Ask the Expert: Unlocking Potential: From Underperformer to Asset

Ask the Expert: Unlocking Potential: From Underperformer to Asset - http://www.hireimmigrants.ca

October 23, 2013

In the article, Unlocking Potential: From Underperformer to Asset, we examined a dilemma that many employers face. You hire an internationally educated professional who has the right skills, degree, and workplace experience, but who under performs without explanation.  This is where Business Edge, a bridging program at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, enables and empowers skilled immigrants to move back into jobs where they can fully utilize their skills, education and professional experience.  Read the article.

There are also other strategies that employers can implement to assist their immigrant talent in performing better. In this series we are posing questions to HR experts to provide insight into getting the most out of diverse talent.

Assume Sarah’s employer recognized cultural barriers were linked to certain performance issues. What interventions could her employer have made once the poor performance was perceived? 

By Sabina Michael, Program Manager, Business Edge 

The first step in a situation like Sarah’s is for the manager to provide timely feedback. Too often internationally educated employees such as Sarah receive their first form of real feedback’ in the form of a termination notice. This is too late; and it represents a situation where everyone loses.

Delivering feedback, however, is not a ‘one size fits all’ situation. Managers who work with internationally-educated professionals (IEPs) need to recognize that different cultures understand and perceive feedback very differently.

In Canada, professional settings are often characterized by indirect communication. Thus, if a manager is delivering feedback to an employee from an indirect culture, they might deliver it in a method fairly similar to how they would for a Canadian-born employee.

If, on the other hand, the IEP comes from a culture where the communication is very direct, the employee may struggle with indirect feedback. They may find the ‘feedback sandwich’ difficult to decode, and therefore miss the point completely. A manager should strive to give direct feedback in order to clearly convey the message. Focus on the content of message, rather than on non-verbal cues such as body language, intonation and register in speech.

Further, it is critical to set clear goals and concrete deliverables. Employees are then able to understand and focus on the key deliverables. Managers should allow for frequent check-in meetings to provide employees with the opportunity to clarify questions and review performance. Additional support from a mentor, coach or ‘cultural buddy’ would also be of great help.

The manager and IEP alike should keep the following in mind. Each should strive to increase their understanding of the other person’s perspective before jumping to conclusions. And each should address cultural issues in an open, honest way before they become insurmountable. Sarah’s case is one where everyone loses. Described here is a situation where everyone comes out ahead.

More Resources

Video – Integrating Talent Video– Reward and RecognitionCultural differences can influence the effectiveness of performance feedback in a diverse workplace. The effects of these differences are highlighted in the fourth installment of Integrating Talent, a training video created by TRIEC that follows the fictional experiences of the skilled immigrant Tarek and his employer MetroCan Technologies.

Roadmap – Manage PerformanceIn this section of the Roadmap learn how to set goals, outline expectations and provide regular feedback to help skilled immigrant employees perform effectively.

E-learning course – Performance ManagementThis course examines the role of cultural norms in performance management and leadership.

Never Let a Job Description Talk You Out of That Job by Sam

Nothing to lose– Everything to gain – A great job to get:

Everyone has looked at countless job descriptions in their lifetime – let’s face it, even if you’re not even remotely considering a career move – happy, happy, happy in your job right now, chances are you have been direct recruited in the last six months or so (more than once I am sure) – by someone pitching you on the most fantabulous job with the most wonderful company with the best growth opportunity. Just start by looking at the job description……On the flip side, recruiters looking to hire have to weed through mountains of resumes – the good, the bad and the totally unqualified. Resumes and job descriptions are the international currency of the talent business. Believe you me if we took either of them at absolute face value, we would all be in trouble because so, so much is missed in the in the written word, lost without the cultural and passionate nuances and missed in the simple black and white translation.

Any successful first call between a qualified candidate and a Recruiter tends to end with the candidate wanting to see a job description before moving forward to a potential next step. And that’s certainly fair game. Why wouldn’t one want to see whether the nitty-gritty of a job is really of interest. But here’s the rub, don’t let a (potentially poorly or incomplete) written job description possibly remove you from pursuing a potential role before you really understand the full story.

Read more here.

5 Phrases that will get you fired by Robert Pagliarini

There are a handful of phrases I hear often that make me cringe. We're all told that we should never judge a book by its cover, but when I hear seemingly smart and successful people say these things, I can't help but think they need serious help. In a (unscientific) poll I conducted, it turns out I'm not alone. Nearly everyone admitted to reacting negatively to these job-killer phrases:


1. "There's nothing I can do." Really? You've exhausted every possible solution? This is similar to when my six-year-old says that she's looked everywhere for her shoes. When you say that there is nothing you can do, we learn two things about you: We know that you are a liar and that you are lazy. These are two qualities that are not going to help you get a raise or even keep your job. We know you are lying because there is always something you can do. And in the remote chance that there really isn't anything you can do, at least tell us everything you've done already, what you intend to do or who you are going to for help. Otherwise, we will assume you are lazy. Nobody with a spine has ever uttered these words. By using this phrase, it shows that you are weak, that you give up easily and that you lack all creativity and effectiveness. You don't get paid to be ineffective or lazy, so stop using this horrible phrase.


Read more here.

Embedded Interview Commands Engineering your Success

Use nlp in job interviews to embed commands to engineer your interview success - this video has been brought to you by Employment King and Engineering your Success

Influencing The Interview is due for release on

 13th July 2012

Pre-order a copy today and receive one of two free gifts

Check it here.

New video teaches you how to influence the interview..

NLP Virtual Tour Starts Here….

It’s here…the highly anticipated book “the 73 rules for Influencing the Interview – using Psychology, NLP and Hypnotic Persuasion Techniques” is being released on Friday 13th July by MX Publishing. To celebrate the release of this new paperback book, that is predicated to go global, the author Chris Delaney is promoting the book through a Virtual Tour.

Times are hard for job hunters with on average over 300 applicants applying for each individual position. Job hunters have it even harder with competition for jobs coming from across the globe, due to the worldwide recession. To win job offers in these competitive times, you need tostand out in job interviews, you need to add value to the employer and you need to learn how to influence the interview.

Employment king is releasing a new powerful book designed to blow away your interview competition, but be warned some of these techniques are dark and dangerous. The 73 Rules of Influencing the Interview – using NLP, Psychology and Hypnotic Persuasion Techniques has been designed to give you the upper hand in your next job interview.

* Guest post by the author

* YouTube video on one of the 73 rules

* Competition for a free copy of the book

To your success!

Canada's Job Market Through Recessions and Recoveries - Why This Time is Different

   HIGHLIGHTS by Diana Petramala, Economist, Canada

• The hit to Canadian employment during the recession was not as large as could have been the case given the severity of the downturn, and the recovery thus far has outperformed that following the last two major recessions.
• Job growth has become more reliant on industries linked to domestic demand, and thus the labour market as benefited from the resilience of domestic spending.
• Moving into the second half of 2010, we anticipate slower than normal job creation, as the pace of economic recovery ratchets down.
• Growth in domestic demand is expected to cool to a modest pace of 1.5-2% over the next year and a half, significantly down from the robust 4.5-5% pace experienced over the last three quarters. As such, employment in industries tied to domestic spending will likely moderate in the coming months. In addition, a diminishing rate of U.S. growth will likely weigh on hiring in export-oriented industries.
• We anticipate average monthly job creation in the range of 15,000 to 20,000 over the second half of 2010, with a gradual decline in the unemployment rate to 7.7% by year end.

You can read more of this TD Economics report  here.

2010 FIFA World Cup & the ‘No Canadian Experience’ Myth

Hope you are enjoying the last games in the FIFA World Cup as much as I do. This championship it was so unexpected of the direct games results as well as the aftermath... I came across this below article, which I found very creative and thoughtful through the interesting association made between IEPs and  the 2010 World Cup Soccer phenomenon happening in South Africa.

Daisy Wright is known for the passion she has for Internationally-Educated Professionals who face numerous challenges in getting that proverbial foot-in-the-door job opportunity, and that passion led to the birth of her book  No Canadian Experience, eh?


In this article, Daisy puts the spotlight on the challenges IEPs face when they begin their job search, after arriving here with great expectations. Read the entire post at Career Musings

"Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do." ~ Pele

News You Can Use - Immigration becoming increasingly important

  These materials will give you a piece of the "Canadian flavour" about the current trends in the Canadian society towards more effective HR practices. I hope that will also help you be better prepared for your journey as an IEP in Canada. I encourage you to check them out.


ALLIES (Assisting Local Leaders with Immigrant Employment Strategies) is a project jointly funded by Maytree and The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation. ALLIES provides funding, information, networks and technical expertise to Canadian cities so that they can successfully adapt and implement local ideas for skilled immigrants to find suitable employment.


Resources from the 2010 ALLIES Learning Exchange: Putting Ideas into Action are now available on the 2010 Learning Exchange presentation page. These include a summary report of the proceedings, audio files and slide presentations from the main plenary sessions and workshops along with a photo gallery. 


Are you really prepared to come to Canada? I would like to suggest you to review these materials by clicking the above link. You can  find out what are the greatest difficulties faced by immigrants, and... prepare! It's not a surprise that language and literacy are playing a major role in adapting to the Canadian workplace. And, most important... it is strongly correlated with your future personal income.

* For more info: Don Drummond – Changing Face of the Canadian Workplace

I thought you might find interesting to watch this video "Finding Talent" from the cultural competence "recruiting" series, a  dramatic television style video, where we come face to face with the challenges faced by an immigrant job seeker on the one hand, and those faced by a medium sized employer. 

As well, Maximizing Skilled Immigrant Talent video focuses on how cultural differences can impact team dynamics. I encourage you to check it out.

All the best and be happy!

“The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment; it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone.” ~ Orison Swett Marden

Top 5 questions HR professionals ask about resumes of internationally qualified professionals (and answers to them!)

Thought you might find this recent article related to our blog topic useful.
Click the below link:
Top 5 questions HR professionals ask about resumes of internationally qualified professionals (and answers to them!)