In my role as a career practitioner working with newcomers to Canada, it’s essential for me to look at a client’s situation full circle, seeing them as a whole person and considering how their life circumstances are preventing them from taking steps forward to reach their goals. This approach is what has allowed me to be able to help others to find their path.

A person’s mental, physical, and emotional states as they settle in Canada, make a life and home for themselves and their family, and attempt to find employment are critical factors that impact their success – especially when working to create changes that might be suggested by a career practitioner or employment counsellor.

In my decade of experience helping newcomers settle in Canada, I have supported individuals as they excelled, transitioned, tried their best, and worked hard to achieve their dreams. At various times, they may have felt motivated, depleted, or frustrated with their situations. A whole plethora of emotions and situations come up during this time, which is why an empathetic and kind approach is needed, from coaches and counsellors, certainly, but in the way the individual treats themself. Although newcomers to Canada certainly encounter a unique experience, these emotions and challenges are something all job seekers face, in their own distinct ways.

One thing most job seekers have in common is that everyone needs a support system to cheer them on and, as a Career Coach and Settlement Service Provider, I have seen first-hand how important this is. Not just for their skills and abilities but to also celebrate who they are and remind them of what makes them unique, things that they might not even recognize in themselves.

When people immigrate to Canada and are looking for work, I have seen them filled with shame and self-blame when they aren’t finding success in their job search. They come to me after they have sent in numerous job applications without a response and are now telling themselves that they have inadequate resumes, weak interview skills, and no network to lean upon. It makes them feel overwhelmed and depleted by the job search journey they are on. Many, many job seekers would empathize with this experience.

However negative thinking plays a detrimental role in one’s job search and, indeed, in one’s entire life. Turning your attention from the external barriers to employment to the internal messages that you are telling yourself is critical to alleviating the cycle of negative self-talk.

To address this, I speak about the importance of knowing and appreciating yourself and finding the right mental and spiritual balance as a counterweight to unhappiness. There is a bigger picture than just job searching and not attaining employment.

Giving clients hope and directing them to explore wellbeing helps them to change their mindset around their situation, eventually seeing the situation they are in as one that, in time, will change. The opportunities will come. Creating this belief in yourself is an incredibly powerful way to navigate the difficult emotions that are bound to come up in a job search.

Some of my suggestions for action in this area are meditation, affirmations, and journalling to reflect on the situation and what you want to achieve. Setting up an action plan with goals around both job search and wellness is also important.

Some of these suggestions are foreign to the newcomers I work with, and would never have been something they thought about doing to help with their job search. In other cases, sometimes people don’t even realize they are already engaging with these ideas in a more informal way. Regardless, it is a lesson for every job seeker that changing the narrative you are telling yourself will change the actions you take. These practices make a big difference because we are all leading our own ship and only we can control how we respond to a situation. We can’t dictate the decisions others, like hiring managers, will make, but we can determine how we move forward from that decision.

If you had an interview but didn’t get the job, feel sad about it for a little while and give yourself time to be upset. But then remember you prepared as best you could, and that, out of all the applications they received, you were an applicant they selected to meet with.

Think of this moment in your life as a learning opportunity and take time to reflect on what you could have done better. Set up a meeting for feedback with the interviewers, if that is possible. Take the time to continue to develop the connection through LinkedIn and build your professional network for future opportunities.

One quote that lifts my spirits is, “Sometimes in the winds of change we find our true direction”. There have been many times in my life when I have thought, why didn’t I get that break, why is this happening to me, why didn’t they choose me. But, as time goes on, I look back and I know exactly why those doors didn’t open for me. It’s because I am supposed to be right here helping newcomers to Canada reach their goals and dreams.

So, if you are job searching this year, reflect on hard situations you have been through in the past and remind yourself that you DID come through them, probably with greater learning on the other side. Apply that same energy to your job search and remember, you can (and will!) do this!

#yesyoucan

Your Biggest Cheerleader,

Shaye Belanger
Career Coach and Settlement Services Provider

With a decade of unwavering dedication, Shaye passionately champions newcomers’ career aspirations, transforming uncertainties into opportunities. Through personalized guidance, a holistic approach and boundless enthusiasm, she empowers individuals to embrace their potential, igniting flames of success. Learn more!