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010: Strategies for success as a new and seasoned immigrant (Part 1)
77 Plays1 year ago
In this episode of the Career Slay Talks podcast, host Brenda Dogbey takes you on an intimate journey through the highs and lows of her immigration story. Whether you're a newcomer or a seasoned immigrant, there's something here for everyone as we delve into the strategies that pave the way for success in Canada
Drawing from her own experiences, Brenda offers a candid look at the challenges faced upon arrival and how these obstacles can be transformed into stepping stones towards a brighter future.
But this isn't just a storytelling episode – get ready to walk away with actionable tips that you can implement immediately. Brenda shares practical advice on harnessing the power of resilience, and finding hidden opportunities within the challenges. These strategies aren't just theoretical; they're battle-tested tools that have helped Brenda and countless others rise above adversity.
No matter where you are in your own immigration journey, this episode promises to inspire, motivate, and equip you with the tools you need not only to survive but to thrive. Join Brenda as she reshapes the immigrant narrative and prove that success is achievable for everyone who dares to dream big.
Tune in to this transformative episode and embark on a journey that's about more than just success – it's about discovering your own strength and resilience in the face of change.
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Transcript
The Myth of Canadian Work Experience
00:00:00
Speaker
there is this overemphasis on Canadian work experience and a lot of the time that's actually just a euphemism for we don't want to hire somebody from who is not from here and so as a new immigrant you really have to be swift in being able to build that Canadian experience into your CV because without it a lot of the times you will get overlooked you will get
00:00:25
Speaker
passed over and folks will not be able to get over that mental block of the fact that you have very heat transferable skills.
Introduction to Podcast & Host
00:00:37
Speaker
Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Career Slay Talks podcast. My name is Brenda Dougley. And in this podcast, I share tips, tricks, and ways, as well as interview guests on how to really slay your career as a Black professional in Canada, as well as the African diaspora. But of course, this podcast is open to anybody and everybody, and you're more than welcome to take some nuggets from the conversations that I share here.
Personal Immigration Journey
00:01:05
Speaker
So today I would like to share with you strategies for success as a new, maybe a new and not so new immigrant. I would probably consider myself a geriatric immigrant. I immigrated to Canada. Well, I came to Canada to study 25 years ago, believe it or not. We look good, but yeah, 25 years it has been. And I came as an international student, and so I didn't really
00:01:34
Speaker
plan to stay. I initially came for college. So I did, if those of you who know the International Baccalaureate Program, I did two years of IB.
00:01:45
Speaker
out in BC. Following that, I got a scholarship to study at UBC, the University of British Columbia. And so beautiful campus, amazing institution, a few issues, but let's not go into that just yet. And so I spent, I did my undergrad there, so I was there for five years. And at that point in time, I did this whole back and forth. Should I stay in Canada? Should I go back home to Kenya, which is where I'm born and raised?
00:02:14
Speaker
And eventually, I think the wise thing to do, and this happens often to us as immigrants, is that you want to give yourself options.
Navigating Residency and Work Challenges
00:02:22
Speaker
And so at that time, I'd been in Canada for a good seven years. And so it just felt like the wise thing to do is not just move home, but at least become a little bit more settled and at least have the permanent residency, especially as an option, because you just never know.
00:02:39
Speaker
And so long story short, I ended up doing my master's and then that was around the time of the recession, the 2000 recession post Bush and Obama era.
00:02:54
Speaker
And so I did what Africans do when in doubt, do more school. So I started a PhD and it was during the PhD that that season that I met my husband, not in the PhD, but I met him in Ottawa. And then we got married and the rest is history. So Canada became home. I think I've seen things from two different vantage points for me as an international student.
00:03:21
Speaker
the journey professionally was quite different because the first step was having the papers. And Canada is a little bit different from the States in that there isn't a whole underground economy that depends on people working illegally. I think things tend to be fairly straightforward. In the last 25 years and even just 10 years, Canada has come up with really
00:03:44
Speaker
clear pathways to permanent residency and citizenship, but it wasn't always the case. And so, career-wise, you're always
Professional Hurdles for Immigrants
00:03:53
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limited. I remember when I had my social insurance number that started with a 9, and that basically meant that it was temporary, and a lot of employers
00:04:02
Speaker
would not want to give you a job or an opportunity because you're temporary. They don't know anything about you. Can they really trust you? And that was really challenging. And on the other hand, I can talk a little bit about my husband. He's a very private person, so I don't want to put all his business out there. But he immigrated into Canada as a professional, right? So he's a health professional by training. And so he moved here already a permanent resident.
00:04:28
Speaker
And I think some of the challenges he faced was that lack of transferability. So for me, for the longest of time, the biggest challenge was not being an international student at that time. You couldn't even work off-campus. You could only work 10 hours a week. So you have certain barriers that prevent you from even being able to build that work experience that you need to propel your career.
00:04:52
Speaker
For my husband, it was degree equivalency and folks not being able to recognize his health professional training in Canada and the sense that you have to kind of start from scratch and basically build from scratch.
00:05:07
Speaker
I want to talk about ways that you can really leverage and skip the delay in your journey, especially as a new immigrant, but this advice also applies to more seasoned immigrants. For a new immigrant, the advice I'm going to calibrate that by saying the advice that I'm providing is really specific to the Canadian context.
Educational Paths to Overcome Barriers
00:05:30
Speaker
One of the things that's really particular about the Canadian context is that they keep talking about
00:05:37
Speaker
Canadian experience and I think it's something that's really unique to Canada that might not be the same in other countries where you immigrate. There is this overemphasis on Canadian work experience and a lot of the time that's actually just as euphemism for we don't want to hire somebody from who is not from here and so as a new immigrant you really have to be swift in being able to build that Canadian experience into your CV
00:06:06
Speaker
Because without it, a lot of the times you will get overlooked, you will get passed over and folks will not be able to get over that mental block of the fact that you have very key transferable skills.
00:06:23
Speaker
So the first way that I'm recommending that you really bridge that gap is through education. Finding a training, a diploma, something that complements the training you already have. So if you are a complete professional from your country of origin,
00:06:40
Speaker
and you're moving here as a professional. If, for example, you've got a bachelor's level of education, my strong recommendation is that you do a master's. And the reason is that the education system in North America is quite different from the different education systems that we have back home. And entering into the education system is a really great way of reorienting yourself, your training,
00:07:07
Speaker
to the Canadian context. Now, say you already have a master's. My advice to you would be that you either do a postgraduate diploma or a certificate program that complements the training and the education that you already have from back home. And this tends to be fairly quick. So I am absolutely not suggesting that you do a PhD. And that's a whole other podcast episode. And I've seen this happen a lot of the times where
00:07:37
Speaker
Sometimes what gets in the way for people is pride, especially if you had a 10, 15 year career back home, the thought of having to start over can seem really not just daunting, but demoralizing. That being said, sometimes it is the fastest way to get to bridge that gap. This is where, you know, you have to be really strategic about the program that you pick and make sure that one, it is a program that
00:08:06
Speaker
that is in demand. You have to be realistic about how much years of education you're willing to do. So I've seen people go into nursing. You have to really be willing to do the four-year degree program or whatever the length of the program is. But really
Choosing a Unique Career Path
00:08:23
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looking, I've seen people do college certificates.
00:08:28
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and flourish in doing that. And so I really encourage you to look into your educational options because it's a really neat way to bridge the gap. And while it seems like I don't want to go back to school, what I've seen is that it is a way that can really help you bridge that gap and build you the Canadian references that you need in order to propel your career to the next level.
00:08:56
Speaker
The final point maybe I'll say is then to resist the urge to go with the flow, to go with where everybody is doing. Everybody is doing nursing. Again, don't get me wrong, nursing is amazing and we need nurses. But I've seen people who know in their heart and their soul that they don't want to take care of people and they don't want to be nurses. But who go into it because everybody's going into it or is the shortcut in their mind.
00:09:21
Speaker
which I don't think it is because it is a lot it's hard work, it's not easy money. It's amazing work it's fulfilling work. But it's not always aligned work and it's not always work that lines up with, with, like there are a lot of compassionate people who are going into
00:09:37
Speaker
um career paths where you just know that you're not meant for it and so be willing to do something different i think you don't always have to go with the flow so there's so many career options whether that's like dental hygienist like even if you want to stay within the health field
00:09:55
Speaker
There's so many subcategories of things that you can do within the healthcare field. That's not the one that everybody is doing. And so don't not be afraid to differentiate yourself. Be willing to try different things. Be willing to go through different career paths. And so I would really say resist the urge to go with the easy
00:10:19
Speaker
And I put that in quotes, easy path. Be willing to differentiate yourself and do something that's completely unorthodox and different and never tried before, because you'd be surprised you could be the one who's opening people's eyes to career paths that they might not have previously considered. And sometimes that's a way of specializing as well that can make you kind of stand out and be the unique voice in that niche. And so be willing to not to go against the flow against the current.
00:10:49
Speaker
and try something different that maybe other immigrants in your circle or other professionals in your circle have not gone through because you might just well be the trailblazer in that field.
Stay Connected with the Podcast
00:11:03
Speaker
I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you've not yet liked the episode, please do like and follow me on social media. Also follow the podcast at CareerslayTalks on Instagram.
00:11:17
Speaker
And I really encourage you to go back and listen to the previous episodes and let's slay together.