Muhammad Maaita

November 2011

Muhammad Maaita

Muhammad Maaita, field technician for Goodwill Technology Solutions (information technology), describes his journey the past 2½ years as “a big wow.”

“It started when I decided to move to the States, and before, I had my job back home. I was living my life,” said the native of Jordan. “In late 2008, I was approved to move to the United States and become a permanent resident.”

Muhammad said work experience, advanced educational opportunities, and family influenced his decision. He left behind an information technology job at an international company, family, friends, and familiarity and arrived in Indianapolis in January 2009 to move in with family members already here.

“I’m looking for a job – second day, second morning. The first thing I go for is online application, and I’m just submitting applications anywhere. I need someone to talk to. Of course, that was one of the barriers, which is the language. At the very beginning, it was too hard to communicate that, ‘I can do this, but I don’t know the meaning of that word,’ ” says Muhammad, who spoke English but had a limited vocabulary when he arrived.

Muhammad’s job search took 7 months.

“It was the time where the economic crisis had hit the top. Everyone was worried. Imagine me thinking, ‘What am I going to do? What did I do to myself? I lost – I gave away – a very nice job at an international company.’ ”

But, as Muhammad describes his journey, “Everything comes just in time. There’s a blessing somewhere, right?”

His brother, a former Goodwill employee, thought he should apply at a store. “Literally, he grabbed my hand, put me in his car, drove me to the Keystone Store.”

Muhammad was hired as a store cashier a week later. From day one, he planned to advance. “I’m working, keeping my job, saying, ‘I love what I do right now, and I’m doing my best, but that’s not what I’m planning to keep doing.’ ”

Meanwhile, Muhammad’s family, which owns a restaurant and a trucking business, routinely offered him jobs. But Muhammad stuck with his dream to get back into the information technology field.

“I didn’t want to walk the same path (as my family),” he says. “I needed to go back to, ‘Why did you decide to move to the States? To better myself, to better my skills, to better my education.’ ”

After he was hired at Goodwill, Muhammad persistently reminded his manager that he could do more. They worked on a development plan, and he was eventually promoted to team leader. He also took a Goodwill class where individuals learn to find community resources and set personal and financial goals. Through the class, Muhammad met Goodwill staff who connected him with his current job, providing information technology support for Goodwill’s stores, and he transferred in September 2010.

Muhammad now has his own apartment and is excited about his future. “I have a good job, a career. Sometimes when I think about it, I don’t believe it.”

“That’s Goodwill’s whole mission – working together to help people find jobs – find life. I wouldn’t have a life here without a job.”