Upwardly Global Partnership with S&P

Standard & Poor's, a division of McGraw Hill, kicked off a new employee engagement initiative in the Fall of 2008 with Upwardly Global. Through this initiative, members of Standard & Poor's Employee Resource Groups were invited to serve as mentors, mock interviewers and workshop co-facilitators for the eight-week career advisement and business acculturation program led by Upwardly Global. The program was hosted onsite at Standard & Poor's and delivered by Tadd Wamester, Upwardly Global's Learning and Development Specialist.

The program brought together 15 highly-skilled and educated immigrant professionals, who participated in Upwardly Global's 'Jobseeker Program', and 30 employees of Standard & Poor's who participated in critical volunteer roles to share their extensive expertise to help participants acquire the skills necessary to navigate the U.S. job search.

Upwardly Global's skilled immigrant jobseekers are fully work-authorized, hold at least a bachelor's degree from their home countries, and have an average of seven years professional work experience. Upon immigrating to the U.S., skilled immigrants often face challenges in adapting to a new culture, learning a new language and trying to rebuild their careers. In addition, skilled immigrants face misperceptions related to their working status and U.S. employers' lack of knowledge regarding foreign higher education systems. When these factors are combined with cultural differences in communication styles and workplace norms, it is not surprising that skilled immigrants have such a difficult time rebuilding their careers.

The Standard & Poor's volunteers, some of them immigrant themselves; understand the particular challenges skilled immigrant jobseekers face. Therefore, volunteers appreciate the opportunities to share from their key professional experience in interviewing, hiring, working with mentors, and building networks with the participants. Eric Dominquez, a volunteer from Standard & Poor's summarized it very well, "This volunteering opportunity reminded me of my own job searching and how one person can really make a difference."

Throughout the program, volunteers played an important role as mock interviewers, participated in mock networking, offered industry insights and served as mentors to help program participants break the barriers.

The interaction between Standard & Poor's volunteers and the participants has created a cross-cultural environment for mutual exchange and learning. Simone McGill, one of the Standard and Poor's volunteers said, "As an HR professional, I got a taste of the jobseeker's perspective, their anxiety, fears and concerns. I learned more about the preparation for an interview, and how to be an active listener in the interview process."

Volunteers were also exposed to a new talent pool that may create a diverse talent pipeline in the future. Eric, who recently joined Standard & Poor's, presented another benefit he gained by participating in this program. "Being a new staff at Standard & Poor's, the Upwardly Global program not only exposed me to a very talented pool of international experts but also allowed me to meet several of my own co-workers. It was nice to take a few hours to come together to help a great cause, and at the same time build stronger relationships with my co-workers."

All of the volunteers were impressed with the quality of Upwardly Global's skilled immigrant jobseekers, as evidenced by the fact that volunteers started to refer program participants for internal roles. "The quality and determination of the Cohort participants really impressed me. Some of them travelled long distances to participate in the program and were always happy to receive feedback," added Eric.

The partnerships leveraged Standard & Poor's Employee Resource Group's, specifically the Women's Network (WINS), the Black Employee Network (BEAM), the Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT), the Asia Pacific Employees for Excellence (APEX), and the Hispanic Network (HHN) to engage their members to participate.

In the last two years in New York, Upwardly Global has helped more than 150 immigrant professionals rebuild their careers with an average starting salary of more than $40,000. This number represents a $20,000 gain over their previous salaries. McGraw Hill's support, in terms of financial investment, time and expertise will help immigrant families achieve economic independence and propel these families to futures of economic stability. In addition to economic impact, jobseekers have also expanded their professional networks with McGraw Hill volunteers and obtained industry insights and job search guidance.

Upwardly Global would like to thank McGraw Hill for their support and all of the Standard & Poor's volunteers for their participation. We are confident that this partnership model will continue to produce great results, as participants continue to work to rebuild their career in the U.S., and eventually achieve the level of success they had built for themselves in their native countries.

If your organization is interested to adopt this partnership model, please contact Nyna Pais-Caputi, in San Francisco at (415) 834-9901 or Paula Restrepo, in New York at (212) 219-882.