The Career Mentorship Program (CMP) and Connector Program matches newcomer immigrant professionals (mentees) in the Edmonton region with established professionals and local business leaders / employers (mentors) who share a similar occupational background and creates networks through real-life connections and experience.
Jessie is an auditor and a Certified Public Accountant from the Philippines. She immigrated to Canada on September 2018. Looking back over the last couple of years Jessie would consider finding employment in her industry as one of her biggest hurdles since moving from her home country. Prior to joining with ERIEC as a mentee her career search strategy was typically to apply for jobs that were online. The strategy did not pan out as she did not receive a single interview request, let alone a response.
“I came across one job posting that required a CLB (Canadian Language Benchmark) score of 6 or higher. I requested assistance from the Catholic Social Services and they helped me with my CLB assessment. After completing the assessment, they were kind enough to give counselling on how to proceed with job search. One of their Settlement Counsellors, advised me to seek guidance from ERIEC. It was from there my journey with ERIEC’s Career Mentorship Program began.”
“Going through the program and attending the NorQuest Intercultural Workshops, I gained a better understanding on how to best present my professional profile and what to expect in the Canadian workplace. These intercultural workshops would help me to adapt and understand the expectations of my new work environment.”
“Prashant Borda, a CPA Tax Specialist from KPMG, my mentor, advised me to attend networking meetings, be active in Linkedin and to begin expanding my professional network. He advised me who to reach out to and where to strategically find job postings. He also assisted me by giving me resource materials to read during the program and actively looking for work.”
“The one thing that I am also truly grateful for while participating in the mentorship program was being helped by not just by my mentor, but other mentors as well from ERIEC’s Connector Program. These mentors advised me on how to best tailor my resume to suit specific industries and what alternative career paths I could possibly take.”
“Last November 2019, just before the end of my mentorship program, I was called for an interview. I asked for guidance from Prashant on how to have a successful interview and he of course gave me advice on what to expect and how to articulate myself during the interview. I also put to use what I had learned from the intercultural workshops that I attended. After the interview, I informed Prashant on how it went and he was very encouraging and wished me the best of luck.”
“I am currently working as an Accounting Technician for ATS Accounting and Tax. It is not exactly my ultimate position but thanks to the ERIEC Mentorship Program it has given me the opportunity to be closer to that goal.”
I would like to thank the ERIEC Staff for their dedication and support to newcomers like me who are find ourselves struggling in starting our careers. I also commend their Intercultural Workshops for being insightful and beneficial and their Mentorship and Connector Programs for being a bridge for us mentees to the business community.
If you are an immigrant professional, Permanent Resident, currently in Edmonton, and interested in ERIEC’s Mentorship and / or Connector Program, please contact the Program Assistant- Gustave Gatabazi at [email protected]
If you are an established professional or business leader looking to volunteer as a mentor or establish corporate partnerships, please contact the Program Director- Azumme Degun at [email protected]