — Opportunities to volunteer in City of Toronto events and programs

Volunteer Toronto — This site offers opportunities to apply to volunteer for a wide range of activities

Spark Ontario — Discover volunteering opportunities and connect with non-profit organizations in Ontario

CharityVillage — Canadian nonprofit sector’s largest and most popular online resource

April 16, 2018 Leave a Comment

Feeling lonely? You deserve better. There are things you can do.

It’s often said that we spend more time with our colleagues than we do with our families. Working people don’t think twice about the benefits of walking into work every day and being greeted by familiar faces, joining colleagues for lunch or a coffee break, or taking a moment for a chat as they walk by in the hallway. They also might not appreciate the value of feeling useful and needed by colleagues, customers or clients. If you find yourself unemployed — whether by choice (such as retirement), or through job loss or illness — you might have discovered that losing that social contact and the sense of purpose that comes with work can leave a painful gap, often becoming a barrier in and of itself toward moving forward to find another job.

With Britain’s recent decision to appoint a Minister of Loneliness, there has been a lot of discussion about isolation as a public health concern. Professor John Cacioppo, a neuroscientist who studied loneliness (and who sadly died recently at age 66), described it in The Lancet as “a condition that makes a person irritable, depressed, and self-centred, and is associated with a 26% increase in the risk of premature mortality,” where, “in industrialized countries around a third of people are affected (…) with one person in 12 affected severely.”

For those who are unemployed, isolation isn’t just a result of losing colleagues and a workplace. People who are not working often find themselves withdrawn from their existing social circles due to the stigma of unemployment, not being in the mood to socialize, or simply having to cut back on socializing because of increased financial pressures. In addition, job seekers often face ongoing and relentless pressure and judgments from family and financial demands to continually job search, which increases stress and reduces their willingness to engage in the kind of self-care necessary to avoid job search burn out. [Read more…]

July 6, 2015 2 Comments

Ask the Employment Specialist: The benefits of volunteering

Dear Employment Specialist,

I am a new immigrant and recent graduate looking for work in my field of environmental sustainability. Many employment counsellors have recommended that I volunteer as a strategy to build my career. How can I work for someone for free? I am over my head in student loans and dealing with resettlement issues.

What do you think?

Signed: Free for nothing

Dear Free

There are a tremendous amount of benefits of volunteer work in your search for employment in your field. If you didn’t have an internship or coop opportunity through your university, and lack a professional network and related work experience, volunteering can definitely help you. I am a big believer in volunteering; it’s how I got my job when I was involved in a career transition.

Here are some of the benefits you should consider:

Gain related professional experience.

Research and identify organizations that have legitimate volunteer departments, represent causes that are meaningful for you, and that have possible spots where you can gain work experience, learn and improve your skills and qualifications. Check out sites such as Charity Village, Volunteer Toronto, your relevant sector council or professional association as places to volunteer.

Build and Leverage Your Professional Network.

While you are volunteering, be dedicated and apply the same effort to your volunteering as you would as an employee. Always make sure your work gets done. Be as helpful as possible to others. Make an effort to have lunch with the team, and find other opportunities to start meeting other people at the company. Build a relationship with your supervisor because they may be able to refer you to a colleague for another opportunity.

Help others and help yourself.

Research reports that adults who volunteer may live longer and healthier lives and it increases empathy and compassion. It’s not good to isolate yourself when you are looking for work. Volunteering can help you get out of your home and get involved in positive experiences, as well as get the positive feeling that you are giving back to the community.

Bridge the gaps in your resume.

Add your volunteer experience to your resume and social media presence. Employers value candidates who make a difference in the community; it helps you answer the question “what are you doing right now?” It also covers the gap in your work history and keeps you busy while you are looking for paid employment.

All the best.