Find below, the video interview with Kevin where he explains how he found his job in Los Angeles.
He found his job in Los Angeles in the Supply Chain Management field, and got his visa. And it was thanks to its coaching with USponsorMe, and the tools we provided.
In this video, Kevin explains how he did it: land his dream job in the city of angels !
Kevin’s profile: Supply Chain qualification and experience
Sarah: Hi folks, I’m Sarah Papasodaro, co-founder of the company USponsor Me. And I’m here today with Kevin, doing a live video from LA. So Kevin arrived here in October 2018 with a job and a visa in his hands. And he’s going to tell us today how he did it! How he proceeded with his job search and what challenges he had to face. So Kevin where are your from?
Kevin: I’m from Paris, where I was born and raised. I was involved in the supply chain industry as a consultant for six years prior my decision to find a job in Los Angeles and settle in the US.
Sarah: Okay, great and what is your background? Your studies, occupation?
Kevin: I got a master in industrial engineering. And then I pursued my study with a specialized master’s degree in supply chain management.
Kevin got a Supply Chain Director position
Sarah: Okay, great and what is your job in Los Angeles now?
Kevin: Here I am the supply chain director for a startup in the cannabis industry.
Sarah: Okay, great. So you are in same field but got promotion. That’s a great move. When did you start your job search?
How long it took Kevin to find his job in Los Angeles
Kevin: Actually I started my job search in March 2017.
Sarah: So from March to December 2017, you did your research on your own?
Kevin: Correct.
Sarah: Then you started working with me. I coached you from January 2018 to April. Then you slowed down your job search in May and June?
Kevin: Correct.
Sarah: Then you continue to search for a job in Los Angeles in the supply chain in July and you got your job offer in August 2018, right?
Kevin: Correct.
How Kevin proceeded before the coaching
Sarah: Okay. So first of all, how did you proceed before we started the coaching. What was your strategy to find a job in Los Angeles?
Kevin: I just apply massively online, targeting the job for which I thought I had a shot at being hired. And then, I just try to be more consistent in my research and just massively apply online. But it didn’t work.
Sarah: It didn’t work, okay. You actually didn’t target any company in the supply chain, so you just put your resume out there, hoping to land a job in Los Angeles. And you didn’t even know the visa you were qualified for, right?
Regarding the visa…
Kevin: Yes, correct. I knew it was possible to be endorsed by a company and have the company pay all the fees for the visa, for the green card application. And this is it. So when I started my job search with you. I had more information about which kind of visa I was able to apply for. And you helped me to get hired by a company here in the US. Because it’s really complicated to be hired and to have the company pay all the fees for your immigration here.
The result he got once he started the coaching
Sarah: So we started the coaching in January 2018. And we identified the visa you could apply for. Once we identified what was the best visa for you, we targeted the companies that could offer your dream job in Los Angeles. So from the moment we started the coaching, when did you get your first interview?
Kevin: I got my first interview pretty quickly. The first one was over the phone. I got it two weeks after we started the coaching, by the end of January. And then, during all the training and coaching program, I got around 20, 25 interviews for a job in Los Angeles.
How he proceeded to reach his goal: finding a job in Los Angeles
Sarah: What the coaching changed in your behavior. Why your strategy didn’t work before and what did you change once you started working with me ?
Keys to success: Visa Arguments Preparation & a strong approach method
Kevin: The first thing is that I knew which visa I should target to work in the supply chain. So I was able to explain how I could work for them and what I could bring to the company if I had the job in Los Angeles. This is mainly what changed in my job search strategy. You also gave us whole job search approach: with more details and more insider tips, about how to proceed, at which rhythm we should contact and follow up with recruitment people… But also what were the key points to reach my goal.
Sarah: How many days did you have to wait between when you got in touch with the internal contacts from those companies (from the day you send a cold email or your application) and when you received a response from this contact?
Outreach: How long should we expect an answer
Kevin: It usually depends of how powerful your pitch mail is. We can get an answer, a feedback within four days for a job in Los Angeles. In my case, I also targeted the executive. Sometimes, I had to follow up first to be in touch with them. Often, the executive CEO, COO, supply chain director or VP of supply chain got me in touch with the HR in charge of the recruitment process for the position I applied to.
Sarah: Okay and you always got a job interview with the HR or … ?
Kevin: At least a phone call, which is good.
The job search process method to adopt
Sarah: How did it happen with the company which hired you for your actual job in Los Angeles ?
Get In Touch
Kevin: I just followed the process. So I applied online, I touched based with my contacts inside the company. What I did as well was to contact the people through LinkedIn, which is a really good approach as well. HR also reach out to me by phone and through LinkedIn to set up a meeting with the CEO of the company.
Sarah: So you were contacted by the CEO of your actual company ?
Landing Interviews
Kevin: The financial director of the company actually, because it’s a mid-sized company, reach out to me. And he put me in contact with the CEO of the company, which contact me a few days later to set up a meeting : a phone call. And that’s how it’s happened.
Sarah: So he called you back for the job in Los Angeles, right?
Got the job offer
Kevin: He called me back two days later, after the interview. And he asked me if I was interested by the position in the supply chain. What he presented to me about the company was what I was looking for. So I said, “Yes” and he put me in contact with the COO, who is also the owner of the company. He went straight to the point and I just tried to make my experience match with his expectation about the position. And this is how I found my job in Los Angeles. Right after the interview, he said to me: “you will see all the details with the CEO to make it happen.“
Sarah: Okay, great ! And it actually happened.
Kevin’s visa request
Kevin: It happened, I spoke with the CEO again, just to be sure about the visa process. Because they didn’t want to invest in someone that couldn’t come work in the US.
Sarah: For sure. At what time during the recruitment process for your job in Los Angeles did you spoke about the visa request?
Kevin: I put it on the table at the first interview that lasted two hours. So it was intense for me, because I had to stay focused, be careful about what I was saying. I introduced my visa application and the visa I needed to work for any company. I also explained to him the cost of this visa. I explained to him that I was already involved in the application process. And that I simply needed to get the employment offer to go forward.
How he handled the visa request
Sarah: Great. So they actually didn’t do anything about the visa for your job in Los Angeles?
Kevin: Nothing.
Sarah: And the paperwork?
Kevin: I handled everything, I just submitted the paperwork so they can sign it. After three months, I could finally start my job in Los Angeles in the supply chain. I just got a meeting with the CEO this week. And he decided to refund me the integrality of the vias fees.
Sarah: Oh, okay. So you paid the fees and then he refunded you.
Kevin: It was already set up in my contract.
Sarah: Okay, perfect. So that’s is good negotiations. You paid the fees and three months later …
Kevin: If we match
Sarah: If you match and they were happy with your work, they refunded you your fees.. Oh, this is a good deal. I can only imagine you’re happy to be here?
Everything’s new for him!
Kevin: I’m really happy to be in Los Angeles after those few years of research. I’m glad the challenge is finally over. But it’s now a new challenge that starts for me… You said it, I got a promotion, a new job in Los Angeles, a new…
Sarah: A new life !
Kevin: And a new role in the company. Which is really interesting, I learn every day. So I’m really happy and grateful to be here.
Kevin’s tips
Sarah: Do you have something to add? Tips you would like to share with those who are going through the same process as you?
Kevin: I would say your approach of the job search was a great help: the insight we got,… Your different partners were a great help as well. It allowed us to be more involved and more aware about what is required to reach our goal, our target (in my case, a job in Los Angeles).
And I would say that what is really important is to put everything on the table, to be able to reach that goal (which was or me to work in the supply chain). What I mean is the time we allocate for this. It’s not an hour every week, it’s not an hour every two days, it’s multiple hours every day to be able to reach your target. There is a lot of competition, and we are not from the US. And there’s people who are qualified here as well, and we have to compete with them. So we have to bring our value to the table and show it immediately to decision makers.
Sarah: You’re right : stay focused and don’t give up. Thank you Kevin for sharing your experience with us today and how you got your dream job in Los Angeles. I’m very glad you made it. And I wish you all the best here for your work and your new life in LA.
Kevin: Thank you Sarah.
