Employee Profile: Meet Andrew Cullen, Career Services Manager

Andrew joined IINE in 2019 as in intern in our Lowell office where he was tasked with researching immigrants who had made a significant contribution to the city in preparation for the offices’ centennial celebration—the Lowell 100. At the time, he was studying Peace Conflict Studies at UMASS Lowell. In 2021, having happened to move closer to IINE’s Manchester, New Hampshire office, Andrew was thrilled to find a job there as an Employment Specialist on the Career Services Team, which helps refugees and immigrants to prepare for and enter the workforce. Today, he is the team’s manager.  

What drew you to IINE?

It was aligned with my education, and I’ve always thought that the more diverse our country is—the more welcoming we are—the better off we are internally as well as in how people view us globally.  

What does an average day look like for a Career Services Manager at IINE?

Depending on what day of the week it is, we might be having employment orientation classes for new arrivals. A lot of times people come to me for guidance on different programming. Sometimes I’ll join a meeting with clients to help support team members, if they request that. Usually there’s a department meeting or an all-staff meeting, or a check–in with our site director or someone on my team. There’s generally some documenting to ensure that the work we do is in compliance with all the contracts we have.  

You are also behind our Manchester office’s career fairs, which bring together reps from local businesses and our clients. Can you tell us more about these events?

I enjoy planning these events, reaching out to employers as well as clients. The approach is very different for each, and we’ll evaluate what worked best each time. A good variety of different types of industries are represented at these job fairs that I think really help meet the needs of a lot of the state. At the last one, we had a lot of healthcare represented, which was cool. We usually have a good diverse group, and we have good turnout from the public too—several hundred people at least. I know that many jobs have definitely been created because of it. 

Do you have any favorite success stories of helping clients get jobs?

We had these two brothers—refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo—who really wanted to be truck drivers. We got them into a Commercial Driver’s License training program, and now that’s what they’re doing. Another gentleman who came here from Afghanistan and had spent some time at a university in Japan just got a well-paying job here as a Civil Engineer. I recently ran a report and learned that since I’ve started, we’ve been able to make more than 500 job placements.

Our team’s overall success is partially due to how we’ve partnered our Employment Specialists with our Case Managers. The two teams really understand each other’s work and can make sure that nothing falls through the cracks with our clients. You’re bringing the best qualities out of each other. Everyone’s aligned on how to help each other out as a team. 

What about when you’re not working at IINE, what do you like to do with your free time?

I’m a big reader. I have a library at home with about three-to-four hundred books. I’m a big history guy and I like to learn about subjects like race, religion, and government; what people believe and why; and how different beliefs have shaped our country. And then when I’m not breaking a mental sweat, I like to get outside and break a physical sweat. I went snowboarding last weekend to take advantage of the cold weather. I also like to travel. I’ve never been to the Caribbean; I’d like to check that out next.  

Anything else you’d like people to know about IINE?

I can’t stress enough how important the work is. Each year, there aren’t fewer refugees, there are more. The need for the work we do increases every day. There can be certain preconceptions when you say the word “refugee,” so people should know more about who refugees are. They’re not always people who have been living in camps, for example, some of them were living in a city and were displaced for any number of reasons. Don’t view them as charity cases necessarily, just view them as human beings—like, if you were needing support, how would you want that to look?  And if you’re in a position to hire refugees, please do. You can count on the fact that they’ll be loyal, resilient, and hardworking. They’ll do right by you! 

Interested in joining our team? Our collaborative, team-oriented environment offers opportunities to serve refugees and immigrants, while learning from other staff and departments. View career opportunities here.