Sandra Cuadra participated in the ERIEC’s Career Mentorship Program in April 2014. We asked her if she was willing to share with our readers about her experience with our program. This is what she wrote:
My name is Sandra and I participated in the ERIEC’s Career Mentorship Program in April 2014. I’m originally from Colombia and I have been living in Edmonton for over a year. I came to Canada to pursue a better life. I knew beforehand that it would not be easy to land a job in my field which is marketing. I really didn’t see too many barriers, and thought I would just needed to work hard and be persistent. Even though I have over 8 years of experience in marketing, I also knew that I might have to restart my career again and perhaps accept an entry level marketing position. I accepted this reality.
I spent my first few months in Canada polishing up my English. I went to different immigrant serving organizations which assisted immigrants in developing resumes and providing advices on job search, but really without too much success. I applied and submitted my resumes to a lot of different positions, but I did not get any interviews or even a phone call. I was told that I would never find a job in my field and I was recommended to look into other professional areas. I didn’t really like what I heard or that idea because I want to be a marketing professional in Canada.
Later on, I joined a Non-Government Organization (NGO) as a volunteer in order to gain some Canadian work experience in my field. In addition, I applied to the ERIEC’s Career Mentorship Program. I was accepted and paired with an excellent mentor from my field. My mentor provided me with a lot of guidance about the Canadian workplace culture, and she helped me a lot with the development of my resume, interview skills and networking strategies. She also helped me to build my self-confidence and introduced me to various marketing professionals.
During the mentorship program, I submitted more resumes and I started to receive phone calls. I was asked to come to two interviews and received a job offer in marketing. I’m very pleased and grateful for the help I have received from ERIEC and my mentor.
In conclusion, I have three pieces of advice to my fellow immigrants: never give up and work hard; try to be a volunteer in your field because it opens you to a lot of new opportunities (meet new people, improve your skills and gain Canadian experience); and join the Career Mentorship Program at ERIEC – it really helps!
Thank you so much ERIEC!
Sandra Cuadra