Mercy’s Story: A Career Boost in the U.S.

by StreetWise Partners
November 7, 2023

When Mercy Umanzor Martinez came to the U.S. from El Salvador, she thought it would take a long time to get a job in the field she loves. She was wrong — in ways she didn’t expect. StreetWise Partners helped her quickly land her dream job before she even graduated from the program. Here’s her story.

El Salvador: where her career started

After graduating from university in El Salvador with a degree in business administration, Mercy got her first job as a procurement clerk. Right away, she loved the job and knew she had found her career path.

In 2015, Mercy’s entire family came to the U.S. She had to stay behind because her application wasn’t approved. All she could do was wait — and focus on her career. She continued working in procurement and pursued additional education, including a Master’s Degree in Supply Chain Management & Logistics from Universitat de Barcelona.

“I love my country,” says Mercy, “but I knew if I had an opportunity to come to the U.S., I would take it. I wanted to prepare for that moment.”

Seven years later, that moment arrived. She was both excited and worried: After putting in so much effort to build her career, what if she lost it all when she moved?

Mentorship paves the path to corporate America

When Mercy first came to the U.S., she wasn’t able to become employed until she got her work authorization documents. While she waited, she enrolled in English classes and, based on a tip from her sister, signed up for the StreetWise mentoring program in Washington, D.C.

“As a recent immigrant to the U.S., I needed assistance in incorporating myself into the working sector here,” says Mercy. “I researched StreetWise and realized it was the perfect source of help and guidance for me.”

Having worked for the same company for the last 10 years in El Salvador, Mercy was out of practice looking for a job. Plus, the fact that she was in a new country, with new rules, and a new language made it feel even more overwhelming. StreetWise paired her with a mentor, Kathline, who supported her throughout the process.

Kathline helped Mercy create an impactful resume and elevator pitch, practice her interview skills, and network with other professionals to better understand how procurement works in the U.S. They also worked together to focus her job search on positions that would best leverage her experience.

“Kathline was not only a mentor,” says Mercy, “but also a guide, a leader, and a true friend who listened to me and provided me with the advice and guidance I needed to keep going.”

Mercy recalls one meeting with Kathline that lasted several hours. They were working on Mercy’s resume and neither of them was going to end the call until they were both 100% satisfied with the end result!

The extra effort paid off. Soon after Mercy posted her resume on LinkedIn and Indeed, someone contacted her to let her know they’d seen her resume online, she’d be a good candidate for an open procurement position, and she should apply if interested. She was very interested. It was for the same level role as the job she had in El Salvador, so she wouldn’t be starting over.

Landing a job, growing a career

The pieces were falling into place, as Mercy applied the skills she learned through StreetWise to the interview process.

The first interview went well; so did the second — a two-hour, on-site interview. While she had never gone through such a lengthy interview, she was well prepared. The day prior, she had participated in a StreetWise Mock Interview Day, where she learned to ask her interviewer questions like “Do you have any concerns that I can address to clarify my experience?” to close the deal.

And close the deal she did, as the company offered her the job.

It was a culture shock when Kathline encouraged Mercy to negotiate the offer (something that is not customary in Salvador), but she followed the advice and was able to get a higher salary.

One week before graduating from the StreetWise program, her employment authorization card came through and she started her new job as procurement manager at Dominion Engineering.

“StreetWise opened my eyes to new approaches to achieving my career goals,” says Mercy. “It helped me realize that my knowledge and experience are transferable and that I can land my dream job here in the U.S.”

“It is possible”

Now that Mercy is working at a job she loves, she plans to continue to grow her career, and encourage others to do the same. “Most people come to the U.S. with the mentality that they will never get the job they want, or it will take too long, or they will have to start over,” she says, “but now I know that is not true. I want people to know that it is possible to transfer your knowledge and skills to continue your career in America.”

And, “It’s important to take advantage of resources,” she advises. While Mercy found StreetWise immediately after arriving in the U.S., she thinks the program can be helpful for anyone hitting barriers to a great job in corporate America, no matter how long they’ve been here.

As she says, “It gave me so much hope that there was a whole group of people at StreetWise telling me that if I put in the effort, then I was going to be able to get a job I wanted. And I did!”