Struggling to find work

[Eddy! 1]

i'm so glad I found this thread!

I'm adjusting from F1 visa (married to USC). I have a decent experience in managing roles back in Brazil, and I'm currently finishing my MBA here in US. Finding jobs is tough for me too. I see a lot of positions that would fit my experiences perfectly, but I never get an interview.

I found a job at a supermarket, with a 9/hr pay. It won't get me far, but it will hold the bills back a little.

Good luck, guys!

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Have you tried the DC, (Northern) Virginia, MD area? We have professional jobs which go months unfilled in multiple industries. I personally work for a Government contractor (company size 6K) and know we have many positions that languish.

Not sure how your cover letter is worded but I know I was upfront in mine about why all my experience was foreign and that I was already legally authorized to work. One potential sticking point is that you may look like you're looking for a work VISA on paper. If you get an interview, I would clear that up early...companies much prefer not to deal with sponsoring people. Some jobs of course require citizenship but there are plenty which do not

[Pythos1 24]

During the last 10 years, Texas has added more jobs to the job market than the rest of the US combined. Texas is definitely growing in jobs and people. And those jobs span all economic levels, too. If you like the big city, Texas has lots of them, and many of the fastest growing cities in the US.

[sweet01 39]

Hi Niceb,

I've read your story and somewhat can relate to it before I got my greencard after 6 months of waiting. I too had a post grad degree back home and have management experience. Anyway, since you're here at East Coast, I suggest you moved here in Boston, MA , there are a lot of marketing professionals here and a lot of job opportunities. It is just 5 hours drive away (we did it last week when we visited my cousin there in PA ) . Try to check at Indeed.com first along Boston and Massachusetts area and you'll surely see a lot of job opportunities too. God Bless and I know you both can make it here. The lifestyle and cost of living here is a little bit expensive but you surely both can have work here. Hope this helps

Also, if you want to get a little cheaper rent, you can try looking around Newton Highlands, MA. There are many suburb areas here that are connected on subways, commuter rail and buses so no worries about it. Try to look for work outside PA.

My husband and I won the DV Lottery and landed in Philly three months ago. To date our job search has been fruitless. We both have tonnes of experience between us. I'm Irish with over 10 years experience, have worked in Australia and Brazil. I have a degree, and post grad in Marketing, speak another language, and have worked with lots of American multinational clients in the past. I've been networking like crazy but I can't even get a temp job paying $10 an hour!

My husband is Brazilian with 15 years experience, has also worked in Australia, is an Industrial Engineer with an MBA , has managed teams of over 100 people, has worked for American multinationals in Brazil and speaks three languages. My husband's actual experience would net him a salary of about $90- $100k per year, according to a recruiter, if he was American. However,being a foreigner with no local experience he is willing to work for less than half that. My husband's English is advanced but not totally fluent, so that may be holding him back. He has been going to English classes every day to try and perfect it.

We both have good LinkedIn profiles and are active on Monster, Dice, Indeed etc. My husband has had more luck with getting a few job interviews than I have (I've only had one) but neither of us have been able to secure anything. I've always done really well in job interviews in the past. The strange thing we have found is that we haven't got any feedback from interviewers. We go for the interviews and then they don't get back to us, even after trying to reach out to them via phone and email. My husband also had that on a second round interview. Is that normal practice here?

We don't know if it is the way we are presenting ourselves. We always dress professionally, arrive early, are polite and try to be super upbeat. My husband is starting to get really depressed and I don't know what to do.. I am getting extremely worried. We brought a lot of savings, but are running through them really fast, as the rent and health insurance are so high. I reckon we only can survive another 4-5 months before our money runs out. We lived in Brazil before moving to the USA. The economy is in a shambles over there. My husband, along with 100's of his co workers got laid off in November. Ireland is not much better so we are really caught between a hard place. Sadly (as we love Philly), we are at a point where we may have to consider moving to another state , somewhere cheaper while we can. Has anyone got any suggestions of states with lots job opportunities for manufacturing and marketing professionals?

Edited August 28, 2015 by sweet01

[sweet01 39]

Hi guys,

Just reposting what I shared to Niceb. I guess I replied just on her but if any of you needs this advice I gave to Niceb, feel free to read this one. Hope this helps and God Bless

Hi Niceb,

I've read your story and somewhat can relate to it before I got my greencard after 6 months of waiting. I too had a post grad degree back home and have management experience. Anyway, since you're here at East Coast, I suggest you moved here in Boston, MA , there are a lot of marketing professionals here and a lot of job opportunities. It is just 5 hours drive away (we did it last week when we visited my cousin there in PA ) . Try to check at Indeed.com first along Boston and Massachusetts area and you'll surely see a lot of job opportunities too. God Bless and I know you both can make it here. The lifestyle and cost of living here is a little bit expensive but you surely both can have work here. Hope this helps

Also, if you want to get a little cheaper rent, you can try looking around Newton Highlands, MA. There are many suburb areas here that are connected on subways, commuter rail and buses so no worries about it. Try to look for work outside PA.

[TBoneTX 45,570]

There's excellent advice in this post:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/449151-the-steveandtiff-stupremacy/?p=6471637

[Niceb 2]

I had a baby three months ago so took some time out. I have been back in the job hunting game for the last month. I have lowered my expectations to all kinds of jobs admin etc but never get any responses. I am active in Linkedin, am networking and also calling recruiters directly. I always get through to voicemails and no return call. I tailor every resume/cover letter to each job , still no hits. I have signed up for some volunteer work now so hopefully I can make some good contacts. The biggest problem is money. We are going through our lifesavings at an alarming rate. We had budgeted for a year but it is so much more expensive than we had imagined. We will be out of money by December. If we move we will have to think about it in the next month or two as we won't be able to afford to get set up again. It is a really stressful and depressing situation. I feel completely hopeless at the moment.

[TBoneTX 45,570]

See the post just above yours, for a link to some volunteer work that might really pay off.

[blahblahblog 36]

Do you have any friends that work in the sector that you guys are looking for. I found out that having cover letters and resumes checked by someone used to the american job culture helps a lot. If you're not getting interviews or call backs, you should work on your resumes and cover letters.

[Lelyze 49]

3 Months after EAD still no work I lowered my expectations, tried with admin positions, and still no luck. I did get few offers, but for jobs out of NYC, and moving out of the city is not an option now. I have another interview next week, hope I will have more luck.