Cross-Cultural Issues in Employment Counselling for Internationally Trained Professionals

Elga Nikolova Skills for Change, Toronto

Presented by 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)

Power distance
Eastern Europe

1
0
1/ Austria 3/ Greece 5/ Hong Cong, Brazil 7/ Venezuela, Mexico

Canada
20 40

2 3 4
60

6
80

8
100

2/ Pakistan, Iran 4/ Chile, Peru, Turkey, Colombia 6/ Yugoslavia, India 8/ Philippines

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

High power distance cultures and Canadian job search

Client-service provider relationship Job search behavior & attitude

Confusion about status Service provider viewed as a person of power, or Authority of service provider questioned, or
Confusion about role Client dependent on service provider, or Overly demanding

Lack of initiative Need to follow step-by-step instructions Experience loss of identity Confusion between passiveassertive aggressive Blaming, negativism

Individualism
1 Eastern Europe 2 3 4 5 6 Canada 7

0 20 Collectivistic
1 Venezuela, Colombia, Pakistan 3 Turkey, Brazil 5 India, Japan 7 USA

40

60

80 100 Individualistic

2 Chile, Yugoslavia, Portugal, Hong Kong 4 Iran 6 Israel

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 selfpromotion difficulties with identifying achievements skepticism about networking

Uncertainty Avoidance
1 2 3 4 Canada 5 6

-10 0 20 Low risk tolerance

1 Greece 3 Venezuela, Pakistan 5 India

40

60

80 100 High risk tolerance

2 Yugoslavia, Chile, Mexico 4 Iran 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 and Canadian job search

Client - service provider Job search behavior & relationship attitude
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

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 context
Far East

Indian Subcontinent
Arab Countries Latin America
Eastern Europe

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. Nonverbal, and implicit information is essential. Professionals tend to be generalisits

Latin Europe, UK, Quebec English Canada US Scandinavia Germany

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

Low Context

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 clients 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