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New Question, need opinions on my resume.
Basar
IstanbulRegistered User regular
IstanbulRegistered User regular
(I put my original post in spoiler tags so this will get more attention).
Alright guys and gals, I decided to redo my resume and here it is. I am not sure whether I like it or not but this is tailored for applying to jobs in internet tools & media, such as scribd and that is why I put my project on top before the rest of my experience, education, etc.
Anyways, here is the new one: http://www.scribd.com/doc/5375417/BasarK-forreview
Also, two more questions:
- do I really need an objective line? I have had some recruiters tell me they are waste of space and they never really read them as most of them are just the same anyways. True or should I add one? I figured a cover letter would tell them about my objective better?
- where do i put my language skills? i am trilingual (english, turkish, german) so that should count for something, right?
Alright guys and gals, I decided to redo my resume and here it is. I am not sure whether I like it or not but this is tailored for applying to jobs in internet tools & media, such as scribd and that is why I put my project on top before the rest of my experience, education, etc.
Anyways, here is the new one: http://www.scribd.com/doc/5375417/BasarK-forreview
Also, two more questions:
- do I really need an objective line? I have had some recruiters tell me they are waste of space and they never really read them as most of them are just the same anyways. True or should I add one? I figured a cover letter would tell them about my objective better?
- where do i put my language skills? i am trilingual (english, turkish, german) so that should count for something, right?
Hi all, I am gonna try to keep this post short but forgive me if I fail.
I am 24, male, Turkish. I left Turkey and all my friends/family at age 16 and moved to the U.S. My original plan was to stay as a foreign exchange student for a year and go back. Well, things didn't go well at the time so I decided to stay in the U.S. Anyways, in 2005 I graduated from Virginia Tech with a B.S. in Business Administration + B.S. in Finance ... If I could go back in time, I'd definitely study something else.
Post college, I found out about some relatives I have in Germany and moved there to learn German. I worked at their family restaurant for 6 months and have an intermediate knowledge of German now. Then I got sick of all the negative attitude towards Turkish people in Germany and decided to move back to the U.S., the land of the free. I had quite a few friends in and around DC at the time, so I just crashed at my friends house for a month or so before I found a job at an NGO. As I was working there, I networked with some people and landed a job at the World Bank in downtown DC as a temporary consultant. Sounds pretty amazing but it was extremely boring, didn't challenge me at all. I stayed there for a year.
After I quit from the WB, I began looking for a job around DC metro area but couldn't find anything. Well, I actually interviewed with about 10 companies but none of them actually wanted to proceed with the work visa and stuff given that I am Turkish and don't have citizenship or a green card
Anyways, since I was desperate for a job and $$$, I moved back home to Turkey and began working with my father. Its hard to explain what he does for a living because he has his arms and legs on quite a few things. He buys land, gets permits for it, sells it with a permit for a higher price.... or starts building and then sells it before finishing it off. Everything related to real estate I guess.
In summer 2007, I decided to apply for my mandatory military service. It is mandatory for all Turkish men so I had to do it someday or another. Anyways, that lasted 6 months till February 2008. Then I began interviewing for jobs in Istanbul and got a job as an analyst at HSBC headquarters. Well, I didn't like that job at all, it was basically all bullshit. They didn't specify the job well and actually fooled me into thinking it was the right job for me. After learning 6 people have quit from the same position in the past 4 months, I did as well after 10 days. Pretty amazing how their HR can afford this but anyways, I left that behind me. (By the way, I don't list this on my resume for obvious reasons).
As I was losing all hope that is left within me, I interviewed for a position in Madrid, Spain. Pretty big company, about $2B in revenues, Financial Controller position. They pay ok. After about 3 interviews in Istanbul and another 3 in Madrid, I got the job. Now, the company has officially started working on my residence permit & work visa on July but the more I read about it on sites found on google, more hopeless I get. Apparently Spain is very slow when it comes to issuing permits for non-EU nationals and it could actually be till January for me to start working I am not sure my wallet can afford waiting till then.
And here is the most important part... I really really miss the U.S. I miss all my friends, the way of life I got used to since age 16, filling my car's tank for $40 (i know its not the same anymore), etc. I have been applying for jobs in the U.S. through Dice, Monster, TalentZoo, etc... but nothing good so far... I guess a Finance degree doesn't mean shit these days with the current economy, uh?
I am thinking maybe I should apply for jobs in Canada? Canada is just like the U.S. except being a little colder and less kewl, right? Which areas in the U.S. and Canada are good for job hunters these days?
Anyways, I don't know what I am really asking here... I guess I need some advice on whether I should wait for the Spanish company or not? I thought of applying for some shortterm jobs while I wait for Spain but I live in a pretty rural area right now and moving to Istanbul or any other big city in Turkey will probably cost me an arm and a leg.
Another thing that really worries me is all these gaps on my career history. I guess some of them I can explain such as the one after military service because all Turkish men take a few months off after military service to relax due to six stressful months but I am not sure whether I can explain it if this extends till January.
So any advice for me? I am not expecting anyone to read such a long post but if anyone does.... well cool, I would like to hear what you say.
Edit: Oh and another thing: I am really sick of all the religious shit going on in Turkey and am willing to get the hell out and never come back. I am an atheist and religious pressure is really growing here. That's one of my main reasons to move somewhere I don't have to worry about this.
I am 24, male, Turkish. I left Turkey and all my friends/family at age 16 and moved to the U.S. My original plan was to stay as a foreign exchange student for a year and go back. Well, things didn't go well at the time so I decided to stay in the U.S. Anyways, in 2005 I graduated from Virginia Tech with a B.S. in Business Administration + B.S. in Finance ... If I could go back in time, I'd definitely study something else.
Post college, I found out about some relatives I have in Germany and moved there to learn German. I worked at their family restaurant for 6 months and have an intermediate knowledge of German now. Then I got sick of all the negative attitude towards Turkish people in Germany and decided to move back to the U.S., the land of the free. I had quite a few friends in and around DC at the time, so I just crashed at my friends house for a month or so before I found a job at an NGO. As I was working there, I networked with some people and landed a job at the World Bank in downtown DC as a temporary consultant. Sounds pretty amazing but it was extremely boring, didn't challenge me at all. I stayed there for a year.
After I quit from the WB, I began looking for a job around DC metro area but couldn't find anything. Well, I actually interviewed with about 10 companies but none of them actually wanted to proceed with the work visa and stuff given that I am Turkish and don't have citizenship or a green card
Anyways, since I was desperate for a job and $$$, I moved back home to Turkey and began working with my father. Its hard to explain what he does for a living because he has his arms and legs on quite a few things. He buys land, gets permits for it, sells it with a permit for a higher price.... or starts building and then sells it before finishing it off. Everything related to real estate I guess.In summer 2007, I decided to apply for my mandatory military service. It is mandatory for all Turkish men so I had to do it someday or another. Anyways, that lasted 6 months till February 2008. Then I began interviewing for jobs in Istanbul and got a job as an analyst at HSBC headquarters. Well, I didn't like that job at all, it was basically all bullshit. They didn't specify the job well and actually fooled me into thinking it was the right job for me. After learning 6 people have quit from the same position in the past 4 months, I did as well after 10 days. Pretty amazing how their HR can afford this but anyways, I left that behind me. (By the way, I don't list this on my resume for obvious reasons).
As I was losing all hope that is left within me, I interviewed for a position in Madrid, Spain. Pretty big company, about $2B in revenues, Financial Controller position. They pay ok. After about 3 interviews in Istanbul and another 3 in Madrid, I got the job. Now, the company has officially started working on my residence permit & work visa on July but the more I read about it on sites found on google, more hopeless I get. Apparently Spain is very slow when it comes to issuing permits for non-EU nationals and it could actually be till January for me to start working
I am not sure my wallet can afford waiting till then.And here is the most important part... I really really miss the U.S.
I miss all my friends, the way of life I got used to since age 16, filling my car's tank for $40 (i know its not the same anymore), etc. I have been applying for jobs in the U.S. through Dice, Monster, TalentZoo, etc... but nothing good so far... I guess a Finance degree doesn't mean shit these days with the current economy, uh?I am thinking maybe I should apply for jobs in Canada? Canada is just like the U.S. except being a little colder and less kewl, right? Which areas in the U.S. and Canada are good for job hunters these days?
Anyways, I don't know what I am really asking here... I guess I need some advice on whether I should wait for the Spanish company or not? I thought of applying for some shortterm jobs while I wait for Spain but I live in a pretty rural area right now and moving to Istanbul or any other big city in Turkey will probably cost me an arm and a leg.
Another thing that really worries me is all these gaps on my career history. I guess some of them I can explain such as the one after military service because all Turkish men take a few months off after military service to relax due to six stressful months but I am not sure whether I can explain it if this extends till January.
So any advice for me? I am not expecting anyone to read such a long post but if anyone does.... well cool, I would like to hear what you say.
Edit: Oh and another thing: I am really sick of all the religious shit going on in Turkey and am willing to get the hell out and never come back. I am an atheist and religious pressure is really growing here. That's one of my main reasons to move somewhere I don't have to worry about this.
i live in a country with a batshit crazy president and no, english is not my first language
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I was born and raised in Canada, my parents are of Indian background. We live in Toronto. I've lived in the US for about 4 months last year in San Diego. I'll give you my opinion.
The US is a pretty awesome lifestyle. Granted, San Diego is probably above average, but it was a fantastic place. Great weather, great scenery, lots of things to do. Things were decently cheap. But I still love Toronto. Our range of multiculturalism really cannot be beat. I can go to different parts of the greater Toronto area (GTA) and hit like 10 different communities, including Turkish. And everyone is super nice, and generally accepting of each other. In San Diego, I actually had some people grab their kids closer when I walked by. Now, maybe they mistook me for being Mexican, and maybe they're afraid of darker people. Doesn't matter, I don't tolerate that kind of behaviour. I'd be offended if it happened to any of my Mexican friends.
The DC area and New York is probably very different, and probably better. But based on my experience, Canada has that up on the US. Yes, things are cheaper in the states, but we have universal healthcare, and it's easier to get by here. We're like the socialist US. And it's a lot easier to become an immigrant here, and eventually a citizen.
For your career, you're going to have to look a little bit. We have 5 big banks in Canada, with a bunch of American companies having offices here as well. Our major financial sector is in Toronto, so if you're in finance, it's generally where you want to be. I went to school for engineering, so I can't talk intelligently about the job situation in finance. I can say that about 5 of my classmates/friends took jobs working in finance right after graduating. My one good friend is working for TD Canada Trust, and he's currently in the trader training program. If I remember correctly, he's considered "in-training" for 2 years, as he moves between different trading departments every six months. Right now he's in money markets, he just started 2 weeks ago. I think they pay him pretty decently.
Now, there's definitely going to be more money to be had in the states. But I feel Canada's got it going good too. And our economy's been keeping pace a bit better than the US, though that may change in a month or so. (Our economy shrank last quarter; as you know, another quarter and we're in a recession.)
Well I really like finance, hence studied it in college but it looks impossible to find a finance job these days. A lot of my friends from college who worked in IBs, local banks, etc. got laid off this year and it doesn't look like its gonna get better anytime soon. I submitted my resume to at least 10 job websites and have been applying to finance positions constantly but most of them either require a lot of experience or simply look for interns to do analysts' jobs.
One of my very good friends is a manager at L3 Communications in Reston, VA but not having citizenship kills any chances I may have at that.
Thanks buddy. Through google, I found out it maybe a lot easier for me to claim residency in Canada because I have relatives there. What are some good job sites for Canada? I know Monster is pretty international and you can choose the country you want to search jobs for but any other specific sites you may recommend? How about Vancouver?
Also I definitely see what you mean when it comes to racial looks but thanks to my blonde blue eyed mom (she is of bulgarian origin), I am pretty light skinned. In Germany however, it takes just one word out of your mouth and them noticing your accent before you are considered 2nd class. Anyways, I still love the U.S. for those obvious reasons, I never felt racially segregated or insulted there
However, if you think that you won't want to stay in Spain for at least a year, then you should probably drop it to keep from continuing with your spotty work history and figure out what it is that you really want to do. It seems like you've had a lot of great opportunities and not found what you're looking for in any of them. I understand that you like the lifestyle you led in the U.S., but I have to ask - how much of it is something that would satisfy you now and how much of it is nostalgia?
Thanks. I hear Montreal is nothing like the rest of Canada but I am looking into possibilities in Toronto and Vancouver. It seems they are much more relax than the U.S. when it comes to skilled immigration.
You are right, I am not gonna lose the chance of moving to Spain because religious freedom plays a big part at my will to move away and Spain seems to offer much more of it than Turkey. Well if I move to Spain, I am definitely staying for at least a few years and then I may pursue an MBA if they are still popular then. Maybe in an American university but with the cost of an MBA, I highly doubt it. Europe is much cheaper with graduate school.
Well I actually interned at Morgan Stanley back in college for 4 months and they loved me back then. They actually offered me a job but I was stupid back then and realy wanted to move to Europe
I am not talking about college days when I say lifestyle. I actually loved everything about the U.S. except for my job at the World Bank
Well I have a Maryland address + a US phone number on my resume. If I pass through phone screening, I'll try to dump them all into a specific time period so I can just buy a discount plane ticket and fly in.
Canada's economy is doing fairly well, but Ontario is more manufacturing based than the rest of the country, and as a result is suffering a bit. They have GM truckplants, for example.
The economy in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan is booming. Alberta, as you probably know, has the oil tar-sands. The Alberta government announced last week that due to the rising oil prices they're expecting a $8.5 billion dollar surplus, which kind of tells you how the economy is going there. Here in BC, we're in the run up to the Olympics in 2010, among other things.
You could try looking at Workopolis.com to see what kind of jobs might be available in your area. Its one of the bigger job sites in Canada.
There are cultural differences between the US and Canada, but they're minor enough that you shouldn't have any significant problems.
VisionofClarity: Thank you. Well, I try to keep my resume pretty stable on paper. I have a 6 month gap between my graduation and my first job in the U.S., and that was the time I spent in Germany. Wouldn't my knowledge of German help me explain that? Also, the military part is mandatory so its not like I had a choice on deciding. A Google HR staff actually told me to list my military service as a job experience, which it was. I was a signal corps sergeant doing research on latest tech, reporting to my superiors. What do you think, should I list that as experience or keep it on a seperate tab (ie. Voluntary and Public Service)?
Yes, you should try to make at least some of these gaps look intentional, let's say you went to Germany with the purpose of studying the language and culture.
I am sorry that you had such a bad time here in Germany.
I would like to know where in Germany you lived, because I am surprised that your time here seemed to be only negative.
Librarian: I spent 5 months in Göttingen and another month travelling. I was attending the Goethe Institut. I actually loved Göttingen as a city (except the weather) and actually had quite a few good German friends but most Germans over and under a certain age were very distant towards Turkish people and actively tried to put a distance between themselves and Turks. I am not completely blaming Germans though... Turkish people have some serious problems and they need to fix them but I think it will take a few generations before everything is smooth and clear.
1. First, you mentioned that Montreal was nothing like the rest of Canada. That's not entirely true...it's just that Montreal is the cultural capital of francophone Canada, and is the second largest francophone city in the world after Paris. It was the largest city in Canada until the 1970s, and is one of the oldest cities in the Americas. It's amazing in just about everyway, but, as I mentioned, is majority francophone.
2. If you are francophone, then you should have a very easy time immigrating to Quebec. Quebec offers special preference to francophone immigrants (to increase le visage français), so if you are a professional who speaks french fluently, you'll be golden.
3. If not, there is the entirety of English Canada to look into. People have mentioned Toronto, but everyone in the country hates it except the Torontonians
4. Calgary is another pretty good option. It's not as nice a city as Vancouver or Montreal, but it's the place to be for action in the oil sands. If you are interested in any sort of mining or resource related job, go to Calgary, and you'll be bound to find something.
saggio: thanks for all the great advice on canada. unfortunately i am not francophone. i am native in turkish, almost native level in english, semi-fluent in german, and beginner level in spanish
To tell you the truth, I am not looking at moving and settling in a nicer place just for the job opportunity. As I mentioned before, religious extremisim is scaring me here in Turkey and I want to settle somewhere where it won't be a problem for me.
Thank you everyone for all the great advice. If anyone has anything else to say, feel free