“Passionate” is a word Giuliana Loza uses a lot. The Global Talent Acquisition Coordinator at Stantec’s Vancouver office is passionate about her work and about making a difference in people’s lives.
“I want to do something for my community, and I know the challenges that a newcomer to Canada goes through,” she says.
Giuliana has given a lot of her time as a mentor in the MentorConnect program of the Immigrant Employment Council of BC (IEC-BC). Recently she also became a member of IEC-BC’s Employer Advisory Group.
“You get huge satisfaction from seeing someone make a change in their life and become successful here,” she says. “I also want them to learn from the mistakes I made when I came here from Peru years ago to pursue post-secondary studies.”
As a recruitment professional, Giuliana often finds it challenging to find the right talent for certain positions that are very specialized. And this can have a snowball effect – on the success of a project and even on the wellness of the team carrying it out.
“If you are able to find talent with the very specific skills because you have tapped into a different pool of candidates, your whole staff has more of a life-work balance and can complete projects on time,“ she says.
“And when you hire a new immigrant, they bring not only skills but also a different perspective, and you need those fresh ideas to make progress happen,” she adds.
According to Giuliana, there is also a huge reputational return on investment for companies that hire newcomers thus helping them integrate in local communities.
“You put your name out there as an organization that is involved in the community, and other businesses start to learn more about you. And good reputation can bring new business.”
For Giuliana, it’s all about raising employer awareness about the benefits of hiring new immigrants, and it’s also about shifting perspectives – one success story at a time.