Three Top Tips To Get A Job In The USA
Editor - CoolAvenues | August 02,2014 11:30 am IST
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pdfIn the American market, your resume and job interview needs to both SHOW and TELL your qualifications as visually as possible. It's your job to give energy to your resume and make your skills come alive in the mind of an employer.
As a foreign applicant, you are automatically at a perceived disadvantage as there are many Americans with the same qualifications and experience who are acclimatized to the US workplace ethos, ready to be hired - today. That's why you need to counterbalance this prejudice: to prove yourself, your worth, and that you are worth waiting for.
Think about a job you really want and how you would show that you are right for the job. How you would tell your story? Here are some tips: -
"SHOW" YOU CARE: You must know everything you possibly can about the company BEFORE you apply. Do your homework. Most companies today have a corporate website with the details of the business's history, philosophy, product lines, achievements and marketing focus. 
Read through the entire website and tailor your resume and cover letter to the strengths, pride and products of the company. What do you see as their short and long-term goals? These are answers that employers love to see and hear - that you've actually put some thought and research into their business. SHOW them that you understand their firm and care enough to think about their needs; and think about how you can help their product or trade lines for them by hiring you. Make your case!
"TELL" THEM WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR: Your resume and cover letter must be the best possible presentation you can make. A cover letter's primary purpose is to act as an employer's introduction to your resume, and to you. SHOW and TELL them why they should even consider you - especially since you are so far away from America.
Your cover letter should have a subtle yet strong selling message - a point-by-point detail that tells the American employer that, by hiring you, they'll benefit from your previous successes and experiences.
You must use American expressions and terminology. Use statistics and measurements that show what you were able to achieve for former employers.
Appeal to their interests, but don't use the cover letter to criticize their business model. Instead, show how you would complement their company's goals and ideals.
Speak in the language that they want to read - the language of success, achievement and profit. Make your cover letter compelling enough that they would want to meet this success story - you - in person. Or at least want to read the rest of your resume.
"SHOW" IT IN THE INTERVIEW: The American Company loved your resume and cover letter. Now they want to talk to you. When you land your job interview, either in person, over the telephone or even through the computer, prepare answers that again detail your specific accomplishments and tasks. TELL them what they want to hear, but anticipate how they'd want to hear it.
SHOW you understand the company's objectives and know how your skills play into those objectives, and how you are eager to do more and learn more. American employers love job applicants who have confidence.
Make a list of the successes that you are proud of, and that you think are key to their business. The trick is to fold your success stories into their line of questioning. Try to take their questions and turn them into a discussion of the similar environments you have worked in, the similar tasks you have done, the triumphs you have achieved and your drive and determination to work up to the top of your field. How do you do this? By practice.
Just remember to make your answers concise and to-the-point. It's not easy when you have a lot of story to tell, but practice with a friend. Write out pretend interview questions and then make up mock answers. TELL your story through the most imaginative, persuasive words you can in the most economical way you can SHOW it.
As you are going to be showing and telling about your vocational experiences, the easiest exercise to sharpen your interviewing skills is to put yourself inside the mind of the American Employer. As an employer, you would be looking for someone who can fit in quickly, start to contribute right away, is confident in his or her approach to the tasks at hand, fits in with colleagues and is a team player who works to realize the company's goals. When you convey these ideas in your cover letter, resume and in the job interview - by showing and telling them in persuasive and clear ways - your chances for success will improve dramatically.
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Comments
Sacha, thanks for sharing your tips. I particularly liked your tip: "...put yourself inside the mind of the American Employer." In fact, it is useful for any job, anywhere in the world.