Landing a Job in Your New Land for ESL Job-Seekers
Arlington Heights Memorial Library, Ill.
Innovation Synopsis
We identified a need for employment assistance for new immigrants in our community. These customers are often overlooked as valued employees, despite the experience and skills they possess. The program series provided ESL job candidates with the support they need to gain a competitive edge in today's job market.
Challenge/Opportunity
After identifying our community’s immigrant population as an underserved audience, funds were provided by the Rotary Club of Arlington Heights to develop a series of monthly job-seeker classes from January through December, 2015. Seasoned professional presenters engaged non-native-English-speaking adults from a wide variety of educational, vocational, and linguistic backgrounds. The challenge for the presenters, as well as our students, involved assimilation into the American job market. Skills such as networking, electronic communication, and "selling yourself" were difficult for students to embrace, along with seeking out employment opportunities which would appreciate their unique skills.
Key Elements of Innovation
Internally, the program offered the opportunity for a year-long collaboration between three library departments: Business Services, ESL/Literacy, and Programs. Key elements included classes on how to incorporate a European CV into an American resume, creating a LinkedIn profile, delivering an elevator speech, phone interviews and professional networking. Externally, the program was widely-advertised in publication and media. Library outreach was also conducted at various area organizations. Professional presenters and panelists were recruited through the Business Services department from local professional and entrepreneurial establishments. The opportunity for students to interact with potential mentors was enriching for all involved.
Achieved Outcomes
Due to effective resource management, we offered Rotary-funded scholarships for continuing education to four job-seeking students involved in the program series. In addition, two participants were hired on the spot during the second round of our career panel session for manufacturing positions. In concluding the program, 19 participants with success stories were invited to speak about their employment journeys. After a program satisfaction survey, we determined an additional program was needed to further address our job-seekers' needs in the areas of electronic and verbal communication, and writing. Our advanced ESL writing program, was developed and implemented in February 2016.
