Do employers discriminate against immigrants?

[Marrienne 113]

Hi VJers,

Well I have been here almost 6 weeks and I came with pretty good qualifications from Europe. I have put in more than 15 jobs apps, for which I qualified FINE, some I was even a little over. I had zero interviews!!
They keep sending me denial letters!! It seems the ONLY jobs available to me would be something like a Wendy's or a clerk bagging groceries. There are THOUSANDS of jobs in my area that are like $9 an hour doing things like I mentioned.
Problem is as a family we need $23 an hour combined to stay afloat and pay our bills and afford our home/car/insurance/daycare etc.
This $23 estimate is VERY strict. It means no outings, no new clothes (thrift store and garage sales only), no new toys, no vacations. We CANNOT make it with $18 an hour no matter who strict we are.

You can understand this puts a huge burden on me because from the two of us, I am the one with the more qualifications/degrees/diverse work experience.
I have a great resume, good degrees and training, yet not one interview for a "better" office job (i.e. secretary for instance).

Someone suggested that it must be that I am an immigrant! I didn't want to believe it but 6 weeks in and 15 denials for jobs I was CLEARLY an excellent match, not even an interview..I am starting to wonder! My name alone clearly shows I am not American and of course it is obvious all my degrees and references are from a foreign country!

If push comes to shove I WILL get a bagging groceries job, I mean, I need to feed my kiddos, no shame in that.
I do put in my resume as a note that I am legally OK to work in the USA and I do not need sponsorship from an employer just in case you were wondering.

Has anyone have any suggestions or experiences with this?
It is imperative I find a job SOON as we have NO reserves to fall back on it is kind of week in week out and paycheck to paycheck.

Thanks for listening!!

[Lemonslice 4,911]

Short answer is yes, they do discriminate. To prove it is not always easy :/

Have you visited your state job/career center? Local chamber of commerce? Some great jobs are never advertised, so you have to network as much as you can... Best of luck in your job search.

[Anitafeliz 1,133]

First thats illegal but it happens. I dont know if this is your case. Review your resume make sure it sounds good no gaps ect.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Is your resume up to US standards (does not state your age or marital status; is around one page)? Is your previous work history understandable to an American audience (like not describing positions that have particular names that are unfamiliar)? Are you sure you are applying for real jobs and not scams from craigslist or jobs that already have inside candidates picked out? Do you have a cover letter? There you could put that you just moved to the area.

Plenty of immigrants get jobs, so instead of focusing on what you can't prove or change (discrimination), focus on what you can control.

Also, 15 applications in 6 weeks does not seem like a lot to me (I know a lot of that must have been spent getting settled). A lot of people will qualify for a job; you have to prove you are the best candidate.

Edited August 31, 2016 by Harpa Timsah

[Pitchman 8]

You really need to get out more. Go business to business and make opportunities for yourself. Maybe language teacher or find a Greek business that you can work at until you acquire more references here in the USA. I see your in Michigan and as much as Detroit is one of the most dangerous cities in the USA it does have a Greek Town- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greektown,_Detroit

Maybe you can find work there. Remember the job maybe beneath you temporarily but it will get keep you afloat until you find something that you are better suited and trained for.

Give it a shot.

Edited August 31, 2016 by Metaler

[Lemonslice 4,911]

I missed that you are in Michigan. Start here: http://www.michiganworks.org/ Look at events and trainings, next job fair, etc.

Edited August 31, 2016 by Lemonslice

[Marrienne 113]

Lemonslice I haven't as on top of everything I have the kids here. But they are going to school next week so I can mobilize more

[Marrienne 113]

Harpah yes to all. It is an American style resume one page with cover letter.

They were not off Craigslist but for legitimate big companies here. That is why there only 15 because I had a very specific target for specific companies and these were the ones I qualified for.

Next week the kids will be in school so I can mobilize more.

I also failed my road test today for one point. My family was pushing me to take it even after I told them I was not ready. They gave me this huge car and I couldn't judge how big it was to do the maneuvers they wanted and I failed.

I feel so pressured here. Get job get license give your kids to strangers to raise leave the 10 year olds alone for two hours until you get home and leave your baby with a stranger while you bag groceries

Sorry, I've had a rough day today. We also learned my husband might be going blind on top of his other medical issues. And I wanted this job SO badly. I was perfect for it and I got a denial. No interview.

I am really happy here and I am so lucky I am just having a very bad day!

Thanks for listening!

[JR loves JR 196]

Good paying jobs here aren't the easiest things to come by. I'm an American citizen, had a bachelor's degree and high grades, and 5 years of office experience and it took me over a year to land a job that I felt fit my skill set. My recommendation is to get a job and get an American reference. Even if you're not making ends meet, the sooner you start earning anything the less debt you'll have to dig out of later. If you're willing to work afternoons or overnights you'll find higher paying jobs. Good luck!

[Marrienne 113]

Sorry about typos, my pho e has a mind of its own

[Lemonslice 4,911]

Go go go, I'm rooting for you!

Also, even if you think your resume is perfect (I did too... and landed great jobs with it!), I still learned a bit from the career center here. They usually do mock interview workshops also.

[f f 725]

take the job bagging groceries and look for a job in the evenings. it will be a pain but you will stay afloat.

also apply for jobs that are close to what you want even if you are a bit over qualified since you will at least get a reference for later. temp agencys are also a good place to look.

10 applications a day should be a minimum.

[Marrienne 113]

I will absolutely take a job bagging groceries, it is no shame.

Not sure of schedule though as we have 3 kids one is only 2, and hubby works 2pm to 10.30pm

So it must be a morning job and even then the twins who finish school at 4 will be alone for a couple hours. Not sure how getting a late night would work out.

I know I should be filling out more apps but I am under pressure to get a "good job" from my in laws who sponsored me. They also said it must be full time and full benefits. To comply with those specs I sorted those 15 that hit the mark. But it seems a lower end no benefits job will be all I can get

[indiana_sweetie 120]

Often the work history in the foreign country isn't looked upon with the same weight as a work history here in the US. Going door to door and talking to people can help, though.

[Jovi&James 14]

Hi Marrienne ! When I read your post, it was like reading about my background (degree, working experience, training, etc...) And really understand you...

Let me share my experience with you:

I'm living in the south of California 7 months ago and I waited 2 months to receive my SS Card...well, after that, I started to apply for different jobs.

First, I looked for something similar to my previous job (I was an executive of commercial banking in one of the largest banks in my country)... I didn't have good luck, as you, I couldn't get interviews, only emails saying another candidates have the profile they need.

Then, I changed my mind and I looked for administrative assistant position...I got some phones interviews but at the end, the same story: "thanks but no thanks".

The truth is that I have applied to more than 120 jobs in 5 months. Yes, more than 120...and after changing my resume 4 times, after creating like 50 cover letters, aftee reading a lot about the labour market here and watching videos on YouTube about tips for the job search, I decided to apply for different jobs like retail positions. I could get many interviews ...but again, I wasn't chosen.

I got depressed, frustrated, sad, for months I couldn't sleep more than 3 hours at night, also I thought about going back to my country, with my husband we talked about divorce... believe me, these months have been very difficult for us. I have a debt in my country and I need to send money there to pay it and my husband had 2 jobs, now he has 3 jobs because of the expenses at home plus he's paying child support because since I got here, the mother of his son doesn't want him to share with him (and she doesn't want me sharing time with him), and now he's paying her $ 800/month for his son. You see why we need him working 3 jobs and he is sleeping only 4 hours Monday-Friday...

We don't have babies and we can't have, because we're not able to pay our baby's future expenses.

After crying so much every day and every night, I decided to open my mind and to follow an advice I found on YouTube: you must accept the "small" job to get the "big" job later.

One month ago, I got a temporary job that it's helping me to get some money, also I got an on call position and last week I got a part time job.

The positions are not what I want of course, nothing administrative, but these are my first steps to get the job I want.

Also, I'm being a volunteer in a non profit organization, it helps me to know people, to get references from here that are important and to be far from home because I was getting emotionally sick.

Also, I started the College to improve my English and to be more confident when I interact with people from here. I know that my English is not perfect but I'm working on that.

If you want some advice or to share with somebody and if you have more tips about how I could get my jobs, I will be very happy to help you, just write me a message to the private.

I wish you the best !!!!