Share your job hunting experience

[redglasses 1]

Share your story of how you got a job/job offer and how long it took.

[Cacerez 19]

My husband had a shoe-in because his English tutor knew the owners of this particular company - it has two parts: janitorial and fire and flood restoration. He first got into the janitorial side as part-time to get his foot in the door, then was offered full-time in the restoration side (which pays more and is day time) less than two weeks later. He is currently working both until they find someone for the janitorial evening position. So far, it has been working out well.

He did not have any specific training or degrees/certificates, etc. He had worked as a waiter in Guatemala, but the language barrier prevents him from doing that right now, and now that he is doing this work, he likes it better than food service. He may eventually work with my father doing HVAC work.

[Miranda&John 0]

I'll be filing my AOS papers Dec 26th when my lawyer comes back from vacation

In the meantime, there was this awesome job that I applied for. I've been scheduled for testing January 5th... I'm hoping if I pass testing and go on to the interview phase (and get offered the job) I can hold them off until I get my EAD...

If not, it will have been some good interview practice

[Dave and Helena 0]

I didn't put my resume out there until after my GC interview. The day after I got an email from an employer who saw my resume online saying they wanted me to come in for an interview. And less than a week later I had a job. In my favor was the fact that I am from Sweden and they (a VOIP company) also wanted people who could test their service. I got laid off in May but got my job back as a contractor two months later.

[aidankari 0]

I moved here in Feb 09 on a K1 visa and got married in April. I received my EAD in June and my green card in Aug.

I am now working in Marketing in the Washington DC area. I got my job in Oct so my search wasn't too long but I did go to about 15 interviews between June and October and probably applied to about 100 jobs! I mainly used local newspaper websites and found indeed.com too be a good job search platform. I registered with a number of job sites like Monster, Jobfox etc. but found them to be not much help. I discovered that I had most success getting a reply from companies that I could apply directly to. There are a lot of 'job sites' that look for money in return for job listings but I would discourage job seekers from paying any money over unless you are confident the site is legitimate and you know people who have used it. Unfortunately you do find some 'fake' out out there! THERE ARE A LOT OF SCAMS OUT THERE SO BE WARNED!

I took on a part time job in late July and found that this helped me get more traction when applying to full time marketing jobs as it proved that I was legally allowed to work. I found that some hiring managers did not fully understand the legitimacy of the EAD card and preferred to hear that I had a green card. I did see that some companies were reluctant to pursue applications when they found out I was from Ireland, so clearly articulating that you are fully legally entitled to work is VERY IMPORTANT both on you resume/cover letters and also in interviews.

Some Tips from My experience:

If you cant find a full time job immediately in you area of interest try and work part time if you can

Volunteer if necessary, its a great way to get your foot in the door and can give you valuable references

Keep trying, its very competitive out there but persistence pays

Get to know as many people as possible, i joined a sports team which helped me get an interview for one job

Search local company websites and newspaper sites, they tend to be the most reliable

I hope this is useful. Feel free to ask questions. GOOD LUCK!

[Gemmie 142]

Good advice, Aidan.

I'm still looking. I've applied to about 15 jobs but have only heard back from 3 at the moment; one to say they weren't interested and two to say they passed my resume onto the director and they'd contact me if interested. I've been applying to jobs that relate to my degree in some way, but find that they almost always want more experience than I can offer, so I might have to get a more entry-level job in the field.

It does help knowing people. My MIL has asked people at the school she works at if I they know of anything, and she's offered an unpaid job working with a couple of the students, helping them with their projects. It's experience and a reference that I can put on my resume, so I'm taking that. I also know a British girl in my field that said she'll keep an eye out for me.

I'm going to keep trying with the psychology jobs, and if no luck after a month or two, I'll try other areas.

[yamashitariki 4]

Thank you for sharing your experience. I know this may have been quite a while since, but I find it relevant. I agree with you with regards to the online job sites mentioned. Not much help there. Volunteering is a good way to network and be recommended.

I moved here in Feb 09 on a K1 visa and got married in April. I received my EAD in June and my green card in Aug.

I am now working in Marketing in the Washington DC area. I got my job in Oct so my search wasn't too long but I did go to about 15 interviews between June and October and probably applied to about 100 jobs! I mainly used local newspaper websites and found indeed.com too be a good job search platform. I registered with a number of job sites like Monster, Jobfox etc. but found them to be not much help. I discovered that I had most success getting a reply from companies that I could apply directly to. There are a lot of 'job sites' that look for money in return for job listings but I would discourage job seekers from paying any money over unless you are confident the site is legitimate and you know people who have used it. Unfortunately you do find some 'fake' out out there! THERE ARE A LOT OF SCAMS OUT THERE SO BE WARNED!

I took on a part time job in late July and found that this helped me get more traction when applying to full time marketing jobs as it proved that I was legally allowed to work. I found that some hiring managers did not fully understand the legitimacy of the EAD card and preferred to hear that I had a green card. I did see that some companies were reluctant to pursue applications when they found out I was from Ireland, so clearly articulating that you are fully legally entitled to work is VERY IMPORTANT both on you resume/cover letters and also in interviews.

<b>Some Tips from My experience:</b>

If you cant find a full time job immediately in you area of interest try and work part time if you can

Volunteer if necessary, its a great way to get your foot in the door and can give you valuable references

Keep trying, its very competitive out there but persistence pays

Get to know as many people as possible, i joined a sports team which helped me get an interview for one job

Search local company websites and newspaper sites, they tend to be the most reliable

I hope this is useful. Feel free to ask questions. GOOD LUCK!