Adaptation Checklist: A Compilation of Helpful Tips for Immigrants for 2022

On the eve of Christmas and New Year's holidays, we all tend to expect miracles, pleasant gifts and unexpected joys. Forum Daily has also prepared a small gift for its readers. We tried to summarize some of the advice to immigrants that we gave in previous articles, preparing a kind of a memo on adaptation. It will help you to more easily navigate the materials of different years and find useful tips that will help you specifically in your situation.

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1. When moving to another country, it is important to know what stages of immigration are characteristic of the human psyche, and how feel right their. For example, at the first stage, usually called "idealization", it is important to allow yourself to uncritically accept the host country and look at it through rose-colored glasses. It is during this period that you will be able to accumulate positive feelings, vivid impressions and experiences of joy, which, transforming into pleasant memories, will greatly help in the subsequent period.

At the stage of disappointment, on the contrary, you should not force the tired psyche and it is important to give yourself the opportunity to take a break from everything, including even pleasant impressions. At least during this period, you do not need to set new large-scale goals and it is important to give your body the opportunity to recover. At the stage of nostalgia, it is important not to deal with unnecessary memories, but on the contrary, allow yourself to accept your sadness and say goodbye to the past, reconciling it with the present - at least in order to use the emotional resource accumulated in the past.

2. If at the time of arrival in a new country your English is not yet perfect, try to master it in the process doing what you love... This will help transform language learning from a boring necessity into a natural need for self-realization. The best personal and professional contacts usually arise around common interests and common affairs, so don't be afraid to volunteer, exchange experiences, look for potential like-minded people and share ideas. After some time, you will be able to get so carried away by this process that it will no longer matter to you what language you speak.

On the subject: Adapting to life in the USA: how to get rid of the fears and habits of the homeland and open up to new things

Don't be afraid to look for new ones acquaintances among professional contacts, even if they are not directly related to the search for work. Such communication can enrich you with invaluable experience, advice and connections, and most importantly - gain recognition in the professional community. Without it, you are not only unlikely to be able to get a recommendation for subsequent employment, but you will not even be able to assess the level of your own professionalism.

When starting such communication, remember: if you want to be answered, offer a very specific and high-quality intellectual product: an analytical article, an understandable and implementable project, and so on. The ideal message should contain new information: original conclusions, unexpected logical constructions, unknown facts. At the same time, it should be close in topic to your addressee, for example, include comments on some of his articles, supplement his conclusions, and so on.

You should not resort to roundabout ways or use manipulative methods of building an acquaintance - real professionals are well aware of such methods, and therefore nothing but suspicion will bring you nothing. But a specific professional and sincere request with clearly defined goals and interesting proposals may interest many specialists.

3. Be consistent open to new, including outside their professional interests. Try to sincerely learn about the history, culture, traditions and customs of the new country. This will help you to adapt to it more easily, to understand faster. mentality of local residents and it is easier to accept cultural differences. Exactly openness to new and sincere curiosity about everything about a new country is the key to successful immigration.

It is very important to fragment your life, that is, to pay equal attention to its different areas, not to confuse one with the other. Accordingly, it is worth looking for new American acquaintances not only in the circle of your work, but also among like-minded people in hobbies and spending time together, thereby expanding your own circle of interests. This will not only open up new opportunities for you, but also help protect you from psychological trauma and disappointment in a new country, since you will always know that you have friends among Americans. Thus, if you suddenly encounter some setbacks and even serious blows in the United States, your negativity will not be transferred to the country and all its inhabitants as a whole. If your communication with Americans is limited to a specific area, the likelihood that if you fail, you will be disappointed in America as such.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York

4. However, try avoid common mistakesthat immigrants commit. It is important to know which underwater rocks can expect you in business dealings with Americans, where you should expect a catch, where it is better to rely on informal relationships and personal advice, and where it is important to use formal procedures. Forum Daily has already suggested some tips on this topic. Perhaps not all of them will suit you, but knowing some of the nuances can serve as a kind of safety cushion and avoid unnecessary shocks.

Remember that sooner or later you will still have to establish personal boundaries and erect not only bridges, but also walls. It is better to do this carefully and deliberately at the very beginning than after you have already filled the bumps. Boundaries built after shocks and shocks can often be too rigid and can hinder your successful adaptation. Moreover, the very motivation to adapt is also reduced under the influence of injuries, so it is better to do everything to hedge against possible blows.

5. Do not neglect existing procedures and guidelines, in particular, numerous tutorials and tips on how to better pass an interview, write a resume, prepare answers to tricky employers' questions, and so on. As a rule, there is a lot of literature on this topic, including manuals for specific areas, for example, for IT professionals, marketers, and others. Before applying for a job, try to study everything you can about the state of the industry in which you plan to work and the specifics of the company where you want to work.

6. In case you want to give up everything and come back home, important check your motivation by several criteria. In particular, your desire may be driven by high expectations, erroneous prioritization, wrong attitudes towards loss and failure, or just the wrong choice of environment.

7. Decide on a goal setting and do not forget that successful immigration is not determined by the amount of money earned or formal status, but only by whether you managed to achieve the goal for which you decided to go to a new country. For some, this may be a feeling of security, for others - freedom, for others - the possibility of self-realization, and someone, perhaps, just wanted to change the harsh climate to a warmer one. You should not copy someone else's concept of success and adapt to standards that are not typical for you. The only really important criterion for success is the achievement of happiness. In this case, it does not matter at all how it looks from the outside.

Do not forget also that immigration is not only an opportunity to comprehend a new country, but also a chance to learn a lot about yourself. Adaptation is a way to enrich our inner world, change some of our traits and better understand what we really want. Assimilation does not mean violence against your nature. On the contrary, you can always choose which of both cultures can be useful to you at a particular moment.

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