Re: Seeking employment advice

[Krista Van Laan <KVanlaan -at- VERISIGN -dot- COM>]

James Hoadley wrote:

> I've been working as a technical editor at a Japanese
> electronics company
> for the last two years, and I've been seriously considering
> returning home
> to the US.  This spring I sent off a large number of resume's
> but received
> almost no response.  It seems like the fact that I live
> overseas is a major
> stumbling block, although it could be something else.
>

I was in a similar situation. I lived in Finland for nearly six
years and when I decided to return to the US, I had a hard time
job-hunting from so far away. It didn't surprise me, because when
I was hiring in Finland, I had the same problems when Americans
sent me their resumes: the first thing you think about is that
the person will want relocation expenses, will need a work
permit, will take forever to be able to start, etc.
On top of that are the small problems -- finding a reasonable
time to call, setting up an interview, contacting references.
Unless the applicant fit every requirement I ever dreamed of,
I just didn't get in touch.

What I did finally was decide where I wanted to live in the USA.
One criterion was a good job market. You can find that out easily by
checking
sites like www.dice.com. Choose a few locations that interest you,
do a search for "technical writer" and see how many jobs there are and
what the salary ranges are.

Next, I visited the areas I liked. That's a bit difficult from Japan, but it
wasn't that easy from Finland either and I did it. I tried beforehand to
make as many contacts as possible at companies that interested me, and
I visited those people just to network. I arranged meetings at several
recruiting companies and agencies, and told the recruiters that I was
planning to move to the area by X date, and I wanted to talk about job
prospects. I wanted to check both the contract job market and permanent
job market to be sure I could work temporarily while looking for a
permanent job.

Even though I'm an American citizen, I am certain that a lot of
potential employers looked at my Finnish address and assumed I would need
sponsorship. Put that you're an American citizen in large type at the
top of your resume as long as you are still living in Japan. Or better yet,
do what I suggest below and use an American address.

Once I was actually ready to move, I started sending out resumes a few
weeks before the move date. I got a local address (a PO box will do if you
don't know anyone in the area) to put on the resume. I also tried
experimenting with sending out some resumes that did not include the
addresses of the Finnish companies I worked for (they were international,
so their names were recognizable). That didn't seem to matter too much --
I had equally good response from resumes with and without the foreign
addresses. People are very interested
in the international experience, by the way, once you get into the
interview.

One thing you could try is using the phone number and address of your family
in America, if you have relatives here.
If you're applying for a job in California and your mother lives in
Maryland,
it might be an inconvenience for the potential employer, but it's certainly
less inconvenient than Japan.

If you get a response from a company that interests you, you should be
ready to come out for an interview. You could start with a phone interview
and
explain your situation. But actually you have to be as flexible as you can
be.

Ultimately, you just have to do it. I did a lot of research, felt confident
about what was waiting for me, and came out here with no job. Within a month
of starting my search, I had four great offers and my only problem was
making a decision. You have less to worry about than I did since your
company will pay your moving expenses.

>  I've been working as a technical editor, not a writer, and
> what exactly my
> responsibilities are depend on whom you ask.  I've done
> everything from
> simple proofreading to hard-core rewriting, editing and even
> translation.
> I've been primarily responsible for the development and
> implementation of a
> selection and evaluation system for outsourced documentation.
> I've even
> received an award for co-developing an online reference system.

I suggest you put "technical writer" on your resume, assuming that's what
you want to do out here. There are plenty of job openings for technical
writers,
as you'll see when you do your Internet search, but not so many for
technical
editors. Anyway, it sounds as if you are a technical writer. Sometimes the
titles are a little different in different parts of the world. Write your
resume with an American slant, by the way. I know the style is different
depending
upon where you go.

I would also suggest is that you try to get to know people who
work with the big corporations in Japan. Visit their offices while you're
out there.
A Japanese company with offices in the US or an American company with
offices
in Japan might have a job for you some place in the States.

You didn't say what your previous job experience was. That's more important
than having a degree in tech writing. I'm assuming it got you this job as a
technical
editor. If so, and you have the right kind of background, your overseas
experience
will be a tremendous asset -- but not until you're actually here.

 Krista

==========================================================
Krista Van Laan                    VeriSign, Inc.
Documentation Manager              1350 Charleston Road
kvanlaan -at- verisign -dot- com              Mountain View, CA 94043
tel: (650) 429-5158                fax: (650) 961-7300

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