International Nurse Transition Support for a Spouse Part 2

Luciana Da Silva, Connetics USA Marketing Director: Hi everyone and welcome it is that special time of the week which means it's time for our weekly show, onwards and upwards, everything a global nurse needs to know about living and working in the United States. We have a fantastic show for you today, we're going to speak about supporting your spouse in the United States, nurses come to the United States, with their families with their spouses, and there is a challenge there. So today we're going to be speaking about that. I have some wonderful guests joining us today. Let's take a look at our panel. Here. We are joined by Richard Miana, Bong, and Mark Hello, welcome to the show.

Good morning.

Let's start out with some introductions. I will start with Bong Please introduce yourself.

Hi. And I'm a nurse as well. I've been a nurse since 1995. And my wife is Rhainey, she's also from Connetics

Wonderful, Bob. Bob, where are you living?

We are in Tampa, Florida. Well, it's Wesley Chapel a bit north of Tampa. And I live nearby Mike as well believe in the same community.

Oh, really? So we have friends right here. Mark, tell us about yourself.

Good morning. My name is Mark Pablo. And I'm also from Connetics. And I'm technically a nurse but I have not practiced that profession and my wife is a nurse right now. Also here in Florida and the sign that Atlantis healthcare is in the medical-surgical unit. And as Bong said, we live here in Wesley Chapel on the north side of Tampa.

We have some wonderful people from the Sunshine State. Let's move on. We have more from our Connetics family here. Richard, please introduce yourself.

Good morning. My name is Richard Leis. I'm the senior onboarding specialist here at Connetics USA. I've got about 15 years and professional recruiting experience which is probably why I find myself helping you here today. Looking forward to today's chats and I'm available for assisting anyone who needs help adjusting to the United States in the job market here. Happy to be here.

Thank you, Richard. Richard works one on one with so many of our spouses at Connetics USA to help them with the transition of coming here. And we have experts as well. We have Miyata Please introduce yourself.

Good morning. Good morning and happy Friday. My name is Miatta Weisel. I am the CEO of resume recruit. And I have been in the professional development career development space for about 15 years. And we are stationed here in Savannah, Georgia. So we're going to be moving offices in about two and a half weeks. So I'm very excited about that. And I'm happy to be here. Thank you so much.Last in the south of Georgia. Wonderful. Welcome, everybody. We're so happy to have you. I want to start with the spouses today. Farm. Let's go back to you. Tell us about your journey to the United States. How did you come you and your family come to the decision to start a new life here?

Okay, well, ever since it has been our dream, my wife and I, when we were back in college, when we were in university, you know, it has been our dream to come to the US. And that journey continued when we went abroad. We were in England when my wife started to take the NCLEX so she passed that was 2006 and it has been you know, like a hard journey because at that time it was like retrogression one after the other and but we never lose hope. So we continued on that 2006 And then 2008 came you know, like the global recession and everything like that. And there was no job available at that time. We had a house actually and then we were in England and we put that on the market when we were about to come we were thinking that we can fly at this time. You know, like I think it was about 2012, and then but did that didn't push through we had another one that 2015 didn't push through again. And then but that time we were in a different agency and then My wife says, Can we try this other agency because one of these agencies that she was at that time, they, their, their office wasn't available anymore in our area. And then we moved to Connetics. Now, Connetics were able to get a job for my wife. So, luckily 2018 We were able to get my wife's job and the place where we wanted to come here in Florida because my wife's sister and mother are here in Florida. That's where we arrived in, you know, 2018. So, yeah, and we have two kids, my daughter was 13. At that time, my son was eight.

So now they're my daughter is now in university. She's 18. And my son is 13 and going to high school. And, yeah, it's been quite a journey. It's not easy, because my son at that time was, you know, struggling there. I think the whole family was struggling, but then we overcome everything. And, you know, that's where our journey started. And we never regret it at all that we moved here to the US.

No regrets, and I really loved your hairstyle back.

Younger than Yeah,

weren't we? All right. Well, I want to take a look at the chat really quickly. We have some shout-outs here. Please, if you're watching, put your name in the chat where you're from. We love to see people from all over the world watching the show. And we also welcome questions from our nurses, from spouses about your journey. We have a wonderful panel here. So please feel free to ask your questions. And we will be getting to them throughout the show. Also, if you want to experience a wonderful experience, like Bong said, and be a part of Connetics, we're here to help you with your journey to the United States. Please apply on our website, Conneticsusa.com/apply, and we'll get you going. We have right now people saying God let's see Rana Good morning, y'all. Happy Friday. Have some more southerners here. And he's saying good morning. Happy Friday. coochie. Good morning, everyone. Mark the best onboarding specialist. He helped my husband and me to transition smoothly and encouraged us while seeking jobs for my husband. Look at that, mark the shout-out there. How wonderful. We always love having these shout-outs. Amelia saying Good evening from South Africa going to Atlanta, Georgia. Georgia is on everybody's mind today. Right.

First of all, good morning again. When we try to come here, to the United it was the same year as bone also where the rig retrogression was happening. So that was the time as we were very excited with my wife when we applied for that. But when the retrogression came through our plans to go in here in the United States die down. So since I was working as a medical representative in my country in the Philippines, it was I was doing good there already. And my wife and my son were already having a good we were not already planning to come here. But in 2013 when some separatist rebels attack the city where we were staying in the southern part of the Philippines. That was the triggering part that we decided to come here to the United States and we fouled up on our application. So In 2015, we were able to come here. And it was a struggle for the first few years. But as of right now, we also move here in the Florida area, but not in Tampa before it's like it's more of a laid back part here, which is there's, it's like, it's very hard if you don't have any vehicle or it's like a struggle, but when my wife was able to come to the Atlantis in Wesley Chapel, that is where we were able to establish our goals. And we were able to establish here and we were very happy with it. And right now, as same with the bong, my son is also in the university, taking up cybersecurity NSS, and also a scholar. So we were very happy that we were able to transition from migrating here. And we're able to get our goals checked. And we're here happy right now in Florida.

It's so wonderful to hear your stories, and how you got to the United States, just like so many of our kinetic spouses that come in are nurses as well, Richard, you work with spouses, all throughout so many years. Now? What are some tell us a little bit about the Connetics onboarding program? And specifically, how do you work with spouses? What challenges do you see whenever they're preparing to come to the United States or when they've just arrived?

Well, I would like to start by saying that, you know, I myself am a descendant of Cuban refugees, communist refugees, we came here in the 50s. I am very sympathetic and empathetic to the challenges people experience when they emigrate to the United States. I try and assist. Well, I try and assist all our people as it were. But for the purposes of this conversation or her spouse's, I try and make myself available to help as their only backup. I acknowledged the difficulties that they experience coming to a new country, it's always difficult to take to find a new job in the first place, wherever you are, but it's far more difficult when you're in another country, you might be experiencing culture shock issues, you might be experiencing language barrier issues. So I provide assistance. Primarily, at the most basic level, I like to work with my nurse spouses to create resumes that align with professional standards here in the United States. Many of our nurses are coming from obviously, around the world, and different professional standards apply to each different country and society. So that would be the basic thing that I like to do, initially, if you will, is to work with our spouses to get the resume in a format that best conveys everything they bring to the table in a clear manner. Once we get that going, we go ahead and step into the next gear of the process, which is starting to, you know, start your job search. By that I mean, we want to take the experience that a nurse has, and then focus our search in that area. Also, go ahead and tailor your resume to specific job opportunities within that field. It's somewhat complicated, but not overly so it just takes a lot of work and a lot of effort. But the goal here is obviously to assist our spousal nurses or nurse spouses, if you will, to achieve gainful employment here in the United States because I firmly believe and advocate that the spouses of our nurses are a large part of the equation that is often overlooked by other agencies. If the if your husband or wife is not happy, your life is not going to be happy, I can almost guarantee that. So like I said, I work personally with the spouses of our nurses. I've actually hired a couple for Connetics but have successfully been able to get the vast majority of them beneficial work here in the United States. You just have to you have to work with me and we'll work together and create a positive resume that iterates your goals and what you bring to the table then we begin our search and then I will also help you. I will help coach you on that search plus your interviews and come full circle recruitment. That's what I provide.

It's like what you said the spouse is half the equation. Yeah, you know, what's that saying? Happy wife happy life. I don't know the one for

Yes, I use that all the time.

Anyone in the chat knows a fun one for husbands. Please put it in there. Have a good time. With that. Let's take a look at this chat really quickly. We have Damilola is from Nigeria. Philomena hello from Ghana. We also have seducing Mark and his family was awesome. We love hearing that. We also have a question here. Our meaning is asking Hello, if I get a visa as RN, can my wife work and or study once we come to the United States? Who wants to take that question? Go ahead, Richard.

The study, yes, I'm now working here in the United States, it depends on what kind of visa you bring our men. If you're coming here on a green card visa, that makes getting your wife's eligibility to work a lot more simple than if you were coming in as a TN. It really depends on what kind of visa you're coming on. But depending on that classification, yes, your wife can work and study once you're here in the United States. And again, that would be you know, one of my personal goals for you. And all our nurses is, you know, to get the entire family integrated into the US system, whether that's an educational or the work-based system. Again, if your wife's not happy, your life is not happy, I want the entirety of your family to be happy. And that goes for children as well. A major goal here and at Connetics is to ensure that your children are enrolled in school as soon as possible. So that we can, we can integrate them within our society, we, you know, your child's education is again, part of the equation that is very, very important. It's not just your job, it's not just your wife or husband's job, it's getting your children educated to provide them the best possible opportunities in this in this country.

And that is the name of the game in the United States opportunity, opportunity for yourself, for your spouses for your children, if you do come on on on an EB three green card, EB three consular green card, that green card does provide also green cards for your spouse, as well as your dependent children. So if you're coming in that form you're taken care of and we can help you from there. So, Richard, you were saying that the biggest struggle and challenge, first of all, is finding a job. Yes. That's a thing that everyone struggles with. So that's why we have Miata here. Tell us a little bit about the job market today. How is that looking?

Wow, I'll tell you what, COVID did not help at all. Um, you know, it's been a scramble for individuals who are within my space, whether it's talent acquisition specialists, whether it's recruiters, whether it's resume writers, primarily, because COVID has really shifted the paradigm for the workforce. A lot of individuals who have been, you know, in their industry or profession for X amount of years are now leaving, there was a huge push for individuals to move into an entrepreneurship space. When COVID happened, because people were either getting laid off, furloughs had to look for other opportunities. So entrepreneurship became a thing. And as we were seeing people moving back into full-time positions, they're still holding on to their entrepreneurship positions, which makes sense, because, you know, we're sort of teetering on this recessionary type situation, are we going into a recession? If we are, are we going into a full recession, we don't really know. So they're just a lot of things that are up in the air, which makes the employment space a little bit more of a challenge to navigate. Because you have people who have now shifted into industries and or positions that they hadn't done before, who are now sort of coming for your positions. It just basically means that there is a plethora of jobs that are available, but also a plethora of individuals, and job seekers that are looking for said positions. So it's, it's a challenge. So for people like me who are in this space, one of the most important things that we really have to figure out is how are we narrating our information on a resume. How are we making you stand out amongst the crowd of individuals that are available now for the same positions? What are recruiters looking for when they are looking for candidates to fill these roles? Where are they searching for these candidates? So we really have to now really think outside of the box, when it comes to how to strategically align not only the job seeker and their resume and their experience, but also help them navigate what positions to look for how to search for them, and how to apply for them.

I love the way that you said that. Yeah, because right now, there are so many available jobs in the United States, we have one of the lowest unemployment rates that we've seen. So that's something that's really an opportunity, like we were saying, for people coming here to the United States. Bonk, I want to go back to you were talking about finding jobs, the job market, I know that you came years and years ago, what was your experience, like looking for a job?

When we arrived here, well, before we arrived, the Connetics told us that, okay, you can submit your husband's resume, and we will find a job for you. So I submitted my resume as well, to Connetics, and then they were looking for a job for me, but then at that time, when we arrived, I think my wife and I talked about, like, she has to, you know, be stable for us at work. And then my kids at school, so I, I put that aside at the beginning. So I had to concentrate on my, you know, like my wife's transition, while she's adapting at work. And plus, where we were at that time, it takes like about 23 minutes to drive, and my wife was driving at that time yet, and had to take the kids to school as well. So that has been our arrangement at the beginning. And then so I had to, you know, like, keep the family at peace all the time, especially our youngest one at that time was so you know, the culture shock is so affected him, and he has been crying every night. And then, you know, the whole family's affected as well. And then once he starts crying and wanting to go back to England, you know, it hurts us as well. You know, he keeps on telling us why did we move here, I, you know, you had a job there that then now you're not working anymore, and it hurts me as well because they finished university I've been have been working and suddenly I stopped working. And so so at that time, I put aside about, you know, doing my own job or looking for a job, and then I have to concentrate. Looking after family, I think that's one best things that we can do a spouses because I didn't take the NCLEX at that time. So it was only my wife who was working. So I had to, I had to make sure that their wellness at that time as well, the whole family's wellness, or Okay, so I put that on one side. So that's how we work out.

And that is the challenge that when spouses come, they allow gyms to don't have a job, and they become the support for the whole family emotionally. And it may not be so much economically at that time. But that support is worth its weight in gold with the family with your spouse that starting a new job with your kids. It's also important for the spouse to be that emotional support, even though you're looking for a job. I know Mark, whenever you came to the United States, it's so fascinating. You had you're such an educated person. And I know that you had you went through several jobs whenever you first got here, tell our audience about that. Well, I love the story.

Well, when we arrived here, I and my wife were already talking about it because she knows that I don't have an NCLEX and I came from a corporate job. And the first place that we were assigned the job, the only job that you could find there are typical jobs like the fast food restaurants. So I decided to swallow up everything, my pride, everything. And I conditioned myself when I arrived in the US whatever job I take, I will take it. So my first job here was was in housekeeping. So it was not a typical job that I did in the Philippines. So every time when I go home, my wife sometimes cries because she knows that I don't deserve that kind of job. But I told her Don't. Don't worry, it's okay. I could handle it. And when we are able to move to another place here in Wesley Chapel, that was the time that I was able to find jobs. So I went to a CNA school and the owner recruited me to teach CNAs for the CNAs also there. So that was the other job that I took. And after that for a while, I decided that i is very far from ours from traveling. So I decided to take this app, which is a shipping app where you do groceries, that was a fun job for me because I was getting a hang of it. And I love doing groceries for people around the community here. But I realized that when my wife said it's not a stable one, so I met a friend in Orlando, and he told me if I'm interested to do the case management thing, so I said, Yeah, why not? So it's another new venture for me, which is doing work at home. And I did it for almost four years. Then, when one time I met Bob. And Bob told me, are you interested in doing an onboarding job, and after that, this is what happened. I'm already here in Connetics. And I'm very happy working as an onboarding specialist and helping nurses transition their life from other countries going here to the United States,

paying it forward. And you went from all the spectrums of getting a job, whenever you got here, you're like, I am here. I'm here to support my family. Let's get to work. Right? And that's just such a wonderful thing. Miana, I want to ask you, now, we're talking about resumes, we're talking about finding a job. What are employers looking for in a resume?

Well, you know, the most important thing that I'm hearing in my space is that employers are looking for candidates who can really transfer their experience onto a resume. We're not talking about copying and pasting the job description onto a resume. We're talking about telling a story, can you take me from A to Z, what you did, how you did it, and what the end result was? Employers are looking for quantifiable data, that just shows your ability to do something, whether it's in a specific timeframe, whether it's an a, you know, compensation in terms of money wise, managing a budget, if you created a new team, a leadership team if you collaborated with other individuals, and what was the end result of that they're just looking for a way for that specific job, job seeker to really showcase their experience. So right now, most employers are looking for you to be able to tell a story, as opposed to a job description of what you did day in and day out. So there's a huge difference between that. And what we're finding is that a lot of people don't know how to narrate that they cannot express that. So, you know, one of the things that I do in terms of when I'm working with clients on a one-to-one basis, is I feel that if clients are able to see information in front of them that showcases something that they have done before or can do, then they're more, it's easier for them to say yes, this is the job that I want. This is the experience that I've had, how do we now take that information and make myself more marketable on my resume? And that's what employers are looking for. They're really looking for that quantifiable, quantifiable data so that they can basically see that the experience is not just a description.

Absolutely, and that experience is so important to put out in front of all of the employers I want to go to the chat really quickly. We Thank you Bong for all your sacrifice. Oh my gosh, this is rainy this is bombs. Go on for all your sacrifice. You have taken care of us selflessly and still doing so you truly even made a difference in other people's lives. Oh, my gosh, I just got chills. I think I might cry here. That's so sweet. We love you, Rainey thank you so much for everything you do and Bong as well. Richard, you help a lot of spouses with their resumes. What are some tips and advice that you can give spouses as well?

Well, first, if you might allow me to address some of the questions here I'd like to address PJ PJ here. He's talking about his wife being an RN in Canada and she'd like to work here in the UN or the UN excuse me the United States. Yeah, we're that so the prom Pj is that because you're coming on a TN Visa and that is job specific to you. She would not be able to work less and my advice to her and you would be that she applied through our M Are websites and then she can get into the process and Connecticut can help her find a job in nursing here in the United States. And that should be where we go, Conneticsusa.com/apply, we'll get you in the process. Part of that process is getting your process, proper licensing, and Visas. And then that would solve your problem. But because you're on a TN Visa, No, she's not eligible to work. Mr. Mohammed, you as well, you're worse, you're a nurse in Egypt. Go ahead and apply on our website, and get into the process. And we will try and get you employment in the nursing field as soon as possible. Here in the United States, and then Philomena, what I've never encountered a spouse isn't a priest. I'm not sure if there's special. Compensation is dispensation for theological work. I would presume. That's, that's a regular visa issue. But I don't understand how the working of the Christian church works. So that would be an interesting question. I can try and find out for you.

Let me know if you're a nurse apply on our website. And then Richard can also work on the priest's part. I'm not really sure, but I will do my best for you, I promise. It's a little outside of my usual box. But yeah, I can work with that.

And please, everyone in the chat. Remember, we do have our immigration q&a once a month with our immigration lawyers that can take all of your immigration questions, and these details as well from that expert side.

TJ and Philomena, right? Yes, exactly. Richard getting back to the resumes now. He's so helpful to everybody. Getting back to the resumes tips to do not to do what do you tell spouses?

Well, first off, I would definitely second exactly what Miss Miyata said in this era of career search, you know, recruiters are really looking not for a resume that says, I did a, b, and c, they're really looking for a story. Crew, you're creating a story, and you're the protagonist there. And so it's not that I punched the clock. And then I, you know, I shuffled this and I punched out. And as I came to work, I saw these challenges, and I was able to overcome these challenges by doing these exact steps, so you're actually putting measurable metrics to the board. And that really catches, catches the hiring managers, I one has to realize that in recruiting a hiring manager probably goes over 1000 emails a day. And, you know, we need to put our best foot forward right away and catch their attention. Again, that's what I do with my nurse spouses I work hand in hand, and it's really, it's hard to give you a boilerplate of what I do. But it's definitely more of a personalized level, create a story on paper. And usually, that is in and this is what I always emphasize as well, that's usually just a basic resume that then you're going to tailor to whatever, whatever opportunity you're actually looking to apply for. So you're just creating a basis from which we're going to work and tailor. You're very specific aspects of your work history that are applied to that. So it's really, it's hard for me to say, in a boilerplate way, you know, you need to do this, you need to do that Miata has better words than I do.

And I actually think we oughta she has a, you have a sample resume that graphic over here that we want to show, as well, to kind of put some visual to what Yes, Richard is talking about, and what Miata is talking about here, Rihanna, give us just a brief overview, this resume and what's included and why.

Yeah, so I mean, one of the most important things, of course, is formatting, it's not as important as the story, right? But having a very clean resume. We've shifted into this, and I want to make this clarification. So a lot of people understand what ATS tracking is, right? We have shifted into this software system called ATS tracking applicant tracking system. It is not a scoring system. And a lot of individuals get very confused with that. An applicant tracking system is a system that a lot of companies have adopted, whether it's fortune 500 companies, whether it's smaller Mom and Pop companies, and that basically houses your information it has is your data. They have to be there has to be a way to be able to collect that information. We are also experiencing a shortage on the recruitment side. So there are not a lot of people that physically actually look at the resume. So it has to go through this ATS tracking software system first. Now some companies have adopted a system where they score your resume to different things. And really what that is, is they're taking your resume, and they're taking the job description, and they are scoring based upon the keywords, the resume that is in the picture. What we did for that particular candidate, a job seeker, is we made sure that we looked through the job description, we made sure that we looked through, we do our own back-end research. And that's, of course, looking at the company itself, looking at the partners of that organization. So this resume is tailored specifically for a job at a specific company and similar roles. And we made sure that the keywords were embedded in that resume. So for example, if, if an employer has a keyword, software system that they use, then it would match up those specific keywords, not only in the profile, not only in the actual body of the resume but also in the core competencies and the technical skills as well. So what's really important is making sure those keywords are very visible in the resume. But also make sure that by using those keywords, you're also telling a story about your experiences, your successes, your achievements, and maybe even some of the challenges that you've had as well.

Yes, the software is really a big part of the job search now, and how companies are evaluating different resumes and what you were saying about keywords. It's so important websites work the same way. Topic, you pick the words that match that topic's question. And then the whole system just kind of does its thing right there. When you are looking for jobs, did you use any sort of special platform, or social media, tell us about that.

So my when, because we were in Orlando when we arrived, so we kind of planning to come here to Wesley Chapel. This is where my wife, my wife, and family are so we were only Well, my wife was only allowed to move after certain months in, in advent health in Orlando at that time, so we waited until that time, so when we moved here in Wesley Chapel, that's where I started looking, but I started looking the same in advent health. You know, so I was able to get a job, I'd been held in one of the rehabs at that time. So that's, that's where I started, I never, you know, like, look far from there. Because when I applied right away to their website, they answered right away. So that's where I started, I got the job, you know, like, patient care to start with, at that time trained to the CNA, but then the opportunity arise at that time, because back then in Orlando, Danya, and Meg was saying about that, you know, Connetics was expanding at that time, and they, they are looking for people, you know, to do some, you know, like, where I am now onboarding. And then So Tanya came back to me when I've already started there in advance at that time, and I said, this is a good opportunity as well for me, because I'll be dealing with this, I'll be able to, you know, like, impart what we have gone through scenarios as well, then I might be able to, you know, tell them my stories as well and I possibly can help them as well, you know, clinically and adapting in the US. So then that happened.

I accepted the job from the Connetics when Tanya offered me the job and recharged that was one of my mentors at that time. So I've learned a lot from them. And yeah, I, I never struggled. But I think what I can recommend as well with the spouses because a lot of spouses right now they're coming like they're professionals from their own country. But sometimes you just have to get something to get by while waiting for the best opportunity. So I think that's one thing that you have to keep in mind, maybe you're a manager in a bank or a lawyer back home. You know, I know some professionals like lawyers and doctors back home in the Philippines, but when they arrived here, they just get a job, you know, just to get by while waiting for the other one. That's not going to be your permanent job anyway, so you can always, you know, get the best opportunity here in the US. So, that's an extremely important point that I'd like to address. Luciana again touches on my family's history. My grandparents, my grandfather was a very successful businessman in Cuba. Up until the mid-50s. When the Communists took over, they basically took everything from us and my family barely got out of there with their lives. So we were forced to come to the United States, grateful, obviously to this day, because it is the land of opportunity. And he had to take menial jobs to support his four children and his wife this is something that happens, I mean, not as extremely, hopefully to anybody else. But this is something to anticipate and expect. You might be a software developer, or you might be a bank manager. But the important thing is right now you have to support your family in pursuing your American dream, be willing to swallow your pride and be willing to do whatever you have to do. But this is the land of opportunity, and in time, if you work hard, that will pay off. And you know, it's all about making life better for the next generation. So please be prepared to keep that in mind.

Well said, Richard, very well, sad. Mark, you had to do some of that. You said that earlier as well. What sort of job sites where did you look for jobs? How did you get them? Mike, you're on mute your buddy. Hey, go. Hello. Did you hear you? Yes,

yes. I did was check the hours on using the online and also tried to see around the place where we were staying that before if they were hiring. I'm going to share this funny thing I did one time I walk all through the establishments. One day I did. I just was I used to walk around all the establishments and ask if there were any openings from job openings in their facility. And it was so hot when I went home and the websites were so wet. Why so respite, I told her, I went around to all the restaurants and facilities just to ask if there are any job openings, then I was able to do it while checking the online and indeed, and all the apps on the computer while you while I was there in the library because we have no computer before. So I go to the local library where they have a computer there. And that's what happened. And when I was already when we moved to Wesley Chapel, that was the time that I was trying to get a CNA license. When I went to the CNA school, the owner offered me to do the job. And that's it. And everything I did was purely online after that. And when I worked as a case manager meant that when my friend referred me to the company, and I applied, and when I met born, he also introduced me to Connetics where they interviewed me. And that's it. Right now I'm here, working as an onboarding specialist for Connetics nursing recruitment agency.

Also paying it forward helps people. And what a great story, you're saying that you looked online. And then also it's that networking, right? Getting here and getting into the community, meeting people getting over that language barrier, getting over all those little things that might trip you up, and getting involved in making connections, and getting a job that way. Also said Indeed, and LinkedIn. Right zip recruiter, that's another one. But when we're looking at all these different platforms to search for a job, there are scams out there, right on what are your thoughts? What are your recommendations on scams?

So one of the things that I always tell my job seekers is if you see a job online, whether it's indeed whether it's LinkedIn, or Glassdoor, try and find the same job on the company website because then you can really be assured that that is an authentic job. I've worked with candidates where they say, Why am I getting bombed with all these different, you know, platforms? I'm like, and I say, Well, the reason is that you apply it to something, you put in your data, you put in your information somewhere, and now they have access to that data, which is yours. And now they're calling you, they're sending you emails, and it's the best way to make sure a job is authentic because now people are getting very creative when it comes to accessing data, more specifically, is to make sure that you can actually see that job on the company website. And I would actually say You can apply for the job on the company website, then by all means, go ahead and do that. First.

You said it, I was about to say it right there. If you are a nurse and you want to work for a healthcare facility here in the United States, go to our website and fly Conneticsusa.com/apply, we have many hundreds of healthcare facilities in the United States that we work with. And we place you we match you with a position in that hospital, you are an employee of the hospital, they're sponsoring your green card or TN Visa, and you will receive the same benefits pay as an American nurse. And that's the beauty of it, it's being able to come here and give that opportunity to your family. I'm seeing here Tony wood in the chat says I'm an RN and want to refer nurses from Ghana to your company, know what's on it, we actually have a referral bonus going on right now. We give you $1,000. For every nurse referral, with NCLEX, the nurse has to have NCLEX, but you can refer them to us. And once they reach certain points in their journey to the United States. We give you money. So go to our website, Conneticsusa.com/referral, you have to register for the referral program, you'll get a link in your email, and you can just spread that link of love all over the world all over Ghana, and we can help out your friends as well. Richard, back to you now. Where we've talked about the resumes we've talked about looking for a job. Now let's talk about the interview. Sometimes that can be the scariest part when you are prepping spouses. What do you tell them?

Okay, first of all, I'd like to piggyback on what Miata said, versus visa vie scams. If you ever encounter a site that asks you as an applicant to pay any money, it all clothes out, run away as fast as you can. That's not how it works. That is a scam someone's trying to steal your money. Back to your question. That's a really good one. How do you prepare for an interview? Well, obviously, you want to go over everything that you know you bring to the table. So that's clear in your head. More specifically, I think the key to a good interview is to demonstrate that you're really involved in interested, what I mean by that. You need to start asking the hiring manager a set of questions. What are the metrics by which I am going to be held to account? How will you be measuring my success? What do you expect me to be doing on a day-to-day, weekly week monthly basis? Don't go in and ask questions like when can I get a bonus? When can I get a vacation? When can I get you to know, promoted? Do you want to demonstrate your interest in that specific role? And ask role-specific questions. Again, these are things that I'd be more than happy to help our nurse's spouses on a one-to-one basis, and hopefully, I'm currently trying to drive and I would like to, I'm trying to drive Connetics to a place where we can implement an ongoing, specific person that can help our nurses with that, it'll probably end up being me. But I think that this is really, you know, going to be part and parcel of providing full service to our nurses so that they can have their entire family can be successful here in the United States.

I love you put your hand up, put your hand up in the air raise the roof. There you go raise the standard Miata, what is your advice for spouses who are preparing for an interview? And also what can they expect during an interview?

So definitely picking piggybacking off what Richard said the process is overwhelming, even for people who are great interviewers. So you will always make a mistake, right? But I think one of the things that I always start off with when I am coaching a job seeker, is to let them know, and what Richard said you are part of this process just as much as the employee-employer. And you don't have to commit to anything. You don't have to feel as if the weight is on your shoulders. If you make or break the interviewer. You are basically interviewing the employer as much as they are interviewing you. And once you have that foundation, that I think it's easier to kind of breath and kind of get into or space and say, Okay, well, you know what, I'm interviewing this employer as well. So that the answers that my employer gives me make better-educated decisions. As to the position I would like to see myself in. What are the things that companies are really steered into not only cultural competency but cultural diversity? And if your values resign, I always say you have to do your research on the company, you want to find a company that resonates with your values, one of the pushes that happened in COVID, is that I don't know if it was the Gen Z, or the millennials, or whatever the case might be. But there was this huge, you know, a huge movement where people were just quitting quiet, quitting is what they called it right? Quite quitting. And individuals were leaving companies because they felt that their values were not represented in that organization. And it doesn't matter if you're working for Walmart if you're working for the target. If you're working for a gas station, right as an intermediary position, it is important to find a company that values what you are looking for internally, because the one thing you don't want to do is you don't want to have burnout at a job. You don't want to feel as if you're just a number at a job, kind of, you know, in the sense we are, but we don't want to feel like that. And we want the person or the individual that is interviewing us to have an understanding that those are the important things that you're looking for. So when you're on the interview, you also want to ask questions about, you know, what do you do to enrich, your organization? Do you offer different types of enrichment programs, if you're looking to go back to school? Do you offer any types of programs that assist with continuing education, or things of that nature? So whatever it is that you embody in terms of your value system, make sure those questions are addressed, not only the structure of the business, you know, how you're going to value my work performance, but also the things that really resonate with you.

And just to piggyback on me one more time, I love you back into Scratch.

He speaks excellent words. Interview engagement is really, really critical. I try and tell this to all the people that I'm coaching all the time if you can imagine, you know, two people, person A, and Person B have the exact equal qualifications that they bring to the job interview, the person that actually engages the hiring manager will be the one inevitably that gets the job, you ask them questions, this demonstrates your, your, your engagement level, you know, there's inevitably a time, you know, the end of the interview where the hiring manager says, Do you have any questions? If you have no questions, as opposed to the person that has four or five I often coached to at least have three that person is asking questions is actually demonstrating an interest and engagement in that interviewing process. And nine times out of 10, that's a person that's going to get that job, you know, when they say, Oh, are you done? Richard, do you have any questions? No, I'm cool Sia, you know, I'm probably not gonna get that job. But if I say, you know, again, what are the metrics of my success? What are your now, six-term, six-month goals for my position? And yes, my more technically oriented Yatta with, you know, what are your engagement and what are your benefits, but, again, the key is that you're demonstrating engagement in hiring managers will key in on that, and you will make the impression that will get you the job.

Bonnie, tell us about your interviewing experience. And what advice can you give to spouses who are starting to interview for jobs?

Based on my experience as well with the, you know, interviewing, you just have to like what Richard said, you have to you know, bring your expertise on the table like, like selling you know, selling something. So if you do be selling yourself so, everything that describes you and that elevates you that will add into you know, like an asset into the, into the company that that's, I think one thing that they're looking for as well and always be positive on your answers and you know, a start you know, like, because sometimes I think that my managers or interviewers they will feel if there is you know, like a resistance as well. They ask you some questions. So you have to be positive all the time and bring, you know, like clear expertise that you can add up into the company be an asset, rather than, you know, like a liability to them when they hire you. I think that's one thing that's very important, and whatever is there on the table, you accept it. And then because sometimes, like, like me at that time, there were times that, you know, I accept the job, but I don't know all the parts of this job like in onboarding, I accepted the job and I was open to, to learn things I was open to growing. So I think you have to accept that part as well, that you have to be open and you're willing to go through in every way that you will learn. You're in the position that you're going to be offered. Yes,

Mark, it seems like or actually, you said before that you came in and you started working, you started networking in the community. Matt bonk, how did you go about making friends and getting involved in the community? Because not everybody is just a firecracker of energy and talkative. And sometimes there's a language barrier. What did you do to make friends make your place in your community and get started?

Well, because when I was in the Philippines Before, I used to work as a medical representative, so I used to meet a lot of people, doctors, pharmacists, security, hospital administrators, people, everybody in helps centers. So I get to talk to people a lot. So when I came here, I tried to make myself try to reach out to all my friends who are here. And also when we transferred to this community. I was already having a couple of friends. I usually concentrate on my Filipino friends, and they introduce me to others. And when we arrive in this community, I met Bong. And, and I was part of the Ambassador to this community worse, where we have a couple of Filipino families here. So that's, that's, that's what I really do. I love to interact. So when I hear some things, or job openings before I try to interact with them, and ask them, How could I apply that? So when Bob offered me this job, I really don't know what's onboarding about. But I told myself, why I'm gonna try it. And when I really started working, I realize it's like, so like, also a medical representative in your marketing, you're selling the company. And you're also helping people, especially the nurses, they're coming here, they're really having, if they hear what you're telling them, your experience wise, it really helps them a lot, because it, they're, they're so overwhelmed. And when they arrive here, they say, at least weirs, there's somebody that they can talk to going there a transition from the other country going here in the United States.

That's absolutely beautiful. I want to really quickly bring up the kinetic success path so that all of our audience can see how this works, because the nurses going through this, but so is the family. So here's what it looks like. First, you got to pass the NCLEX then will prepare you for your interview, use all those tips that Richard and Miana talked about. Then you'll get into the immigration, the visa framework. Our team also helps with the licensing and credentialing of the nurses. Then we get into the onboarding and get a ready game plan. And this is where Mark, Bong, and Richard come in, that they're helping our nurses in their spouses with six or with steps five, six, and seven. So getting ready for the plan. When you arrive, the support that you receive whenever you arrive, and then enjoy and prosper and take advantage of that American dream. I want to give everybody a chance for one final piece of advice, Richard, what advice can you give nurses and their spouses and their families all over the world looking to come to the United States? Don't give up.

Let us work with us. Let us help you. We'll get you to the United States. We will help you pursue your American dream. Don't give up.

We have done it for 1000s 1000s of nurses and it does take some guts. It takes guts, Miyata, the final piece of advice, is just to be open to new opportunities, because that one opportunity could lead you to the next dream job.

Keep dreaming. Well, what's your final piece of advice to spouses everywhere? Well,

I've got to advise us on everybody. stay committed, and stay consistent on your American dream in it, we'll take you through the American Dream your beautiful house with you and your family that is living the dream right there. Mark, what can you tell all of our spouses all over the world and their nurses, they need to stay positive. There will always be hiccups on the road coming here, but there, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. So you just have to be what you call positive in all things and try, to learn to adopt new ways. Because you could land your dream job in the future if just you have to become and be positive. The United States is a land of opportunity. So anything can you can always do any things here. When you're here in the United States.

You can do anything you want to do. I am the daughter of two immigrants that came from Brazil, as healthcare workers to the United States. I was born here. So I am that next generation that's starting that new thread of opportunity. It can happen to you, it can happen to your family. So remember, Conneticsusa.com/apply and we can help you get your journey started. I do see in the chat as okay sads zap. applied a few times, but no response, why do I tell you why. We are helping nurses and their families all over the world. We have grown by leaps and bounds in the last couple of years. So our recruitment team works very diligently at responding to all of the resumes and applications that we get. And they're actually looked over physically by hands. So we really, really want to put that extra touch in there and make sure that we provide the best opportunities and the best service. So we'll get to you, we promise we do respond to everybody. Sometimes it takes a little bit longer. So just we really appreciate your patients on that. Because you will grow just like everybody here on this call. So thank you so much to this wonderful panel for joining us for sharing your experiences. We really loved having you.

So while we let our guests go, just wanted to quickly go over our future shows that we have coming up because we did have a lot of immigration questions. So here on the schedule here, you can see that we do have an immigration q&a coming up. We also have a client showcase with advent health, we're going to be talking about Texas, the next-generation NCLEX exam that's going to get started in April. So if you haven't taken your NCLEX yet, can do that now. And we will help you prepare for your NCLEX as well. So let's also take a look at our love for a talk show. Valentine's Day is on Tuesday we are really excited because we're going to do a game show in love with the USA game show. It's gonna be really fun. Our audience is going to actually be able to come onto our show just like our guests here today. participate via contestant answer questions and win some money. So that's always fun and we really love for everybody to be involved. So make sure you check the local time in your country at timezone converter.com. We are on this onwards and upwards show every Friday at 7 am Pacific Standard Time. Thank you again, everyone, for joining us today. And like we always say, onwards and upwards. Take care you