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…
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Expand awareness by questioning some of our own
cultural assumptions
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Create a conceptual framework to put some of our
difficulties with internationally-trained clients into
perspective
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Attempt to generate some solutions
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Find out how ONIP.online can be part of the solution
Topics
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Culture
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Definition of culture
Culture shock
Dimensions of culture
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Applications to job search
Possible solutions
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Culture and the professions
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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”
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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
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Introduction (“Honeymoon”, “Vacation”)
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Transition ( “Hostility”)
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Denial, rejection
Anger
Escape
Depression
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Acceptance (“Humour”)
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Adjustment (“Home”)
Symptoms of culture shock
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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?
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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
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Power distance
Collectivism vs. individualism
Uncertainty avoidance
Masculinity vs. femininity
E.T.Hall
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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
5
60
6
80
7
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
0
20
Collectivistic
1 Venezuela, Colombia, Pakistan
3 Turkey, Brazil
5 India, Japan
7 – USA
40
6
Canada 7
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
-10
0
20
Low risk tolerance
1 Greece
3 Venezuela, Pakistan
5 India
3
4
40
Canada 5
60
6
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
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Context
High context
Far East
Indian Subcontinent
Arab Countries
Latin America
Eastern Europe
Latin Europe, UK, Quebec
English Canada
US
Scandinavia
Germany
Low Context
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
Low context: information is in
the verbal message.
Professionals tend to be highly
specialized
Context and Canadian job
search
Client - service provider
relationship
Job search – behavior &
attitude
client may overwhelm
service provider with
information
 client may “not be able” to
prioritize information
 client may have difficulties
identifying, and verbalizing
their strengths
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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:
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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 client’s 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:
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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