CAREER GPS

By ROHIT SINGH

January is celebrated as National Mentoring Month in Canada. Mentoring is especially important for newcomer professionals.

It provides them with the opportunity to connect with other professionals, build new relationships, and valuable information relevant to their job search in Canada.

Since its inception in 2004, the TRIEC Mentoring Partnership (TMP) program has helped over 22,000 newcomers connect to a mentor in their field, enabling them to get a head start in their careers. The program has been highly successful – newcomers who receive mentoring are 2.5 times more likely to find employment in their field according to a Blueprint ADE, TRIEC Mentoring Partnership evaluation conducted in 2020. This external evaluation project was conducted with funding from Employment and Social Development Canada.

Newcomers like Deepikaa Gupta have benefited tremendously from the program.

“I arrived in Canada in January 2020 with a PhD in Human Rights and Duties from Punjab University, India. I also hold a Master’s in Human Rights and Duties and a Bachelor of Science degree,” she said. “I had over eight years of experience in teaching and research at Punjab University where I worked as an assistant professor.”

Soon after her arrival in Canada, Gupta started looking for work and sent multiple job applications to academic, not for profit, and research organizations with a focus on institutes doing research in her area of interest (social sciences). She targeted a few universities and colleges in Ontario and in other provinces, along with numerous other organizations, for eight months, but had no success in gaining any related work.

In November 2020, 10 months after her arrival, Deepikaa joined the TRIEC mentorship program. She was connected to her mentor through her mentoring coach. The contribution of mentors is critical to the success of any mentoring program, specially TMP. Mentors contribute their time and share their expertise and experience with the newcomer participants, providing them with valuable information about labour market trends, job search advice, and connect them to other professionals to build their network.

One such mentor is Anika Bhuiyan, who has volunteered her time in the program.

“I moved to Canada a month before the pandemic lockdown, but fortunately with a full-time job in the company I was working for in my home country,” she says. “There was a lot of hard work and networking involved in securing that job before my arrival in Canada, but it helped me change my mindset about living in Canada for the better.”

After two years of working in Canada, Bhuiyan felt it was time to give back and help others achieve their Canadian dream as well.

“Coming to Canada as a new immigrant has been the most rewarding life experience so far. It gave me life skills, professional insights, and industry knowledge that I wanted to share with my network. And it felt like TMP was the best place to do so – to mentor and connect with immigrant jobseekers and allow us to be a part of each other’s network,” she said enthusiastically.

Harjot Singh, another TRIEC mentor, came to Canada in September 2015 as an international student. He became a mentor in 2020 to have a more direct impact on newcomers looking to enter the finance/banking industry.

“When I was new to Canada, I did not have anyone to help me navigate the job search process or someone who could help me with interview preparation. I had to figure everything out myself and most of it was based on watching YouTube videos instead of getting first-hand knowledge from established professionals.”

So, what happened next with Gupta, Bhuiyan and Singh?

Gupta’s mentor helped her prepare a detailed plan for her job search, selecting potential employers and guided her on how to tailor her resumé while applying for jobs. Additionally, she introduced Gupta to her own colleagues who could further guide her.

“All my one-on-one interactions and discussions right from the first meeting have been very helpful,” says Gupta. “I would have stumbled multiple times had I not received honest and productive feedback from my mentor. Overall, she was an amazing support and someone to rely upon whenever in doubt. I had that level of comfort to call her for any small thing, and she was always open to any questions.”

Bhuiyan’s journey as a mentor has also gotten off to a smooth start.

“I am working with my second mentee now as my first mentee secured a job three weeks into our conversation through TRIEC,” she says. “It gave me a boost to continue the journey. With my current mentee, we connect every week, sometimes even twice if they have an interview coming up and we work together to get their most authentic self ready for the interview. I am pleased to be matched with mentees not only from my professional background but ethnic background too. This gives the relationship more strength and context to address challenges in landing the first job.”

But the partnership has not just been about giving, Bhuiyan has learned a lot from it, too.

 “Something that I have learned through these conversations is that South Asian women really struggle to talk about ourselves, our achievements, and our roles as leaders in many projects we worked on. I hope to be able to change this for myself and all the mentees I get to partner with,” she said.

One of Singh’s first mentees had a unique situation. Instead of needing help with her job search, she had already received a job offer from a leading financial institution, but the role was different from her previous work experience. Singh helped her navigate and gather information about the skills she would develop in this role and how these skills and the experience could act as a stepping-stone to her goal of becoming a financial planner.

“In the end she decided to accept the offer and is currently doing extremely well. She has already been promoted to a leadership role within the organization and is well on her way to achieving her goal.”

He has seen first-hand the different obstacles that people in various stages of their immigrant journeys may face. “Someone who came here as a permanent resident might have completely different hurdles as opposed to someone who came here as an international student.” 

Gupta’s story also has a happy ending. After four weeks of following the strategy laid out by her mentor, she was invited for a Zoom interview with the CEO of Social Planning Council of Peel, to whom she had been introduced to by her mentor.

“I prepared very carefully for the interview and practised a mock interview with my mentor,” she said. “Through all that practice, I gained the confidence I needed for the interview and was successful! I was offered the position of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator at Social Planning Council of Peel; a position that matches my work experience and education very well.”

Bhuiyan is a firm believer in the benefits of mentoring and strongly feels that it is important for newcomers in Canada.

“Canada is a very friendly country but with a lot of nuances and novelty that can always be easily explained by mentors – whether it is for job search or understanding Canadian culture,” she explains. “At the end of the day, human beings want to feel a sense of belonging and an empathetic, robust mentorship program like the one TRIEC has truly is life changing!”

Singh believes mentoring is important for newcomers as mentors can provide first-hand knowledge about the industry and the kind of talent their organization looks for. “Not only can they help mentees with their job hunt and interview preparation, but they can also refer them to vacancies that may not even get posted on job boards.”

The three have advice for newcomer professionals in Canada.

Deepikaa Gupta: “Have patience and give Canada some time to adjust as well.”

Harjot Singh: “When you are applying for jobs, make sure that you have mentioned the required provincial/federal licence on your resumé if it is a prerequisite.”

Anika Bhuiyan: “Put yourself out there. Reach out without hesitation on LinkedIn or professional social media platforms – chances are out of the 10 messages you send, at least three people will respond and open doors for you! One advice, don’t be shy!”

• Rohit Singh is Acting Manager, Content and Public Relations, at TRIEC.

• For more information about the TRIEC Mentoring Partnership program and to sign up as a mentor or mentee in the program, visit the website at www.mentoringpartnership.ca.