The Death Of Your Dreams

Blog located in Working in Canada posted on

Once upon a time you had dreams for what you wanted to do when you grew up. You studied to make this dream a reality, you spent years perfecting your skills in your chosen career and now you’re in a brand new country. You look all around you at similar people who had successful careers in their country and see them working at ‘survival’ jobs in Canada. Does Immigrating equal the death of your dreams? I say not!

Here’s an example of a client I worked with: Alfonso was a Communication specialist in Spain before immigrating to Canada in 2009. When I met him, he was in his 8th year working as a salesman for The Source, one of Canada’s leading Consumer Electronics and Wireless retailers. While he excelled at his job, it just wasn’t his chosen career. It was something he’d settled on when his own career dreams had died a hard death. However, after many years of this hardship, Alfonso decided to make major changes in his life when he contacted me for help. After a few months of self-discovery, he quit his job and was determined to find a better life by working in his chosen specialty: Communication.

I used these 4 critical steps to help Alfonso revive his career dreams from the dead:

 

Step 1: We polished his knowledge and skills

Since Alfonso was away from his field for 8 years, he had to reach out to individuals and organizations already working in Canada in the Communication industry such as ad agency account reps and marketing managers. He was able to schedule 5 informational interviews with employers in his related field to find out what specifically he was missing in his resume to get a job like theirs. Informational Interviews are not actual interviews, they are meant to provide information on the specifics of the industry or job that you’re seeking in your field. In the interview, you get to ask questions on the requirements needed to be in those jobs, about necessary training and education. Information interviews are the most reliable sources of getting the information that you need to find a job in your field.

Step 2: We built him  a network which was essential to getting his dream job

Alfonse got to know where Communication specialists were hanging out.  He joined associations in his field such as the Canadian Communication Association  and signed-up as a volunteer for events held in his field such as helping with organizing speed networking events for communication gurus.. He made sure to prepare for each event by pre-reading the information available online. He had business cards made. When he met people, he made sure to ask them how HE could help. He left a good impression and followed-up with those he met and scheduled time for coffee with them.

Step 3: We updated his resume

Alfonso had been away from his field of interest for a while and decided to return to what he had  studied. He needed a ‘leaving story’. A story for explaining during the interview why he left his 8 year job and why he was returning to his career track. He needed to update his resume with the new jargon used in his industry. The changes he made to his resume had to be compelling in order to generate interviews.

Step 4: We prepared Alfonso for  the interview

Through our work together, Alfonso considered the interview as the forum to sharing his story. It was about sharing why he was returning to his field. It was about applying everything he learned through the informational interviews. It was Alfonso’s opportunity to shine and show that he was a part of the tribe!

As a RESULT of my coaching, Alfonso secured a job as a Communication Specialist for a broadcasting corporation, in 3 months!

This can also be the dream come true story for you. In spite of not having been in your dream job for a while, there ARE ways to return to your dream job and be successful. Don’t let your career dreams die in you.

If you’re a former executive immigrant who’d like to transition your career to Canada, follow me on LINKED IN, tweet me on TWITTER, like me on FACEBOOK.

 

 

 

 

Enhanced by Zemanta
SIGN ME UP!
Multi-generational

No HR Dept?
No Problem!

Sign up for tips on handling today's trickiest HR issues! 

close-link

NO HR DEPT?
NO PROBLEM!


 

Sign up for tips on handling
today's trickiest HR issues!

 
We respect your privacy :
SIGN ME UP
close-link