How to look for work in Los Angeles

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With increasingly strict immigration and Visa regulations and the high cost of time and money it takes to process foreign employees there are less companies recruiting foreign workers. When looking at job offerings, search for "Visa Sponsor" to find companies that are interested in aiding in the Visa process. Perhaps the easiest way to find a high paying job as a foreign national is to attend some university in the United States as a stepping stone to a great American job.

To search for possible jobs, try www.careerbuilder.com, www.monster.com, or try Los Angeles city government as they remain one of the largest employers in the region. Sites that redirect you directly to jobs in Los Angeles: www.la.oodle.com, www.mylajobs.com, or http://los.angeles.jobs.com/. In addition, the www.latimes.com/classified/jobs also has an excellent job section in both its hard copy and on-line.

To find information on job fairs, working at home, and other employment opportunities, http://losangeles.employmentguide.com/ offers invaluable resources.

The CV is more commonly known as the "resume" in the United States. The resume lays out work experience, education, and skills and should be accompanied a personal cover letter. If you are applying for a research or academic job in the US that requests a CV, this means you need to supply a lengthy document listing all of the researcher's achievements, including his or her educational background, scientific papers and experiments, teaching experience and awards received.

A sample resume should resemble something of this format:

Heading: Do not include a heading; start your resume with your contact information.

Contact Information:Relevant personal contact information at the top of the page including:

  1. name
  2. phone number
  3. fax number
  4. address
  5. email address
It is recommended that you do NOT list your gender, race, religion or marital status, unless it is appropriate and relevant for the job. In America, employers are under legal obligation to not discriminate.

Objective: Some career experts recommend describing your objective in the process of your job search just below the contact information. There is no hard and fast rule about whether or not to use it. Generally, the point made in the 'objective' will be made in the cover letter, so it is fine to omit it.

Professional Experience: Usually this information is listed chronologically. List your work experience with:

  1. your title
  2. the name of the company you worked for
  3. the dates of your employment
  4. a brief description of your achievements in that job

Education:This section should come before work experience if you are in school or have been out of school for one to three years, depending on your level of work experience and how relevant your education is to your career. If you have a high Grade Point Average (3.5 or above, equivalent to an A- or A), include it on your resume. If you attended college, list the name of the college and what you got your degree in. If you recently graduated or have taken courses highly relevant to the job for which you are applying, list those.

Certificates & Diplomas Courses, seminars, congresses or conferences that are relevant in relation to the position. Long or prestigious courses are also interesting. Point out a course's duration in hours. List these in a chronologically inverse order.

Languages: Since this may be relevant to an international job, you should list which languages you speak and your level: advanced, intermediate or beginner. Point out if you can translate, speak, or write in each language and list any associated degrees.

Computer Skills: Programs, applications, etc. Word processing, database, Internet, etc.

Personal Information: At the end of the resume you should include a brief section where you can list personal information such as hobbies or interests. This can be called something like "Other Interests," or "Skills or Interests." Here you should, very succinctly, list some of your hobbies, each in no more than three words. It's great if these are relevant to your job, but if they aren't these hobbies can simply reveal something about your personality. Interviewers commonly use this section as an icebreaker and as a source for starting a more relaxed, less formal conversation.

General Tips:

  • Your resume must be short - one or two pages at the most.
  • Print original copies on high quality paper - don't send photocopies.
  • Be neat: take care with the presentation, design, spaces, and spelling of your resume. Don't use abbreviations. Emphasize sections and things that are important with underlines or bold type.
  • Make sure your resume is as organized as possible, so the information can be found easily.
  • You do not need to date or sign your resume.
  • Have a base resume that you can adjust to each job you are applying for.
  • Photos are not required and are discouraged for legal reasons. Photos indicate your race and gender, and employers do not need to know this information unless it is relevant to the job. Exceptions may be for jobs like model, actor, or hostess.
  • Write your resume in third person of the singular form.
  • Do not attach diplomas or documents unless asked to.
  • Attach a cover letter with the resume.
  • If you are still having trouble, here are a few sample resumes to help create your own http://www.distinctiveweb.com/samples.htm.


    Update 26/03/2008


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