Cross-Cultural Issues in Employment Counselling for

Internationally Trained Professionals

Presented by Elga Nikolova

Skills for Change, Toronto

OPPORTUNITIES, 2003

www.onip.ca

The Ontario Network for International Professionals is

•An online resource

•Providing sector-specific information, networking and professional development opportunities

•Serving internationally-trained professionals and service providers

•Province-wide

Today we will attempt to…

Expand awareness by questioning some of our own cultural assumptions

Create a conceptual framework to put some of our difficulties with internationally-trained clients into perspective

Attempt to generate some solutions

Find out how ONIP.online can be part of the solution

Topics

Culture Definition of culture Culture shock

Dimensions of culture Applications to job search Possible solutions

Culture and the professions

Any open issues?

Looking for a job is a full-time job

And the job description includes… A firm handshake Assertiveness Walking the extra mile Selling yourself Highlighting your achievements Maintaining a positive attitude

Universal facts, or assumptions?

What is “Culture”

A culture is a way of life of a group of people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next.

Source: University lecture handouts of “Communication Across Cultures”, by Dr. Daradirek Ekachai, Associate Professor, Department of Speech Communication, Southern Illinois

More on Culture

Culture is symbolic communication. Some of its symbols include a group's skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives. The meanings of the symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society through its

institutions.

Source: University lecture handouts of “Communication Across Cultures”, by Dr. Daradirek Ekachai, Associate Professor, Department of Speech Communication, Southern Illinois

Some highlights on “culture”

There are no “good” and “bad” cultures. Each culture is uniquely adapted to its circumstances

There is a broad spectrum of behaviors. Within one culture, people tend to choose the same behavior

We may be totally oblivious to behavior, and facts of life not common in our culture

We may misinterpret behavior and facts not common in our culture

We assign higher value to behavior and attitudes favored by our culture

Cultural preferences are reinforced, and deviations are discouraged

Culture shock

The term culture shock was introduced in 1958 to describe the anxiety produced when a person moves to a completely new environment.

Culture shock is the physical and emotional discomfort one suffers when coming to live in another country or a place different from the place of origin.

The term expresses the lack of direction, the feeling of not knowing what to do or how to do things in a new environment, and not knowing what is appropriate or inappropriate.

Stages of culture shock

Introduction (“Honeymoon”, “Vacation”)

Transition ( “Hostility”) Denial, rejection Anger Escape Depression

Acceptance (“Humour”)

Adjustment (“Home”)

Symptoms of culture shock Sadness, loneliness, melancholy Aches, pains, allergies, insomnia, desire to sleep too much Changes in temperament, depression, feeling vulnerable, Anger, resentment, unwillingness to interact with others Longing for family, identifying with/ idealizing the old culture Loss of identity Trying too hard to absorb everything in the new culture Unable to solve simple problems, lack of confidence Feelings of inadequacy or insecurity, need to depend Developing stereotypes about the new culture Feelings of being lost, overlooked, exploited, abused

How is this relevant to job search?

The way we do job search is culturally determined Professional practices vary across cultures Some job search concepts are unique to North America,

or Canada in particular Some job search concepts may have a different meaning Job search – and professional – behavior is be

interpreted differently in different cultures Some job search – and professional –behavior may be

judged differently in different cultures

The new wave of immigration

“In the 1990 new immigrants did not integrate into the Canadian labour market as effectively as previous cohorts of immigrants” “Prior to 1961, 92% of all immigrants arriving to Toronto came from Europe” “Of all immigrants who arrived in Canada in the 1990s, 73% were visible minorities, up to 68% in the 1980s, and 52% in the 1970s.” In 2002, over 80% of all immigrants to Canada came from regions outside Europe Sources: Elizabeth McIsaac, "Immigrants in Canadian Cities: Census 2001 - What Do the Data Tell Us.“; CIC Canada, “Facts and Figures 2002 – Immigration Overview”

Cultural Dimensions

Hofstede, 1980 Power distance Collectivism vs. individualism Uncertainty avoidance Masculinity vs. femininity

E.T.Hall Time Space Context (information)

Eastern Europe

1 Canada 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

0 20 40 60 80 100

1/ Austria 2/ Pakistan, Iran3/ Greece 4/ Chile, Peru, Turkey, Colombia5/ Hong Cong, Brazil 6/ Yugoslavia, India7/ Venezuela, Mexico 8/ Philippines

Power Distance measures the extent to which people believe in and support hierarchy and uneven distribution of power in a society

Power distance

High power distance cultures and Canadian job search

Client-service provider relationship

Confusion about status Service provider viewed as a person of power, or Authority of service provider questioned, or

Confusion about roleClient dependent on service provider, or Overly demanding

Job search – behavior & attitude

Lack of initiative Need to follow step-by-step instructions Experience loss of identity Confusion between passive-assertive – aggressiveBlaming, negativism

Individualism

Eastern Europe 1 2 3 4 5 6 Canada 7

0 20 40 60 80 100Collectivistic Individualistic

1 Venezuela, Colombia, Pakistan 2 Chile, Yugoslavia, Portugal, Hong Kong3 Turkey, Brazil 4 Iran5 India, Japan 6 Israel7 – USA

Individualism “measures the extent to which people view themselves as individuals (individualism), vs. viewing themselves as members of a group, elements of a larger entity (collectivism). “

Collectivistic cultures and Canadian job search

Client - service provider relationship client expects to be “given things” client expects service provider “to do their homework” for them client dependent on service providing organization

Job search – behavior & attitude difficulties with assertiveness and self-promotion difficulties with identifying achievements skepticism about networking

1 2 3 4 Canada 5 6

-10 0 20 40 60 80 100Low risk tolerance High risk tolerance

1 Greece 2 Yugoslavia, Chile, Mexico3 Venezuela, Pakistan 4 Iran5 India 6 UK, Hong Kong

Uncertainty avoidance measures the extent to which people cope well with risky, unpredictable and unstructured situations by establishing formal rules and processing information

Uncertainty Avoidance

Uncertainty avoidance and Canadian job search

Client - service provider relationship may be asking for unreasonable amount or “useless” information may be asking for clear instructions background level of stress increases with decrease of risk tolerance

Job search – behavior & attitude may consider themselves overqualified, and their local colleagues – non-professional may appear under qualified or unprofessional may have difficulties in communicating their skills and qualifications

Context

High contextFar East

Indian Subcontinent

Arab Countries

Latin America

Eastern Europe

Latin Europe, UK, Quebec

English Canada

US

Scandinavia

Germany

Low Context

Context refers to the way in which cultures seek, and communicate information to make meaning of an event.

High context: information is in the circumstances. Non-verbal, and implicit information is essential. Professionals tend to be generalisits

Low context: information is in the verbal message. Professionals tend to be highly specialized

Context and Canadian job search

Client - service provider relationship client may overwhelm service provider with information client may “not be able” to prioritize information client may have difficulties identifying, and verbalizing their strengths

Job search – behavior & attitude Failure to provide the right amount and detail of information during an interview Difficulties with identifying strengths/ achievements Difficulties with making sense of information

What are the solutions?

On individual level: Question own assumptions Work with the client to raise cultural awareness Accept, acknowledge and work with culture shock Set realistic expectations Encourage observation and reflection Probe into client’s professional background extensively,

assist in reframing of professional experience Refer clients to “A-B-C of Job Search”, “Relevant

Employment” and “Sector-specific Terminology” on www.onip.ca

What are the solutions?

On group/organizational level: Offer training on cultural awareness and culture shock Create opportunities for networking as part of service Refer clients extensively to networking opportunities

within their profession (reframe “networking”) Revisit job development practices Use www.onip.ca to refer clients to networking

opportunities (sector-specific discussion boards) and online mentoring

Professional culture

Some aspects of professional education and practices which deviate among cultures: education – theoretical vs. “hands-on” “institutionalization of professions” – licensing technical standards methodology of problem solving and project management standards of professional conduct and ethics management and customer service practices

The more “people oriented” an occupation is, the more culture-specific it tends to be.

Questions? Enquiries?

Elga Nikolova, ONIP.online Coordinator

Skills for Change, Toronto

(416) 658 3101, ext. 294

coordinator@onip.ca

www.onip.ca