mwm

I was so happy to discover this discussion forum last week .I left Scotland to marry my american husband at the end of last year and wish I had known about this sooner as it would've helped with a lot of hassles with immigration and culture shock etc etc.I have found the chat and info very useful and a good band aid for my homesickness so cheers everyone for that.

I moved to Florida one month ago and after 9 months,finally I have my work permit.I've paid for a professional resume to appeal to the american market and have gone through every paper and website looking for work.The 20 or so jobs that I've applied to have not even responded although I am certainly qualified to atleast merit an interview.We all know the "it's not what you know but who you know" but I know no-one and so cannot "network"Am I paranoid to think that it's because I'm not american?Is anyone from the area that can give me advice about where I should go from here?Also are there any expats out there that meet up in the area so i could atleast work on my social life while I try for a job?Look forward to hearing your views.

Yosser

Hi mwm,

You do not say your profession, but whatever you do do not limit yourself to what you have been doing for the last few years in Blighty.

Be prepared to be flexible. I looked under every job heading in my area in websites, and found many that I was experienced in came under different headings, Constantly change and update your resume, I am a big skeptic of 'professional resume' companys and work placement firms.

Just get out there, pound the street, if you have a car go post your resume in a few mail boxes. Pick up a yellow pages and start calling, in the U.S so far I have gained employment through the newspaper, yellow pages and a local unemployment website.

I didn't know anyone here either, and thats how I got most of my jobs back in the U.K.

Its frustrating, I know....but you have to work hard at it, if its one thing us brits know how to do, is work bloody hard.

Good luck

nathan barley

I've sent out hundreds of resumes and cover letters with little success. It's likely they are balking and not responding because you don't have any US work experience. It can sadly make businesses reluctant to deal with you, I've experienced it and was actually told that first hand.

Your best bet would be to sign up with a temp staffing agency of some sort; they should certainly be able to help though that too is trial and error. Some will only quickly scan through your faxed resume, then discard it if it does not fit with what they want, others; the best ones, will invite you in to discuss things first hand. The first agency I tried told me that without any US experience, I had no chance really, and ushered me in and out within half an hour.

The second agency I got a response from, whom I faxed only this Sunday gave me an appointment for today. They were a world apart, and didn't care about the lack of experience here. I did a barrage of tests; typing, IQ, spelling, knowledge of software, and presumably scored well, because they immediately scheduled two interviews while I waited, one for tommorow and one next week at good companies.

Like the previous posters have said, you need to be flexible in what you look for; my background is in art and animation, but I'm seeking administrative work and pretty much anything similar else that is available. You can also use this new start in a new country to diversify into a new career path.

mwm

Excellent advice both of you.Thankyou very much.I'll follow this and keep my fingers crossed
Thanks again

mwm

Again thankyou both very much for the confidence boost!It helped me get through my interview today and I got the job!!!I hope that you get on well with your interviews next week
cheers again!

ladyofthelake

Congratulations on getting the job!

Yosser

A BIG..........WELL DONE

I hope everything goes well for you

Yosser

nathan barley

Congratulations mwm! What kind of job did you find, and did you hit the jackpot via job ads, or by an agency?

My first interview was a bit of a washout, but then again, would you really want to work for a company that can't even concentrate on your interview or show a smudge of proffesionalism? People kept coming in and out of the room, interrupting us, slamming doors, banging boxes.

Also, one of the guys couldn't make the leap in comprehension that I'd studied in England then moved to America shortly after, even though the other interviewer himself was English, and my resume clearly marks out the chronology of everything.

Fingers crossed for the next interview next week, there atleast sounds like there are better prospects for it than this one

mwm

Hi Nathan,the job that I got was advertised on Hot Jobs.It was to manage a jewelry store which is what my work experience is .I applied over the internet and also posted an application and contacted the Head Office and asked for the contact number for the Regional manager who was hiring and basically asked to included in the interviewing.I have to say that 1st interview was a bit like your first one sounded ,they also could not understand that although I worked for an american company on cruise ships,I had to wait for permission to work on land and I went away thinking they weren't interested but I also did the cringing american thing and sent a thankyou letter even though I thought they had been terrible interviewers and again laid out the reasons why I thought I was the right person for the job.After the advice I got from yourself and Yosser,I decided to just be ballsy and contact them again and ask how things were preceeding and they interviewed me again by phone and I got the job.I know that there was a lot of luck involved there but I know that the advice I got on here gave me a wee confidence boost and made the difference at the interview.So again thanks to Yosser and you and I was chuffed at getting a well done from The lady of the Lake too.Best of luck to you next week

nathan barley

Being ballsy is the best thing here, it's just a shame I'm the exact opposite

Good to see that you had a quick success, best of luck in the job, and thanks