Why is my Resume not Getting a Response?

think most are old post and should been removed already

I don't know what your area of expertise is but I feel you should try a more back door approach. Don't focus all your energy on companies inside of Vietnam but research companies that have offices or do business in Vietnam. Apply for work in the US (or France and even Russia) with an eye towards transferring to Vietnam. When I came here initially I was an American working for a Norwegian company and I got transferred here. Now I'm married and live here but work in Qatar.

Thanks for your reply, yolandyoland2! I should clarify that I haven't applied to any jobs through the boards on here because a lot of them are indeed outdated!

Hi, VungTauDon, I should have stated this above: my master's is in Public Relations; roughly speaking, my research focused on the internationalization strategies of large corporations. I am also very interested in teaching and the education industry in general, which is making this process harder because a part of me wants to get my CELTA certificate and teach. Although, I've been advised that it'll be hard for me to get my career "back on track" once I go down that road!

I hadn't even thought of applying to international companies with branches/offices in Vietnam. So, thanks a ton for that suggestion!

I think for now I really need to focus my search on one industry and work from there. I thought picking the location (HCMC) was enough; how wrong was I?!

VungTauDon's approach is the best way to go. If you want to work in Vietnam, the best way is to find a company in your home country that does business here, and approach them. Let them know you are willing to live in Vietnam. Some companies have many qualified applicants for job openings, but once the applicant finds out the job is abroad, they don't want it. That opens the door for someone like you.

4 years ago, I was already living in Vietnam, and did not want to relocate elsewhere. But I needed to find another job here if I was going to stay. So instead of sending out resume's here, I traveled back to US, and made contacts there. (The people who do the interviewing are usually in the home office, so you've got to be there to meet them.) Took several months to find a job, but I finally did, and have been working for that company here until now.

Hope this helps.
Good luck to you.

It's hard to get a job when you are not here.  And very hard to get a job when you don't have experience in a particular field. 

I'm well qualified and have some great employers on my CV.  I didn't get one response to a job application when I applied to work here before I actually moved here.  I was lucky to find a job through a contact before I landed and then to get another job through networking when I was here. 

The other option, if you have a bit of money behind you, is to contact some companies to do an internship for three months to get some experience. 

For English teaching jobs I'd simply get on a plane and book to do a CELTA when you get here.  I don't imagine it will take too long to get a job as a native English speaker but so people will naturally prioritise people they can interview face to face.

Laxmee,

To teach English with a Master in Public Relations?  I think your education is working against you there.  Vietnamese English schools are cutting costs, in order to remain competitive.  From what I have seen, they are more happy with recent college grads and their English teaching certificates.

Also, don't look for PR work here.  It is a very different animal in Vietnam:  image is who you know, and crisis are solved through backdoor politics.  Your chances are much better in other administrative duties, like human resources or project management.

Best wishes,
Howie

Thanks, saigonmonkey, jamesquanhai and Wild_1, for your informative replies.

I have lots to ruminate over!

My contacts in Vietnam did suggest that I look for jobs in either Marketing/Advertising or Internal Communications/HR; your feedback certainly corroborates their opinion, Wild_1. 

I think it'll be really hard to go down the first route -- find a job here (the States) and then transfer over given the current state of the job market. However, I haven't given up on this idea! So thank you for your input,saigonmonkey!

I am currently on an internship, jamesquanhai, so that'll give me some experience before I move. I do have two years of classroom and research experience and some office/admin experience. I'll just have to try my best to leverage my experience as a grad assistant!

if nothing else works out, I will indeed pursue the CELTA. Someone said, on another thread I created, that it's $1600 and you can do it while teaching, I don't think that's a bad investment!

Thanks, again, everyone. I'm optimistic it'll all work out, I just have to try harder and not get frustrated so darn easily!