Marketing yourself effectively in the language and style that employers understand is often the key to an international job seeker's success in the USA. Many foreign job seekers may not know the best way to market themselves to a typical US employer. Here are five of the top tips to supercharge anyone's job search in the USA: -
Your CV Must Be "American-ized" -
American companies expect your Curriculum Vitae to be re-written as a standard "US-style" resume. Any other format will be confusing to the employer and could result in your resume being discarded. American resumes should detail your education, employment history and achievements as in your CV, but in "American English" spelling and grammar. Job seekers should not forget to use the correct American terminologies for their profession as well. Using a distinctly American spell-check program and researching similar US technical terms online will help keep your document understandable. If your CV isn't American-ized, you might as well not even bother applying; the American employer will find a standard CV confusing and may not take the time to read it.
Be Proud Of Your Accomplishments -
In a competitive job market, American employers need a really good reason to hire you over a similarly-qualified applicant. You may not be used to boasting about your accomplishments, but in America your prior successes really count. Think about the last time you successfully completed a project or helped create a "happy-customer" transaction. Make a list of at least three success stories, and be prepared to tell the American employer about them. Employers in the USA love to see statistics, too. List specific statistics related to your work accomplishments in your resume. This will really boost your resume's credibility.
Keep Your Resume Concise And To The Point -
There is an old American saying: time is money. This is no truer than when an employer is looking at your resume. An "American Resume" should be no more than two pages long and be easy to read. Above all, do not state the same information twice. If you have performed the same job for a number of employers or if you have tended to work in the same industry job after job, try to rephrase the job descriptions or find new terms to describe your tasks. This keeps the reader interested, and the resume interesting!
* Sacha DeVoretz is an established author & international career-consultant. Created and developed an international employment agency and has lectured world-wide to audiences who were eager to learn how to effectively obtain employment. With offices in USA & Canada, she is also the founder and president of Americajobnet.com, publisher of international employment self-help manuals. Currently, member of the National Employment Counseling Association USA.
