Finding work

[sarah9 14]

Ok, so I've been here since June 2011, job hunting since january 2012 - lots of appliacations, zero call backs.

Then yesterday i hear about a career fair for a major car dealership, and think.... ooooh perfect opportunity to make an impression.... oh how wrong I was!

A bit of background:

I'm from the UK, had excellent grades at school, college, and did a 3 year accountancy course. 10 years work experience in accounting - everything from accounts payable to finalising annual accounts & tax returns & audits. I really have covered a huge range, and have very varied experience. My most recent job in the UK was as "number 2" in accounting for a global company, lots of responsibility, and glowing refererences from there. I have never struggled to find a job, quite the opposite in fact, I have never applied and not been offered the job, and have always "picked" the job I wanted. I haven't floated around between lots of jobs - there were 4 companies over the 10 years.

I'm not stupid, I knew I would take a pay cut, and I knew I would have to lower my expectations. I did, and i've been looking at accounts payable & bank teller positions, which don't even require a degree - just a bit of experience, and high school dimploma.

Like I said - no luck, but always put it down to the sheer number of online applications - and me being lost in the pile. I always believed if I could meet someone face to face I would get the job!

So off I go to the career fair, interested in an accounts payable position, then I get a mini interview..... only to be told i might be better suited to a receptionist position they have.

Please understand, i have nothing against the job of a receptionist. But for me personally, I view it as a big insult to be told I'd be more suited to that. Having 10 years experience in Accountancy, and knowing I am "trusted" to prepare and file the accounts of multinational companies back home - but here, I would be better suited to answering the telephone and taking messages..... well it all came as a big shock to me....

Although I managed to hold it together while I was in there, I got in the car, drove a minute down the road and then broke down... and have been pretty much crying ever since. I feel utterly humiliated, and my confidence has been shattered. I know that the manager was not being rude, but if that's the level of job my skills transfer to over here I am in disbelief.

Even if I did go for that position, I can assure you that there would be many people better qualified for it that me, as I have NEVER done any sort of reception work.

There have been many instances since i've been living here that have left me feeling like a "second rate" person, but i've always dealt with it, however this has destroyed my belief that things will ever get better for me here.... and i'm not sure i can go on living here if I don't see a little glimmer of light at the end of the very long tunnel!

I'm not sure what exactly I'm looking for here, just some opinions, or experiences I guess.

I've read so many posts from finance professionals who seem to struggle when they get here, but I really thought I'd dropped the bar low enough when it came to my expectation of Accounts payable.

I'd like to know - if you were in my shoes - how would you feel about my scenario?

[No-Where-Man 147]

You are not alone.

The economy is still down, dont believe what you hear on tv.

Alot of people in-line for jobs that they never even dreamed that one day they will apply for. Businsses make use of such a fact and are so so picky.

I for example, have a Bachelor in Mechanincal Engineering, I must tell you, I got many interviews and offers for work, but hey, not as an engineer, nope, as a machine operator or such types of work (since I have manufacturing experience), I worked in two different places on the hope I will go up, and the max wages were 11/H, and I was not able to get 40 hours a week even, at the end I was laid off.

Almost a year searching for jobs everyday here and there, nothing......

I got some friends who advised me to go back to school in a demanding field. and the recommendations were either Medicine or IT.

I started preparing for Medicine, yes it will take sometime but it worth every penny later.

I will pray for you and for everyone who is in need..

Edited June 13, 2012 by no_where_man

[Cathi 5,771]

It's a tough job market for everyone in this country. There are just not enough jobs for the amount of people unemployed. I am sorry to hear about your bad experience today. But if you really want to work you may just have to apply for jobs that you may not like, or you think you may be overqualified for, Your attitude here comes across like you think you are too good for the job they suggested you apply for. A good friend of mine was senior VP of sales in a multi national company, he was responsible for several hundred people under him for over 15 years, 25 years experience in his field with a 4 year degree, he was laid off 3 years ago. He is now working in a muffler shop 90 hours a week trying to manage a bunch of people who 50% of time never even show up for work. This is the first job in the 3 years since he was laid off that he was offered a full time position, he worked several part time jobs in the interim, even bagging groceries. He has a family to take care of and he does what he has to do to keep the bills paid and put food on the table. Sorry to say that you are going to have to either lower you standards, or remain unemployed. Right now it's the nature of the beast in this country. Sorry to sound harsh, but you asked for opinions.

[*Snowdrop* 604]

I understand why it's made you feel so bad - especially while you are already in a stressful position, job hunting in a new country in a really bad economy. When you're at a low ebb it always makes things feel even worse.

But when you get the chance to calm down a little and draw on all those personal resources you have (that you definitely after working at a high level for that length of time) try to think logically about what just happened.

You are reacting to the opinion of one person at one company (unless everyone at the whole career fair told you that you should be a receptionist, it could be they were just having a bad day or didn't understand your accent when you were telling them about your experience or it could be that there is something missing from your career resume and background that you need over here that you didn't need in the UK.

So you should try to take as much beneficial information away from this experience as possible.

Did you ask them why they thought your experience meant you were suitable for the receptionist job and not the job you thought you were qualified for? (If you were too shell-shocked at the time to ask can you call them back and ask them. You need details)

Do your qualifications not translate well on your resume?

Are you using a different business language about your skills and experience - perhaps they did not really understand how you were selling yourself?

Were you actually selling yourself - Americans tend to use much more confident language and words in these situations - no self-deprecating humour etc.

What were they looking for? Again - get hard details - specific qualifications, experience. skills.

In this situation I'd be aiming to make contact / network with colleagues in my field and try to get someone (actually more than one person) to check my resume - have you Americanized it etc. And do some practice interview questions to see if you are coming across in a way which is understood over here.

One thing I've been surprised at here is how much emphasis is still placed on your university qualifications even years after you have left. In my field in the UK once you have a few years of work experience behind you, no one cares anyone if you even went to university. It's not the same here - they often still want to know that you have a right level of education. You might need to look at how you have worded the info about your education - you might not be selling that part of yourself enough.

It can help to join something like LinkedIn and connect with people over here in your field. Examine their resumes and how they present their skills and experience and find a way to make your profile match up.

Sorry you had a crappy experience today - what you need now is to attack the problem with information and don't give up.

Edited June 13, 2012 by *Lynne*

[sarah9 14]

Thanks for the replies.

Especially yours Lynne!

I should probably add that I had my resume checked over by my husbands "professional" friends, and asked them to be brutal - my reply was that it was great, and i should have no problem finding work.

During the interview, she asked me to describe what my country did for AP, which was identicle to what she describes. Only difference was 2 procedures to do with tax id's at the end of the year. Which would not worry me in the slightest.

Her reason I guess for suggesting the other job was that there was too much for me to learn. any new job is filled with learning, regardless of where you come from, it is different for every company. Learning new finance forms is pretty easy when it's all you've done for 10 years.

Example - tax systems very different between UK & US, but a little bit of research and i did our joint tax return. I know more about american money matters than my husband who has lived here his entire life

To the person saying I need to lower my standards - I think I have considerably. I have applied for retail jobs, jobs that pay $8 an hour, but they don't consider me because of my experience in other fields (well i assume, or maybe i'm not qualified for that either, who knows)

You're right I asked for opinions, but I don't only have two choices - lowering my standards or staying unemployed. I can return to the coutry who thinks I'm a desirable worker and get a great job. So if it comes down to taking a job in Mcdonalds or going home? I have no hesitation, say whatever you want about me!

[*Snowdrop* 604]

Her reason I guess for suggesting the other job was that there was too much for me to learn. any new job is filled with learning, regardless of where you come from, it is different for every company. Learning new finance forms is pretty easy when it's all you've done for 10 years.

Example - tax systems very different between UK & US, but a little bit of research and i did our joint tax return. I know more about american money matters than my husband who has lived here his entire life

Unless you are desperate for money right now then I think your time is better spent working on getting a job which is at least related to your field rather than spend time and energy on retail type jobs. (If do need money urgently then of course you should consider any job a good opportunity)

I've bolded two parts of your reply up above.

You say you guess her reason is she thinks there was too much to learn. Are you assuming that or do you know? Much better for you actually to find this out for a fact.

And if that is the case - take that into account with the second statement that the tax systems are very different and that's the key issue you are facing here.

It doesn't matter right now that you know you can do it if there is a general perception that you are too much of a risk without any direct US accounting experience then you may have to try to get some extra qualification to show you can work in this country.

So that in interviews you can say - "I've done a lot of research to understand the differences between the two countries, I've taken this course to update myself on how things are done here"

That would make a potential employer feel much safer when hiring you, I think. Also contact the people who are acting as your references - will any from the well known multi-nationals you worked for write a letter of glowing recommendation, specifically testifying to your adaptability etc etc. If you can include that in any applications - and hand it over during face-to-face interviews, it might help.

My trick when I need a little boost in job interviews is to wait until the time when they say - Do you have any questions? I reply - I don't have any questions but I want to add some points about ....... ...... ...... (add in whatever I feel I need to stress about my skills etc which hasn't come up) and then I also often have a handout to give them at this point (for my work I prepare some ideas, or a report on how to improve a certain thing about the company - but that's specific to my field) you could handover a couple of glowing reference letters and a document showing you have just completed x and y qualification, seminar, conference etc. You'd say,

"We've touched on the differences between the tax system here and the one in the UK and I realise that it could be a concern for potential employers but I've worked hard to address any potential issues - the latest thing I did was attend the national association for accounts conference in DC where I took part in several session on tax blah blah, also here's my transcript from the recent course I took on **** and *****, and here's two reference letters from my time at blah blah company. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to address any concerns you may have"

[sarah9 14]

Unless you are desperate for money right now then I think your time is better spent working on getting a job which is at least related to your field rather than spend time and energy on retail type jobs. (If do need money urgently then of course you should consider any job a good opportunity)

I've bolded two parts of your reply up above.

You say you guess her reason is she thinks there was too much to learn. Are you assuming that or do you know? Much better for you actually to find this out for a fact.

And if that is the case - take that into account with the second statement that the tax systems are very different and that's the key issue you are facing here.

It doesn't matter right now that you know you can do it if there is a general perception that you are too much of a risk without any direct US accounting experience then you may have to try to get some extra qualification to show you can work in this country.

So that in interviews you can say - "I've done a lot of research to understand the differences between the two countries, I've taken this course to update myself on how things are done here"

That would make a potential employer feel much safer when hiring you, I think. Also contact the people who are acting as your references - will any from the well known multi-nationals you worked for write a letter of glowing recommendation, specifically testifying to your adaptability etc etc. If you can include that in any applications - and hand it over during face-to-face interviews, it might help.

My trick when I need a little boost in job interviews is to wait until the time when they say - Do you have any questions? I reply - I don't have any questions but I want to add some points about ....... ...... ...... (add in whatever I feel I need to stress about my skills etc which hasn't come up) and then I also often have a handout to give them at this point (for my work I prepare some ideas, or a report on how to improve a certain thing about the company - but that's specific to my field) you could handover a couple of glowing reference letters and a document showing you have just completed x and y qualification, seminar, conference etc. You'd say,

"We've touched on the differences between the tax system here and the one in the UK and I realise that it could be a concern for potential employers but I've worked hard to address any potential issues - the latest thing I did was attend the national association for accounts conference in DC where I took part in several session on tax blah blah, also here's my transcript from the recent course I took on **** and *****, and here's two reference letters from my time at blah blah company. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to address any concerns you may have"

You are an absolute Star, thank you so much for taking the time to write such a helpful reply!

You are absolutely right, and your advice is brilliant. I'm starting to see a little more clearly now that I've got things off my chest

Rejection is never easy, but when all your friends and family aren't here it's made much more difficult! Unfotunately for hubby, not a word he said would have been the right thing, because he's just too close to the situation!

Wow this immigration thing is hard work

[tokyobelle 2]

I'm here to sympathize. We almost have the same timeline. I also started looking for jobs on January. I have revised my resume a lot of times because it's difficult to get an interview. I would have days were I get lots of calls, most of them though are out of state and contractual. I have been offered a job lately but I have to turn it down because the pay was lower than we have expected. I cried when that happened because it is my dream job but my husband told me it's not practical to move since he will have to give up his very-much secured job.

I have been interviewed here locally, the company found me on Linkedin and decided to interview me. I thought I almost had it cuz they tell me they have liked my Java program and they just have to finish the interviews...at the end, they chose another person. Argh, it's frustrating! What's more frustrating is I get a lot of calls from headhunters who do not read the resume carefully. They make you think it's the job you might be good for, I get high hopes, only to find out I don't have any experience of the tools they require.

Anyway, Linkedin kind of helped a bit for me because I have been getting attention from other companies. Some companies do not have the money to advertise so they just usually hire somebody to scout for them on the internet.

[Pcsuper 0]

Good Luck to you all. Im moving soon and have just Qualified in Project Managment Qualification that is recognized in the USA so hopefully that will help .

[praying 0]

Hi Sarah9,

I am really sad reading this. It is very de-motivating. Can you please tell me which state are you from? coz I have heard that ob opportunities differ from state to state also. I would be moving in July and I am really tensed about me getting a job now

Wissing you all the best

[nutsmunkey2000 3]

Good Luck to you all. Im moving soon and have just Qualified in Project Managment Qualification that is recognized in the USA so hopefully that will help .

Hey Pcsuper

Your qualification is a definite plus although a lot of attention will be focused on how much experience you have leading projects in the real world. Most companies are looking for PM's to hit the ground running as you will be either filling somebody's shoes or taking on a project that is in dire straights. I have struggled to find work even though I am an experienced and highly qualified project/program manager who has previously worked for large American companies based in the UK (Aerospace & Biotech). You might have to be willing to take on short term contracts and possibly relocate which has implications for your other half.

Which industry are you looking at? Also where in the US will you be moving/when?

It doesn't hurt to start connecting with recruiters via Linkedin giving them a heads up of when you will be heading over. Also switch your UK cv into resume format now so that its ready ahead of time. Its tough but there are PM jobs about, I'd be happy to put you in contact with the recruiters/companies that I'm dealing with.

I haven't worked for almost 9 months now and its hard going at times.

[Pcsuper 0]

Hi nutsmunkey2000,

I have just qualified in "PMP" and also "Six Sigma Green Belt" and have 12 years leading and managing projets. My backgound is in Banking and also i have cross skilled in Retail, Legal and im currently working for a non-profit organisation. Were looking at moving into the Tampa/Jacksonville area or New York. Awating medical and interiew so looking like August September time.

Any contacts will be welcome and good luck on your hunt as well.

Thanks for your help

[sarah9 14]

Hi Sarah9,

I am really sad reading this. It is very de-motivating. Can you please tell me which state are you from? coz I have heard that ob opportunities differ from state to state also. I would be moving in July and I am really tensed about me getting a job now

Wissing you all the best

Hey, sorry I only just noticed your post. I'm in Michigan, I think that employment market is pretty awful here, so maybe you'll have better luck. I think it very much depends on where you move, and also if you know anyone to personally suggest you (it moves you're resume up the pile a little!) Unfortunately for me, we don't know anyone in my field

Don't lose hope, it may be entirely different for you, just be prepared that a job may not turn up right away.... then it'll be a wonderful bonus if one does

[JohnR! 5,495]

Sarah, I have seen that others have already given you great advice and suggestions, so in order not to be repetitive, here is my 2-cent worth...

I live by the philosophy that 'what others think about me is none of my business'... The reason I say that is because you will always come across people - here and everywhere - to whom you may be perceived as a second-class citizen, or worse. Well, it is their problem, not yours. That they may treat you with less respect or consequence than that which you deserve should not reflect poorly on you, so much as it should evidence their shortsightedness or inadequacy in dealing with others. Remember that, always.

Having said that it downright sucks when you are looking for a job and end up with an offer that is borderline offensive. Again, not your fault, but there are lots of things you can do - some of which were summed up by others in this thread, brilliantly so, incidentally.

What I would add to the list of suggestions is that you scour internet job sites and check out all jobs in your area of expertise, in any state and any company. The reason I say that is because when you apply for a job your resume should come close to what the companies are asking in terms of talent. In other words, your resume should vary to reflect the requirements of the job for which you are applying. Since you live in Michigan, I am not suggesting you should apply for a job in California or New York, so much as I am suggesting you look carefully as to the requirements of the big companies in the US in terms of professionals in your area, for the purpose of gap analysis, if any gap there should be. For all we know everyone these days may be asking for a certification type-X which you do no have, or if you have it, you may have it listed in your resume under a different name. In summary, benchmark your resume against the requirements of your dream job and find out if there are any missing feathers in your hat. That can help you re-word your resume in a way that is current and relevant to your industry, in the US. It can also highlight if there is a need for you to invest in a course, certification or if there is a particular piece of software with which you should be familiar.

Putting yourself in context and perspective may help you regroup and reset your expectations. You may also find out that a this point in life, it might behoove you to take a lesser job in exchange for having the free time and/or extra income to take classes, retrain or simply further your education.

I wish you well in your endeavors!

Edited June 15, 2012 by Gegel

[Maria TH 20]

Have you checked on Craigslist and may be consider some small companies just to get your feet in the door and gain some experience?

I got a job from there so I kinda like to recommend others to try it. The company that hired me, they are not small, they are just conservative.