LERRN Job Search Catalyzer Experience

I’m one of Webster’s students and I’m in my final year of getting my bachelor’s degree. I owe my academic progress to the support the LERRN non-profit organization. I am an Iranian refugee in Greece. Displacement and living in exile was never my choice, but I had to leave my homeland to save my life.

You can imagine how difficult and painful life is in exile, especially in a country like Greece that is not able to adequately support refugees, especially during the Corona pandemic. I have been looking for work for a long time, but there is no job market here, even for Greek citizens, let alone a refugee who is not fluent in Greek.

In this situation, I really needed some advice to help me find a job. LERRN coordinated a 6-session course with a career counselor, Marielle Obels, founder of Career Connection in the Netherlands. I am very happy to be part of the LERRN family and that I had the opportunity to take this invaluable course.

During this training, I was able to upgrade my CV.  I learned how to write a cover letter, something I had never known about before.  I learned about job search logistics, as well as different work cultures in European countries.

In my opinion, one of the interesting sessions was being acquainted with how to do a job interview.  Marielle set up mock interviews, and it was a very helpful exercise for me.  She patiently answered all our questions and took the time and energy to introduce us to the barriers and solutions to finding a job.

In addition, one of the most effective aspects of this training was the online learning site.  The site (Job Search Catalyzer) provided by Marielle, contained all the educational materials, presentations and links we needed.  Jennifer, of LERRN, also created a site (LERRN-job-search-catalyzer-community) where we, all members of this class, could exchange ideas and experiences, which was very interesting and helpful.

In general, I had many achievements during this training course. I was able to be acquainted with the terms of job search and work culture in European countries. I received a comprehensive view of the method of job interviews. I became familiar with obstacles and solutions and was able to learn from experiences of the rest of my classmates.  Now, I feel I can look for my ideal job with more confidence.

Thanks to Marielle Obels and Jennifer Moiles for providing such an opportunity for us.

Somi