What do Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerburg and Richard Branson all have in common, apart from being hugely successful entrepreneurs?

All three of these famous billionaires attribute a large part of their success to finding mentors who helped them build their businesses into the global giants they are today.

Mentorship is a key factor in building a successful business, especially for young entrepreneurs who are in the early stages of starting their own company. The opportunity for entrepreneurs to get advice from experienced professionals can divert a new venture from failure and lead it to success.

Aside from business advice, the encouragement and real-life examples of a mentor can be crucial for a young professional to maintain enthusiasm and direction throughout the challenges of entrepreneurship.

For participants at Summer Company, a program supported by JVS Toronto that provides funding and mentorship to young entrepreneurs, the relationship with their mentors has been a life changing experience.

“Right up until the end of the summer, my program mentors were there to support and guide me,” says Dwayne Monterio, a student who started Xcel Designs through JVS Toronto’s Summer Company in 2014. “It was invaluable to me, and to my business as whole.”

It’s not just young entrepreneurs who benefit from mentoring. Newcomers to Canada have more success in landing a job aligned with their professional skills when they have access to occupational information and Canadian workplace culture through a mentor.

According to a recent report, newcomer mentees significantly improved their economic standing within twelve months of receiving mentorship guidance. On average, unemployment decreased from 73% before mentoring to 19% twelve months later. In addition, full time earnings increased 62%, and 71% of immigrants reported being employed in their field.

To help fund programs like Summer Company and other mentoring services, JVS Toronto is holding its 13th Annual Strictly Business Premiere Event on May 27, 2015. Event proceeds are directed to the agency’s highest priorities including supporting youth by uncovering their passions, teaching them hard and soft skills, and connecting them to mentors and their life lessons that lead to success.

Industry Experts Talk is a weekly webinar series where job seekers can get expert insight and up-to-date information from industry-leading experts. You will learn about market trends, the skills and qualifications employers are looking, their recruitment processes, and how to stand out in today’s competitive job market.

On June 18 2020, Apotex joined our panel of industry experts to advise job seekers on navigating the labour market, including topics like:

• How to better integrate into the Canadian work environment
• What skills and qualifications employers are looking for
• How to get an opportunity to interview
• The kind of questions that may be asked during an interview
• Strategies for success in your job once you land one – career paths for supply chain professionals

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A Canada InfoNet Success Story

The current pandemic situation has changed everyone’s lives and we know that for those immigrating to Canada at this time it might seem even harder to stay motivated to continue with your job search. These are challenging times but there is no reason to give up on your goals. Today we are sharing an inspiring story with you from one of our program participants.

Daniela is a food scientist from Brazil who immigrated to Canada in May 2020. She registered with Canada InfoNet for pre-arrival support for her job search and was able to secure a job offer before arriving in British Columbia. Daniela was very focused on her search and application, targeting jobs that really matched her profile, instead of applying for dozens of random jobs.

On top of going through our program’s e-learning modules, which give jobseekers a good understanding of job search in Canada and getting one-on-one employment counselling, here are some of the strategies that Daniela shared with us that helped her achieve her goal:

• Adjusted my resume to the Canadian style. Focused on writing keywords and numerical achievements.
• Connected to people from my area of expertise on Linkedin which was very helpful as they gave me some information about the job market and connected me with other important people (hiring managers, for example)
• Used the JobScan website, which was important to adequate my resume to each specific position I applied for.

When she was invited to attend an online interview, Daniela reached out to her employment specialist and asked for tips on interview preparation. They worked on common interview questions and discussed some cultural differences, which made her feel more confident for the interview.

Daniela shares some advice for jobseekers who are in the same situation:

“It is very important to look for job positions that are a good match for you and adapt your resume, using keywords. I made a list with several positions I found on Indeed or Linkedin and used their descriptions and keywords to prepare different resumes for me. 

Something that I did several times was to apply for a specific position and look for someone who worked for that company on Linkedin. I would then connect with that person and explain my situation: I would say I was going to immigrate to Canada, I had several years of experience in that area and I would ask if they could give me any suggestion. I got lots of positive replies and they even connected me to other people that could be important to help with an interview.”

After arriving in Canada and following the 14-day mandatory quarantine, Daniela has started her new job in British Columbia and is excited for what the future holds for her in Canada. We wish her all the best for her career and settlement in Canada.

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.

By Ligia Chiari

Organizational skills are essential to many jobs. If you are job searching, you probably have come across postings that require the candidate to be organized, good with time-management and multi-tasking. But these are skills you will need not only on the job but to actually help you find one. This is especially true if along with looking for employment you are also dealing with all the stress of immigrating amidst all the recent changes in travel plans due to the pandemic.

Looking for employment involves many steps like researching potential employers, finding open positions that meet your skills and preferences, tailoring your resume and cover letter, applying, networking online and in person, preparing for interviews and negotiating offers are just some of them. When you start applying to multiple jobs at the same time it’s easy to get confused and the lack of organization might make you miss opportunities.

So make sure you get organized, set your priorities and learn how to deal with all the multiple tasks involved from the beginning so you don’t feel overwhelmed. Organizing your job search strategy is a great way to manage stress and make sure you are actually getting things done. After all, that can be a new skill to add to your resume.

Here are a few tips on how to get started and achieve the success you are looking for:

• Take it seriously. First and foremost, you have probably heard that “looking for a job can be a full-time job”, which means it requires dedication and commitment. Even if you already have a full-time job, the time you set aside for job searching should be focused, so avoid distractions such as social media feeds or answering unrelated e-mails at the same time.

• Define your goals. Before you actually start applying for open positions, it is good to take some time to set your goals. Having a short-term and long-term goal will help you stay on track and set realistic expectations. Do your research and refine it as much as you can in terms of positions, industry, time frame, salary and other expectations you might have. It’s OK to be flexible with your goals, but knowing where you want to get to makes the path easier.

• Commit time regularly. So maybe you are currently working full-time and don’t feel like you have a lot of time to commit. That’s the reality of most people who are in your situation and with many working from home it can be even harder to block out time for different tasks. Analyze your priorities and decide how much time you can commit to it, even if it’s a few hours a week, put that on your calendar and make sure you stay on track. 

• Break down the job search into smaller tasks. If you set aside time for job searching in general, you may get lost and end up wasting the valuable 3 hours you had just browsing through different ads and websites. It’s easier to accomplish a goal if you break it down into actionable steps, such as: 
  1. Find one job posting that suits me. 
  2. Research the employer. 
  3. Tailor Resume and Cover letter to that Job Posting.
  4. Apply for that position. 
  5. Try to connect on LinkedIn with people from that company to expand my network… and so on. 

With clear steps like these, it is easier to stay on track and motivated.

• Keep a log. Whether you are tech-savvy or not, develop your own system to keep track of jobs you applied for and responses you received. As most ads are online, saving these logs on your computer may be easier, but if pen and paper work better for you, that’s ok, as long as you have easy access to it. Don’t forget to maintain a record of which position you applied for, the employer, date, information from the job post such as salary or deadline and if you were contacted or not. This will come in handy when you receive a call from company XYZ and you need to quickly find out which position they are contacting you about.

• Split your time wisely. Remember not to use all of your time just replying to job ads as this should take only about 20% of your time. Keep track of how much time you spend in other activities such as networking and upskilling yourself as well.

• Take care of yourself. Job Searching can be stressful and even more in such uncertain times like these, make sure you add some time for yourself to unwind in the process. A walk outside, quality time with friends or family even if that’s virtually and meditating are some ways that can help you manage stress and keep a positive attitude.

If you are immigrating to Canada and have an approved Permanent Resident visa, contact Canada InfoNet and work with an Employment Specialist to develop your personalized Job Search strategy.

If you have any questions or topics you would like to see on our blog e-mail ligia.albuquerque@jvstoronto.org 

Emotional well-being during immigration, settlement & job seeking in Canada

Moving to a new country, adjusting to a new culture, and adapting to new employment realities are difficult transitions that can negatively impact your health, including your mental health. Change is difficult, but you can handle it. In times of change, learning how to support your mental health and how to get help if you need it, are critical to your ability to be resilient.

In this webinar, you’ll hear from Lawrence D. Blake, M.Phil, PhD(c), Canadian Mental Health Association and learn:

• What mental health is and how to talk about it
• How change and stress could impact your mental health
• How to recognize when you might benefit from support for your mental health
• Strategies to support yourself during stressful times

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