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It took me 7 months to land the job I started at last week. I admit that
freaked me out, but be persistent and something will come through. Here's my
advice:
1) Check the Techwr-l archives - we've had several lively conversations
about resumes, job hunting, and interviewing lately, and there's some great
advice already out there.
2) Remove references to your country of origin from your resume as much as
you can.
3) Emphasis your fluency in your native language (and other non-English
languages) -- That'll set you up for jobs where localization is a big issue.
But de-emphasize that English is your second language
4) Hook up with a career service that does resume writing training. They can
tell you if your resume meets American norms. Most cities or counties have
some sort of job placement service that might provide classes in writing
resumes.
5) Network. I'm another that hates it, but it does help.
Good luck,
Karen
-----Original Message-----
Alaina Stern said:
Hi Everyone,
I need your advice to help me get out of the grueling situation that I'm in.
I'm a Technical Writer with five years of documentation experience. I moved
to United States last year and worked on an online-help project for a
fortune hundred company.
I have genuine liking for my profession and I absolutely love technology. I
keep myself up-to-date with the latest in our field. I have strong
recommendations from colleagues and employers. But somehow, all this is not
helping me find a job. I get interview calls from companies based on my
resume but once they hear that I have just six months of American experience
they disappear. My non-U.S experience isn't given any consideration. No
one's even ready to take a writing test or take a technical test and see if
I can actually do my job.
Today a recruiter even suggested that I take up some QA engineering training
(I'm guessing because of my Electronics Engineering degree and programming
experience). She went on to tell me that Technical Writing is not for a
non-American and that without experience, I'll go nowhere. My eternal
optimism has evaporated. I'm fed up of people calling me and saying I don't
have adequate experience. Where do I fit in ten years of experience in my
twenty seven years on earth?
Documenting technology is what I like. If I have a career, this is what I
want to do. I'm ready to give certifications and whatever it takes to give
me an edge. What do you all suggest? I am not good at networking. Should I
start attending Technical Communication seminars? Get any specific
certification? Get a Master's degree?
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