Chérif was a teacher in Senegal, where he originally came from.
“I have been living in Canada for over two years now. My career objective was to work in my profession and I have worked hard on making this happen here in Canada. I submitted my credentials with Alberta Education and would later receive an interim professional certificate after waiting for almost a year. However, this did not help me reach somewhere immediately, so I started to consider changing my career focus. When I joined the ERIEC Career Mentorship Program, it gave me back hope.”
Chérif was matched with a mentor from University of Alberta. “My mentor introduced me to some people who work at the CAPS, University of Alberta Career Centre. They helped me to work on my resume and cover letter during our regular scheduled meetings.”
“With my mentor, we worked a lot on interview techniques, formal e-mail writings, and how to make a request for a meeting with someone. She also helped me to connect with other professionals that I would like to follow up with. Through these connections, I was shown the different ways to explore opportunities and how to take advantage of them, which later on helped me succeed in getting a substitute teacher’s position at Edmonton Catholic Schools.”
“I was also very impressed by the monthly intercultural competencies workshops delivered at NorQuest College, where cultural issues were discussed and addressed. These workshops are important part of the Mentorship Program, and they helped me to gain an understanding of the Canadian workplace. I am very grateful to ERIEC for having me to improve myself through their programs.”