Upwardly Global

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Upwardly Global is a US non-profit, non-profit organization founded in 1999 with headquarters in San Francisco with offices in New York City and Chicago . It helps highly qualified immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers rebuild their careers. Upwardly Global currently operates exclusively in the United States.

The seat is in the San Francisco Financial District . The New York office opened its doors in June 2006. Today, 10 full-time employees work at the New York office and about 10 in San Francisco. The network of volunteers has over 1000 members. The operating budget is approximately $ 1.9 million. Jane Leu continues to be CEO, Camille Ramani is COO. The organization has received many awards, including a. in 2004 the "Manhattan Institute Award for Social Entrepreneurship" and in 2006 the "John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award".

The organization also receives donations from private individuals and the following organizations: Achelis Foundation, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, the Alan Slifka Foundation, Cisco Systems , Community Technology, Foundation for California, Draper Richards Foundation, Gimbel Foundation, Johnson Foundation, JP Morgan Chase , Leitner Family Foundation, New Profit, Inc., New York Times Foundation, Robin Hood Foundation , San Francisco Foundation, Third Millennium Foundation, Three Guineas Fund, Wells Fargo , and Yahoo! Employee Foundation. In addition, companies that become employer partners of the organization (see below) pay an annual fee for receiving CVs and applicant dossiers.

task

The number of university-educated immigrants in the United States increased from 5,821,690 to 7,800,043 between 2000 and 2005 (an increase of 34%). At the same time, the proportion of the population born outside the United States increased from 30,760,065 to 35,689,842 (16% growth rate). Nonetheless, these immigrants, even if they are better educated than the majority of immigrants and have extensive work experience, have great difficulty in finding jobs in their professional fields. More than half of all legal immigrants in the US are volunteering or work in less skilled jobs than their education and experience would suggest.

The organization helps this group find jobs in their career areas. To date, more than 800 immigrants from approximately 100 countries have found employment in the United States in their respective fields with the help of this organization. Upwardly Global operates on the maxim that hiring highly skilled immigrants not only benefits these people, but also benefits the American economy.

The free services are available to immigrants who:

  • were born in a less developed or emerging country according to UN criteria (i.e. in non-western countries)
  • have a university education
  • have a legal work permit in the United States
  • have good (not necessarily perfect) knowledge of English
  • have at least two years of professional experience in their professional areas

You may not, not even in the past:

  • have already worked in their professional areas in the USA
  • Have been in the US for more than 5 years

history

origin

The organization was founded in 1999 by Jane Leu in San Francisco. After working extensively with immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees, she recognized a need for programs that specifically target trained, experienced immigrants. Cases of highly qualified immigrants (lawyers as gas attendants, doctors as bouncers) have been described in the media as the "American classic".

The organization is unique in the US as an organization that brings together highly qualified immigrants with appropriate positions.

Jane Leu started this project as an unpaid part-time job and ran Upwardly Global from her own kitchen for the first few months.

In 2000, Upwardly Global received an initial donation from the Three Guineas Fund . In the following years the list of donors was expanded. a. with the Levi Strauss Foundation , the Draper Richards Foundation and various private donors.

Strategy and public relations

Job seekers

Job seekers who meet the requirements have free access to Upwardly Global programs and services. Activities and programs include: a .:

  • Help with writing resumes and cover letters / letters of motivation
  • Workshops
    • Networks
    • Interviews
    • Familiarize yourself with the American work environment
  • Simulated recruitment interviews
  • Support and advice from volunteers
  • Submission of CVs to partner companies

These programs and activities are designed to cover, where possible, these 4 areas that Upwardly Global has identified as key challenges for highly skilled immigrants:

  1. In the US, a large proportion of the positions are awarded through personal contacts and referrals. The situation is similar in other countries. Upwardly Global applicants are often well connected in their home countries, but have hardly any professional contacts and networks in the United States.
  2. In the US, an applicant's résumé is their “personal sales brochure.” Human resources departments look for specific sections of the application and expect a “common” and often short format. However, the standards for the résumé are often different in other countries, including format and length. For these reasons, immigrant applicants are often turned away after initial screening unless they have been recommended by a well-known source such as Upwardly Global.
  3. The interview is usually an opportunity for the applicant to “sell” well. In many cultures, however, such a self-marketing approach is viewed as outrageous and displeased. Foreign-born applicants often have a different style of communication, which in the US is often misinterpreted by HR staff as a lack of self-esteem.
  4. The most common reason applicants who land at Upwardly Global find it difficult to move forward in the recruiting process is, to take it literally, because they are foreigners. Their pronunciation, their résumés, their university degrees, their former employers in their country of origin, their choice of words are alien to most HR employees. This ignorance often leads to misjudgments.

Employer network

The organization maintains contacts with companies such as a. JP Morgan Chase, Google , Accenture , Merrill Lynch , Gap , Cisco, Wells Fargo, Clorox and BearingPoint . Corporate partners sign an annual contract with the non-profit organization and receive personnel services in return for their donations.

The Upwardly Global strategy for employer partners is based on a three-level process:

  1. Education: Upwardly Global works with recruiting professionals to promote cross-cultural hiring practices.
  2. Commitment: Employees from partner companies are encouraged to volunteer at Upwardly Global, individually or in groups; this important step raises general awareness of the potential of highly skilled immigrants and creates internal advocates for employee diversity.
  3. Employment: Upwardly Global acts as an interface between the needs and goals of job seekers and companies; Similar to a classic recruiter, Upwardly Global enables qualified, interested applicants to apply specifically for vacancies at partner companies.

criticism

Upwardly Global has received criticism from various quarters, both from immigration opponents and from immigrants themselves. Some immigrants criticize the strict requirements for mediation; In particular, Upwardly Global criticized the presence in the workplace, the aversion to telecommuting and the refusal to work with immigrants who were born in western countries or those who did not speak English.

Immigration opponents criticize Upwardly Global for increasing US reliance on foreign labor, which threatens national security.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Upwardly Global: About Us: FAQs. ( Memento of the original from August 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Upwardly Global. Retrieved August 13, 2007 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / upwardlyglobal.org
  2. ↑ Upwardly Global places skilled immigrants in jobs worthy of their talents. . Stanford Social Innovation. Spring 2010
  3. ^ Bar Serves as Classroom for Immigrants Learning Job-Hunting Skills. . The New York Times. February 28, 2010
  4. ^ Non-Profit Helps Immigrants Launch New Careers.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . CBS May 5, 27, 2009@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / cbs5.com  
  5. ^ Fact Sheet on the Foreign Born: Language and Education Characteristics. 2007. The Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved August 14, 2007
  6. ↑ More immigrants, more jobs. ( Memento of the original from September 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. July 11, 2005. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 14, 2007 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / upwardlyglobal.org
  7. ^ The 2006 John F. Kennedy New Frontier Awards ( November 8, 2013 memento on the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ Welcome to America: Jane Leu Believes in Skilled Jobs for Skilled Immigrants. ( Memento from November 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive )