Advise Please: I have to start my career from somewhere!

Dear friends and professionals on Indeed, I need your advice.

I graduated in December 2006. After my graduation I decided to take a break and returned to my hometown to spend sometime with my parents after 6 years of studying overseas. And at the same time, I applied for green card and have proudly received it in June.

My dad had cancer and was under treatment for almost a year. And now he seemed to have stabilized so I have returned to Phoenix, Arizona, and started job seeking for almost 2 months.
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I have always been career oriented and ambitious.
I graduated with cumulative GPA of 3.7 in Supply Chain Management and Accounting from ASU. My Supply Chain Management GPA is 4.00. I excelled in various case based class projects involving process management, production management and commodity management.
I was vice president for a business professional organization and a social organization while in ASU. I have strong leadership skills and I am also a team worker.
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I am little not so confident because it has been a while since I graduated and I don't have a lot of experiences in a corporate setting. However, I believe I am a good candidate with tons of potential because I have strong analytical skills, computer skills and strong knowledge in Supply Chain Management.

I am going through some interviews in purchasing. I am very interested in Procurement because I feel that I can utilize my international background to achieve excellence.

But I still have no offer yet.
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I have been reading books in procurement to get myself ready. I want to get certified in my area but most of the certifications require work experience.

Can you please give me advice in where I should start in getting more experience?

i think that you have a bright future ahead of you. do NOT base your self-worth on the length of your job search, because we have all been there. i got a job right out of college which payed nil, but had decent benefits. i started job searching six months ago, putting dozens of resumes out almost every day. after sifting through the scams and going to interviews that were a complete waste of time, i finally got a job offer with an international company that will allow me to use my french/int'l business degree.

anyways, i think that it is pretty brutal for entry-level people out there, but you have a very valuable degree and should find a good job in short order. if the job search gets to be too long, you can try temp to hire positions that can get you the "ins" with a company. as far as neworking is concerned, have no shame. name drop to anyone who will listen, you never know when or where a job will come up. the rule with resumes is: make them short and sweet. they shouldn't be more than one page long, and write yours as if someone with ADD will be reading it. you don't have to include references. if need be, you can state that you can give references "upon request".

the advice that comes up is kind of common sense, but it never hurts. when an interview comes up, do your research. make copious copies of your resume. buy a business suit, and show up early. to close the interview, dazzle them with: "i know this job is entry-level, thus very competitive; however i am willing to do anything to show you that i am capable of excelling at this position."

sorry, this turned out very long, but i hope it helps.

Good Luck!!!!

Hi,

I'm living the same experience as Lissie : graduated in December 2006 from an Industrial Engineering and management school; for some reasons had to put on stand-by my job search for a while and then have recently taken it again.

How ever, I think it's a little more complicate for me as I'm not US citizen. I'd like to gain a professional experience in US up to 12 months ( for visa reasons). As the internship season is over, I'm applying on entry level positions as I have a Master's degree. But even if I felt I had the qualities they were looking for, I get nothing...

May be my resume does not look good enough. It's on 2 pages ( 1 and half), I know it may seem too long for a recent graduate but I've gained professional experience as my training was based on a 3 year co op program. I have also put some key highlights to give the recruiter an idea of what I have really done. I feel like I will have less chances to get my foot in the door if I make it shorter and delete some things. I don't know.

I will really appreciate if some one could advise me or give me some tips. I really would like to live a professional experience over there !

Thanks in advance
:-)

Dear "Fellow Recent Grad", thank you so much for your comments. They have given me given me strength to keep trying. I started to apply to govenment jobs, too. Just to broaden the coverage.

I probably was a little picky on who I want to work for and what kind of position. I am looking specificly into Purchasing and some kind of analyst position. I believe I can do well in these kind of positions but I just didn't do well in presenting myself. Confidence is such a huge thing when interviewing and without convincing myself, there's noway that the interviewers can be convinced.

I need to get my self-esteeme up and just keep fighting. Thank you "Fellow Recent Grad" again for your courage. Your interview closing line is so powerful. I will rock on.

To "louise"
With regard to your resume, you can prepare two version of them. One simplified resume listing your relevant achievements and don't forget to tailor it to the specific job that you are applying. One detailed resume with all the related projects that you have done and list the results. The detailed resume you can send it to the recruiter after they contacted you or even attach it with ur simplified resume when applying for the job.

I understand how difficult it is to get a job with an F-1 but it's a lot easier at the same time when you have a master's degree and in IE!! So believe in yourself!

dude, totally go for the government jobs, they love people with international experience. one question, are you willing to relocate? if so, your job search will probably be even shorter. this is kind of crossing the boundaries of internet privacy, but i would totally look over your resume if you wanted me to. i've seen a lot of them, and i think i could help you polish it if you wanted me to.

: )

Also, do not be afraid that you will not remember every thing from every test in school. My Uncle is a CPA and he said that even with a job like that you only use 1/10 of the info from the exam.

Bonjour !

Thanks you all for replying and your precious advices:

Lissie : you have lots of knowledge and great scopes. So I'm confident you're smart and you'll get something soon. French and US resumes are different. And I've often read that it is important to make it as a marketing tool of yourself, I mean you have to sell to the company what you could offer to her : your skills, knowledge, experience...I know it's easier to say than to do it! it's not easy for me either...and when you will get an interview ( face to face or by phone call), bring out your interpersonal skills and your human skills. I think if the recruiter will have to pick up someone between several applicants who all have about the same academic background and degree, he will probably choose the one who will have more human qualities - even if he/she has a little less "technical" skills than the others - because that person will be able to work within a team, will be flexible, adaptable to any situation...And one more thing, show how passionate you are in what ever you carry out.

Fellow recent grad : I'm not thinking to relocate right now. It depends on if I will get an internship first and then how it will going on.I think it will be easier for me to decide if I wish to stay over there or to come back in my home country after a long term professional experience ( from 6 to 12 months). But first, my goal is to live a professional experience over there.
Regarding the government, I'm a little surprised they're looking for international graduates because I think the US citizenship ( for security clearance) is required - as I noticed for aerospace companies. But if you know a specific job website to advise me, I will appreciate it. And are you working in HR department or something like that as you met lots of international profiles? you seem to know lots of thinks !

PS : sorry for the mistakes I may have done

Thank you all for your comments. It's weired that I wasn't able to access indeed.com for the past few days.

I understand that any negative feelings will only drag me further away from my career goals. I have just started to "analyze" myself. Just assess ALL OF my past projects and leadership positions to find out what I had achieved and what I have learned and what I think I could have done for better decision making.

It has been really helpful because I was able to revisit all the passions I had. And I certainly understand myself better, hence, I will be able to market myself better during interviews.

Thank you for all of your support!

you're welcome. Happy it helps you :-)