IR1 - Difficulty finding work

[TBoneTX 43,019]

9 minutes ago, Mike E said:

I would put this somewhere on your resume

Suggested earlier.  

[Marieke H 2,301]

I agree that you need to make it very clear (on your resume and in your cover letter) that you are authorized to work in the US. Especially in California, employers will likely receive lots of applications from people who are hoping to be sponsored for a visa.

 

Also, consider applying for jobs that you are overqualified for. It would help to get some work experience in the US. The great thing about jobs in the US compared to my experience in Europe, is that it is easy to climb up to better paid positions when you show that you are good at your job. I started 5 years ago at an entry-level position, and in the past few years I have received a promotion and several raises; I now make almost double that initial salary.

 

Good luck!

[Pat2021 43]

Thank you everyone for those suggestions and ideas. I'll take them into account and let you know how it goes

[JeanneAdil 6,190]

Try joining the local Chamber of Commerce/  u will meet important business people in the area u live in and make the connections as said in one response

"its who you know"

 

I joined here in 2 cities near me just to meet people

 

Every community has a Chamber of Commerce, or at least they should. The goal of any Chamber is to help to further the interests of small businesses in a local area. The activities can range from hosting events, to lobbying local representatives to charitable works for the betterment of the community

[usmsbow 795]

Have you had anyone look over your resume and get their feedback? That's what my wife did. Edit: apparently you have done this too.

 

Have you reached out to temp agencies? My wife's first two years of work experience was through those agencies. Not ideal, but easy way to get some American work experience on your resume. Also another way to get feedback on your resume.

 

Engineering is always in high demand, and the US has a reputation for having too few of them. If you're not getting many responses, then maybe something is "amiss" on your resume. HR looks for keywords, and if they aren't there, your resume is tossed aside.

57 minutes ago, Marieke H said:

 

Also, consider applying for jobs that you are overqualified for. It would help to get some work experience in the US. The great thing about jobs in the US compared to my experience in Europe, is that it is easy to climb up to better paid positions when you show that you are good at your job. I started 5 years ago at an entry-level position, and in the past few years I have received a promotion and several raises; I now make almost double that initial salary.

 

Good luck!

 

This is similar to my wife's experience. Her first jobs here were data entry and the like, and now she's a manager making 4x her first temp jobs several years ago.

 

 

Edited March 1, 2023 by usmsbow

[Cathi 5,609]

It took my husband 7 months to find a job and it was loading trucks at Walmart. He is a computer engineer and no one wanted to hire him because he had no U.S job experience. It took him over a year to find a job in his field and at that, he had to take a job as an unpaid intern just to get his foot in the door, even though he had years of engineering experience in his home country. And yes, he had it listed on his resume that he was authorized to work here. Eleven years later and he's VP of his division (software) at a robotics company. 

Edited March 2, 2023 by Cathi

[Pinkrlion 2,607]

Post your resume on indeed.com and Linkein .com

 

You will see an increase in referrals. 

[millefleur 5,035]

Really recommend working with a recruiter. You can try to message them yourself on LinkedIn, there are so many out there. There might also be recruiters/staffing agencies in your city you can contact.

[African Zealot 1,452]

It can’t be the M. Eng. I have an M. Eng from NC State and a jaw breaking foreign name however after graduation during interviews never had any questions to clarify what it was. Also just choose the MS option like you’ve been doing.

 

A word for you though, I don’t know what country you’re originally from however if it not from a handful of western developed nations like the UK or Canada, your chances of getting a position related to your degree particularly STEM positions are slim to none except perhaps software and programming and IT positions if you’re from India.
 

Sadly and May I say ignorantly many/most Americans or perhaps American recruiters don’t have much respect for foreign degrees and for many immigrants getting a masters degree in the USA is not by choice but to make it easier to integrate or be accepted in the American workforce.

 

In the interim keep churning out those applications and welcome!

[InspectorGrover 14]

I also had similar trouble getting my first US job despite having earned a master's degree and working for a very large institution for 10+ years. Like others have said, it helped when I added "US Permanent Resident" right at the top of my resume. Another thing I did that helped was I worked with a temp agency to get a role tangentially related to my field just so I could get some experience on my resume. I actually wanted a temp role so I could leave more easily. Less than 2 months into a temp role I could apply for jobs actually in my field and got interviews much more often. I know temp work isn't exactly desirable for everyone, but I think it was helpful to be able to demonstrate I was in the US and working for a US company without trouble. 

[EmilyW 1,222]

Agree with all the suggestions already made about being very explicit that you are authorized to work.

 

It took me around 6 weeks to find a job and I had to drop a few levels.  Which was humiliating because I have three degrees and taking on that job required me to almost regress 10 years.  Having said that, within six months, I got my first promotion and within a couple of years I was back to the levels I was back in Australia.  And now I earn twice as much as I did in Australia.

 

It takes patience and tenacity.  But you will get there.  I know it doesn't always feel like that, and I know it can get you down.  But it's a test and - once you pass it - you'll come out of it stronger, I promise.

[Mike E 11,722]

5 hours ago, African Zealot said:

Sadly and May I say ignorantly many/most Americans or perhaps American recruiters don’t have much respect for foreign degrees

In my part of the STEM world this is not the case. In particular degrees from UK, India, Canada, Australia (I.e. where most foreign computer programmers working in the USA are educated) are considered equivalent.  
 

I can’t think of a single hire / no-hire decision that was made during my career because of what country issued a degree. 

[CKMM 1]

If you are not afraid to start fresh, then you can go work for Amazon get some experience and money while you searching. That is what I did, was head of IT for a whole region and it was hard to find something, went to work for Amazon after 3 months i was promoted twice and got back into IT within Amazon. Worked there for a year as I was get US work experience. I now work as a Global sr manager information systems with a different company. Don't be afraid to start fresh from the bottom. 

[discoverusa 229]

This may not be relevant to OP, but I graduated from US University and when I was applying for jobs I also listed my foreign degree I obtained before moving to US. I received very little interest as a new graduate. 

 

After I decided to drop my foreign education from my resume I received a lot more interest and more invites for the interviews. I believe this may be related to ageism even though I was only in my early thirties when that happened. I believe listing my foreign degree made my appear older. 

[kiwibean 42]

I was going to suggest temping too.  It lets you get a good feel for the company (to decide if you really want to work there).  Often companies hire temps into permanent jobs, as it is a way for them to try out the employee as well.  Good luck!  Looking for a job is soul destroying, so just remember what you are doing is hard and give yourself lots of grace.