Although I am not a U.S. citizen and was working in Europe at the time, I was hoping to find employment in the U.S. and had already submitted some applications. With Brymer's help, I developed many more contacts. He not only dug deeply into his past to speak with former colleagues and friends about me, he also gave me plenty of advice specific to the American job market. For example, he explained how an applicant's chances can be affected by a company's fiscal year and its budget cycles. I knew that, but I had already made my decision to seek employment with only an M.S. degree.
Job hunting in the U.S. can be very discouraging for a foreigner.
Not only does the government complicate things as much as possible, but companies have their own restrictive policies about hiring foreign citizens, too. In addition, plenty of interesting jobs are only available to U.S. citizens or green-card holders. Working with me on these problems taught Brymer a great deal about visa matters, too, once we were in the middle of it. But most importantly, he and his contacts opened doors for me that I could not have opened by myself. With Brymer's contacts, I was assured that at least some of my applications would be considered seriously.