I received the following email from a mentee this morning (below).  He had had an important interview yesterday.  I was amazed at how well suited he was for the position after reading the job description.  He exemplified all the requirements, with at least 20 years of in-depth experience.

I have posted his letter to highlight one of the key strategies for successful interviewing.

—–

Hi Bruce,

You know one of the real benefits of the research informational interviewing technique: Is that it keeps you razor sharp and ready to pounce on a job opportunity when it presents itself.

Thanks for keeping me on that track.

BMJ

—– Managing a research/information meeting is an art.  There is the introduction, request, the development of questions that are specific each meeting.  It is also important to understand the anatomy of a well run meeting including the closing question, and the follow up; the next day, and the following weeks.

(Practising interviews – Mentoring program in 2011 fall, Ottawa)

The biggest mistake and this always comes to light during our debriefings, is when a candidate asks for a job.  That one question firmly closes the door to most if not all future relationships with the individual being interviewed.

If I met you for the first time and  I asked you for a job, or even if you knew of one, what might you say to me?

A recent mentor had been sharing valuable information through email when she used the term protege.  In the past I have had lively discussions with other trainers regarding the subtlties in the definition of mentor, protege, protegee and mentee.  In the context of her use and applications of the term I believe her definition was correct.  She trains and mentors professionals directly related to her field of expertise.  In my response to her I address some of my own ambiguity and thoughts about the difference in meaning between protege and mentee.

_____________________________________

Thank you for your email – I found your use of Protégé or Protégée interesting, so I went and looked it up in Wikipedia.

(From Wikipedia↓)

Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person.

The person in receipt of mentorship may be referred to as a protégé (male), a protégée (female), an apprentice or, in recent years, a mentee.

“Mentoring” is a process that always involves communication and is relationship based, but its precise definition is elusive. One definition of the many that have been proposed, is

Mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital, and the psychosocial support perceived by the recipient as relevant to work, career, or professional development; mentoring entails informal communication, usually face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom, or experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived to have less (the protégé)”.^[1]

____________________

I use Mentee; however I find both terms fall short, in adequately articulating what I have discovered in training over the last few years.  Most often mentees have more experience and education than the mentors do in their field of expertise. We were very fortunate to have a group with so much combined experience this time around.

In our scenario both mentor and protégée (I’ll use the term) learn the skills together.  What the mentors have is the ability to offer a cultural mirror on how Canadians view and approach the workplace and the community. What the mentors learn is just how smart the mentees are; dispelling the myth that internationally educated professionals do not have the competency or skills to work in Canada now.

What I liked about the information offered by Wikipedia is; ‘Mentoring is communication and relationship based’.  I assume, in comparison to formal teaching or providing information.

I once listed the steps to effective and strategic mentorship to a class and one of the candidates adroitly pointed out me that I had missed a very important step.  Step one, have a cup of tea.  Strategy works better if you establish trust.  Some cultures start with social dialogue before moving on to business.

Watching mentors and mentees enjoy and appreciate the discoveries made with each other over the last six weeks has been certainly one of the highlights of the program for myself and I think for all in attendance.

In the context of the mentor program I observed that most of the mentors learned as much from the mentees as the mentees learned in return. I certianly did..

Thanks again for your valuable contributions, now and thourghout the program, and thank  you for re-stimulating the protégée/mentee conundrum for me.

Mentoring is an equal learning partnerhip that builds skills, insights and inclusive communites.

The issue of whether to wear cologne or perfume in the workplace has been receiving a lot of response both in Canada and world-wide to our blogs.

If you are in sales, even though you are not in a public venue, the wearing of cologne/perfume  may be impacting on the bottom line.

I recently asked a sales person to meet with my husband. I had completed initial discussions with a company representative and was impressed by the potential savings and services. A few days later I asked my husband how his conversation had gone and was he interested in changing companies. He agreed that there were benefits but probably not enough to make the change. The clincher was that he found the sales person’s cologne strong and very distracting. Was it a deal breaker? Probably not. However, the strong scent became the focus as opposed to the product.

- Written by Naomi -

Attending the Western Cities HR conference in Fort McMurray confirmed many of the pressing needs of municipalities in Western Canada and from our experience echoed the concerns of municipalities across Canada. The general dialogue and the questions raised during and after my presentation on demographic change reflected a few reoccurring themes.

• Where can we find the best talent?
• What is the best way to recruit talent?
• How do we assess talent for the best fit?
• How can we best integrate newcomers into our community?
• How can we ensure retention?

I will be covering these queries in later blogs.

Communities large and small are losing millions of dollars through poor retention. I have read figures that show that hiring and then losing talent triples an organization’s hiring costs.

I know of one municipality that has been developing a welcoming portal to attract talent.  They estimate that it will take a second year before launching.   Identifying the right people followed by a plan that facilitates settlement is key to success.  Addressing labour and skill shortages takes time.

As an aside: It was interesting to note that of the forty to fifty HR professionals that attended the workshop only two were using LinkedIn as a recruitment tool.  Both positively recommended LinkedIn’s benefits as a research and recruitment tool.

The photo was taken during the conference on September 27, 2011

Excerpt from the welcome brochure: “Human Resource professionals from across western Canada are gathering at the 2011 Western Cities Conference in Fort McMurray, Alberta to share knowledge, ideas and experience on how to make a difference in building desirable places to work, live and grow”.

This isn’t just talk.  Three of the four western provinces are leading Canada in growth and development, with Alberta way out in front.  It is no wonder that Calgary’s Mayor has been on a cross Canada tour promoting and recruiting labour expertise to his city.

Fort McMurray is the perfect venue for the conference, with a present population of just over 100,000, doubled since 2000, and a predicted increase up to 220,000 by the year 2020.  The challenges are immense, including housing, infrastructure and labour recruitment and retention.

The challenges are pan Canadian, making the Western initiatives, perfect case studies for the rest of Canada over the next few years.

It was exciting to be asked to present “Are you ready for Labour Shortages” at the conference.  The challenges for big and small cities, rural and urban areas include the assessment, fit, onboarding and retention of professionals of all kinds.  Effective strategies and a welcoming community spirit cannot be overstated in the bid to attract and retain talent.  Nearly half of Fort McMurray’s population volunteers, which is more than twice the national average.  Most people come with a one to two year plan, yet settle because of what the community offers.

Many communities like Fort McMurray have highly diverse populations while others are barely visible.  As Canada becomes an employee’s market, job seekers will become more discerning about where they want to live.  This will also include other countries such as Australia who are now aggressively recruiting in Canada and United States.   Setting up systems to find, recruit and retain talent takes time.

The integration of international professionals into the Canadian workforce is swinging from a social issue to an economic one.  The communities that are acting now or have a three to five year plan in place to ensure long term economic sustainability have the advantage.

Integration Resources Canada is launching a new mentoring program this week at the Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre.  This will be the fourth program in an ongoing series.

There are a few things that differentiate this program from many other programs presently being delivered:

• Mentors and mentees go through the program together, providing firsthand knowledge and strategies to the partnership, not just the mentor
• The program leverages a tried and true strategy that focuses on research rather than networking
• Common to programs that apply the above approaches, the landing rates for IEPs in their field of expertise is significantly higher than national averages
• The program philosophically and practically avoids ‘foot in the door’ approaches as they represent underemployment
• The new program commencing this week has a full contingent of new mentors and 6 returning mentors. The returnig mentors have significant experience and have retaken the program up to four times

The mentoring program focuses on two key skills.  A strategy that defines clear specific objectives followed by research and cross cultural relationship building.

I received an email earlier this week from a mentee, who said this about their mentor:

“We had a passionate discussion about the need/no need to, to target precisely what job/what level one wants to be employed at. And I in the end told her something which was even for me a revelation because I don’t think I have ever thought about it or vocalized it as such.”

It is a privilege to be part of this program.

The following post is a sample conversation between a mentor and a mentee and reprinted with permission.  It may be a bit challenging to read, however it will offer some ideas on how to address ambiguity when navigating through cross cultural communications for both mentors and mentees.  Philip the mentee is asking for clarification on cultural points.  Bruce the mentor is doing his best to answer those questions.

I would also like you to be prepared to answer a question at the end of the dialogue.  The question is asked by the Philip the mentee.  What advice or feedback can you provide him with?

Email 1: Philip to Bruce –   Philip had requested an information meeting with Tom Jackson

Hi Bruce . . . . More good news, Mr. Tom has indicated we can meet next Tuesday. See his email and my response below. Thanks again for your help.  Lovely rest of the day!      Philip

Hi Philip,

Why don’t we meet at the Java Joes, at the corner of Main and Center St. next Tuesday morning, at 10:00? How does that sound?

Tom

Dear Mr. Jackson,

Thank you for your timely response. Much appreciated. As the elder statesman you have the privilege to set the meeting for anytime convenient to you next week.

Philip

__________________________________

Email 2: Bruce emails Philip to give feedback

Hi Philip,

A few minor points of interest.

• To my memory I have never heard anyone referred to as an elder statesman in this environment.  This could backfire or be seen as a possible insult.  Fortunately Tom showed grace in his response.
• Second if someone calls me Mr. Bruce, and they have, it indicates that there may be some cultural gaps.  This is not a bad thing.  It just raises flags.
• If he signs the letter Tom he is indicating what his title is to you.  Tom is informal so there is no need for Mr.
• All of the individuals you are talking to are colleagues and should be addressed as such.  Placing someone above you (in the mind of some Canadians) might backfire – If they recognize your expertise for what it really is (significant), they then may consider your initial titling a bit insincere.  It is a fine line – I trust your judgment – I just wanted to bring it to your attention.
• Tom is a very nice man.  Keep formality to a minimum.  Being retired he may not stand on formality, at least that is what I have noticed– let him set the pace and follow his lead.
• In your other email (not shown) to Sally you characterized me as her friend.  We are not really friends and she knows that.  However I do have great respect for her, and could easily be her friend if either of us ever had the time.

Please take my observations as cultural stuff!

Cheers, Bruce

__________________________________

Email 3:  Philip asks Bruce for clarification

Greetings Bruce,.

Thanks for the cultural differences observations pointed out to me. Accepted in good faith.   I will say however:

I am 51 years old – an old dog habitually in my own culture.  A culture which reveres their seniors and in which utmost respect is paid to them both professionally and socially.  It will take me a little while to jump into the Canadian ideals on this.  So I may slip up here and there admittedly.

I need you to empathize with me on this – for example when I did my project management programme I could not join my Canadian classmates in calling lecturers by their first name  – it had to be Sir, or Mr. or Ms whoever…….that’s how we are brought up back home.

Do you think I should apologize to Tom about my cultural indiscretions? And well I don’t quite get how being respectful is equated to placing anyone above me.

Have a lovely day. I am off to the gardens to do some vegetable gardening. I will use the time to roll over what you have said in my mind.

Philip

__________________________________

Email 4:  Bruce responds to Philip

Hi Philip,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.  There no need to apologize to Tom.  Tom and I were both raised in the kind of environment you described.  It started to shift in the mid 70’s.  The respect is still there (or should be) based on merit rather than position, gender or age.  Being respectful is in the art of listening and providing or asking for clarification.  Alignment is in action rather than formality.  Again it is difficult to generalize for all situations.   I will still address friends of my parents as Mr. or Mrs.  This tradition is fading.

Tom would not be offended if you called him sir, but he would expect you to call him Tom.  His wife is Bahamian so he would be more familiar with Caribbean cultures than most. Some may wonder about your formality.  In some instances it could be considered excessive formality.  Each case is different and your research will clarify any ambiguity.  I understand that your formality is an expression of respect.  Most Canadians will understand even though practices may differ.

At the end of the day your competency and likely contributions are more important, so keep that in mind.  You do it naturally.

Bruce

__________________________________

Email 5:  Philip reflects on his thoughts and offers Bruce some advice

Greetings Bruce,

I Just came back from the gardens. Had a good time turning over compost, pulling weeds out and harvesting stuff. There are not many things I enjoy more in life – priceless moments to think out situations, plan, strategies.  Do you do any gardening yourself?

Thanks for your words and thoughts on the integration process. Like I said earlier, I will try to acclimatize into what are the accepted norms here. In some instances it will be really tough but I will try.  I like the suggestion of simply asking people how they would like to be referred to and yes I picked up on the how they sign their signature as an indicator as well.

But have no fear the interview will go well.  I have done a lot of research and will go with the flow backed up by the prepared questions and comments.  I have a question though:

When the 25 minute mark is comes and I go into the exit mode about other potential contacts and organizations and the interviewee says something like “Oh no, you don’t have to leave, we could talk for another 10 mins or however long you want to ….. Kind of thing….” How do I respond to that?

I am thinking there may be a preferred professional or cultural response to that, Bruce especially when I have initiated the contact.

And finally, whilst in the gardens today, I thought about your “smelly immigrant post”, perhaps because of the compost and if I was your editor, I would have re titled it” Smells and the Canadian Workplace” – the appeal would have been increased,  and more likely positive feedback would have been obtained, important for the message intended.  That perfumes are not allowed or discouraged in the workplace and less distracting attention on the author – elitist etc, etc. Well you said you enjoyed the conversations.  Actually at the moment you are the only one in Canada I am having those sort of discussions with……

Bruce and I almost said (my friend), do have a wonderful evening and I will keep you posted on the other planned meetings.

Philip

__________________________________

Email 6: Bruce advises Philip on an aspect of information meetings

Hi Philip

I am happy to have these conversations with you.

Much of cross cultural communication skill is not taking anything for granted.  Canadian culture is generally not as homogenous as other cultures.  We can be more culturally diverse, so the rules can change from one person to the next.  Asking an individual for clarification demonstrates critical thinking.  Critical thinking is much valued within the Canadian workplace.  It translates into self management and reliability.  You have this in spades!  In my opinion a good employer will recognize this.

In regards to the information meeting – if they offer more time graciously accept it.  This is why you are armed with 12 questions, which you may or may not use.  Being retired I suspect that Tom may offer you extra time.  With Sally a young family may factor into her timing (Sally also accepted request for an information meeting with Philip)

We are on the same wave length.  I have already renamed the post.  Controversy can be a good thing as it puts dialogue on the table.  In this case it did not work out that way so I have altered the approach.  I am very thankful for your feedback.  Apparently a few people were offended by the post yet only you and one other person shared their thoughts directly with me. Thanks for your feedback!

Cheers,

Bruce

__________________________________

Email 7:  Philip has one last question for Bruce

Hi Bruce,

On a point of clarification.  In providing a description to people to help identify me at our coffee shop meetings – would it be offensive or culturally inappropriate if I said I was black.  This in addition to my height, what I will be wearing sort of thing. This question is triggered by our ongoing cultural norms discussion and on Tom’s description above.

Thanks for your thoughts . . . .  Philip

__________________________________

<<One last question for you the reader>>

I provided John with my view on his last question.  What would you have told him?

I just received the following email from a colleague that I have great respect for.  I read the email just before going to bed.  I fell asleep thinking about his questions and woke up with them still on my mind . . . . He wrote:

. . . . saw your latest blog post … is everything ok?  you sound a little angry.  are you saying that all “career coaches” (other than the ones connected with your organization) screw up immigrant chances of finding meaningful work in Canada?  that’s sure what it sounds like.  would love to chat sometime.

He also attached a link to the blog mentioned

http://integrationresourcescanada.com/why-do-internationally-educated-professionals-fail/

My first thought was, there is a lesson or lessons here for me.   I appreciated his kindness and concern for what I may have been going through in my life and that I might be reflecting in my work.   So I took a deep breath, opened the link and reread the post.

To answer his questions – yes everything is okay and no, I was not angry.  I am not saying that all career coaches screw up immigrant chances of finding meaningful work in Canada. I also look forward to speaking with him. My admiration for him has grown for being so forthright and for having my back.

My question to him and anyone reading this post is who is accountable and who will take accountability for the failure to integrate internationally educated professionals into the Canadian workplace, when it is clear that they are qualified?  How do you explain mass underemployment?

The following article was originally written for a community newspaper.  It is my reflection of growing up in a Canadian Community.  Although the details are unique to me, the sentiments are not.  They will likely be familiar to many people whether they grew up in Canada or not.

Legacy and ghosts of Old Ottawa South

There is an old oak tree in Old Ottawa South, whose boughs have graced the banks of the Rideau River for some 300 hundred years.

As a boy I remember standing under that tree while a neighbor’s pipe smoking grandfather pointed the stem of his pipe upward and said “that tree has not grown one inch since I was your age”  That blew me away.

Many stories have grown from under its shadows, including First Nation campsites and gypsy caravans.  In more recent decades, it was the sound of children‘s voices playing and the squeaky wheels of baby carriages descending upon Brighton Beach to find relief in a world without air conditioning.

Thinking back to ‘growing up’ under the oak tree causes me to close my eyes and breathe deeply with the hope that it will help me to recapture a sense of place, its smell, colour and grandeur.  The Oak seemed wise to the way of children. It was the only tree in the neighbourhood that you had to go home and put on long pants to climb.  For the most part we stayed out of its branches.

The stories it could tell.  I have often seen people walk toward the tree one arm outstretched to tentatively touch its rough bark in the hope of intuiting its spirit and reason for being.  It is not uncommon to see lone individuals pressed up against its base arms outstretched in an embrace hoping for answers, a short cut to God or a doorway to a Pantheist experience of oneness.

Around 1970 the beach shut down due to pollution, finally putting to rest the real reasons for my annual earaches which have not returned since.

That stretch of river normally sees a steady stream of dog walkers, joggers and parents pushing baby carriages – people who never knew of the beach’s existence.  The beach and the screams of delight heard just before cannon balling into the water are gone but the echoes have never left.  It is now known as the place where the big oak tree is.

My mother Jean Switzer has certainly been a part of that story, having lived in the little storybook, red brick house at the end of Brighton Ave. for close to 60 years.

She moved to Old Ottawa South in 1925 at the age of three, attended Hopewell public school and Glebe collegiate.  Her father, a veterinarian and an East coaster, settled in Old Ottawa South to work as a researcher for the federal government.

Jean has played bridge with the same club for 60 years.  The club members are women she met in public and high school.  For decades they have discussed the trials and tribulations of raising children and grandchildren.  They have bantered about community living and have solved the world’s problems on more than one occasion.

They grew up in a community that insulated them from the terror and sufferings so often prevalent throughout the rest of the world.  They intuitively understood that such blessings came with a responsibility including treating neighbours with love and respect and to offer assistance through their churches or community organizations to help others less fortunate.  Their generation understood that security and peace come from dedication and hard work. They lived through a war in which friends and family left never to return, so that they and others like them could live in peace.

That old oak tree, Brighton beach and Jean’s bridge pals are just three threads that have woven together to make Old Ottawa South one of the best places in the world to live and grow.

The spot, directly across the river from the Riverside hospital, will always be home for me.  It is where I come from.  So many of my values, and ethics were formed through the interaction of immediate neighbours and from the broader community.  Community is why so many people wish to settle there.  They can sense the community and it’s magic.  They also want to raise their families there – even with the tree gone.

Last week the tree was officially declared dead and there was a ground swell of voices from the community asking that its life and its importance to the community be celebrated before being removed.  Jean and I will be there.

Jean has just signed the final agreement on the sale of her home.  My parents originally paid $12,500 for the house.  To ensure that they could meet the mortgage, my dad Gordon Switzer would walk downtown to work to save on bus fare (5-10 cents) and in lean months we ate more beans.  He would have been amazed at the closing price for his cute little house at the end of Brighton Ave!

Jean was assured by many different advisers that she could do much better if she would sell to a developer.  To say that Jean loves her home and the community that she grew up in would be an understatement.  Her goal was to sell the house to a family or an individual who would respect the character and the beauty of Old Ottawa South.  For Jean, being integral was to leave a legacy that would sustain the community.  This would provide her with more wealth than what developers were offering and which she refused. The community was more important.  Way to go Jean!  Pay it forward!

If Old Ottawa South has taught me anything, it is that the decisions that I make today (and hopefully they are wise ones) are critical to the quality of life that future generations will experience.

Let’s hope that those decisions we make today allow future children the opportunity to swim like otters again.

I just received an email that stated that not all career programs and strategies are magic. The writer had been trying to understand why most IEPs failed to achieve success that matched their expertise.

As a general rule most people, whether they are Canadian or internationally educated professionals (IEPs) tend to pursue the easiest route to finding re-employment.  Finding the right program and the right fit is a full time job. Those not ready to do their homework, or not serious about finding the right fit will fail, or at best land jobs that under-utilizes their skills and expertise.

We have found it much easier to work with IEPs that have just arrived in Canada.  They still have much of their confidence in tact and are still willing to learn about the Canadian workplace.  The idea of researching their areas of interest and expertise before applying for a job still makes sense.

There are many reasons why an individual may succeed or fail.   Easily 90% of our clients have used someone else’s services before coming to us in desperation, yet they leave our service with a job.

The question I keep asking myself is why.  The answer is a bit ambiguous. Regardless we coach our clients to be accountable for their successes or failures.  That way they can learn from their mistakes rather than transfer the blame.

I have spoken with dozens of employment counsellors over the years who explain that even after they have provided the best information to their clients, they still do not get jobs.  They usually site two main reasons.  The first is that the job market does not recognize their client’s skills, or a particular client is a bit slow or doesn’t care enough.  Hmmmm?

Being a coach myself, I don‘t buy it.  It has been clear to me that most IEPs are qualified and ready to work.  Any potential gaps can usually be addressed through discussion or basic training.  I have spent a lot of brain cells trying to understand why IEPs are so universally sold short in this country.  Ultimately I think the reason is motive and is articulated well in the following quote:

If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is tied up with mine, then let us work together. – Lill Watson, aboriginal activist

I have seen millions of dollars in funding go to organizations created to assist IEPs integrate into the Canadian workforce.  Their landing rates are relatively impressive if you consider ‘foot in the door’, entry level jobs a success.  I do not!  It hurts to see so many lives broken when they have the skills to succeed

I am not trying to lay blame but rather point to strategies that work.

A coach’s success is dependent on an unfailing commitment to their client’s success.  If a coach has no consistent track record of facilitating job landings that match the expertise of their clients, then I tend to suspect that their client loses a great deal. This includes salary, challenge that matches their expertise and a straight career path that aligns with their own objectives. Taking accountability for the follow-through is what will ultimately polish a coach’s ability to help and serve others.

Everyone experiences failures – providing us with the opportunity to better ourselves and the community we live in.  Do we accept and learn from our failures or do we transfer accountability?

Sometimes I will hear  a Canadian or an IEP talk about their work place: “It is a terrible place to work!”    Having clear preferences and doing primary research can prevent that from ever happening again.

In tracking down the previous quote “If you came to help me” I also found the one below:  Service matters!

Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in. by Marjorie Moore