Recruitment resources and help finding a job - Green Card holder
May 28th 2010, 3:58 pm
#46
Account Closed
Joined: Aug 2002
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 38,865
Re: Recruitment resources and help finding a job - Green Card holder
Ian
May 28th 2010, 5:09 pm
#47
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: Recruitment resources and help finding a job - Green Card holder
Hello Ben,
I have been looking for a job without success for more than a few months.
I have a few observations for you.
The job market is not improving -unemployment is still rising despite the official figures. There was a weekly job stat yesterday that suggested things are improving. I read the whole report and here is the most salient paragraph
"States reported 5,059,843 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending May 8, a decrease of 41,403 from the prior week. There were 2,185,863 claimants in the comparable week in 2009. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity. "
How grim is that -people on emergency benefits has more than doubled in a year.
The govt continually fudges stats. Allegedy over 200k jobs were added to the economy last month. Take away the temporary census workers and the statistical adjustment that was made and the grand total was 34k if I remember rightly. From this you should subtract the people no longer eligible for benefits but still unemployed. Probably leaves a negative figure.
I keep asking people -do you know anyone who has got a job this year? who was unemployed and found a job? I have only been told about one friend of a friend.
I have been looking for a job without success for more than a few months.
I have a few observations for you.
The job market is not improving -unemployment is still rising despite the official figures. There was a weekly job stat yesterday that suggested things are improving. I read the whole report and here is the most salient paragraph
"States reported 5,059,843 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending May 8, a decrease of 41,403 from the prior week. There were 2,185,863 claimants in the comparable week in 2009. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity. "
How grim is that -people on emergency benefits has more than doubled in a year.
The govt continually fudges stats. Allegedy over 200k jobs were added to the economy last month. Take away the temporary census workers and the statistical adjustment that was made and the grand total was 34k if I remember rightly. From this you should subtract the people no longer eligible for benefits but still unemployed. Probably leaves a negative figure.
I keep asking people -do you know anyone who has got a job this year? who was unemployed and found a job? I have only been told about one friend of a friend.
Good chunk of my friends who did get jobs have lost them again.
Little depressing.
Anyway, for the coders, o-desk.com and rentacoder are good places for picking up some side gigs, o-desk is a little broader, but it's mostly coders who find good stuff on there.
May 28th 2010, 5:12 pm
#48
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: Recruitment resources and help finding a job - Green Card holder
There is that...but even those shit jobs I've had no luck with, they say over qualified and looking for a student, puts a dampner on things. Also looking for those jobs who have evening hours etc rather than day shifts are a problem as anything sub $12hr wouldn't even pay for the cheapest childcare, so that seriously limits what is worth looking for or what limits what jobs are out there.
May 29th 2010, 1:34 am
#49
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 40
Re: Recruitment resources and help finding a job - Green Card holder
Hi
Well I just went through the same nightmare and actually started my new job today!! Woohoo! It took me about two months to three months to land a job and that was with shifting focus - which is something I wanted to do. I think, if I had not had that as a goal, I could have found something quicker but it would have been less interesting for me. I did like many have to take a significant pay cut... but I expected that. However, I did pick up a role with great benefits. So, dont just look at the rate per hour, see what benefits a role may offer you.
Firstly I have worked as a recruiter for many years... so, maybe I can share with you some of my experiences.
Do apply for more jobs that five a week. You really do need to put in thirty plus hours a week into getting a job. Online job applications take in some cases a good hour to fill out and you do need to do as many as you can.
With your resume, remember recruiters only search on key words half the time. So, look at the job descriptions and make sure, you have identified what are the key technical skills they are after and have those skills mentioned in your resume.
I btw once I got my EAD just wrote on my resume "Authorized to work in the US without sponsorship".
Do, do voluntary work... Why? Because if nothing else, it will get you out of the house and also when you need a reference, you will now have a local as opposed to a UK reference.
Connect up on Linkedin, I met about thirty people through Linkedin. Some of those meetings were a complete waste of time, but I also managed to meet some really helpful people too. You can think about them as practise interviews and for sussing out the market.
Sign up for every IT contracting firm under the sun, or in your neighbourhood! As you need is one short term contract and suddenly you do have US experience.
Connect back with your old mates from home and see if you can find anyone with any connections in the US, that can give you some form of luke warm intro to anywhere.
I think Indeed.com is great as it pulls together many job listings.
Other than that, good luck, keep your chin up. Trying to find a new job, in a new place at times does really suck.. but, one day, you will get there.
Well I just went through the same nightmare and actually started my new job today!! Woohoo! It took me about two months to three months to land a job and that was with shifting focus - which is something I wanted to do. I think, if I had not had that as a goal, I could have found something quicker but it would have been less interesting for me. I did like many have to take a significant pay cut... but I expected that. However, I did pick up a role with great benefits. So, dont just look at the rate per hour, see what benefits a role may offer you.
Firstly I have worked as a recruiter for many years... so, maybe I can share with you some of my experiences.
Do apply for more jobs that five a week. You really do need to put in thirty plus hours a week into getting a job. Online job applications take in some cases a good hour to fill out and you do need to do as many as you can.
With your resume, remember recruiters only search on key words half the time. So, look at the job descriptions and make sure, you have identified what are the key technical skills they are after and have those skills mentioned in your resume.
I btw once I got my EAD just wrote on my resume "Authorized to work in the US without sponsorship".
Do, do voluntary work... Why? Because if nothing else, it will get you out of the house and also when you need a reference, you will now have a local as opposed to a UK reference.
Connect up on Linkedin, I met about thirty people through Linkedin. Some of those meetings were a complete waste of time, but I also managed to meet some really helpful people too. You can think about them as practise interviews and for sussing out the market.
Sign up for every IT contracting firm under the sun, or in your neighbourhood! As you need is one short term contract and suddenly you do have US experience.
Connect back with your old mates from home and see if you can find anyone with any connections in the US, that can give you some form of luke warm intro to anywhere.
I think Indeed.com is great as it pulls together many job listings.
Other than that, good luck, keep your chin up. Trying to find a new job, in a new place at times does really suck.. but, one day, you will get there.
Last edited by Emily B; May 29th 2010 at 1:45 am.
May 29th 2010, 2:03 am
#50
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 40
Re: Recruitment resources and help finding a job - Green Card holder
Also just a couple more ideas... I do have US education experience, from about a zillion years ago.. So, for me that did show some connection with the US. Anyway, if you can find some cheapo IT course at your local college that might be helpful to your job search, in tying your background to the US.
Do join any professional organisation that looks relevant. And put that on your resume. For example, you might want to think about a membership to a Project Manager Society, I cant remember if that is what, exactly it is called, but you can google that.
When you use Indeed.com or Dice.com search under "contract business analyst" or "immediate or urgent business analyst", look for positions, which need to be filled asap. Usually, when a hiring manager is under the gun to hire asap, they are going to be less picky about things like *US experience*.
Also look for UK companies in your 'hood and target them, they may appreciate / get your background quicker than a local company.
Do join any professional organisation that looks relevant. And put that on your resume. For example, you might want to think about a membership to a Project Manager Society, I cant remember if that is what, exactly it is called, but you can google that.
When you use Indeed.com or Dice.com search under "contract business analyst" or "immediate or urgent business analyst", look for positions, which need to be filled asap. Usually, when a hiring manager is under the gun to hire asap, they are going to be less picky about things like *US experience*.
Also look for UK companies in your 'hood and target them, they may appreciate / get your background quicker than a local company.
