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Haitian Immigrant Guide to Survival in the United States
How to survive on your new job in the United States as a Haitian in 10 Steps:
1. Do whatever your boss tells you to do. DO WHAT EVERY YOUR BOSS TELLS YOU TO DO ON YOUR JOB. DO IT, JUST SHUT UP AND DO IT. TREAT YOUR BOSS WITH UTMOST RESPECT. NEVER TALK BAD ABOUT YOUR BOSS. THAT IS THE NUMBER ONE RULE. TRY TO LOVE YOUR BOSS. YES, LOVE YOUR BOSS.
2. If you make a mistake, try to fix it quickly. If you can’t fix it, alert your boss of the error. Once the boss gets the error fixed, learn from your mistake, and apologize. Do not state that it won’t happen again. Why? Because it just might happen again. Sometimes it takes a few turns before you get it. It’s called experience. If your boss sees potential in you, they may waive the errors and not hold them against you, for only a few times. If the errors continue though, the boss just may fire you. You need to be aware, and not be surprised if you are fired for repetitive errors in your work. If you are fired, write a thank you letter, and tell your boss you still appreciated the opportunity.
3. Once you get good at your job, attempt to extend yourself, but only if your boss makes the offer. Don’t offer your boss anything beyond what they require.
4. Work all the shifts or overtime your coworkers refuse to cover. If you see your boss is stressed out because of unfilled shifts, try to extend yourself as available, and also try to cover for your boss when there are unplanned absences. Be proactive when there are gaps in your coworker’s availability, but again don’t offer unless your boss indicates they are in need.
5. Never quit your job unless it’s an absolute emergency, never quit your job unless you can get a better job, or you give at least 1 to 2 months’ notice. That’s right do not give your boss two weeks’ notice, ever! Two weeks’ notice of your resignation is for American’s you are a Haitian immigrant! You must set your bar even higher. Allow ample time for the boss to find your replacement, and even if your boss asks you to train your own replacement. Do it. Train your replacement. Also, only give a formal resignation in writing and detail the exact date and day you believe to be your last day available. Your boss may come back and counteroffer your resignation to negotiate your last day. If the boss counters your proposed last day, try to accommodate your boss’s revised last date. Sometimes bosses extend the final workday, and sometimes they shorten it. This is a very important step. Many workers don’t properly exit, and this may cost their future prospects of being rehired in the future. Always properly exit any job, never leave abruptly. There are formal methods to properly exit any job. Your boss will think highly of you if you exit properly.
6. Attending all the training your job gives you. There are some training courses that are going to be specific to your job specific duties, but there are other trainings that are universal in the job market, and they will apply to any other job in the entire marketplace. What is universal training that most jobs have?
a. MSDS Training
b. Fire Safety
c. CPR
d. Money Management
e. Domestic Violence
f. Workplace Conflict Resolution
g. Bomb Threats
h. Customer Service
7. Don’t over rely on making friends with your coworkers but try to be neutral when coworkers create clicks. It’s human nature to gravitate towards a common interest. But these clicks often create tiny conflicts against each other and those can grow into major workplace conflicts that can disrupt the organizational culture. These clicks may create falsehoods by using a negative tool called gossip. You better stay away from gossip, it is toxic. Gossip will jeopardize your job. Or it will create unnecessary stress that you don’t need. You are only on the job to do the job and nothing else.
8. Try to subscribe to any benefits the job offers. They always offer something. This includes retirement plan, healthcare, and education benefits. If the job doesn’t offer any benefits, you should consider as a default the job itself is a benefit. That’s right, having the opportunity to earn an income is a benefit! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
9. Always accept whatever raise you get. Also accept if your raise isn’t given, or if it is miniscule. Understand that if you are consistently saving your earnings, it won’t matter if your job gives you a raise or not. You’ve accomplished the goal. The worst thing you can do is overspend your earnings. This is why it’s important to note that even if you get a raise consistently, without a commitment to savings it that raise will be the same as if you weren’t given the raise.
10. While you are working make sure you are also going to school during the time when you aren’t working. For example, if you work during the day shift, take night classes or weekend classes. If you work at night, take day classes. Continue like that until you graduate with a degree. Only take education courses that have college level credit. Do not waste your time with too many certificate courses that do not have either a license end goal, or college credit value. Some courses that allow you to get licensed in a certain field but aren’t worth college credit, may have the same impact as a college degree based on the value of the license you can get for that course. The courses to avoid are non-college credit courses that also do not have any career licensing benefit. Do not waste your time.
If you do these 10 things, you will have great success in your job experience in the United States.
We have over 30 years working in the United States in many jobs. Our expertise is going to reduce the amount of errors you will make in your job performance as a new immigrant in the United States.
