Hiring managers, how often do you hire first-generation immigrants?

[Anonymous]

My company secured a contract for job placement for refugees in professional positions (accounting, engineering, nursing, etc).

However, the job development has been next to impossible. Hardly anyone seems interested in hiring refugees for anything other than entry-level positions.

Hiring managers, aside from cultural and language barriers, is there any reason you wouldn't consider hiring a refugee? I.e, an engineer from Afghanistan.

[Anonymous]

Work experience aside, cultural and language barriers probably means higher training costs. Again, not factoring in work experience. Flip the coin and think it this way. If you were to relocate to another country where you somewhat speak the language, but not fluently, would you expect many grabbers for your services without some doubt?

[Anonymous]

If there are degree requirements for the role, and their degrees come from overseas, it is going to be very difficult to validate them. Or ensure they have met local licensing requirements. With those difficulties I can understand why a company may only consider the refugees to be entry-level.

[Anonymous]

I would hire but only for an entry-level job. While there may be rare exceptions, in most cases, I would imagine they have entry-level qualifications with regards to prior experience relevant to a job in this culture, with these licensing requirements, etc. I would gladly give a refugee an entry-level job and would love to help support him/her climb the ladder higher, but a lateral move from where they were in a different country, with different standards, just doesn't make sense.

[Anonymous]

My preference is to hire well qualified, articulate, first generation immigrants when I can find them. Every one I have worked with has been a star.

[Anonymous]

A decent amount. In this year we hired someone who moved here when she was 11 or 12 from the Middle East. We hired someone from Ireland. Thailand. S. Korea. Germany. France. Ethiopia. That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

They're all great. Except I have my eye on the girl from Ireland. She drinks like a fish at company functions and I'm always worried she'll either get sick or say/do something inappropriate.

[Anonymous]

I am a first gen immigrant who came to the States with about 4 years of professional experience. I took an entry level job because I needed one ASAP and it was the only one on offer. I just couldn't afford to wait for a better deal to come along. That first job was very useful in terms of learning American behavioral norms and standards. It wasn't perfectly smooth at first. 20 years later I am doing just fine and have progressed well in my career.
I would also recommend diploma verification service. Verified diplomas go a long way to reassure employers that the candidate's education is legit, and help for background checking too. It costs several hundred dollars and takes a few months, but is totally worth the expense.

[Anonymous]

Aren't all immigrants "first-generation"? If you're born in the country, you're not an immigrant. So, second or third generation immigrant is an oxymoron, and first-generation immigrant is redundant. Right? Am I missing something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would hire but only for an entry-level job. While there may be rare exceptions, in most cases, I would imagine they have entry-level qualifications with regards to prior experience relevant to a job in this culture, with these licensing requirements, etc. I would gladly give a refugee an entry-level job and would love to help support him/her climb the ladder higher, but a lateral move from where they were in a different country, with different standards, just doesn't make sense.

This in general is what DH has experienced in moving to the US. He took an entry level job and has moved up. I don't think it's realistic to expect a lateral job transition in most careers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would hire but only for an entry-level job. While there may be rare exceptions, in most cases, I would imagine they have entry-level qualifications with regards to prior experience relevant to a job in this culture, with these licensing requirements, etc. I would gladly give a refugee an entry-level job and would love to help support him/her climb the ladder higher, but a lateral move from where they were in a different country, with different standards, just doesn't make sense.

This in general is what DH has experienced in moving to the US. He took an entry level job and has moved up. I don't think it's realistic to expect a lateral job transition in most careers.

This is the challenging part. This contract is aimed at those kinds of job transitions; placing professionals in positions they held back home. So far it's been next to impossible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would hire but only for an entry-level job. While there may be rare exceptions, in most cases, I would imagine they have entry-level qualifications with regards to prior experience relevant to a job in this culture, with these licensing requirements, etc. I would gladly give a refugee an entry-level job and would love to help support him/her climb the ladder higher, but a lateral move from where they were in a different country, with different standards, just doesn't make sense.

This in general is what DH has experienced in moving to the US. He took an entry level job and has moved up. I don't think it's realistic to expect a lateral job transition in most careers.

This is the challenging part. This contract is aimed at those kinds of job transitions; placing professionals in positions they held back home. So far it's been next to impossible.

What type of experience and degree verification sevice do you offer your clients? Do you provide a fee reduced after X months if the candidate doesn't work out? Can you provide these folks in temp to perm roles?

[Anonymous]

It really will depend on the job. Often there are hiring restrictions. In this area, there is a large population that needs some type of clearance so your clients, no matter how great they are, would not qualify. They may need to start at a lower job and work their way up. They may not be able to keep the same position they held, just like some of us who drop out of the workplace for several years. If I went back, no way, I would get equal pay or skill level. I'd have to start at the bottom again.

[Anonymous]

When they apply and are the most qualified for the job..

[Anonymous]

At NIH, many, if not the majority, of scientists are foreigners, with PhDs or MSs from India or China or other such countries. In STEM fields in general, hiring foreigners is generally well accepted, as long as they are qualified and the language barrier is not too bad, because there is a lack of similarly qualified Americans.

So not sure what's going on exactly with your situation. What feedback are you receiving from the interviewers?

[Anonymous]

I work in IT. We have a ton of immigrants that are engineers. We have no reason to not hire them.