Communicating one's way to employment: a case study of African settlers in Brisbane, Australia

This paper reports findings of an Australian study on cross-cultural communication and employment of several African birthplace groups of former refugees. The study was conducted in the greater Brisbane area in 2009–10 and collected both quantitative (based on a short questionnaire) and qualitative (based on 12 focus groups) data. Drawing on the uncertainty reduction theory (URT), the segmented labour market theory (SLMT) and Bourdieu's concepts of linguistic and cultural capital, the paper focuses on cross-cultural communication aspects of job search (particularly the job interview situation), the workplace (communication with supervisors and co-workers) and overcoming linguistic and cultural obstacles in building bridging social networks. Existing power relations that structure the communication process, especially the ‘symbolic power’ aspect of Australian ethnic relations, are the context of our analysis. We also report on gender differences that additionally structure these processes in the job search and workplace contexts