A New Job for Fatima

SUCCESS TRAINING COURSE FOR IMMIGRANTS PRODUCES RESULTS

By Paola VAN DE VELDE 

Inset: Rachida BOUKHRISS now speaks her mind Ho-Ming MAK celebrates while Nazar HADDOUCH watches in surprise. Fatima EL IDRISSI advises: “Pursue your dreams, only then you will achieve what your heart truly desires”

AMSTERDAM— Rachida BOUKHRISS is not that tall. And in the past, she preferred to make herself even less conspicuous at meetings, speaking in public and expressing her opinion during a consultation, which the young fundraiser found very scary. But recently, she surpassed herself. At an important meeting, about an application for a subsidy from the EU in Brussels, which her employer desperately needed, she deliberately spoke up. "I thought: I did not do the success training course with Dale Carnegie Training  just for the fun of it. I got up, walked to the front where the board was sitting, and told them my story. And guess what? Our application was granted."

Google Translated article originally published in The Netherlands' largest newspaper De Telegraaf in '07. Please follow the various links below to find out what the impact has been of the course followed

Trainer Marietta LENZ claps her hands. "How you have grown!" she compliments. "Promise me you'll raise your hand more often in meetings from now on." Rachida beams and nods yes. All her fellow students smile at her. They enjoy listening to each other's successes over the past six months. 

Six months ago, these twenty highly educated immigrants completed a free, twelve-week course with Dale Carnegie. After an announcement in De Telegraaf, they had been selected by the training institute to learn how to take their next step along their career path successfully. A problem with which many other highly educated persons are of course also confronted, except that these ambitious youngsters also had a culture gap to bridge.

Now, they can look back on the past period in which they had to put into practice what they had learned. And they all agree on one thing: this course, which focuses on reducing stress, developing greater self-confidence, improving social skills, and polishing communication skills, indeed produced results.

Take Binh-an NGUYEN, who six months ago saw no future in his job as a loading clerk, "I was really down, things did not work out with my colleagues. I did not  have much contact with them. During the course, I learned to listen better to other people and to be more receptive to them. Now 3 go to work with a smile again. For this reason, my advice is: show a sincere interest in your colleagues, it enriches your life."

When the applause has died down, Nazat HADDOUCH, who works as a social psychiatric nurse, takes the floor. "One of the reasons for signing up for this success training is that despite my ambition, commitment and knowledge, I was not seen by my manager," she says candidly. "Thanks to Marietta's advice, the cards are now shuffled differently. You reap what you sow. Since I show more interest in others and give appreciation, I also get that back. My boss has already asked me twice for a special project in recent months asked, and moreover, she has asked me to take over a difficult client precisely because she values ​​my expertise so much."

Fatima EL IDRISSI even had the guts, thanks to the training, to quit her job in which she was no longer so happy. Many people thought I was crazy to leave my permanent employer just now, during the recession, while I didn't have a new job yet. Think about your house, you really need the money, they said. But I kept believing in a good outcome and sent many job applications. Eventually, I did succeed.

On a Wednesday, I said goodbye to my former boss and the following Monday I started with Sagènn as a social activation counsellor. Exactly what I was looking for." The moral of her story is clear. "Have confidence in yourself, don't hang your head and follow the opinion of others, 'Pursue your dreams, only then will you achieve what your heart truly desires" she advises.

Hoi-Ming MAK, a banker with ING, surveys the group emotionally. "They all gave me so much support", he admits. "I am really proud of the network I received from you. In the past, l had difficulty asking other people for help. l have since lost my reticence and have no problem asking others for advice." Hans VAN DER LAAN, Managing Director of Dale Carnegie Benelux and the initiator of the training course enjoys all the positive stories the youngsters exchange with each other. "It is beautiful when talent lives up to its promise," he says. "We are most certainly continuing these courses. To ensure that we can assist immigrants even better in the future, we have already trained two women from this group, Rachida BOUKHRISS, and Fatima EL IDRISSI, as trainers."