Reality Check and Needed Help.

**Hey everyone, appreciate any help and/or information. Tough job market and lack of connections make for one hell of a reality check.

Who I am:
1) Frustrated college graduate (Aug/2011)
2) Working to break into finance with hopes to eventually work in international finance and/or development economics
3) West Coast Resident (Bay Area)
4) Dual Degree: BBA-Business Administration (summa cum laude); BA-International Relations (summa cum laude)
5) Recent Work as: Analyst-Mortgage Brokerage (2mths), Associate-Licensed World Trade Center (7mths), Admin. Assistant, Residential Assistant, Numerous student orgs (between 1-3 yrs.)
6) Other experiences: Honors Program, Study Abroad x2 (New Zealand, Spain), Division1 Men’s Soccer, Model United Nations, Deans List & First Honors Awards x8, intermediate Spanish

What I’ve tried:
1) Job Boards: Indeed, Monster, CareerBuilder (stonewalled by automated system)
2) Conventional corporate website job postings (same as above)
3) Corporate Development Programs (ineligible-not current student)
4) Recruitment Orgs: Robert Half, Michael Page (request current presence in desired city)
5) Attempted networking through: alumni, linkedin, trying to bother current employees etc. (no one willing to stick their head out for me)

What I’m wondering about doing:

Traveling to prospective job locations (currently looking in SF, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Charlotte, Boston, NY, DC). Thinking of flying over in the hopes of personally advocating my interest and potential contribution. Not sure if this is advisable however as my bay area undertakings have been met with repeated failures.
*A more extreme option might entail pursuing international opportunities in locations such as Singapore (very interested in working) or Sydney. Of course this includes other issues such as extensive flight costs and Visa requirements

Thoughts? What am I missing or not considering. What is holding me back and where should I look. What are my chances of success in visiting these cities (notably Singapore, Boston, NY) in order to stimulate job success? Ideas please…

 

Assuming everything you went over regarding your background is true, you have pretty legit stats. What is it you're looking to do? It seems like you've probably been applying to anything and everything that seems interesting. What might help is to decide what it is you more specifically want to do (such as deciding you want to be in Investment Banking vs. "I want to be in finance") and pursue that with increased intensity. This will make you more credible when you go about networking and interviewing will be cake because you'll be more familiar with the subject and not spreading yourself thin.

 

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