Posts Tagged ‘Upwardly Global’

Hanging out in a bar to look for a job?

March 3rd, 2010

A tough challenge for an immigrant

The job market in the US is still in a state of recession. Jobs are few and seekers are many. For Americans it’s highly competitive. For new immigrants, it’s almost a mission impossible. “Upwardly Global” is a non-profit group which helps immigrant professionals find jobs in their own fields rather than driving cabs or washing dishes.

Job finding rendezvous – a bar

Many immigrant women have never been into a bar, a place reserved for men in their native countries. Some immigrants say that drinking alcohol was rare in their homeland. Their visit to a pub in lower Manhattan last week was one step in their efforts to learn the different ways and places to conduct a job hunt in the United States.

Trying to help

Upwardly Global helps immigrant professionals find jobs in their own fields. The usual path leads to landing menial jobs such as cleaning houses, driving a taxi or washing dishes. In a bar they learn skills like making eye contact, promoting themselves and networking with strangers. It is all done in happy hour and the talk is over blaring rock music.

The professor

Ms. Agbonlahor, who was a college professor in Nigeria, was not fazed by her new surroundings. “It’s just a place,” she said with a shrug, wondering why men were so secretive about bars back in Africa. She was more daunted by other things she was learning to do, like calling strangers to request informational interviews, praising her own work and having the correct demeanor in interviews. ” I learned to smile and I learned to look the interviewer in the face,” she said after a recent mock interview experience. “Back home you’re supposed to be very sober to show you’re a serious candidate.”

Alternative work

Since coming here about two years ago, Mr. Khanal, an immigrant from Nepal, has been working in a deli, highly frustrated not to be using his education and experience. He wants to pay taxes so he would be eligible for government benefits, but the deli owner pays in cash and refuses to file tax forms. Mr. Khanal joined Upwardly Global three weeks ago and said he already felt more optimistic about finding a teaching job.

Upwardly Global

Upwardly Global, founded in 2002, also has offices in San Francisco and Chicago. Many of the people that the group helps are refugees and asylum seekers; all already have at least a bachelor’s degree, speak English and have authorization to work in the United States. The immigrants get help with their resumes, are directed to training and certification programs, attend mock interviewing and networking sessions, and, if possible, are connected with companies like JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte and Pepsi.

The organization

The organization has worked with almost 900 immigrants in New York and about 2,000 nationwide. The New York office opened in the summer of 2006 and has found jobs for 250 immigrants since then.

Tags: Bar, Immigrants, Interviews, Unemployment, Upwardly Global
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