Over January and February 2024, Micro Rainbow worked with Trinnovo Group to run a series of employability workshops for LGBTQI refugees and people seeking asylum in our community. Trinnovo Group is a community-led recruitment and advisory business specialising in technology, innovation, enablement, and security. Micro Rainbow and Trinnovo group teamed up to offer four employability workshops as part of the Moving On programme. The first two workshops covered CV writing and creating LinkedIn profiles. The third and fourth workshops followed and focused on job searching and applications, interview techniques and delved into employment contracts.
CV masterclass
The CV and LinkedIn masterclass workshops were attended by more than thirty LGBTQI refugees and asylum seekers. In these tailored sessions, the attendees were given in person feedback on their CVs. For some people it was the first time they had ever created a CV. Amina is a lesbian from Saudi Arabia, where the death penalty is imposed for same sex sexual activity. She fled the country as soon as she finished secondary school. She explained:
“Before I came to this training, I didn’t really know what a CV or resume was. We don’t have them in my country, things work differently.
“I have only just finished school, so I haven’t had a job before. I am claiming asylum at the moment so I can’t work yet, but I have been learning about what I need to do to gain experience. I am volunteering at the moment and taking advantage of as many things for asylum seekers as possible, so I can get experience”.
Mergen is from Turkmenistan, where same sex activity between men is criminalised. He already had a CV, but, as he said:
“I needed to change it so it works for the UK. That means changing the format, the things I write about and how I talk about my experience. I also learned about proper wording and layout and how this can help in job applications”.
Learning about LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a fantastic resource for displaying your qualifications and credentials to the world, and for finding jobs. But what should you put on it, and how should you use it to interact with other people? The second half of the Trinnovo CV workshops were an introduction to LinkedIn and a crash course in using it to further your career.
Some attendees already had LinkedIn profiles, and for others this was the first time they had used the platform. Mergen from Turkmenistan shared this:
“I found the session brilliant and super helpful. I learned about the importance of LinkedIn. I realised that mine was outdated, and I had some incorrect information on it.”
Vitalii from Ukraine said:
“I found the session really useful in finding out what employers want in the UK, it’s very different to Ukraine. Josh and Alfie [from Trinnovo] helped me to address gaps in my LinkedIn profile, and I am feeling more confident about applying for jobs now.”
Harriet is from Kenya, where same sex sexual activity is criminalised. This was the first Micro Rainbow event she attended:
“This is the first time I have attended an event like this… I learned about CVs for the first time and set up my LinkedIn, which I hadn’t before.”
Another key takeaway was the importance of optimising CVs for keyword searching. If you then add your CV to jobs platforms, or LinkedIn, recruiters can search for specific keywords and find people who match.
Perspective on the day
Micro Rainbow works with partners to deliver the Moving On programme throughout the year. These sessions and events provide a wide range of holistic and practical support that help refugees and asylum seekers take the first steps towards moving on with their lives.
Alfie Rice from Trinnovo said this about the experience of leading the workshops:
“It was a pleasure and a privilege to deliver our workshops to the Micro Rainbow beneficiaries. We were particularly impressed by how receptive they were to our content, and the high level of engagement each individual showed us throughout the day. Taking the time to sit down with every beneficiary and learn about their aspirations, plans, and steps toward success was a rewarding experience, and we are excited to continue our partnership with Micro Rainbow through 2024 and beyond!”
