Happy Schools Blog » Job Search

How to Get Job After Grad School Without Work Experience

HSB — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:14:37 +0000

VK Asks About possibility of getting Job after Masters Degree without Work Experience

I am a 3rd year BE ECE student planning to do MS in US by september 2011.I am without any work experience.Is it possible to get a job after completing MS in 2013 without any job experience only with OPT?Is it possible to do part time job in F1 visa?

Remember few things with respect to job search in America

Companies don’t come to Campus for Interviews ( Majority of them)
There will be career fairs, but not as frequently as Walk-In interviews in India
You have to go looking for jobs.
Resume format used in India will NOT work in US.

Entry Level Job Search

It’s good to see a third year student thinking of OPT and Job Opportunities in US after completing Graduate School.

Is it possible to get a job after completing MS in 2013 without any job experience only with OPT?

Yes, you can find a Job after completing your Masters Degree without work experience, but due to recession many people have lost jobs. Number of jobs that will be available in 2013 cannot be predicted now, but if you plan and prepare yourself from day ONE you land in America, you can get a job in no time.

To get job as an Entry level student, you will need work as an intern while studying Masters degree for 1 or 2 semesters. Process of applying to internship is same as applying for full time jobs.

Students who have experience in applying for Internship, have an edge during job search. If you get an internship position, you have very good advantage over students who are applying without Internship experience. You will get work experience and chances of getting full time job in same company is also highly likely.

It takes time to learn the job search skills. You have to go looking for jobs, not the other way around.

Learn how to use build your professional network using Facebook, Twitter (Follow Happy Schools Blog on Twitter) and LinkedIn ( Top 8 Job Search Methods). Once you have built a good network, you can utilize that to find a job or internship.

Part Time Job in F1 Visa

Is it possible to do part time job in F1 visa?

International students in F1 visa are allowed to work 20 hours per week On Campus jobs. You can get to work within University’s Library, book store, computer labs, cafe, athletic centers, stadiums, conference halls, …Part time jobs will pay around $7 to $0 per hour.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

How to Get Job After Grad School Without Work Experience

Top 10 Universities in California by Salary

HSB — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:23:17 +0000

Salary Survey Methodology – Annual pay for Bachelors graduates without higher degrees. Typical starting graduates have 3 years of experience; mid-career have 15.5 years. This survey lists Top 10 Universities in California state based on studetns salary.

Above Salary Survey is done by Payscale.com. If you complete Bachelors degree in Stanford University and have 3 years experience, you can expect to earn $70,400 per year. But,that figure is median value. So, studetns fron Stanford University should be earning much more.

For starting salary of $70,400 in California is equivalent to around $55,000 in Florida after comparing cost of living, state taxes and othr living costs.

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Top 10 Universities in California by Salary

6 Mistakes That Can Kill Your Resume

HSB — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:10:29 +0000

Here is an interesting 6 mistakes that you should avoid in your resume, if not you will be spending more time in Job Search. Previously we have discussed about 28 Question About Entry Level Student Resume, this this article ( from CIO) you can learn about common 6 Ways to ruin your resume.

6 Costly Resume Mistakes

Try to avoid the following mistakes in your resume.

Mistake 1: Your objective is unclear
Mistake 2: You’ve listed old skills
Mistake 3: You’ve created an acronym explosion
Mistake 4: You misuse industry jargon
Mistake 5: You’re unclear what job you’re applying for
Mistake 6: You’re vague about your experience, or you’re just downright confusing

You can read more details about each resume mistake. Author has given clear description of the mistakes and how to avoid them.

Most of the international students applying for jobs make the following 3 mistakes

Mistake 1: Your objective is unclear
Mistake 5: You’re unclear what job you’re applying for
Mistake 6: You’re vague about your experience, or you’re just downright confusing

Objective is Unclear

If you come across a resume that has Objective that looks like this

“Looking for Full time position as Software Engineer, where I can utilize my skills to full extent”

What job you’re applying for

This is common mistake in the resume. You might be willing to take any job in this economy ( Software Developer, Tester, BA, …). In that case, have a separate resume for each job area you apply. Don’t have a common resume for each job. That will not work.

Each resume have to be tailored to the job you are applying.

Job Experience or Project Description

Resume should say who you accomplished in previous job/projects and how you can contribute to new job you are looking. Don’t just copy and paste the project description into resume. That clearly shows immaturity.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

6 Mistakes That Can Kill Your Resume

Is $180 for Resume Writing Too Much? Maybe Not!

HSB — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 14:26:03 +0000

Professional resume writing services are expensive. I have to agree to that. Resume Edge charges around $180 for Resume writing service. But the question is – IS $180 too much for getting resume written professionally?

Resume Is an Art

First look at your resume and look at the samples resume templates in Resume Edge. Can you prepare a resume of that quality? If so, then there is no need for you to read this article right? I have looked at so many student resumes and you’d be surprised to see the mistakes that will definitely lower their chances to get called for an interview. Resume with mistakes wouldn’t get you interview call.

Common Resume Mistakes

Here is a list of common mistakes in resume I have come across

One page resume with not enough information
Masters level student will have just 1 or 2 projects listed
Objective is not clear.
Skills Set will list all programming languages, but no projects to support it
Spelling Mistakes
Format looks crumbled ( not appealing )
Missing Phone numbers and email address
Don’t have a copy of the ASCII format.

$180 for Resume Writing

Lets face it, you should have spent $20,000 to $50,000 in graduate education and might be willing to spend $4 on Starbucks coffee once per day or week. $10 for movie ticket, $200 for iPhone but unwilling to spend $180 for something that will ultimately get you full time job.

If you spend $180 once, that resume can be modified and used for next 4 to 5 years before you will need to get it revamped with your experience. There are many resume writing service. I have personally used 2 of the best, but I recommend Resume Edge and I was not satisfied with other service. Reason being, you get

Word Document Resume
ASCII format of the same resume
Online link to your resume ( easy to send to employer or creative resume marketing)

Other services will not give the above offers for $180. Go with full resume writing service based on your experience ( entry level, student, ..) with Resume Edge, not just resume review or resume critique. If you are thinking of spending for resume writing do it before your job search. Not 1 month before your 90 days OPT expiration date.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

Is $180 for Resume Writing Too Much? Maybe Not!

Top 8 Job Search Methods

HSB — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:09:07 +0000

Job hunting in this economy will be tough. Here are some of possible ways to search for jobs. Job hunting should be treated as a full time job. If one of the following approach is not working, then something is wrong. It could be your resume or cover letter. There will be lots of ups and down’s in your job search. You might apply for 100 jobs in 1 week and never hear back from the any employer.

If that happens switch to next job search method in the list below. If you can manage to effectively spend equal time in few of the methods below, then you should see some positive results in couple of months time. Students assume, that they can get adept at job search methods in few days and tend to relax through the days in college and when it come to job search, it would not take long before they realize, its not an easy process.

Job Search Methods

Personal Contacts – friends, family members
College Career Center and website
Professional Networking – LinkedIn, Zoominfo
Social Media Tools – Twitter, Facebook
Job Search Boards – Simply Hired, Indeed, Yahoo Hot Jobs
Craigslist Job Search in local area
Attend Job Fairs
Cold Calls to prospective employer

To be successful in job search, you have to be mentally prepared to face ups and down. Every job you apply, you must feel that you are right fit for that position and have faith in the you when applying. Essentially you have to feel for the job you are applying. If you just apply with depressed feeling, it might not work out.

Tailor your resume according to the job you are applying. Modify the keywords in the resume and make those keywords easily visible. Do you know any other ways to search for jobs than above 8 ways, if you write a comment to this article.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

Top 8 Job Search Methods

Bank of America Withdraws Job Offers to MBA Graduates

HSB — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:23:46 +0000

Bank of America is one of the TARP companies. New H1B rules were signed into law, that imposed strict hiring restriction by TARP companies for H1B workers. As a result Bank of America was the first company to cancel the Job offer to MBA graduates who require H1B Visa sponsorship.

Its expected all the major bank that come under TARP Companies receiving bailout money will cancel the job offers they have made to International students. Even though the law doesn’t say they cannot hire workers in H1B visa, but it requires companies to provide lots of documentation to prove they couldn’t find American workers to fill that position, which make its difficult for those companies. This restrictions will be for 2 years { 2009 to 2011 }

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

Bank of America Withdraws Job Offers to MBA Graduates

10 Social Media Sites for Job Search

HSB — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 01:58:07 +0000

In the current recession market finding a job takes a lot of effort. By utilizing the power of networking can make job search much easier. But, building your network during job search will be less effective. You have to be adding more professionals to your network every day. Social Media sites help a lot to build relationship and find new contacts. I recently came across a very detailed article that explains how to use Social Media sites to find your job.

If you are actively looking for jobs, then you should have now realized how tough the market is. Not many jobs are available, but far more number of people are applying for the same position. So, getting your resume directly to the hiring manager will increase your chances of getting the interview call. Applying directly through companies career page will not give the desired result and its a time consuming process too. If you are in H1B status or OPT then there is not much time left and you are going to be out of status in few days or 90 days for OPT.

Social Media Sites for Job Search

Linkedin is the most powerful tool of all available social media sites, but Twitter is developing at faster rate. Using Twitter you can talk directly to hiring manager. So, there are 8 more sites that will help you to find job.

LinkedIn
Plaxo with Simply Hired
Twitter with blog or LinkedIn URL
Jobster
Facebook
Craigslist
MyWorkster with Indeed
VisualCV
JobFox
Ecademy

So, why are you still waiting, head on straight to Top 10 Social Media Sites for Job Search. Creating account in all the above sites will not get you, even close to finding a job. Have a good plan on how to use all the above sites. Dedicate few hours to each site every week. Find how to use the sites and utilize the power each sites have to complement to your current job search methods.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

10 Social Media Sites for Job Search

What Not to Say During Job Interview

HSB — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:06:08 +0000

If you are preparing to attend a job interview the way in which you answer questions will help you get the job. Here’s a good vidoe of what not to say during job interview.

Watch Job Interview Tip: What not to Say During Job Interviews in How to Videos | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

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What Not to Say During Job Interview

IBM Hiring 1300+ for New IT Center – Dubuque, Iowa

HSB — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:00:56 +0000

This news will be much welcome sign for many job seekers. IBM plans to open new IT Center in Dubuque, Iowa and they are planning to hire 1300+ employees. Looks like for current 300 positions more than 3000 resumes were submitted.

So, if you are looking for job, you can head straight to IBM US Career Website and checkout the openings at Dubuque, Iowa location.

High Impact Resume

In current job market, its very difficult to get interview call. If more than 500 job seekers apply for one position, then its your Resume that can help you that one interview call. so, you need to have a well crafted resume to make that first impression when hiring manager looks at your resume. Its is not easy to craft a high impact resume. Its very hard to create first impression, but very easy to make big blunder in resume.

If you were applying for job for long time and if there is no interview call, then you can consider to have your resume written by a professional. I would spend $100 or so to get a resume written by a professional instead of not knowing if resume I have will work that magic to get interview call. Especially if you are entry level student, fresh out of graduate school, I strongly recommend to get your resume written by a certified resume writer.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

IBM Hiring 1300+ for New IT Center – Dubuque, Iowa

Microsoft’s Salary for H1B Visa Workers

HSB — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 01:41:37 +0000

Microsoft is dream company to work for. Many try to get job in Microsoft, but few end up working for Microsoft. If you look at the Career Website, you will see the following positions under Technical

Software Test Engineer
Software Test Lead
Software Test Manager
Software Design Engineer in Test
Software Test Architect
Software Design Engineer
Software Design Engineer Lead
Program Manager

I know many will be curious to know how much Microsoft pays for those positions. So, I tried to dig around to see places where I can find salary data. Here’s what I found about Microsof’t salary for H1B visa workers

Program Manager – 80,000
Software Development Manager – 96,101
Software Development Engineer in Test – 80,000
Software Development Engineer in Test – 85,500
Researcher – 120,000
Sr Software Development Engineer – 100,000

Above reported are the wage rate for different positions in Microsoft. If you browse online for Microsoft Job Interview online, you will come across lots of interview experience.. People going to Microsoft One Way for interview and going to different buildings to attend the interview. Reading those experience in itself brings good feeling.

I’m not saying Microsoft is the only best company, many other companeies are good, but Microsoft always has some special feeling. I got the above data from Foreign Labor Certification Data Center. There are many other sources to find the salary like Salary.com, PayScale.com, Indeed.com and so on.

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Microsoft’s Salary for H1B Visa Workers