Okay. Let me let me start. So, my name is Solveig.And as I mentioned, when we move abroad, we leave everything we left behind, and we start in a new place. And that experience, it challenges us, provokes us, inspires us, and changes. And so when I came to The States, more than twenty years ago, I, at the time, I didn't know if I ever will be able to succeed. I came to the land of opportunities, and yet I faced the rejection after rejection, and that was not easy. My family and my friends told me that I should do something else, start a new career, but I stayed where, and the reason I shared it about it because I believe understanding other people experiences is the key to understand how to help others better.

And I provide the recommendations to the organizations at the end. So, that experience, going through rejections and having interviews that ended after the question was not easy. But that helped me where I am today, helped me to help others better. But when you start mentoring others, you get challenged. You get asked I was asked, please be a voice for us. And how can I be a voice for others when suddenly it felt uncomfortable for me to share my own voice? Just being in the space public space, I and when everybody would look at me, I me lose my voice. I stumble. I stutter. And just being in front of the camera, I start making more mistakes. So how can be a voice for others?

But my mentor challenged me, Solvega, if not you, who will? And think about the people who rely on your message today. And then I've realized that many other people feel exactly the same way as I do. Many people who reach out to me, they didn't speak, English also as good. They they lack of confidence. And, for many of them, I was the only HR professional venue. So many of us, we speak other languages, and yet we frequently we still feel not enough. It feels more comfortable for us, to stay quiet and to be invisible, and yet we cannot make the change in the world if we stay invisible. So, and the stories that other people shared with me, it resonated with me as of my own.

One person told me, that she it was easier for her to start a business in Ukraine than, to find a job in The United States because after a few months of the job she, she is there, she felt completely psychologically crushed. And then a person told me that, she's the only person who cannot pick up her phone in the organization because the, the organization's owner tells that her accent is embarrassing for the customers. The person told me that she heard so many notes that it felt her name was known. So these are only a few stories that I heard, but those stories resonated with me deeply. And I've realized that it's sad that some of those stories are missing, and I decided I need to get out of my comfort zone in order to inspire others. But when you start speaking in a public space, you get challenged. You get asked questions you never thought to be asked.

So how come your post are written in so perfect English when your English is broken? Not knowing that this is specifically a reason that it took me twenty years to share my own story. I get asked how come I even call myself an immigrant when I don't fit the image what an immigrant looks like? Or why do you even call myself an immigrant when Americans who live in Lithuania in my country, we call themselves expatriates? So why do you call yourself an immigrant in The States? And I think many people don't realize that being an immigrant is a challenging experience, and yet it experience that teaches us a lot.

It helps us to build resilience and help us to help others better. And if I would like to leave you one image, what it's like to be an immigrant, I will leave you an image like coming to a very strong river, when the water is very strong and cold, and instead of going forward, you get backwards and get hit by the stones. And the next morning, the next morning, when you come to that river, you don't even want to look at it because you have a bad number from the day before. But, I want to tell you that you always got a few options. You can give up for streams, or you can, try over and you become a better swimmer. And the water, instead of feeling, refreshingly cold, suddenly feels warm and, feels refreshing and good. But I want to tell you that for you to help others better, you need, to understand that other people may be not willing to and comfortable asking help because asking help requires vulnerability.

So consider being a mentor who will teach other people how to swim, be a mentor who inspires, and be a mentor who, supports others and also challenge others. Because, in organizations, you you'd like to be a person who helps others. And this data shows that we need to do more in HR. We need to do more in organizations to support others through the biggest transition in their lives. And I'm here today to help you to navigate those difficult waters and provide you some suggestions. So a few things that, employers need to keep in mind that many employers face both, external stereotypes, both in internals as well. So for example, when I came to The States, I didn't I got zero interviews.

Even I had a degree in industrial psychology, but after taking, one two classes at American University, I started getting phone calls. And it's still, for me, interesting that employers will consider that two classes at American University are more valuable, that six years of education at the best university in my country, but that made a difference. But also to understand that many of your employees face internal barriers that they feel that certain opportunities are not for them, and they are not considering those opportunities. And feel free, you know, to put in the chat also that maybe some opportunities you didn't consider because you think we thought that we are not for you. And, yeah, just pause, and if you have any reflections how this presentation resonate with you, feel free to add it. And when we move to a new country, we, especially when employees move abroad, you as organization, you have responsibility for care.

Think about the, that your employees need to be safe. Consider the training you need to provide them so they feel comfortable of. Think about, intercultural trainings. Think about all the information they need to navigate in a new country, and realize that not only them, but your their family needs that information as well. There are, like, a few strategies that can be really helpful, and I decided to focus on three that helped me a lot of my own confidence. And, I work with a lot of clients as well in, improving, and challenging the effort leadership on the social media, finding helping them finding mentors and also, developing cross cultural competence. And let me go a little more deeper to each of our topics. So fall leadership as an immigrant can be difficult, can be challenging, and yet it can help you to build your confidence and find opportunities you never considered before.

So even a year ago, I never considered speaking opportunities, and now, like, I'm speaking at payments like this, and I'm connected with a lot of incredible people. And many organizations think that developing for leadership is only the benefit for employee. And many organizations that restrict social media policies, but I want you to challenge because every time your employees are visible, your organization is visible as well. You create the cultures where employees feel they want to belong. They feel empowered. You attract more diverse customers and clients, and opportunities come. Mentoring is is the reason I'm here today, and it's really incredible to have a lot of people who helped me today. And, they told me that being who I am is more important than being perfect. And when I mentor others, it doesn't take them three years to find a job.

It's really rewarding to be part of other people's journeys, and mentoring is is a powerful tool to develop skills for everybody, both for mentees, both for mentors, because everybody is learning in this process. And especially when you're mentoring people from other backgrounds, it really opens for you to a world of different perspective, different styles of communication. And what is really important to understand that cross cultural communication, inclusion training is not a choice. It's an area for people to learn and to grow together. And many, when you moved in your country, there are so many things to learn. And, understanding about other cultures is really a key, and something is really easy for you to understand and change it. And you definitely need to keep your identity, but some areas you need to improve so you can succeed.

So for example, one woman, told me that in her culture, women don't look at, a man's eyes. And for her, it was very difficult to learn it. It took more than a year, but she the feedback she got that other people thought that she's not confident, that she is not honest, and she is not interested in. And she realized that this is not the way she wants to be perceived. And by getting comfortable looking at other people's eyes, she was able to achieve and to move off to the leadership roles and become a very successful speaker. So there are areas that we always need to think how to improve on. Many organizations are looking for perfect solutions. But believe me, young employees are not looking for perfection. They are looking for somebody who understands them, somebody who cares them for them, and somebody who sounds like them.

There are many strategies in organizations that really could be helpful for you to consider. One of them, your hiring team. Do you have people from other backgrounds who can not only help, candidates feel that they are not the only who have an accent, but will also help those, biases. Think about the data you collect, the people whom you hire, and the people whom you don't. Think about the assessment you provide. And, for example, like now, think about if English language test are still relevant when, artificial intelligence can correct your grammar mistakes in seconds. Think about the legal support that some of your international employees needed, and, many organizations automatically reject those resumes. But many of the candidates are willing to pay for their own expenses, for their legal expenses. Think about the policies that make sense and make doesn't make sense.

And many times, you know, when I work with organizations, I question that creating cultures where everybody belongs, it's not one person responsibility. We all need to step in. We all need to see what we can improve, how we can grow, how we can change. So, today, I want to give you a few examples, but, really, I want you to think how each of you can contribute to the organizational culture. So one time, I came to organization where I delivered a few trainings, but then I approached the staff and I asked if they will be willing to do a training in the organization. And the response was, it's a great idea, but somebody else is better than me. And then I told that, yes, of course, there are always somebody better. But I did the trainings, People landed, but mostly importantly, I landed myself. So, it was really nice when suddenly, 80% of the staff decided to do trainings.

All the trainings were really good, and we all learn from each other. Another example, recently, I've done a workshop about misinformation propaganda and misinformation. And it's not like I have an expert in that area at all. But, I brought it up from growing up in the Soviet regime about getting brainwashed myself, and we had a very interesting discussion. I didn't expect it, but how many people resonated with that experience and how many people told that this conversation is really important today in every organization. So I think many times we don't realize how much impact we can make unless if we try doing something and delivering trainings and make starting conversations that sometimes can feel uncomfortable. So moving to a new country, if any of any of you have done that, and feel free to add in the comments if you lived in a new country.

It's challenging. It's difficult. But it's also we experience that teaches about resilience, teaches about courage, teaches about compassion. And I also like, you know, you to understand that you can help other people journey easier by helping them out. Think about maybe, currently, in your organization, there are maybe employees who are not reaching their full potential because they are not considering certain opportunities. And think about how it impacts the whole organization. And understand that you don't have to be alone in this journey. I hope you join my mission to show that immigrant voices and perspectives, are really important and needed. I hope that you show that, everybody could learn from bringing an international perspective, And I provide workshops in HR solutions on by myself and together of others.

I provide group and individual mentoring, and they also refer a consultants from different backgrounds, including executive coaching, training, human resources, security, international development, marketing, you name it. So if you need a great consultant for you to expand globally or grow, domestically, let me know. And I hope you join with me. And, also, I would like you to ask you if you can scan this code and provide a short feedback about the session. That will be really, really helpful. It's only a few sessions, few questions for anybody who can please. I will not send millions of emails. I will just send the resources, the presentation, and a few resources that can be helpful to you. So I'll truly appreciate that. And feel free to add in the comments, anything you know, any question you may have so I can answer that question today.

And thank you so much for everybody joining. And, yes, if you if you yes. There are a few things, you know, meet I still have a few minutes, so a few things I can share with you while waiting. So every time you hire somebody, think about you people look for perfect candidates, but think about what you would learn and what your team would learn hiring somebody different than you. One time, I worked with one leader and who told me, if somebody is not comfortable of your English, it's not, about your language. It's about other people comfort working of somebody different than them. So think about, like, when you work with international staff or any staff, think about, like, opening your hearts and opening your minds.

Because the more you open your heart, the more you're able to understand somebody, to hear somebody, to relate with another person. So, yes, and I hope that you find my presentation helpful.