How does it feel to send out hundreds of job applications and get no response? What does it do to you when your experience, qualifications and motivation turn out not to be enough to get an interview?
Sayed knows all about that. Just like his buddy Yvette. Together with colleague Youri, she joined the buddy program of the UAF Foundation. A program in which consultants from organizations including ConQuaestor are paired with status holders with the aim of building opportunities together. For the other, and for yourself.
Sayed: "I worked hard. But getting a chance is something else"
Sayed Abozar fled Afghanistan 4 years ago and now lives with his family in the Netherlands. Two masters, experience at a ministry, knowledge of data analysis, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt: his resume does not lie. And yet, a job remains out.
"I would like to contribute something to society," Sayed says. "I understand the language, I have the knowledge, I just want to work. But it stays quiet after job applications. Sometimes I don't even get a response."
Through the UAF program, he worked on his cover letters, learned the STAR method, improved his LinkedIn profile and gained insight into the Dutch job application culture. "From Yvette I learned a lot. How to write a good motivation, what you do and don't mention. That still helps me."
That commitment did not go unnoticed: Sayed was admitted to Motopp's IT traineeship. In 27 weeks, highly educated newcomers are prepared here for a career in the Dutch IT sector, with technical training and workshops on the Dutch work culture. A great step in his job search.
Yvette: "You can't solve everything, but you can really make a difference."
Yvette Janse, a consultant at ConQuaestor, was paired with Sayed. "He wanted to get started right away, but had no idea how it works here. In the Netherlands you have to explain choices, pitch yourself. I helped him with that. Not by chewing it out, but by letting him practice and try again and again."
What it gave her? "Insight. Into how much we take for granted. And in how complex it is to find a place here as a newcomer. You really step out of your bubble. I realized again how obvious many things are to me, and how many barriers there are for people who didn't grow up with this."
Youri: "You don't see how skewed the odds are until you're wrong"
Youri van Leeuwen, a consultant at ConQuaestor, also signed up as a buddy. He was paired with a statusholder with 15 years of experience in finance and a master's degree. "He had much more experience than me. And yet I was the one who had to help him. That took some shifting."
Together they worked on his resume, practiced job interviews and talked regularly about how the job market in the Netherlands works. "What I realized above all is that motivation is not enough. You can be very good, but if you fall outside the systems, you don't just get a job."
The trajectory got him thinking. "I'm used to working with people who look like me. This was a mirror; it's less black and white than it sometimes seems. I really take this experience with me."
A trajectory that stays with you
The buddy program lasts 6 months. The time investment is limited, an average of 2 hours per month, but the impact is great. Not only for the status holder, but also for the buddies. You get a look outside your own bubble. And learn to look differently at work, opportunities and exclusion.
"It's not always easy," Yvette says. "You don't have light-hearted conversations. But it really broadens your view, and that's very valuable." Youri joins in: "I definitely want to do it again in the future. But only if I know I can give it the proper time and attention."
Want to know more about the buddy program?
You read the here.