There are plenty of online applications these days for things we either want or need in our lives, but few are as unique as the application process to be a mentee in ERIEC’s Career Mentorship Program!
This program is for skilled immigrants (specifically ‘permanent residents’) who are unemployed or underemployed, and who want to reconnect with their profession here in Canada. It is also for those immigrants who have changed professions in Canada, and have the education to support that change.
The Career Mentorship Program matches skilled immigrants with local professionals in occupation-specific mentoring relationships. That means if, for example, you are an IT professional from Mexico, you can apply to our program and get connected to a local IT professional that will support you in your career search.
Mentors won’t find you a job, but will facilitate your understanding of the Canadian workplace culture, explain to you the unwritten soft skills, help build your professional network, and encourage you in your search for meaningful employment.
Sound good? You can check our website here for stories from past program participants. Here is a comment from an IT mentee from Mexico, Victor:
I didn’t just learn skills for interviews, I learned how to make connections with interviewers. I didn’t just look for a posted job, I looked for my career development. I learned not to just deliver my card to someone, I really network. My self-esteem for interviews now is totally different, and of course so is my knowledge of the job market and Canadian society.
Here is Victor (right) with his mentor Lionel (XEA Services) at their first meeting!
Victor is currently employed, full time, in his field. He recently informed us that he’s been promoted twice over the last year!
The process to apply online is easy, just follow these steps:
- Go to Find a Mentor
- Read the list of requirements, if there are some you are unsure about, call or email us. We can discuss your situation if some of the requirements are in process, as long as you are a landed immigrant/permanent resident and have current CLB (Canadian Language Benchmark) of 7 or higher.
- Remember that you need a current resume. This gives us an idea of your experience and the type of mentor appropriate for you. We recommend that you save your resume as a PDF so that it maintains formatting and can easily be uploaded to our system.
- You are now ready to fill in our online application. Please be thorough so that we can process your application faster.
- Congratulations! You are now in the ERIEC Career Mentorship Program database. Easy, right? We respond to everyone who applies. Not only are you on your way to meeting other professionals in your discipline, but you will be notified about other events and professional development opportunities.
You’ve applied on-line, so now what happens?
Well, we review your application and follow up with you with an email if we have any questions. If you meet our eligibility requirements, we will invite you into the office for an interview. The interview is designed to “get to know you better” so that we can create a professional match with the appropriate mentor. All mentors are screened and interviewed by the Program Coordinator.
Once your application is complete, and you are accepted into the program, we look for a match! While our goal is to match you with a mentor in the same field, some professions are more difficult to match (i.e. University lecturers, scientists). In such cases, we will search for a mentor in a similar discipline to mentor you.
The information on our website is clear so you can assess yourself to see if this program is the right fit for you. We would encourage you to contact us with any questions or concerns.
Stay tuned for more on-line application information in the future from a mentor’s perspective!