Upwardly Global

Upwardly Global is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, based in San Francisco with an additional office in New York, Chicago, and the DC area that helps immigrant, refugee and asylee professionals rebuild their careers in the United States.

Upwardly Global
501(c)(3) nonprofit
IndustrySocial Entrepreneurship, Immigrant Inclusion, Corporate Diversity
Founded1999, United States
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, United States
Key people
Jane Leu, Founder
ProductsCareer counseling, career resources, mentoring, training, resume services
Revenue5,115,280 US dollar (2016) 
Websitewww.upwardlyglobal.org

Mission

Upwardly Global's mission is to eliminate employment barriers for skilled immigrants and refugees, and integrate this population into the professional U.S. workforce.[1]

A growing share of new arrivals to the U.S are highly skilled. Almost half of immigrants entering the U.S. between 2011 and 2015 had at least a bachelor's degree.[2] However, nearly two million immigrants with college degrees—or one out of every four—are unemployed or working well below their skill level. The Migration Policy Institute call this loss of talent "brain waste" and it results in skilled immigrants missing out on more than $39 billion in wages annually, and governments losing out on $10 billion in tax payments.[3]

Upwardly Global helps immigrant, refugee, and asylee professionals find jobs in their career fields. To date, over 5,000 immigrants from more than 100 countries have secured professional jobs

To qualify for Upwardly Global's program, candidates must have:

  • A university-level education
  • Permanent, legal U.S. work authorization (not employer sponsored)
  • Proficient English skills
  • Some professional work experience outside the U.S.

They cannot be or have been:

  • Already working in their career field here in the US
  • In the US for over five years

History

Beginnings

Upwardly Global was started by Jane Leu in 1999 in San Francisco. After having worked extensively with immigrants, asylees, and refugees, Jane perceived a need for programs targeting educated, experienced immigrants in particular. Newspapers have described cases of underemployed immigrant professionals—lawyers working as gas station attendants, doctors as doormen—as the "American classic." Multiple organizations exist to assist immigrant job-seekers, but few have the resources required to assist those with professional-level backgrounds. Upwardly Global is unique in the United States as an organization that specializes in matching qualified immigrants with high-skill positions. Jane began working with such immigrants part-time, unpaid, from her own kitchen.

In 2000, the organization received its first official grant from the Three Guineas Fund. In the next few years, the list of donors expanded to include the Levi Strauss Foundation, the Draper Richards Foundation, and various private donors. Nikki Cicerani served as the organization's President and CEO from 2009-2018, leading the organization's expansion from two metropolitan areas to four, and launching online, virtual services. She currently serves on the organization's Board of Directors.[4]

Present day

The organization currently has physical offices located in San Francisco's Financial District, New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. The organization has received numerous awards, including the 2004 Manhattan Institute Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the 2006 John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award, the 2010 E Pluribus Unum Award.[5]

The organization continues to receive funding from private donors, as well as from the Achelis Foundation, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, the Alan Slifka Foundation, Cisco Systems, Community Technology, Foundation for California, the Draper Richards Foundation, the Gimbel Foundation, the Johnson Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, the Leitner Family Foundation, New Profit, Inc., the New York Times Foundation, the Robin Hood Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation, the Third Millennium Foundation, Three Guineas Fund, Wells Fargo.

Strategy and outreach

Jobseekers
Upwardly Global clients

Jobseekers that fit requirements have free access to Upwardly Global programs and in-person and digital services. Activities and programs include:

  • Resume and cover letter assistance
  • Workshops
  • Mock interviews
  • Mentoring and advising by volunteers
  • Submission of resumes to relevant employer partners
An Upwardly Global workshop
Upwardly Global COO, Camille Ramani, speaks to jobseekers at a workshop on interviewing

These programs and activities address what Upwardly Global considers a four-fold challenge for immigrant professionals:

1. Lack of networks. In the US, most jobs are secured via personal connections and referrals. The situation is the same in other countries. In many cases Upwardly Global Candidates are well connected in their country of origin, but do not have professional contacts and networks in the United States.

2. Resume presentation. In the United States, a Candidate’s resume is his or her personal sales brochure. Recruiters look for specific elements and are accustomed to a familiar, often brief, format. In other countries, the resume may have a different role in the recruitment process; format and length may differ as well. For these reasons, unless referred by a reputable source, such as Upwardly Global, immigrant Candidates are often dismissed upon first review.

3. Self promotion. We know the interview as a time when candidates sell themselves. In many cultures, however, unabashed self-promotion is seen as brash and frowned upon. Foreign-born Candidates may have different communication styles that can be misinterpreted by interviewers as a lack of self-confidence.

4. Misconceptions. The most common reason foreign-born candidates do not advance quickly in the recruitment process is that they are – in a word – foreign. People are unfamiliar with their accents, their resumes, their university degrees, their foreign employers, and their choice of words. Many of us subconsciously dismiss quality candidates because they are an unfamiliar entity.

Employer network

Upwardly Global has partnerships with such companies as Accenture, Google, Wells Fargo, S&P Global, Standard Chartered, TD Bank.

Upwardly Global's strategy for interaction with employer partners follows a basic three-level process:

1. Education Through training, Upwardly Global works with HR professionals to expand cross-cultural hiring practices.

2. Engagement Employees of partner companies are invited to volunteer for Upwardly Global, individually or in groups. This important step increases awareness about immigrant professional potential and creates "internal advocates for global diversity."

3. Employment The final component is the intersection of needs and goals between the jobseekers and companies. Upwardly Global functions similarly to a recruiter by steering qualified and interested candidates towards open positions in employer partner companies.

Criticism

Notes

^ Upwardly Global places skilled immigrants in jobs worthy of their talents.. Standford Social Innovation. Spring 2010.

^ Bar Serves as Classroom for Immigrants Learning Job-Hunting Skills.. The New York Times. February 28, 2010.

^ Non-Profit Helps Immigrants Launch New Careers.. CBS 5. May 27, 2009

^ Fact Sheet on the Foreign Born: Language and Education Characteristics. 2007. The Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved August 14, 2007.

^ Immigration Policy Brief - New Census Bureau Data Underscore Importance of Immigrants in US Labor Force 2007. Paral, Rob. The American Immigration Law Foundation. Retrieved August 15, 2007.

^ More immigrants, more jobs. July 11, 2005. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 14, 2007.

^ The 2006 John F. Kennedy New Frontier Awards. The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. Retrieved August 14, 2007.

^ Upwardly Global: About Us: FAQs. Upwardly Global. Retrieved August 13, 2007.

^ IV. Review of the list of least developed countries. March 2003. The United Nations. Retrieved August 14, 2007.

^ Welcome to America: Jane Leu Believes in Skilled Jobs for Skilled Immigrants. Winter 2007. Tufts University. Retrieved August 14, 2007.

^ GuideStar Report: Upwardly Global GuideStar. Retrieved August 14, 2007.

^ Legal Immigrants Have Trouble Finding Jobs May 30, 2006. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 14, 2007.

gollark: Some companies might hire you to maintain open-source projects.
gollark: Did you know potatOS has its own registry?
gollark: Actually, I can also pay in shattered dreams, extremely small amounts of computer time, and 0.1 banano.
gollark: Er, it's Saturday.
gollark: Well, we actually only pay in melons right now, and only melons in computer games because real melons are a hassle to transport.

References
  1. "About Us - Upwardly Global". Upwardly Global. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  2. Bachmeier, Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix, James D. (2016-12-02). "Untapped Talent: The Costs of Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in the United States". migrationpolicy.org. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  3. "Untapped Talent: The Costs of Brain Waste Among Highly Skilled Immigrants in the U.S." (PDF).
  4. "Nikki Cicerani - Upwardly Global". Upwardly Global. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  5. "About Us - Upwardly Global". Upwardly Global. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
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