Not a very specific answer, but, a good way to gather info about up and comers or companies with decent budgets is to look up the websites listing big yearly award recipients (ie Clio Awards for advertising, some of the major magazine awards such as Print for design-specific advertising, etc).
I have no idea what your background is, but based on what I personally have seen and experienced, be sure to present a strong interest in rising to the top, or else risk selling yourself short as an eternal coffee fetcher or similar. You have to present a nice sheen of narcissism to be taken seriously in many places. Also, beware of office manager positions at smaller design or advertising firms-- this is often a thankless job that exists to compensate for everyone else's shortcomings. With exceptions, naturally; but this job in particular can be brutal and grossly underpaid for long, long hours. I would recommend getting a specific job at a medium-sized firm, where your duties are clearly outlined and you can soak things up like a sponge and potentially move up. Don't waste money taking courses to become minimally qualified if that becomes an issue during your job search. Instead, ask friends for copies of software and then do the tutorials at home until you feel comfortable saying that you have some experience with these programs, but would need further training. Most companies will then train you themselves, if they like you, and they almost never actually require the level of proficiency they think they do (unless you are applying for a job as a specialist in that software, of course!).
One way to break in to fashion, although truly from the bottom up, is to find out which temp agencies serve which houses. There is often a lot of turn-over for people under mid-management level; good because there's more opportunity to bite and scratch to the top if you're quick and clever, but bad because it's usually a miserable work environment with low security. But one size definitely does not fit all. "Good" help is hard to find (good usually meaning tolerant yet intelligent) and usually cases like these (been there) work out well for people who simply happen to have the right qualifications and personal characteristics that any given boss is looking for. If you're lucky, you can be very, very lucky indeed, and find yourself on a very exciting career track.
A good bet for finding relatively sane people, a creative environment, and a decent salary (though admittedly I don't know this industry firsthand) seems to be architecture. You might try just sending your materials to German firms in the US to get started, or to firms with German architects who may appreciate your language and cultural knowhow. I always hear many more good things about working for architecture firms these days than bad.
Also, consider working for a design/art college or university for a few months. If you can work in the office of a chairman, for example, they will often be very sane yet creative people, and you can gather a lot of information there on how to move ahead. There are so many great schools in NYC: Parsons, Pratt, Cooper Union, FIT. NYU probably also has an art school. Bard College in upstate NY is also lovely.
If music interests you, there is Mannes, Brooklyn College, Manhattan School, NYU again, Julliard. I think music school people are way more crazy, though; I wouldn't work there as a first choice. However, I know a few people who are very, very happy working at Carnegie Hall, which has a big administrative/creative office. There's also NYC Opera/Lincoln Center/Met Opera. You can also find jobs now and then working for musical agents, which is not usually great money, and is very demanding, especially at the entry-level. You can find agents' websites online, most of the time. There are a number of sites with comprehensive lists, you just have to peck around for a few hours. Try publications like Musical America.
If you can afford it:
www.idealist.org lists non-profit jobs, many in the arts, as does
www.artjob.orgGood luck!!!
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