Introduction
The ultimate goal for Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services is to make every refugee secure a job in the country (U.S) and become a self-sufficient individual.
A brief role of human resource at Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services
Developing refugees
One of the HR management roles in IRIS is to provide awareness about the U.S workforce and make the refugees know about the laws and policies expected of them as immigrants. This knowledge is crucial since the operations and activities in the U.S might be very different from where they come from. Through this activity, refugees are able to adapt to the environment with no problems, and also intermingle with citizens and other refugees the right way. The aim here is to make them live the new life comfortably and feel at home. The next role is resume creation. A refugee may possess the skills, knowledge and job experience that a company might be looking for, but without a good selling tool, he/she may remain jobless and dependent forever. That is why selling the clients through excellent resumes is a priority. Resumes do not only show a person’s education background, skills, knowledge, and experience, but also how one can express themselves in a precise and concise manner. Also, it is the HR department responsibility in IRIS to train refugees with the right skills and knowledge so they can secure the available jobs. This training allows refugees acquire relevant skills and knowledge, adapt well to the every day changing organizational structures, and work accordingly together with people from different ethnicities in the workplace. The training also makes the refugees more courageous and motivates them to try new and cheap ways of accomplishing tasks in the workplace. However, some of the refugees enter the country with professional skills but have no idea where they can utilize the same in the new nation. In such cases, IRIS is here to connect these clients with the companies that need filling. Human resources management in IRIS also provides a job club program at the New Haven Public Library. The services offered include the right ways of securing a job interview upon application and conducting oneself during an interview, and how to improve on communication skills. This is a vital service as it helps refugees stand out over their opponents (U.S citizens) regardless of their ethnicity or background.
Motivating Refugees and Immigrants
Most of the refugees at the time of arrival are much discouraged and disappointed. They need to be motivated and shown the right ways to start a new life. Motivation here means to support them psychologically, which in turn helps them go forward with their lives, desired dreams, and goals. Training is the key to motivating refugees. It motivates the trainers (refugees) through realizing their competitiveness, and that they can perform the same as the citizens. They are not afraid anymore to try new ways of performing a task for they feel they are equal to other employees and as a significant part of the organization. They are more confidence and also ready to utilize the skills they already had before they landed here. This motivation in turn increases their productivity in the companies that later employ them.
A brief of my responsibilities at IRIS
My role in IRIS has been to empower refugees will skills that would make them productive members of the organizations that would absorb them. It is my realization that most of the refugees at the time of arrival, they have no idea about the right ways to look for jobs. That is why I am committed to helping them in the creation of good format, grammatically correct and impressive resumes and how to apply for a job. I teach them the important of resume, why this tool is a must on job search, and how to edit one based on the job and company requirements. I also teach them on the best ways to act during interviews. Sometimes I set mock interviews with them, so they can practice for impeding real the interviews. Mock interviews improve their confidence and give them a rough picture of what to expect during real interviews. Some of these refugees enter in the country with professional skills. However, one problem affects their employability; they have no idea where they can search for jobs. In such cases, and depending on their areas of specialization, I connect them with employers within the U.S.
I am also there for them to provide emotional support. This is common especially for the newcomers. Some of the refugees suffer from mental illness due to torture, trauma or remembering everything they have left behind. I admitted it is challenging to listen to their sad stories regularly. Being there for them to offer emotional support is the only way to make them strong so they can cope with their new lives. Through my encouragement, they calm down and are willing to receive my services that can help them secure job opportunities and be productive employees in their organization. They forget what happened in the past, and are no ready to start new and better lives through utilizing what I offer them.
Through my education, profession, and work, I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience as far as human resource management is concerned. All these involvements have made me a good advisor for various organizations and other agencies on the requirements of their HR departments and the right ways of overcoming the challenges they face. Nothing is encouraging to me than to see organizations that once were unproductive due to mismanagement changing for the better after my advice.
My role as an advisor has helped me know a lot of organizations, the services they offer, and the responsibilities of their employees in different levels of management. I am also updated always whenever there are some changes in these organizations’ management or new hiring. This is very important since, in the case of any hiring in such organizations and others that the agency is connected with, I recommend my skillful, willing and ready to work refugees. In short, I find jobs for them. I analyze various skills and knowledge that my refugees possess and the roles in the positions that need filling and provide the best of the best employees. Through this, people get jobs, and also the reputation of the company is improved.
Matching people to jobs ensure that an organization has the right individuals (with the required skills and experience), which in turn allows it to accomplish its objectives. This is what every employer with some set goals would want to see in their organizations.
Human resources services provided at Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services
Developing Refugees
Training and Development
The primary goal for IRIS human resource services is to promote self-sufficiency and empowerment. Since IRIS receives refugees from all over the world, most of them at the time of arrival do not have the necessary skills required of them to get adequate employment in the United States. They have to be trained to be skillful and become dependent individuals in the new nation. But some of them arrive already with professional skills and they only need assistance on how to land their first job in the country. However, since they are all immigrants, this is a different nation and everyone is different, this group might also require some training to cope well with the new life. The aim of every employer is to get the best of the best talents out there, who can perform as per the organization’s expectations. That is why the HRM in IRIS aims at developing refugees and ensure they have relevant skills and knowledge so they can be productive employees. Getting the necessary training is the main way to develop them.
Importance of Training and Development
Each country is different, technology changes with time, and every day presents new ways of doing things. No doubt that the U.S has advanced in technology than most nations. Training is necessary for refugees to get used to new technologies and acquire new skills and knowledge required in the workplace.
The training helps refugees to optimize the utilization of human resource management. This is vital as it helps the organizations that finally absorb them to achieve their goals effectively. Also, training and development helps create and improve effectiveness and organizational health culture.
Different organizations have different organizational structures, which change with time. The aim of this training is to come up with all round employees, who can fit well in most organizations, and who will not require another intensive training in the case of any possible organizational change. Also, nowadays employees are moving between employers more often, based on compensation, interest, and areas of specialization. All these organizations have their unique organizational structures and requirements, and might be expensive and so hard for them to conduct training whenever they have new workers. That is why they may opt to only settle for the job applicants who are already trained. So, the training increases the refugees’ marketability and employability security.
Training also creates a healthy working environment. The U.S workforce is made up of people from different ethnicities. It only requires understanding (through training) that everyone in the workplace is different and unique and should be treated the way they are. In other words, training helps the refugees and immigrants manage diversity and understand how their stereotypes and values influence their actions toward other people of different racial, religious, and ethnic backgrounds.
Based on the common requirements for most companies, their objectives and possible challenges expected in workplaces, the following are the training required in developing refugees.
This training is mainly necessary for developing refugees who have little to no skills or knowledge in a particular field. A good example is an orientation. The aim here is to make new immigrants understand what is expected of them in the new environment and also to help them gain basic knowledge and skills in areas such as communication techniques and computer usage. It is the responsibility of IRIS human resource management services to provide general orientation on areas such as the State policies and practices that relate to the employment relationship.
Informal Training
This is the training necessary for refugees who already have some skills, but require some upgrades or refreshments so that they can be more competitive in the U.S job market. They also have to be compatible with the new job environment. A good example is the advanced training that relate to strategic decision-making, managing conflict, advanced computer training and supervisory responsibility. Remember, these refugees will have to perform in the workplace according to job requirements and expectations.
Resume Creation
A resume is a marketing tool whose mandate is to sell the job applicant’s strengths, knowledge, skills, and experience to the company that is recruiting. Due to the very many job applications companies get every day and also the limited vacancies available, knowing how best to structure a resume and attract the eyes of the employer remains a priority. IRIS is dedicated to helping the refugees understand the right ways for creating their resumes and selling their capabilities. IRIS understands that an employer can learn a lot about a job seeker through a resume. That is why its employees ensure the clients come up with a good format, error-free, clean and grammatically correct resume all the time. It also makes sure that the job applicants possess the exact skills and experience stated in their resumes and also on the jobs that need filling. The clients are also advised to have at least two or more resumes, each reflecting on the skills and knowledge that have some difference based on the requirements of the organizations they are applying for the jobs. The aim here it to improve its reputation and make employers prefer hiring refugees in the future.
Job Club Program
The mission for IRIS is to help refugees make a home in their new country by providing them with services such as education, cultural understanding, and job searching and preparation. It is a challenge for an immigrant to get a job without help, considering their lack of information about what is expected of them by the new companies. One way HRM in IRIS helps these refugees is through job club programs, which offer services such as the right ways to apply for a job and to prepare for a job interview. The programs also help them improve on workplace communication skills. These services allow the refugees to take positive steps in realizing their career paths and also to explore and follow up the many employment opportunities out there. These programs aim at expanding awareness and helping refugees understand the simple techniques they can apply to enhance their job seeking skills.
For example, in the job application discussion topic, clients are taught the importance of figuring out what they have to offer an employer through re-examining their skills and job experience. Does one have what it takes to be chosen among many? The other important part is what the employer needs. No employer would agree to settle for an employee who is expected to bring losses to the company. So they use various strategies to ensure their workers have what it takes to be part of their organization. Although IRIS connects its clients to employers, the club advice them to do some research on the hiring companies on areas such as their mission, products they offer, and the posted vacancies and their requirements. With this information, they have a rough idea on the right way to structure their cover letters or update the resumes.
It is true that job interviews are among the most intimidating ways of making a first impression. Body language and how one communicates tell a lot about who one is. Being a refugee makes it even worse. An employer might have the impression that the person in question does not fit for the position if he/she (employer) was not pleased by his first few minutes with him/her (interviewee). The job club is here to help the refugees realize ways of getting on an employer’s good side and standing out above other applicants. In this section, the discussion revolves around the importance of self-assessment, which includes current skills, abilities, interests, strengths, weaknesses, talents, and work value. Others are how to wear diligently during job interviews and ways of improving their confidence.
The above two services are enough to make the clients land a job. But how will they conduct themselves accordingly in the workplace. This is where the importance of workplace communication skills comes in. The aim here is to help the refugees become good listeners, be honest and open, patient, know how to respond politely even during disagreements, and learn ways on how to improve their clarity and empathy. It is through the above qualities that the employees enjoy working with others regardless of their background, which in turn increases their efficiency and productivity.
Connecting Refugees with Employers
It is a challenge for a refugee to secure a job in the United States. This is a foreign country, which is very different from where they come from in turns of policies, laws, companies and their locations, ease of attachment and what is expected of them in the workplace. Although some manage to get whatever job is available, moving up the ladder and landing a well-paying job is not easy. Most employers prefer hiring people with some years of working experience in the United States, and any certification outside the country may not carry much weight. Also, the fact that some refugees cannot clearly express themselves in English makes some employers think they are not competent enough for the job being offered. They forget that sometimes, a persons’ capability is never defined by the words of mouth but actions. Although an immigrant or refugee may sometimes secure a well-paying job in the U.S, these groups are also victims of exploitation and discrimination in the workplace. These encounters make it hard for them to keep their jobs, due to the workplace stress and lack of morale associated with the same. That is why the HR department in IRIS is committed to connecting refugees with various employers in the United States. These refugees have passed all criminal background checks including drugs and alcohol, have an outstanding work ethic, and can increase cultural diversity in the workplace. They are ready to go to work, and through IRIS job club program and training, they have various skills and competencies that different employers out there might be looking for. The aim of IRIS human resource department is to make the U.S employers prefer working with the refugees.
Conclusion
The ultimate purpose of this paper is to analyze my roles as an intern in the Employment Department in Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services and that of HRM. Some of my responsibilities included making the refugees and immigrants adapt to their new environment and showing them the right ways of writing resumes and applying for jobs as per the requirements. With all this responsibilities, I ensure that the refugees have the relevant skills and knowledge that employers in general in the United States are looking for in an employee. I also connected them with various employers in the country. It can be hard and challenging for a newcomer to who where to start from. The HR in IRIS is an important body that has contributed a lot to the development of the refugees. However, we live in the world of change and every day presents new challenges. The HRM in IRIS should ensure its training improves with time and technology. It should also discard the unnecessary and obsolete technology, but should retain those old technologies that are still productive and comfortable using. This is the way to increasing refugees’ competencies and providing them with professional skills most employers in the United States desire.
