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How Immigrants Can Succeed In Australia
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I ’ m often asked by immigrants , social workers , government officials , notfor-profit organisations and members of corporations how immigrants can succeed in Australia . Every year , approximately 150,000 immigrants come to Australia with dreams of a better life . Many of them have educational qualifications exceeding the Australian populace , yet are unable to gain employment commensurate with their education and work experience . Some arrive here and have to start from the bottom again , get re-trained and suffer in ‘ survival ’ jobs until they secure a position in the career they desire . Corporate Australia , with a few notable exceptions , has not been successful at integrating immigrating talent into its workforce . With the risk of averse Australian employers , it ’ s easy to see why professional immigrants are often on the outside looking in . Some immigrants , however , do make it . So , what are the differences between those who do and those who don ’ t ? Having worked with immigrants for the past 10 years , I have observed huge differences between immigrants who succeed and those who fail . While I often talk about success secrets for immigrants at my seminars , I want to look at this question from the flip side – why do immigrants fail ? Here are a few pointers that I hope will prompt a better understanding of what can actually help create positive outcomes for immigrants .
• Have realistic expectations Most immigrants I have met expect to land a job immediately in Australia at the same level they were at in their home country . I tell them to be realistic and to think about how long it took in their home country to get the position they had before they immigrated .
• Understand your strengths and weaknesses I ’ m talking about language proficiency , soft skills and corporate etiquette . It is important to note that many immigrants come to Australia with a 90:10 ratio of technical skills to soft skills . Australian employers , however , want 40 per cent technical skills and 60 per cent soft skills . Unfortunately , many immigrants can ’ t seem to accept this reality .
• Embrace change I have met hundreds , even thousands of immigrants , and what amazes me is their reluctance to use their geographic change to create other changes . They need to learn that worked ‘ back home ’ will probably not work here .
• Do not become a victim The honeymoon period for immigrants lasts a few weeks and they typically spend it sending resume after resume in response to job postings . Many of them may also go to a settlement centre and learn about Australian resume writing and networking . While they are going through this , they look at their shrinking bank balances and the fear sets in . That fear leads to anger and , in a short period of time , immigrants get into a ‘ victim ’ mentality and become full of anger for a system that doesn ’ t recognise immigrant questions .
• Move out of ethnic silos Unable to deal with the newness of interacting with Australians , many immigrants gravitate towards their own communities where they feel secure in their language and culture . These ethnic silos hold immigrants back and prevent integration with the larger populace . More importantly , it disallows immigrants the ability to work in a multicultural environment .
• Create new networks When immigrants migrate , networks in their new country are primarily relatives they knew back home . Most immigrants tend to be unfamiliar with the concept of networking , but without it , they are missing out on key information and potential opportunities .
• Australia is different It is important for immigrants to recognise that Australia is not the United Kingdom and it is different from their home country . They must understand that what worked in their home country will possibly not work in Australia . In this issue , we have various articles written by career experts providing strategies and tips to help migrant professionals overcome unemployment in Australia . Twelve years ago , my mentor shared these wise words with me when I could not find headway in my career . “ Don ’ t wish things were easier , wish you were better . Don ’ t wish for less problems , wish for more skills . Don ’ t wish for less challenges , wish for more wisdom .” I have hung onto these words until today , and my personal and professional life have never been the same . I hope you find something inside this issue that will be a catalyst for greatness in your career .
See you at the TOP . Tommy Adebayo
P . O . BOX 5201 Canning Vale South WA 6155 Perth Australia . Tel : ( 08 ) 9398 3671 . Email : info @ smpmagazine . com . au , Website : www . smpmagazine . com . au
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