When Maria came to America, her friends told her to forget about the career she had in Brazil.
“When you come here, people say you can be a nanny or clean houses, but I knew I could do more than that.”
Maria moved to the Atlanta area from Brazil two years ago. Because her daughter is American, she wanted her to have the social and educational advantages of life in America, including better public schools and access to team sports and extracurricular activities. In Brazil, Maria was a highly successful insurance processor and business analyst in the healthcare industry. She knew she would need to refine her English skills to find work here, so Maria came to NFCC for ESL. She placed into Level 4 and quickly progressed to Level 5.
After graduating from ESL in December, Maria was excited to get back in the swing of her career. She started sending resumes in January but could not get interviews worthy of her skillset and abilities. Maria returned to NFCC to work with a job coach. David Powell, “Mr. David,” offered suggestions to improve her resume and advice about approaching the American job market.
“The best thing he said to me was, ‘Be confident, and send a thank you note after your interview,’ but that’s not what to do in my country. The culture here is very different. In Brazil, they only want to know who you are and what you are like. They have your resume, so they want to talk about family, children, and hobbies in the interview. It’s not the same here.”
“Mr. David worked with me to be more confident, talk about my skills, and be more American,” Maria said.
David and Maria worked together for several months without any new interviews, so David wanted to try something new. He worked with Workforce Development Manager Christina Drake to devise a mock interview to see firsthand how Maria responded under pressure. In a small conference room, Maria faced several job coaches and NFCC staff who had a description of the job she wanted. As they asked questions and she responded, they offered real-time feedback to help her refine her answers. Maria was used to apologizing for her English, but the coaches were impressed with her language skills and charming demeanor. They encouraged her not to apologize and to carry herself confidently. They also reviewed her resume and made a few suggestions to tailor it to an American audience.
Within a month, Maria had three job offers. Although they were more entry-level than her experience in Brazil would warrant, she saw them as opportunities to educate herself on the differences between Brazilian and American insurance practices.
After carefully considering each offer, Maria chose a contract-to-hire position that includes assisting Portuguese speakers with travel insurance. This position allows her to work remotely so she can spend more time with her daughter and avoid the expense of after-school care.
When asked what advice she would give job seekers, she said, “Don’t forget your dreams, and no matter how hard it is, do what you need to do to achieve your goals.”
