How exactly did you find your job in the States?

[Afrikan Queen 11]

I agree with everyone here about Craigslist. (I'm a USC). When I was looking for a job, I have got more interest from their listings then job recruiters and online resources.

[Aubrey 10]

My husband's first job here was night stocking at a grocery store. He didn't have much in the way of stuff on his resume, except a bit of volunteering at the local public library (while waiting on his EAD).

But, that didn't last long. He was hired by a popular local game company due to his bilingual skills (german-english); a well-paying job at a good company. It was a one-line anonymous listing on Craigslist. My advice -- apply for those bilingual positions and look for them. It's a growing skill that's desired in the most unexpected industries!

Also consider putting your name in at temp agencies. While hiring is still slow, many places are looking for temps, which can lead to steady work.

[HeatDeath 430]

I made up resumes and stock cover letters tailored for the 2-3 different kinds of jobs I was seeking (teaching, training, and programming).

Then I went through the job listings in the local paper every week, and Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com every day, and applied to anything I looked even slightly qualified for. I also directly contacted several call centers, because I'd done that before as well. I must've answered at least 3-4 dozen ads [many of which wanted me to basically retype my resume into their web form, 'cause they're too cheap to pay for an HR drone to actually read it! G-d bless companies that have a proper resume parser on their webpage!]

After 3 months of looking I got interviews at 3 places, one of which was canceled because they reclassified the position. The 3rd interview got me the job!

Interesting point, and worth mentioning: I had applied for the position I got hired for once before, a month earlier, and received no response. I only applied for it again when they reran the ad because I had a basically mechanical process by that point of scanning the ad, determining if I was at least vaguely qualified, selecting the correct resume and filling out the right "form" cover letter and emailing them off. But the second time, I got a call back from their HR lady to do a screening telephone interview.

So it just goes to show, as I said: apply for everything you seem even vaguely qualified for. And apply even if it seems like you've already applied for the same job with the same employer recently. Demonstrated persistence can be seen as positive.

[SpelaD 4]

I had my 1st phone interview the other day and in the middle of it, I was told they don't usually hire "internationally" - probably meaning people from other countries...Isn't that some sort of discrimination?! How rude!

[silvana.toma 15]

I had my 1st phone interview the other day and in the middle of it, I was told they don't usually hire "internationally" - probably meaning people from other countries...Isn't that some sort of discrimination?! How rude!

Depends on what kind of job you were applying for...some companies want only americans as i would assume they want people who can speak perfect english, and no matter how well you speak the language people will know you are not from around.But regardless, they were rude and discriminating, and you would't want to work for that kind of people anyway.

I am from Romania and it is tough to get a good job right away, as english is my fourth language,and even if most people are very impressed with my english they can tell i'm not from around.

Recently I had an incident when someone was quite rude to me, and as i walked home my friend-a usc told me the lady probably didn't listen to me because she could tell i am not from around...#######??.. but i tend to ignore them, as i speak 5 languages and they barely speak one(no ofense to anyone..i am only refering to the people mentioned above).

Good luck in your search, and don;t let anyone put you down because "you're not from around"...that is silly, imature, and very unprofesional.

Edited March 11, 2011 by silvana.toma

[Vanessa248 4]

I sent out applications online, mostly on department stores. I probably sent out 10-12 applications to different places. Target wrote me an email saying they have no vacancy at this moment. Macy's emailed me for an interview schedule, I got the job at Macy's.

[SpelaD 4]

When looking for a job in the US, is a resume + cover letter enough? Or should I include a CV also? I am so confused what is the right way. I am only 23 and a college graduate, so don't have that much working experience - only 2 years working as an RN - intern. And other temporary/summer jobs I did during high school...

[juliava 80]

When looking for a job in the US, is a resume + cover letter enough? Or should I include a CV also? I am so confused what is the right way. I am only 23 and a college graduate, so don't have that much working experience - only 2 years working as an RN - intern. And other temporary/summer jobs I did during high school...

Tipically you send a resume and cover letter. The resume should include relevant professional experience and the cover letter should outline your strenghts and competences that would make you a perfect match for the job you are applying for. Also make sure you provide a minimum of 3 good references.

Craigslist was a great job hunting tool for me when I moved up here in NJ. I found a job in less than a month, but I had 5 years relevant work experience.

Edited March 14, 2011 by juliava

[SpelaD 4]

On my interview today, I was asked to bring References if I get picked for a job. Now...I don't exactly know what the lady meant with that...What should References look like...Is it like a letter from my previous employer?

[juliava 80]

On my interview today, I was asked to bring References if I get picked for a job. Now...I don't exactly know what the lady meant with that...What should References look like...Is it like a letter from my previous employer?

No, you just need to provide their names and a phone number. They will be contacted by the employer.

[SpelaD 4]

What if they don't really speak english? Am I screwed?

[Adrian+Mike 2]

I sent out applications online, mostly on department stores. I probably sent out 10-12 applications to different places. Target wrote me an email saying they have no vacancy at this moment. Macy's emailed me for an interview schedule, I got the job at Macy's.

I've over 10 years experience in retail back home in the UK and applied at our local Target store. Had an interview on Monday for a flow team member for overnight shelf stocking... got an email today stating that they were unable to provide me a position. I've had my Greencard 3 months and this is only the second interview I've managed to get and I've sent out too many emails, phone calls, registered with temp agencies etc to even remember. To say I feel like a spare wheel while my USC wife supports us both is an understatement. Fortunately she just got a promotion at work which is great and makes me very proud of her, but just makes me feel even more of a tool as I can't even get a position in retail - one in which I'm qualified for - to help pay the bills. I've never known such a tough job market in all my life, feeling as if you need a degree just to flip a burger at the moment.

As for discrimination against hiring workers who are not born n raised in the US... well after so many rejection interviews/letters it does start to make you wonder.

Edited March 18, 2011 by Adrian+Mike

[silvana.toma 15]

I've over 10 years experience in retail back home in the UK and applied at our local Target store. Had an interview on Monday for a flow team member for overnight shelf stocking... got an email today stating that they were unable to provide me a position. I've had my Greencard 3 months and this is only the second interview I've managed to get and I've sent out too many emails, phone calls, registered with temp agencies etc to even remember. To say I feel like a spare wheel while my USC wife supports us both is an understatement. Fortunately she just got a promotion at work which is great and makes me very proud of her, but just makes me feel even more of a tool as I can't even get a position in retail - one in which I'm qualified for - to help pay the bills. I've never known such a tough job market in all my life, feeling as if you need a degree just to flip a burger at the moment.

As for discrimination against hiring workers who are not born n raised in the US... well after so many rejection interviews/letters it does start to make you wonder.

Have you thought about getting a degree, or at least a certification(some classes take 6 months)? That might help! research what's in demand and you go for it. I have worked on ships as assist art director, but here that doesn't mean anything, so i decided to go back to school for a while.

Imagine I'm from Romania, it's even worse to get a job for me than it is for you, at least english is your first language...

[juliava 80]

I've over 10 years experience in retail back home in the UK and applied at our local Target store. Had an interview on Monday for a flow team member for overnight shelf stocking... got an email today stating that they were unable to provide me a position. I've had my Greencard 3 months and this is only the second interview I've managed to get and I've sent out too many emails, phone calls, registered with temp agencies etc to even remember. To say I feel like a spare wheel while my USC wife supports us both is an understatement. Fortunately she just got a promotion at work which is great and makes me very proud of her, but just makes me feel even more of a tool as I can't even get a position in retail - one in which I'm qualified for - to help pay the bills. I've never known such a tough job market in all my life, feeling as if you need a degree just to flip a burger at the moment.

As for discrimination against hiring workers who are not born n raised in the US... well after so many rejection interviews/letters it does start to make you wonder.

How about working in restaurant industry for a while?Restaurants/Pizza places are always looking for servers, cashiers, etc. It's a start, until you accumulate some US work experience. Unfortunately most of US employees don't really care about a foreign work experience.

[juliava 80]

What if they don't really speak english? Am I screwed?

Well, those are definitely not the right references as long as it's impossible communicating with them.