Overview

Finding a job in North America is not difficult in theory: It requires finding the answer to the following four questions.

1. What problems are you good at solving?

2. Who has these problems and is willing to pay money to have them solved?

3. How do you make sure these people know you exist?

4. How do you convince them that you are the best at solving these problems for them?

If you can find the answers to these four questions in your particular case, you have found yourself a job. Here, the devil is in the details. The answers to these questions are specific to each person. Finding the answers in your personal case is much harder than asking the questions.

As discussed in the previous two chapters, the way one looks for a job in North America is very different from the way one looks for a job in other parts of the world (even other G7 countries), so immigrants often experience major difficulties when they look for their first job in North America. There are many nonprofit organizations, governmental programs, as well as private companies dedicated to helping immigrants integrate into the North American workforce. This chapter is designed to help the career counselors in these programs so that they can, in turn, help their clients more effectively.

Who Are You and How Can You Possibly Help Me?

One of the common challenges faced by social workers who help recent immigrants find employment in North America is that their...