Working here

[KTMMAN(non compus mentis) 0]

Ok what Im looking for here is some help in the job market,Ive started firing off my resume but want to know if it is harder to get a start with you being from another country and having all your work experience there,Im from UK and have a background in construction management which is what Im aiming to carry on doing,any help,thanks

[Dan J 277]

I don't know how job seeking works in the UK, but here, the best way to find a job is to network. I don't remember exact statistics, but many more people get jobs via networking than through any other method, and the margin is quite significant.

[ChristinaM 0]

I applied for about 50 jobs, mostly in admin. I had two interviews, one in admin and one in sales. I was offered both jobs, but I took the one in sales.

I found my UK qualifications caused some trouble, so I put a couple of lines on my resume saying what my GCSEs and A-Levels were roughly equivalent to.

Good luck!

[Toledospod 0]

I had similar problems when i first got here. Took ages to get a job. I applied for loads of jobs in the IT sector(thats my speciality, troubleshooting computers). Finally got a job after 3 months, but it was really bad pay, then I got a better paid job working for Best Buy. I think that even though I have an Associates degree in Computing, it definitely posed a problem not having any American qualifications and certainly not having any job experience in the US made it harder. I don't think a lot of companies liked it when I told them that if they wanted references, they would have to contact my employers back in the UK!

In the end I joined some staffing agencies and this seems to have worked out well. I got a temp-to-hire position(though I didn't get hired)as a IT Technician through one of the agencies and its helped me start getting the experience I need. I think the hardest thing I've found here is that a lot of companies only want to employ part-time, so that they don't don't have to give you any benefits, and then you have to work there for several months before they will even consider you for full-time. I ended up working 2 part-time jobs just so I could make about the same as one full-time job!

[fozzie 41]

It's tough. I just got an admin job through an agency. They screw you for the first 3 months at a really low wage then you start to get the full wage and benefits. It took 3 months to get that. Its for a university so i am going to take advantage of being able to study for my masters for free tghen i will have both a us education and a us work history. oh and a mastaers degree. Hope to get a better job in a year or so.

Edited April 20, 2007 by Lauren and Dave

[Nessa 23]

I've been looking for a job for a few weeks already, since I got my EAD, but nothing so far. Mostly online (monster, careerbuilder, yahoo hotjobs, etc) I also went to a staffing agency and also went deliver my resume in a few places in person. It's very frustrating, and I'm not aiming for anything even close to what I was doing in BRazil, I'm looking for a way lower position, but still nothing, no calls, nobody interested, nothing. I'm prepared to the fact I'll have to start from the beginning all over again, I'm also prepared for the fact I won't make much money, at least at first. It's not easy. Good luck to everybody trying to find a job.

[LaGreenEyes 0]

I've been looking for a job for a few weeks already, since I got my EAD, but nothing so far. Mostly online (monster, careerbuilder, yahoo hotjobs, etc) I also went to a staffing agency and also went deliver my resume in a few places in person. It's very frustrating, and I'm not aiming for anything even close to what I was doing in BRazil, I'm looking for a way lower position, but still nothing, no calls, nobody interested, nothing. I'm prepared to the fact I'll have to start from the beginning all over again, I'm also prepared for the fact I won't make much money, at least at first. It's not easy. Good luck to everybody trying to find a job.

I know it's a difficult road, my husband got his EAD last June, put in for a few jobs but his English was still really bad and the 2 people that gave him interviews (He's in I.T.) he could not understand even 25% of what they said, plus he doesn't have english technical writing ability or anything, so he pretty much gave up at that point and dedicated himself to some intensive English classes through the end of the year..following a health scare in Jan, he began in mid Feb to put in at UPS, FEDEX, all the airlines as a baggage handler...easy stuff....and then ends up that he cannot be hired for an airline job or anything that has security access because according to all the H.R. departments, he cannot be cleared for a government FAA security check because he does not have 5 years living here in the U.S. Now how many people find THAT kind of strange?? After being put thru the ringer with FBI security checks etc??? But anyways... In March he started putting in online for anything and everything that seemed that he could be capable of..mostly Data Entry, Bilingual Customer Service, some warehouse jobs...must have put in for at least 100 jobs between then and now..he's just this week began to get some interviews with some of the staffing agencies. One sent him to a job last week, a good paying one, and ended up sending 25 people for 12 positions, so half of the people were told "sorry go home", he was included in the "go home" group. I think many places see him as overqualified since he has his degree in information systems, etc. But his problem is, he speaks english pretty well now, but with a heavy accent, and his writing skills are only at about a 6th or 7th grade level, no where near the technical report writing level they need to be for his field. He prefers to keep practicing english with co workers, etc, and not have to be answering a phone all day in english because on the phone, he only understands about 60% in english,, less if the person has a heavy southern accent. He's made it very clear in cover letters that he wants to start entry level and just build his career. Sometimes I think the Career Builder and Monster sites are worthless...he hasn't gotten one interview or even a phone call from anywhere he put in on that site, and one job was working on a water bottling assembly line " computer skills required " But he had 2 interviews this week at 2 different agencies, and he said they both went well and he felt comfortable. It's been frustrating at times, and I almost think that with all the immigration debate in this country, they see anyone that says they have a green card as possibly having false documents and they just toss those apps aside,,,or maybe I'm just imagining things..and now rambling on..but hopefully something good will come along soon.

[Nancy2015 2]

I applied for jobs about a hundred times. I got one interview.

I got my current job by the way of being promoted from a part-time on-campus position that I had had since my F-1 student days. And this on-campus job was easy to get, because they obviously hire everybody

Americans find jobs through networking. Sad but true. No network = crappy job. I'm still trying to get used to it, because in my country finding jobs through networking is frowned upon.

[lynny 0]

I was lucky enough to get the first job I applied for and still work there 2 1/2 yrs later

After my first interview, i followed up with an email asking them if they needed any more information , I then got a second interview, which i followed up with a phone call to see how i went

2 days after my second interview i got the job

I have always believed in showing the ompany you are eager to work by follow up emails and ph calls

Lynny

[KHURRAM SERAJ 0]

I migrated to US in January of 2001 and seacrching for job was quite frustrating and I posted my resume on any job site I could find like, monster, dice and americanjobs. I also enrolled with some job seeking agencies as they do not charge you but your employer if you get hired. I finaly had my first interview in April and then followed up with an email with my reference and then the head huner (job agency) did all the negotiation and I got the job and started in May. All I can say is don't be frustrated and keep your chin up and apply and make sure you get up up every morning and dress up like you are going to work and then start applying for job, this will keep you out of some depression.

[MHandMB 0]

Unfortunately, it's not just an issue for immigrants. The unemployment rate is really low right now, which, in theory, is great for the average worker. However, it seems to take a lot longer on average to actually get a good job. I've heard this from quite a few current job seekers, and now have first hand experience with this.

I've sent out my resume to a ton of places, and have only received one response. Now, I've had my resume and cover letter reviewed and approved by several professionals, and have more than 5 years experience in my field, and am basically looking for a lateral change, but am having problems getting call backs from potential employers. Some of these jobs have been listed and re-listed on monster and careerbuilder, so I know they haven't found anyone to fill the positions, but I haven't even been getting any responses, not even the standard "thanks but no thanks."

I think that a lot of employers do hire based on networking, so ask all of your friends and family members if anyone they know is hiring. That's how my husband got his job, a mere few weeks after he arrived in the U.S. The cousin of one of my co-workers runs a business, and I asked my co-worker if they were hiring. She made a call, and he went in for an interview and was hired on the spot. He's been there almost a year, and they love him. It's not a career type job, but now he has experience in the U.S. and good references once he goes to look for another job.

Whenever our office is looking to hire someone new, we always ask around to see if any of our co-workers, friends, or family members know someone who is searching. We've tried using monster and the classified ads to find people, but we would get the craziest applicants, and it took forever to weed out the good ones from the stacks of applications.

Also, don't totally discount staffing places. I got my current job through a staffing agency. I was fresh out of college, had very little professional experience, and went out on a couple of temp assignments. 6 years later, I am still at one of those assignments. You have to be careful going into it to find out how the agency works. Some places have long-term temporary positions, which means no matter how long you work at the same company, you're still considered an employee of the staffing agency. Other places have temp-to-hire, which means that you have a 3 month trial period wherein you are getting paid via the staffing agency at a lower rate, and after the trial period is over, you can be hired directly by the company. Some agencies also do basic recruiting, where they find you a job with an employer and you're hired directly by the employer. They get a "finder's fee" from the employer for their work.

Good luck!

[akdiver 3]

Ok what Im looking for here is some help in the job market,Ive started firing off my resume but want to know if it is harder to get a start with you being from another country and having all your work experience there,Im from UK and have a background in construction management which is what Im aiming to carry on doing,any help,thanks

My wife applied for a few travel agency jobs, all of them wanted to hire her. She applied at the post office, they did hire her, but she quit a couple of days later to take a job at the university. All in all, she really had no problem finding a job, and the university job is a pretty good one, all things considered. The only jobs she applied for that she didn't get an interview or an offer for were a couple of state government jobs, and a job at the state trooper's office.

She started working at the university maybe 2 weeks after having her EAD in her hot little hand.

Good luck!

AKDiver

[akdiver 3]

As for the credentials issue....I highly recommend using an evaluation service (we used ECE). That will evaluate your stuff and telll you the U.S. equiv. You can then use that info on your resume. For example, my wife's credentials evaluated to a B.A. Teaching, a B.B.A Management, and an M.S Tourism Management, and we just put it down that way on the resume - and in parens we put "(U.S. equivalent, as determined by Educational Credentials Evaluations, Inc.). No one seemed to question this approach at all and it seems a perfectly legitimate thing to do, since you have the paperwork to back it up if anyone DOES question about it.

Cheers!

AKDiver

Edited April 23, 2007 by akdiver