So, now what?

Howdy ya'll? The Hollister rejection last night hit me hard, I'm not going to lie about it. It seemed like the last straw, one too many things gone wrong in a "series of unfortunate events" to put it in Lemony Snicket's words.

In fact, I spoke to my parents and grandparents last night and determined that it'd be best if I move to Europe for a few years to start out my career right, get the proper training, and then move back to the States. I've done some research on open positions in Germany as "Oracle Business Intelligence Consultant/Analyst" and found quite a few that I would fit. For anybody that doesn't know, that's the position I almost got with Eagle Creek, but didn't get because they didn't want to sponsor a work visa this year. With 4-5 years of experience in this field, however, and the baby boomers retiring (see my previous entry), chances are great for me to come back and lead the life I want (house, dog, country club, tennis, and sailing - oh, and Long Island Iced Teas!).

Yesterday, I was pretty set on that. Today, however, I got a phonecall from Abercrombie (thanks for finally calling me after like 3 weeks ...) to set up an interview for the same position as I interviewed at Hollister. I have no idea if that's going to go anywhere, but it would postpone my temporary departure from the US by a few months. I have called back, but got only voicemail, so I left a message and now I'm waiting, once again, and hope that things would move along a bit faster than last time. This job at least would provide me with some hard cash that I could use over in Europe as well as with some experience, something to do, and insurance. Also, in case I do get a job interview in Europe, I could just fly over there for a couple of days as opposed to moving everything at the first sign of an interview.

Ya'll take care & thanks for the advice given so far, keep 'em coming,

Johnny

A thought I had earlier this week

Before I forget to share this: I had a thought earlier this week (like Thursday night I think). Seeing that the key to staying in the US is a work visa and work, and both are in high demand and short supply presently, it's a tough time for me. However, not all is lost. The baby boomer generation will begin to retire in the very near future, and experts have predicted that the industry will begin to feel it within the next 5 years.

For those who are not familiar with the situation: After World War II, returning soldiers became the parents of what we call the "baby boomer generation", a sharp rise in birth rates. The baby boomer themselves, however, did not reproduce at the same rate resulting in an overall aging population. The US social security system is based on the idea that the working generation contributes to the retirees in form of social security taxes. This system collapses once there are significantly more retirees than working people, which is what is going to happen very soon unless major changes to the system are made by legislators.

Now, how can I benefit from this? There are two ways: First of all, people will be retiring and consequently freeing up jobs. The economy will probably have recovered by the time that happens and employers will be eager to hire again, probably more so than in previous years seeing how many people will retire. Second, the US doesn't have enough young people to take the jobs that will be left vacant by retirees. I'm predicting that the work visa quota will be increased by a lot, enticing foreign professionals to immigrate to and work in the US. 

This might be my ticket back, if I so choose at that point in my life (and honestly, why wouldn't I?). I just have to find something meaningful to do in the meantime, preferably something that lets me keep in touch with friends all over the world.

Thoughts anyone?

Johnny

Update on Hollister

Alright folks, it's been a few days since I've written the last post and a few things have happened in the meantime. First of all, I've been a bit "under the weather" for the past 4 or 5 days. The list of symtoms is comprised of an itchy throat, a hurting throat, light coughing, shot voice, headache, and fatigue. I could sleep all day at the moment and don't feel like talking because it hurts my throat. I also don't feel like doing anything besides sleeping, which doesn't aide my current situation. Speaking of which, I received an email from Hollister about 45 minutes ago.

"Thank you for your interest in Hollister Co. It was great meeting with you and getting to know you. As a company, we are always faced with the difficult challenge of selecting from such a great group of applicants. At this time, we have decided to pursue other candidates.

Well, it's a generic rejection letter. I replied, thanking him for his time and inquiring as to the reason. So far I have not received an answer and I doubt that I will. Bummer.

Moving forward, I decided that I'll take yet another trip to the mall tomorrow to apply to any sales job I can find. Sad that with a college degree and a background like mine I'm looking for minimum-wage jobs, but what can you do when you start running out of cash? Food can't be bought with good will and good intentions, or a full resume. I have also shortlisted a number of jobs that I will apply to in the morning when I can think clearly and feel less drowsy (thanks to the medication). I've found 5 business analyst jobs all over the country (Texas, Philly, New Jersey, Ohio) - some of which are a little bit of a stretch for me, but at least it's worth a shot. At least they're respectable jobs. 

I'm getting to the point though where I don't care a whole lot anymore as to where I work for as long as I'm actually working. I don't want to end up like this, sitting at home all day without job or much to do. Granted, it's fun to hang out with friends, but without work it's not fulfilling per se and I can still hang out after work, right?

I've also remembered the company my brother works for and their program (International Management Trainee) and started looking into that again. The requirements posted on their website are as follows:

• College degree (undergraduate or masters) in Management/Economics with high GPA
• Fluent in German and English; additional languages a plus
• Relevant internships
• Experience abroad, interculturally competent
• Teamplayer, excellent communication skills
• Outcome oriented, entrepreneurial

This seems like me and I think the job could be fun. I have graduated with a decent GPA, I'm fluent in German and English, have lived abroad for a good quarter of my life, and have demonstrated entrepreneurial and outcome oriented thinking. My internships at a technology company may be relevant in regards to the management experience I have gained.

I'm going to campus tomorrow to pick up some copies of the internship evaluations and a letter certifying that I have graduated (diplomas are still being printed), scan them, and send them out via email tomorrow along with my cover letter and resume. It's worth a shot.

Problem is, I'll have to interview personally and that means a trip to Europe, which would mean that I'm pretty much done here for now :( But as I have told some good friends today already, what good does it do me or anybody if I sit around here not finding anything? Yeah, I've pictured post-graduation much different from this.

Going global

Howdy,

As promised earlier today, I'll give ya'll a quick update on the other position that I just finished applying to. I found the job posting last night while looking for jobs in New Zealand and it turns out that the company has offices in Canada, Europe, Australia, and the US as well (among many other countries). The company in question is Meltwater News and I'm considering the International Management Trainee position out in San Diego (maybe the one in Texas too, but their deadline is farther out and I just want to work, I don't care too much where at the moment).

Anyways, the position includes an initial training period covering B2B sales mainly. Candidates with management potential will be retained and move up after training. The company values entrepreneurship and critical thinking, both characteristics that I have shown, and I do like what I've read about the company thus far. Meltwater News is in the business of media monitoring of their client companies, among other things, and was founded in 2001. They have experienced rapid growth over the last 8 years. 

I'm thinking that I could put in a year at the San Diego or Texas office and have them transfer me to, say, Toronto or London, both places I wouldn't mind working at at all :-)

Check them out - http://meltwater.com/mnews/

Johnny

Become a recruiter?

Howdy ya'll,

Today seems to be much less depressing than yesterday. I woke up this morning (well, it wasn't so morning anymore when I did seeing that the sun had already risen), and went on to check my emails, missed calls, and Facebook as it is my routine. Two things here were of particular interest: I had a missed call from First Investors Corp. and received an email from Apex Systems. 

FIC has first contacted me two days ago, but for some reason me and the hiring person have been missing each other from the start. I get her voicemail when I call and I don't have my phone on me when she calls. Regardless, I don't know how I feel about selling financial services. That doesn't seem to fit into what I want to do with my life whatsoever and I'm not sure how that experience can benefit me in the long run. Anyone got any ideas?

Apex claims to be one of the top staffing agencies in the nation, a claim I have no reason to contest. Now that is more like something I'd be interested in than FIC for a number of reasons. Assuming that Apex makes its resources available, I do enjoy interacting with people and helping them find jobs. It'll also get me in touch with a large number of employers putting me in a good position helping struggling friends finding work after college (most of which have just graduated or are about to in May) and myself at some point. Apex I decided to pursue - I just replied to their email with my resume attached and the questionaire completed. They offer a base-salary (I don't know yet how much) and commission for placing people (it's not the best economy for that sort of job from what I heard from a friend who's working in a similar, but smaller company), as well as full benefits.

I have also found an interesting job last night for which I have started working on the application but had to put it on hold until today due to fatigue last night. I'll be writing about that position a bit more a little later today when I'm done applying for that position.

I'm looking forward to comments and ideas from you!

Johnny

A few thoughts of how I'll shape my future

I guess it's not a big secret that the economy sucks right now. It's shot in the US with massive layoffs expected this year and last year's being history. It's not too much better anywhere else. I used to think that it doesn't affect me too much because I went to college and I'm not interested in the financial sector, but everything seems to have gotten hit or I'm just too stupid to figure out where the jobs are. I've looked on Dice.com, Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, and some other websites and sent out a lot of applictions with resume, cover letter, references....and heard back only from a handful of them. I mean, I don't even really get interviews. So far I've been only able to interview at Eagle Creek Software Services and Hollister Co. and have gotten rejections (at best!) from all other places.

Granted, once in a while I get contacted by financial institutions or insurance companies with inquiries as to whether I want to sell insurance or financial services, but honestly, I'm not. I'm not a sales person per se, and I would not enjoy a career in sales whatsoever. Retail is a different story, but I don't want to do cold calling or go to places to try to sell them stuff. It's just not me.

So, here are three scenarios with things that I can do in terms of work in the future:

Hollister Co

If I get the job there against all odds, I'll be working there for a year. Good. It doesn't pay much, but I really want the job because I think it'd be fun and it's terrific experience. I can see myself doing that in the future and moving up within the company. Next year, I could ask them to transfer me to one of the UK or Canadian stores. I can work without any restrictions in any EU country (including England). Canada is also pretty open to immigrants.

My dad pointed at Canada a few weeks ago and I went on to look at their requirements. All I need I've got, pretty much. I'm just missing at least 1 year of work experience and a job offer there, which I would have if Hollister wanted to transfer me. Alternatively, I could go back to school in a year for a master's in, say, leadership (not MBA though), and work part-time during the semester at Hollister Co and full-time during break in compliance with the US immigration law.

French Foreign Legion

I've looked at this option a few times throughout last year and have looked into a military career for the last 5 years.

Since I can't join the Marine Corps, and I don't want to end up in Germany (the Bundeswehr is not really getting used), and since I'd want to be in combat if I'm in the military, the FFL is a good option.

"Whether restoring or keeping the peace, or exercising crowd control, the Legion has been able to adapt to all situations in all theatres of conflict (the Gulf War of 1990-1991; Kampuchea, Somalia in 1992-1993; Rwanda in 1994; Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia in 1993 to 2003; Central African Republic in 1996...)"

It's challenging both physically and mentally. It's a 5 year contract with most of it being in deployment in exotic places like the Ivory Coast or French Guinea. If I survive (and the odds aren't bad), I'd be fluent in French in addition to English and German, be in good shape, and have significant military experience. I could either reinlist or go private and become a contractor doing security in some other warzone.

Contractors get paid nicely (some $120,000 a year). Alternatively I could become a personal trainer and make some good income that way. Heck, after 5 years in the jungle I better be in good shape.

I decided that I'm going to look into the FFL again in November this year to make my decision whether I'll apply or not. The parents, of course, hate the idea, and have pointed at jobs in Germany, New Zealand, and Canada as civilian alternatives.

School

Lastly, I could get lucky and find a job in a software company doing webdesign or so and keep doing that part-time next year while going back to school for a Bachelor of Science in, say, Java or so. Technology is always a safe bet and I'm starting to think that I should have gone for that in the first place, but I can't change what happened now. With a degree in management and CompSci I'd also be an attractive candidate for any business analyst position that is exposed to IT. Besides retail store management and a military career, this is what I'd be most interested in. I'm currently looking at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities for the BS in CompSci since it's a school around here and I'd like to stay here and because it's a good program for a good price. I just have no idea yet how I'd finance it if I don't find something (well-paying) soon because I still owe the grandparents and bank some $$$, which I would like to pay back at some point :-)

Does anyone have any idea where else I should look for jobs or what I should do??

Any comments and guidance would be much appreciated!

Johnny

My background & first post!

Hey folks,

Thanks for landing on my blog! This blog is intended for former teachers of mine, friends, family, and anybody really that's in the same boat as me - whether you're trying to establish yourself in a foreign country or just graduated college, I hope that you can find something valuable in my postings.

Here's a little background info on me

I came to the US in 2003 as exchange student from Germany. I went to a public high school in Idaho for a year. In 2004, I was offered a scholarship from St Paul Preparatory School (www.stpaulprep.org), an excellent private high school now located downtown St Paul, MN.  I accepted and graduated with something close to a 3.7 GPA from there.

In 2005, shortly before I graduated high school, I was offered a scholarship from Hamline University, one of the colleges I had been looking at (I also looked at St Thomas, Gustavus Adolphus, and the University of Pennsylvania). Because of the scholarship and friends and familiarity with the Twin Cities, I chose Hamline.

I attended Hamline for 3 and a half years and graduated January 31st, 2009 with a BA in International Management and Economics minor and a GPA of 3.18/4.0.

I also worked a lot throughout my college career. My freshman year I spent working at Hamline's Career Development Center and at a company I had founded (outsourcing consulting). My sophomore year I started working at Hamline's Post Office where I stayed until my first semester as senior. I also still worked at my company until fall 2007 when I got rid of both the German office and the UK office. It got too much with school, social life, and girl friend who disliked being second to my cell phone. She left me shortly after that anyways. In November 2007, I got an internship as software developer at uTead, Inc. in Minneapolis where I became project manager of 6 developers in February 2008. I stayed with the company until around December 2008. I didn't want to work for the last month or two in college and just enjoy the last few days in school with friends before the "real life" begins.

So, now 17 days after I graduated, I'm still looking for a job. Until the middle of January, I had something lined up that seemed to be a pretty sure thing. It was a position as OBI Consultant at Eagle Creek Software Services, however, management decided against hiring me because I required a work visa down the road. That came as a blow as I had been interviewing there since the end of November. Last Thursday I interviewed at Hollister Co. for assistant store manager. I think the interview went pretty well. The district manager was laid back and seems cool, so I'm waiting to hear back from them to see if I got it. He promised to let me know this Friday.

Thanks for reading all this - I know it's long. I'll post some more later in the week with info on some other things that I'm looking into right now. Please comment and I'm always looking for some advice and encouragement. 

I also want to thank everybody that has helped & guided me so far, including: My family (parents, grandparents, siblings), James & Lori O'Dell, Debra & Rich Johnson, Elizabeth & John Tillmanns, Dr. Watson, Dr. Tarsitano, Dr. Mawk, Professors Dr. Gunderson, Dr. Christensen, Dr. Hagen, Dr. Somerville, Gary & Bev Kampa, as well as my good friends Markus, Aleksandra, Kate, Katie, Paul and Eric, and many many others without whom I wouldn't be where I am today!

Until next time,

Johnny