May 12, 2020 Leave a Comment

Mentee Success Story and Mentor Spotlight

Meet Kanwardyal, A Canada InfoNet Success Story

Kanwardyal Singh is a Product Owner/Manager who immigrated from India in 2017. In his preparation to come to Canada he became a program participant and mentee with Canada InfoNet where he was matched with Rick McCallion. After successfully establishing himself in the country, he wanted to pay it forward and decided to become a mentor with the program to support others like him. Here he shares his inspiring story with us.

I would like to start by saying that I am very lucky and happy to be associated with JVS Toronto. Organizations like JVS do so much to help newcomers in taking one of the most difficult steps of their lives. I was one of these newcomers a few years back and now I am fortunate enough to be a volunteer with JVS. Here’s the story of my wonderful journey.

I immigrated to Canada on December 9^th, 2017 but my preparations had started about 6 months before this when I received my COPR. I was working as a Product Manager in Delhi, India at that time. When I got free from work, I spent my time on the internet, researching whatever I could find about immigrating to Canada, the life in Canada, career opportunities in my field, the weather here, interesting places to visit, etc. That is when I came across JVS Toronto and I decided to register with them. Registration was simple and in a couple days, I started working with an Employment Specialist and very soon I was assigned a mentor. My mentor was none other than Mr. Rick McCallion. I had tons of doubts and question but was confused around where to start with the mentorship program. Rick sensed my confusion and took control of the conversation. He started off with some introductions to break the ice and in no time, we were exchanging tons of information with each other. Rick read all my questions properly and gave me precise answers with sources that I could go to if I needed more details. He also made sure, that I was feeling comfortable about the move and all my doubts (around job, expenses, housing, transportation, etc.) were resolved to the best of his abilities. My interaction with him over the Canada InfoNet portal instilled a lot more confidence and predictability around my move to Canada. I was in a much better state of mind when the mentorship ended as compared to when I started. My Employment Specialist also helped and supported me by reviewing my resume and updating it according to the Canadian standards.

When I came to Canada, I followed all of the advice that I received through the program and my mentor gave me and it really made a difference. Specific to job searching, since I knew December to January is generally a slow time in the job market due to the holidays, I kept my cool and kept preparing for interviews, networking with people and enhancing my knowledge. I started rigorously applying in mid-January on job portals like Indeed, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, etc. I landed a couple interviews and was lucky enough to land a job in my field of Product Management in mid-February. I feel that keeping a cool head during my job search, enhancing my knowledge and networking, were key to my success.

As soon as I completed 2 years working here in Canada, I approached JVS Toronto to see if I could be a volunteer mentor with them. JVS agreed and I am now acting as a mentor for a newcomer. I am still very new to this but since I was on the mentee side fairly recently, I understand their state of mind and their queries quite well. I hope I can provide some clarity and confidence to the mentees I get associated with and help ease their transition to this great new country and a great new life.

If Kanwardyal’s story inspires you to want to become a mentor with our Canada InfoNet program, please click here and register with us.

May 12, 2020 Leave a Comment

Volunteering and Connections

Meet Rick, A Canada InfoNet Mentor

Canada InfoNet’s veteran mentor Rick McCallion, leader in IT change, who has been supporting our program for over a decade contributed to this newsletter by sharing his experience and highlighting the importance of volunteering.

During these pandemic times, the one thing that stands out to me is something that I have sometimes taken for granted – the importance of connections. In the last few weeks of self-isolation and social distancing, I look around at my friends, family and neighbours and I can see how we are all yearning for those social connections. What was so easy just a couple of months ago, now takes planning, rigour and diligence, and even then, it is never just quite the same. Fortunately, now that we have the odd beautiful day, I see how my neighbours, properly social distanced, flock to the courtyard of our condominium complex just to be able to connect with each other. Now, more than ever, the importance of these social connections is painfully evident.

As we come out of National Volunteer Week, I’ve been reflecting on my 11 years a mentor in the JVS Toronto Canada InfoNet program and it’s role and impact on connections – global connections.

The primary reason why I volunteer has always been to somehow make a difference in the little slice of the world that I occupy – to leave some type of a footprint behind.

But why did I choose this particular volunteering opportunity where there are countless tens of thousand volunteer opportunities across Canada? Primarily, it was because Canada InfoNet mentoring program is facilitated online and it’s on a schedule convenient to me. This was a significant benefit. I’ve done the traditional volunteering in the past, but there was something about the convenience of this specific opportunity that spoke to me.

I used to refer to this volunteer program as “virtual” but as I have mentored over the years, somehow I don’t think that virtual is quite the right word. Although the communication method of the mentoring program is virtual, it is really much more than that. It’s real and it’s personal. I’ve been so lucky to have maintained connections with my mentees over the years and this connection has made this program far more than “virtual”. It’s tangible and it makes a difference. Not only in the lives of my mentees (hopefully!) but in mine as well.

I see the children of mentees being born in Canada, children that may not have had the same opportunities back home. To see these families grow and flourish here gives me tremendous satisfaction. And when I see mentees become Canadian citizens, and especially when I see that they too have been so impacted by the program reach out to apply to become a mentor, that fills me with pride. Not pride in myself, but rather my indescribable pride in the mentees who have taken a leap of faith in Canada, have flourished and are now trying to pay back to others wanting to relocate to Canada.

Connections. I see now how important connections are to me. When restrictions are eventually lifted, when we don’t have to be so cautious about who, where, how, for how long and from what distance, when all of these are an afterthought, I’ll always try to keep in mind how precious these connections are and how important they are. If nothing else, one of the things that I’ve learned from the state of the world right now is to appreciate and value the ability that I have to connect with those that I love.

Connections transcend geographic or political borders. How can we be part of a society without connections? And more importantly, how can we have a society without looking for opportunities to help others?

I’m very grateful to JVS Toronto for their CanadaInfoNet mentoring program. Now more than ever, I cherish the connections that I’ve made through this program.

If Rick’s story inspires you to want to become a mentor with our Canada InfoNet program, please click here and register with us.

March 9, 2020 Leave a Comment

Are we Doing Enough to Support Immigrant Women in the Workplace?

Senior Asian woman talking to insurance agent in office

March 8th, 2020 was International Women’s Day; a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and girls, and raising awareness of the work that needs to be done to achieve equality.

Immigrant women face a range of challenges in the workforce, including the gender pay gap, and difficulties accessing executive roles in the workforce. This is made even clearer by the data — a recent study by TRIEC shows that women only make up about 36 percent of executive roles in the Greater Toronto Area, and when those 36 percent are analyzed for immigration status and ethnicity, the number falls further — only 2 percent of executive roles in are occupied by racialized immigrant women.

Our Mentors Share Their Stories

To mark International Women’s Day, we asked a few of our female mentors to share their stories and challenges in finding a place in the Canadian workforce.

Portrait of Maral Melkonian

Maral Melkonian arrived from Syria in 2016, with a background in banking. After a challenging job search, she secured a position as a Credit Analyst at TD Bank and joined the Canada InfoNet program as a mentor. Experiences dealing with immigration challenges and assistance she received from employment and mentoring programs inspired her to become a mentor.

She shared the following about her experience:

It is very hard for all of us to be uprooted from our land, home, friends and parents, packing all our life souvenirs in few suitcases, and decide to begin a new life in a very different country like Canada, different in culture, nature, weather and environment. Undertaking the challenge because we all believe we are going to have a better and safer life, a brilliant future for our children and us.

The biggest and hardest challenge comes when we start to search for a job, related to the same profession and field (we had before immigrating). The main and most important point is to meet the correct person or organization to help and advise you, not necessarily by finding the job, but an encouraging word makes and means a lot, or lead you to dive deeper in searches in the proper sectors, companies and institutions.

In addition to barriers faced by all immigrants, women have to overcome additional challenges, Maral shares:

…the work schedule, the working hours and days, especially if they have families and young kids. It is so hard to manage if both parents are working and they have to accept any offer just to start and survive. For example, I have to work three different schedules a week with one day late shift, other examples some retail workers and bank branches require all weekends, noting here the kids’ drop off and pick up strict times by schools.

These are some of the many challenges faced by women, which can lead to their career goals having to be set aside. The support Maral received from her mentor – whom she calls “a lifesaving angel” – was crucial for her to get her first job in Canada at a leading bank. She emphasizes how her mentorship experience was beneficial, not only for the technical knowledge her mentor shared, but also to keep her motivated and encouraged. For that reason, Maral later became a mentor with Canada InfoNet — to pass on her experience and pay forward for all the support she received when she was new in Canada.

Portrait of Fabi Ramos

Fabi Ramos, now employed as a Marketing Manager at Next Edge Capital, immigrated from Brazil in 2016. She chose to become a mentor because she saw it as “an opportunity to learn, develop leadership skills and gain a personal sense of satisfaction” from helping immigrants who are now facing the challenges that she previously faced. In regards to being a woman in the Canadian workplace, she shares:

Like most women, I have also experienced challenges in the job market such as gender pay gap, career ladder opportunities, fear of becoming pregnant, appearance judgment, room temperature disparity and other gender bias. I usually say that women need to work harder to prove our worth in the work place, to win our space.

The Role of Employers

Employers have an important role to play in achieving more equality in the workforce. A study by McKinsey & Company reveals the importance of the link between diversity and corporate financial out-performance; one of their findings showed is that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on their executive teams were 21 percent more likely to experience above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile.

We still have a long way to go, but we believe that bringing awareness to the issues and giving an opportunity for women to tell their stories is one step towards finding solutions that will benefit our whole community. JVS Toronto’s Canada InfoNet mentoring program is enriched by all the support offered by our women mentors to immigrating professionals.

Beyond International Women’s Day, diversity should not simply be something to strive for but it should be a given that women have their place in the workforce.

March 5, 2020 Leave a Comment

Navigating Your Way Through Virtual Job Fairs: Tips for Job Seekers

Spring Virtual Job fair Flyer — Register to attend our Spring Virtual Job Fair, May 27, 2021.

Despite having sent out hundreds of resumes you still haven’t received a response. You know connections are important to land a job, however you are new to the country and find it difficult to reach out to employers.

Since the job fair is not in person, it isn’t necessary to wear a suit or other formal office wear, however being too comfortable can also have its pitfalls. Participating in the job fair in a comfortable environment might lead you to communicate in an informal manner. Imagine the kind of answers you might give if you were talking to employers while wearing a bathrobe, lying in bed and eating chips. Also, remember mood and attitude can be apparent in your writing so it’s very important to maintain a positive attitude. To ensure you are in the right frame of mind, take yourself out of the space you are in by showering, getting dressed in presentable clothes and sitting at a table.

Here are some tips to make the most of the virtual job fair experience:

Before the Job Fair

Employers want to know that you are interested in working for them and the job they are hiring for. Virtual job fairs can bring in hundreds of job seekers so showing genuine interest is more likely to make you stand out from the crowd and convince the employer that you might be the right fit for the position. For this reason, it’s important to research and only approach employers you are really interested in.

A job fair is just like an interview, so prepare accordingly. Prepare some short and direct answers to standard questions such as “Tell me about yourself”, “Why do you want to work here?” and “What skills do you have?” It’s also very important to create an elevator pitch to introduce yourself. As this is a virtual job fair, you will be communicating in writing so make sure you chose your words carefully because once they have been sent they can’t be taken back.

Place yourself in a quiet place with no distractions
Research the employers you want to speak with
Review job descriptions for each position you plan to apply for
Have your resume ready
Prepare a very short introduction (a few sentences) targeted at each company that you will use when you first connect
Prepare 2-3 thoughtful questions to ask the employer. These questions should be about the position or the organization and not about benefits like vacation and salary.
Make sure your LinkedIn profile is complete and that it accurately describes you professionally
Check your digital footprint and make sure you look good online

During the Job Fair

Use spell checkers – try https://www.grammarly.com/
Keep it short and to the point – long blocks of text can be intimidating
Avoid redundancy – do not repeat information
Keep a professional tone – spell out all your words (for example: “You”, not “u”)
Write the same way you would speak in an in-person interview
Do not use all caps and emojis
Your enthusiasm and positive attitude must be conveyed through your writing. The best way to show enthusiasm is to research the company well and prepare reasons for wanting to work for the employer beyond just their reputation in the industry. Note: exclamation points are not an effective way to demonstrate enthusiasm in this scenario.
If you are uncertain about what is being asked, ask for clarification and/or paraphrase the question
After each conversation, be sure to thank the interviewers
Express strong interest and enthusiasm for the job but don’t overdo it. You can say something, like “I really like what I heard today and I am really interested in this position.”
Ask about next steps, if it’s okay to follow up with them and if so, when

After the Job Fair

Send a brief thank-you email to employers after the job fair, on the same day
Write down some of the questions you were asked in order to reflect and learn from them
Follow-up with employers, if appropriate, after the deadline set by the employer. Do not contact them more than once.

Register to attend JVS Toronto’s Spring Virtual Job Fair, May 27, 2021.

March 2, 2020 1 Comment

It’s Time to Apply for Summer Jobs

Asian woman civil engineer close up portrait on workplace, thinking about her project

The sidewalks may still be covered in ice and snow, but winter is ending soon. With that in mind, employers are starting to recruit for summer positions.

Summer jobs come in a range of sectors, including seasonal positions for amusement parks, retail, summer camps, resorts, campgrounds, as well as landscaping, tourism, and agriculture. Municipal, provincial and federal governments also post a selection of summer jobs in many departments, giving students a huge selection of opportunities to expand their skills sets, earn some money and build a resume.

Where to find summer jobs

Start with the obvious.

Search engines like Google are a good starting places to start any kind of job search. Start with keywords like summer, jobs, a job title (e.g. landscaping) and location (e.g. Toronto). See which sites are posting jobs of interest, and sign up for them to send you alerts for futures positions.

Connect with companies on social media.

Many companies and organizations post job opportunities on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can follow companies offering summer employment to get posts about vacancies. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date so employers can find you and be impressed. You can conduct searches on each platform using hashtags like #summerjobs.

Job Boards.

Use the popular sites such as Indeed.ca, as well as specialized job boards such as JobPostings.ca, Student Times and Talent Egg that focus on student summer jobs.

The government is hiring.

Summer job postings for all levels of government can start as early as January, and they fill very quickly.

Here are a few to check out:

Federal:
- Government of Canada, and
- The Federal Public Service Student Recruitment Service
Provincial:
- Ontario Public Service Careers
- Ontario Government specialized Ontario government-funded programs that support youth such as:

Cities, such as
- City of Toronto
- The Municipality of York Region
- Peel Region
- Durham Region
- Other local cities such as Markham and Richmond Hill

Classifieds’ listings.

Check out sites such as Kijiji’s Summer Job search, as well as Craigslist.

Think of which employers are busiest in summer.

For jobs in camps, check out Ontario Camps.

Remember that you can also create your own business and offer pet sitting, gardening, babysitting, elder care, house-sitting services, for a fee, to friends and family. (The provincial government offers support for summer companies, offered through JVS Toronto, through our Youth Services.)

Look around you – nearby Malls might be hiring students, for example. Put on a decent interview outfit, take your resume and walk into stores. Ask about summer hiring. Google companies you would like to work for, and apply online.

Besides an opportunity to build your resume and earn an income, summer work can have a lasting effect. Hard work and a good attitude can get you invited back for multiple summers, or turn into on-going work opportunities.