3 Tips For Newcomers Developing Careers In Canada
Developing your new career is hard enough when you’re in your native country. But when it comes to newcomers, the process can seem daunting for most professionals.
There are many factors that influence the results you achieve when building your new career. Many of these are unique to newcomers and you should understand how to overcome each one in order to establish long-term success.
Some of the issues that newcomers face when developing their careers in Canada include: Lack of work experience in Canada, failure to understand professional expectations, language deficits and cultural norms.
Most employers look for candidates who have worked in Canada and understand how processes are completed within the Canadian workplace. Other factors such as language deficits must be recognized and addressed as soon as possible. Language difficulties can be a disadvantage to newcomers looking to develop their careers in Canada. Also, a weak presence online can be detrimental to your career. Lack of awareness of what your employers can learn about you makes it harder to develop your career in Canada.
The following are 3 tips to overcome these challenges:
- Build your network
Your personal and professional network is at the heart of your long-term success in developing your career. You need to develop the ability to reach out to individuals with whom you can collaborate and create mutually beneficial relationships.
Look within your industry to identify key individuals that you can contact. This can be done in both professional and informal meetings. Attending lectures, conference, seminars and other industry events is a great way to build your network.
- Improve your communication skills
Newcomers must have the ability to speak English at a level that’s appropriate for their given industries. This includes speaking and writing, which is essential for issues related to customer outreach and client services.
Improving your communication is a long-term endeavor that must be practiced consistently. Employers may not be willing to wait long for you to achieve a satisfactory level of language comprehension.
- Create a strong online presence.
Do a Google search for your name and see what comes up. This is what potential employers see and you should take the steps to optimize this information.
Professional social media platforms such as LinkedIn let you highlight your achievements and make it easy for employers to learn more about your skills.
You can also create a dedicated personal website, which offers a unique way to present yourself to potential employers and collaborators. It can be customized to offer a unique presentation that sets you apart from others in your industry.
Understanding the unique challenges that you may face is the first step in putting the solutions in place to develop a lasting and successful career in Canada.