It's been over a year since my last post. Since then, I've graduated and am slowly adjusting to not being a student. Even though I'm no longer living in China, an awareness of all things associated with China still informs my every breath and thought. Will I end up working in China? Most likely. Will I live there permanently? Only time will time.
Friends tell me the transition to living in the US should be easy, but it isn't. I have lived in China for a total of 3 years, by coming back to the US and setting down in a city I have not truly lived in for over a decade, I have left many friends and a familiar way of living behind.
The most difficult part of the reintegration process was finding a US based job/internship. Considering the terrible state of the economy and other factors, I'm sure I'm not the only one that has struggled with this. So here are a few things I learned as I weathered this transitional period.
1) Unless a job or internship has requirements clearly marking it as out your range of experience (for example if you don't have work experience, your chances of hearing back from a job posting labeled as mid-career or advanced are not very high), you always have a shot. If you think an opportunity will help your career goals and you are interested, apply and see what happens. Maybe you don't think you possess all the qualifications the posting asks for, or you don't think your chances of getting a response are good, however, your chances of finding a job/internship are zero if you don't submit anything at all.
See this link. Don't overestimate the competition, don't psych yourself out.
2) Set realistic goals for how many job/internship applications you will send out. Are you madly writing your thesis and juggling classes while working part time? Then you probably won't have enough time to send out job applications every day. Try to aim for one quality application a week, set aside some time every day just for job hunting.
3) Research, research, research. Read each posting carefully to understand what is being looked for. Then, DON'T START writing your cover letter yet. Go to the company/organization's website, dig around and learn about what they do. Have friends working similar jobs, know someone working at the place you're interested in? Go talk to them to get some insider information. After arming yourself with all this knowledge, go write an awe inspiring cover letter. Feel free to use words or phrases from the job posting or the company's HR webpage to make yourself look awesome on paper.
4) Just submitted your CV and cover letter? Good job, now go relax. Go outside, take a walk, hang out with friends. Do not obsessively check your email. In fact, forget about the job you just applied to. Response time can vary greatly from organization to organization. Once I received a reply within half an hour after emailing my CV. However, more often than not, I had to wait anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to receive any response at all. Waiting, not knowing where you'll be next month and what you'll be doing can be stressful. Find ways to keep yourself occupied. I used exercise as a way of venting stress and regularizing my schedule while I was in transition.
These are just general tips for making the job hunting process less painful. Would anyone be interested in seeing a post on resources for finding China related work? I would also be happy to make a post about my experience as an intern working in the nonprofit sector.
