Danish Degrees in the US

I am currently studying for my Bachelor of Science in International Business
here in Denmark (which i finish this summer). Afterwards I would like to
pursue a Masters of Science in B-2-B Relations Management also here in
Denmark. I am currently living in Denmark with my American girlfriend and we
plan on moving to the US after graduation. The big question is then: will I
be able to get a job in the US? As of now, I don't have any relevant work
experience besides having been a tutor/instructor one semester in Statistics
and Macroeconomics (which probably isn't directly relevant - if at all).

My Bachelor of Science degree consists of one third economics (Micro/Macro,
international), one third business (Finance, International Marketing,
Strategy, Accounting), and one third tool subjects (Stats, Methodology,
Marketing Research, Mathematics, Law etc.). Its a three-year degree and I
have recieved good grades.

With regard to my masters degree, it will deal with the relations between
suppliers and customers. Main subjects will be Business Marketing, Supply
Chain Management, and International Marketing Management. Both programs are
taught in English.

What are my chances of landing a job in the US? In particular, how do
Americans percieve foreign degrees? I think my English is good, but of
course I have an accent even though my girlfriend says that I am very easy
to understand. Will this be a problem? If I wanted to get some work
experience while going to school in the form of a study job or internship,
what would be best?

((I am currently studying for my Bachelor of Science in International
Business here in Denmark (which i finish this summer). Afterwards I
would like to pursue a Masters of Science in B-2-B Relations Management
also here in Denmark. I am currently living in Denmark with my American
girlfriend and we plan on moving to the US after graduation. The big
question is then: will I be able to get a job in the US? As of now, I
don't have any relevant work experience besides having been a
tutor/instructor one semester in Statistics and Macroeconomics (which
probably isn't directly relevant - if at all).
My Bachelor of Science degree consists of one third economics
(Micro/Macro, international), one third business (Finance, International
Marketing, Strategy, Accounting), and one third tool subjects (Stats,
Methodology, Marketing Research, Mathematics, Law etc.). Its a
three-year degree and I have recieved good grades.
With regard to my masters degree, it will deal with the relations
between suppliers and customers. Main subjects will be Business
Marketing, Supply Chain Management, and International Marketing
Management. Both programs are taught in English.
What are my chances of landing a job in the US? In particular, how do
Americans percieve foreign degrees? I think my English is good, but of
course I have an accent even though my girlfriend says that I am very
easy to understand. Will this be a problem? If I wanted to get some work
experience while going to school in the form of a study job or
internship, what would be best? ))
................

The degrees source are not an advantage, however that should not deter
you from your dreams. Get an authorized equivalencies audit, intern with
an american company there, Write your masters around urgent current
american business needs in a 'hot' market sector, develop your self
marketing and people skills, and "come on down!'

I would tend to think that not having an American degree is a bridgeable
disadvantage..meaning it can be strategically overcome if you really
want to come to America and take advantage of all that it has to offer
and make a contribution to it's improvement as well.

At a glance, that curriculum sounds pretty comparable to an American
course of study in international business basics. When you begin your
masters studies you may want to research first then select your studies
carefully... choosing an area of specialization that is most marketable
within the U.S. such as researching supply line strategies for specialty
foods, bio-med or computers... That will go a long way to your
marketability here on the whole.

The problem with the degree in the U.S. of A. unfortunately is that it
has not been acquired under the blanket of the big six American
accreditation agencies so the resume is likely to be trashed by some
careful (or lazy lol) HR managers solely on that basis.

It could be said that in a sense a resume is not so much a tool used to
qualify you as to disqualify you.

Your business degrees probably have been acquired under the european
accrediting agencies and thus a comparative assessment can be performed
by a third party auditor who can essentially award you an authorized
equivalence statement based on a credit audit and whatever else they
look at.

Investigate. There are agencies which can audit your degree and qualify
it for you to it's American Equivalence, providing documentation which
you can then attach to your resume and perhaps this will lessen or
offset the disadvantage for some corporate HR managers.

That said, I think that your lack of work experience, may actually
impact you even more than where the Degrees are from. Strong self
marketing skills and people skills can help overcome this some. Develop
a self-marketing letter campaign which provides for entry level
opportunities and capitalizes on, or leverages the advantages inherent
within your 'disadvantages' (bilingualism for example) and give it all
you can. Or you may want to start in sales at a company you want to grow
with . You'll want to have your resumes and cover letters and all
edited by an American professional

Good luck in America and with your GF...

~zion~

First of all, thanks for a comprehensive posting. It gave me a lot to think
about! I realize it won't be easy, but where there is a will there is a way.
I will try to find an internship during my Masters to gain some sort of
experience within the field. It makes a lot of sense. With regard to the
self marketing I wonder if you have some resources on the subject (book,
website etc.) as it for some reason doesn't fall too naturally for me to
uhhhmm... brag I figure that it is probably a skill to be learned as with
anything else. Also if you know about some books about resume writing for
marketing people that would also be very helpful.

> The degrees source are not an advantage, however that should not deter
> you from your dreams. Get an authorized equivalencies audit, intern with
> an american company there, Write your masters around urgent current
> american business needs in a 'hot' market sector, develop your self
> marketing and people skills, and "come on down!'
>
> I would tend to think that not having an American degree is a bridgeable
> disadvantage..meaning it can be strategically overcome if you really
> want to come to America and take advantage of all that it has to offer
> and make a contribution to it's improvement as well.
>
> At a glance, that curriculum sounds pretty comparable to an American
> course of study in international business basics. When you begin your
> masters studies you may want to research first then select your studies
> carefully... choosing an area of specialization that is most marketable
> within the U.S. such as researching supply line strategies for specialty
> foods, bio-med or computers... That will go a long way to your
> marketability here on the whole.
>
> The problem with the degree in the U.S. of A. unfortunately is that it
> has not been acquired under the blanket of the big six American
> accreditation agencies so the resume is likely to be trashed by some
> careful (or lazy lol) HR managers solely on that basis.
>
> It could be said that in a sense a resume is not so much a tool used to
> qualify you as to disqualify you.
>
> Your business degrees probably have been acquired under the european
> accrediting agencies and thus a comparative assessment can be performed
> by a third party auditor who can essentially award you an authorized
> equivalence statement based on a credit audit and whatever else they
> look at.
>
> Investigate. There are agencies which can audit your degree and qualify
> it for you to it's American Equivalence, providing documentation which
> you can then attach to your resume and perhaps this will lessen or
> offset the disadvantage for some corporate HR managers.
>
> That said, I think that your lack of work experience, may actually
> impact you even more than where the Degrees are from. Strong self
> marketing skills and people skills can help overcome this some. Develop
> a self-marketing letter campaign which provides for entry level
> opportunities and capitalizes on, or leverages the advantages inherent
> within your 'disadvantages' (bilingualism for example) and give it all
> you can. Or you may want to start in sales at a company you want to grow
> with . You'll want to have your resumes and cover letters and all
> edited by an American professional
>
> Good luck in America and with your GF...
>
> ~zion~
>

"Thanks for extended answers"
You're welcome. Nothing worst than answers that just raise more
questions lol.

"Needing more Info about self marketing and acquiring an effective
marketing resume".

Don't want to go too far off topic, but I don't mind sharing info
some..lot's more can be found online.

Try typing in -->Resume Problems Solutions<-- at google and see what
turns up.

I'll tell you a little secret. If you find yourself getting too many
Ads. and such, try adding ".ORG" into the search box also. leave a blank
space in front of it. That should get rid of most of the Ads.

Since confidence is everything,
my suggestion is that you retain a qualified American company to write
the resume when the time comes... that's worth its expense. What you are
paying for is wisdom, experience, confidence, and strategy within your
resume...not just a list of your experiences. Furthermore if you valuate
your time per hour spent doing it yourself you will likely see that hour
for hour you will expend a lot of time and effort (time is money) trying
to get it all in order, then it still needs to be professionally
proofed.

But if you want to try it yourself compare the books on Amazon.com
(whether you buy there or not) and find one you feel good about. The
book will need to deal with strategy... not just samples. I would rather
not recommend one because I consider this a specialized area, possibly
affecting you to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars and frankly I
feel going it alone is subject to be problematic for you. Why not leave
it to a pro?

As for Self Marketing, "Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without
Blowing it." By Peggy Klaus is one I could recommend for learning how to
conduct yourself with American Companies and master the fine art of
bragging. (lol). She's 'been there done that' and understands and can
articulate the balance needed to be...well... smooth (lol again).

As for a Self Marketing Letter, all it is is just a letter taking the
strongest points of your resume, maybe 3 or 4 points, and writing them
into a letter with conversational tone addressed to a hiring party, and
asking for lunch or a meeting. (Stay away from the word interview). In
this letter you state a clear benefit to the company, meaning you must
do your research first on the target corporation .

Look up "SELF MARKETING LETTER" on google search and include the
quotation marks.
Lots will come back because the concept has been steadily growing over
the last 10-15 years.

Also check out the additional ideas on this page:
http://www.eberly.iup.edu/internship/selfmarketing.shtm

Good Luck Buddy

~zion~