Make Your International Credentials Work for You!
by Susanna Kislenko
Many job postings that you see on sites such as Monster.ca have a specific educational requirement. For example, a pharmaceutical firm may be looking for someone with a minimum of a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry, while a consulting firm may have an MBA requirement. When companies emphasize these details, it usually means that they will be reviewing the educational component of your resume very carefully and it will be an important consideration for making hiring decisions.
If you were educated in Canada and have Canadian academic credentials, then you can be sure that, for the most part, the terms that you put down (e.g. Master of Social Work or Bachelor of Commerce) will be understood by the employer who is considering your application.
If, however, you attained your credentials outside of Canada, things are not as straightforward and there are many more considerations for you when filling out the educational section of your Canadian resume. Although it is rarely talked about, the truth is that employers or HR professionals are not trained in the know-hows of evaluating international academic credentials. Many employers simply aren't familiar with credentials from outside of Canada and are thus not able to place them on their respective educational scale, as it relates to Canadian credentials. This could lead an employer to hire someone with Canadian credentials, even though they may have less experience and knowledge than their internationally trained counterparts.
This fact has caused a great deal of frustration for many new Canadians that just can't seem to find work in their respective fields, upon their arrival in Canada. Time and time again, new Canadians find themselves not even being able to reach the interview stage while looking for a position within their professional field. One of the most common analogies for this is that there are so many taxi drivers with PhDs, a concept that has been integrated into a number of pop song lyrics, such as Amanda Marshall's "Everybody's Got a Story".
The taxi driver who really has a PhD is just one example of new Canadians taking "survival" - type jobs, which may not be related to their professional fields in order to financially support themselves and their families. Many people feel that they are stuck and that they must abandon their chosen professions in order to survive in Canada.
Fortunately, there is a solution to many of these concerns and the path to getting your international credentials recognised in Canada is not as difficult as it may appear at first. There are service organizations in Canada, which are known as credential evaluation services that produce reports with the purpose of clarifying and confirming a person's relative standing within the Canadian educational system.
Getting your academic credentials assessed is an important step towards meeting any of your career goals in Canada. Having your credential evaluation report will allow you to progress on your path towards attaining your desired occupation in Canada.
If you are an internationally-educated professional and have already attained a position within a company in Canada, there is yet another reason why a credential assessment would be advantageous for you. Many employers in Canada determine salaries and which employees they will promote based on the highest level of education that the candidate has completed. For example, someone who completed a Bachelor's degree would be in a lower salary bracket than someone who has completed both Bachelor's and Master's degrees. Obtaining your credential evaluation report, which would confirm both the highest level of education that you have reached based on Canadian terms and the authenticity of your documents, would enhance your chances of reaching a higher salary category and of attaining promotional opportunities in the future.
Susanna Kislenko works for World Education Services, a credential evaluation service based in Toronto.
She is also Editor-in-Chief of Legends travel magazine.