One of the biggest concerns prior to Aliyah is finding gainful employment. A new language, an unfamiliar work culture and no network are some of the limitations facing our new Olim.
Telfed’s Employment Advisor Yael Strausz, and Career Counsellor Michal Merten, guide our Olim as they begin the job hunt in Israel. In 2019, 570 Olim received free employment counselling from Telfed. This equated to 1676 counselling sessions; 11 percent of these meetings took place prior to Aliyah.
Michal and Yael share their ‘Ten Commandments’ for an effective job search in Israel:
- Learn Hebrew
- Decide on the job you are looking for — don’t say “I’ll do anything”, that is probably not entirely true and doesn’t help you focus on your goal. Set your goal, create a strategy.
- Thinking of making a change? Make a list of your skills and look at job ads, where would you be a good fit? Still not sure — talk to us.
- Create a CV (ask us for the Israeli template) that is focused on the position(s) you are looking for. Tweak it each time to fit to the specific position.
- Looking for a job in engineering, high tech, biotech, finance or marketing? LinkedIn is your tool — a good profile will make recruiters notice you, join groups in your field of expertise and blog, share articles and respond to others.
- Use Glassdoor for job posts and information on companies (including salaries and organisa-tional culture).
- Be sure to use industry related words as recruiters use those to source for candidates on LinkedIn and to identify potential candidates from among the CVs sent.
- Find networking events – go out and introduce yourself.
- Prepare your “elevator pitch”, your 5 sentences that say it all — your name, your skills and expertise and the job you are looking for. The more specific you are when you tell people you are looking for a job (and do let everyone know) the better your chances.
- Learn Hebrew.
While not a placement agency, Telfed’s employment team is available to advise and guide new and veteran Olim who are seeking employment. With a focus on providing jobseekers with the tools to integrate well into the job market in Israel, they assist with CV writing, networking, bridging the cultural gap and finding suitable mentors.
For more information, contact Yael Strausz at yael@telfed.org.il.
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