*formerly posted on "Welcome, International Students!" blog
Hello to everyone around the world! How are you doing today?
I have been thinking about what to write about in this post for our new blog and decided to talk about searching for a job. In American slang, we sometimes call this "the job search". For example: "How is the job search going?" I will provide you with some background information and two stories of my experiences in searching for a job. One is a bad experience, while the other is a good experience.
Background: Current Economic Struggles
Currently, the United States is one of many countries having economic struggles. This means that companies' financial statuses are not as good as they were several years ago. This also means that career and job opportunities are not as easy to get as they were several years ago. Both domestic and international job candidates are having a harder time getting invited for interviews and pre-employment testing.
As the U.S. is understandably looking to help U.S. citizens find jobs--much the same as other countries are trying to do for their citizens--some jobs in the U.S. are now only being offered to U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. residents. While some companies are still able to sponsor H1B work, other companies are not. For international students, this means that it is especially important to network with colleagues and use university resources in order to determine which companies are able to support international candidates. It is better to save time applying to companies knowing they are able to sponsor you than to apply to companies that cannot do so.
A Bad Job Search Experience
A few months ago, I was in contact with a company in Northwest Ohio (Toledo area). Having strong work credentials and a matching skill set, I was invited to interview at the company's office for a possible job opening.
Although I was tired from having driven from out of town to the interview that morning, the interview seemed like it went pretty well. As the company representatives and I talked about my qualifications and the company's culture, I thought that this company would be a pretty good fit.
After the two interview periods that day, a representative took me on a tour of the company before taking me to the exit and ending the appointment. The people in the department I would be working in seemed very friendly and accommodating. Again, I had the impression that I would probably be hired.
Then, something negative happened. As I walked past the last department and into the building's lobby, I heard an employee make a joke about my ethnicity. Immediately, several people began laughing loudly, with even a few 'laughing claps' by someone as I walked out of their department area. By 'laughing claps', I mean when someone claps in laughter when laughing about a funny joke. I was definitely hurt by this joke but chose not to show it.
While I was bothered by the joke, I still believed that the company, the department with whom I would be working, and the specific job were all good fits. In a follow-up phone call, it was discussed that I would be contacted and brought back in for job shadowing within 1-2 weeks. A week passed but I did not get a call. I decided to place a courtesy call to get an update but got a representative's voice mailbox. I left a message accordingly, never hearing back from them and never again recontacting them. Sadly, the last memory I have of contacting that company was a joke about my ethnicity by an employee I never met.
A Good Job Search Experience
A few years ago, I applied for a job with a company in Northeast Ohio (Cleveland area). I had learned about this job opportunity through networking through my school's career center (Xavier), which helped me to reach out to another school's career center (John Carroll). Having reviewed the company's website and the specific job posting, I found that the culture and position would be good matches for my personality and skill set.
After a successful phone interview, I was invited in for a face-to-face interview with a human resources representative. Right away, we noticed that I would be a really good fit for the company. The representative mentioned a salary figure to make sure my salary expectations matched the company's expectations. It did.
Even though I had applied only for part-time work, the HR representative wanted to make sure that I got full-time work opportunities with the company. Following a successful interview with a couple managers, I was offered a full-time position with this company. I accepted the job and had a fun and successful time working there.
Closing Thoughts About Searching for a Job in Today's U.S.
As you can see, there can be both good experiences and bad experiences in looking for a job in the U.S. Sometimes, you will be very happy with a company's culture and opportunities and find that you are a good fit for the job. Other times, you will be very disappointed about a company's culture and opportunities and end up not getting a job offer.
The best advice I can give to you is to make sure to network, research each job opening and company as much as possible, know yourself well, and present yourself and your qualifications as best you can. Think positively and believe in good opportunities; do not let negative experiences stop you from trying to get a job. When you want a job and deserve a job, you will be rewarded accordingly.
Hello to everyone around the world! How are you doing today?
I have been thinking about what to write about in this post for our new blog and decided to talk about searching for a job. In American slang, we sometimes call this "the job search". For example: "How is the job search going?" I will provide you with some background information and two stories of my experiences in searching for a job. One is a bad experience, while the other is a good experience.
Background: Current Economic Struggles
Currently, the United States is one of many countries having economic struggles. This means that companies' financial statuses are not as good as they were several years ago. This also means that career and job opportunities are not as easy to get as they were several years ago. Both domestic and international job candidates are having a harder time getting invited for interviews and pre-employment testing.
As the U.S. is understandably looking to help U.S. citizens find jobs--much the same as other countries are trying to do for their citizens--some jobs in the U.S. are now only being offered to U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. residents. While some companies are still able to sponsor H1B work, other companies are not. For international students, this means that it is especially important to network with colleagues and use university resources in order to determine which companies are able to support international candidates. It is better to save time applying to companies knowing they are able to sponsor you than to apply to companies that cannot do so.
A Bad Job Search Experience
A few months ago, I was in contact with a company in Northwest Ohio (Toledo area). Having strong work credentials and a matching skill set, I was invited to interview at the company's office for a possible job opening.
Although I was tired from having driven from out of town to the interview that morning, the interview seemed like it went pretty well. As the company representatives and I talked about my qualifications and the company's culture, I thought that this company would be a pretty good fit.
After the two interview periods that day, a representative took me on a tour of the company before taking me to the exit and ending the appointment. The people in the department I would be working in seemed very friendly and accommodating. Again, I had the impression that I would probably be hired.
Then, something negative happened. As I walked past the last department and into the building's lobby, I heard an employee make a joke about my ethnicity. Immediately, several people began laughing loudly, with even a few 'laughing claps' by someone as I walked out of their department area. By 'laughing claps', I mean when someone claps in laughter when laughing about a funny joke. I was definitely hurt by this joke but chose not to show it.
While I was bothered by the joke, I still believed that the company, the department with whom I would be working, and the specific job were all good fits. In a follow-up phone call, it was discussed that I would be contacted and brought back in for job shadowing within 1-2 weeks. A week passed but I did not get a call. I decided to place a courtesy call to get an update but got a representative's voice mailbox. I left a message accordingly, never hearing back from them and never again recontacting them. Sadly, the last memory I have of contacting that company was a joke about my ethnicity by an employee I never met.
A Good Job Search Experience
A few years ago, I applied for a job with a company in Northeast Ohio (Cleveland area). I had learned about this job opportunity through networking through my school's career center (Xavier), which helped me to reach out to another school's career center (John Carroll). Having reviewed the company's website and the specific job posting, I found that the culture and position would be good matches for my personality and skill set.
After a successful phone interview, I was invited in for a face-to-face interview with a human resources representative. Right away, we noticed that I would be a really good fit for the company. The representative mentioned a salary figure to make sure my salary expectations matched the company's expectations. It did.
Even though I had applied only for part-time work, the HR representative wanted to make sure that I got full-time work opportunities with the company. Following a successful interview with a couple managers, I was offered a full-time position with this company. I accepted the job and had a fun and successful time working there.
Closing Thoughts About Searching for a Job in Today's U.S.
As you can see, there can be both good experiences and bad experiences in looking for a job in the U.S. Sometimes, you will be very happy with a company's culture and opportunities and find that you are a good fit for the job. Other times, you will be very disappointed about a company's culture and opportunities and end up not getting a job offer.
The best advice I can give to you is to make sure to network, research each job opening and company as much as possible, know yourself well, and present yourself and your qualifications as best you can. Think positively and believe in good opportunities; do not let negative experiences stop you from trying to get a job. When you want a job and deserve a job, you will be rewarded accordingly.