To find a job in the USA is becoming more and more difficult, especially for people without a work Visa. Few companies are ready to recruit foreigners because administrative forms take a very long time to process (about 6 months) and are very costly (from $3,000 to $5,000 including legal fees). When looking at job offers, search for "Visa Sponsor" to find companies that are interested in aiding in the Visa process. Perhaps the easiest way to find a high paying job as a foreign national is to attend some university in the United States as a stepping stone to a great job.
To search for possible jobs, some of the largest national job search sites are: www.careerbuilder.com, www.jobs.com, and www.monster.com. These include tips on résumé writing, interviewing, and all arenas of searching for work. For an employment guide specific to San Francisco city, http://sanfrancisco.employmentguide.com/.
Networking is also very important in the US. The more people you tell you are looking for work, the greater the possibility of hearing about the perfect job. A popular American phrase says it all: "It is not what you know, but who you know!".
The CV is more commonly known as the "resume" in the United States. The resume lays out work experience, education, and skills and should be accompanied a personal cover letter. If you are applying for a research or academic job in the US that requests a CV, this means you need to supply a lengthy document listing all of the researcher's achievements, including his or her educational background, scientific papers and experiments, teaching experience and awards received.
A sample resume should resemble something of this format:
Heading: Do not include a heading; start your resume with your contact information.
Contact Information:Relevant personal contact information at the top of the page including:
Objective: Some career experts recommend describing your objective in the process of your job search just below the contact information. There is no hard and fast rule about whether or not to use it. Generally, the point made in the 'objective' will be made in the cover letter, so it is fine to omit it.
Professional Experience: Usually this information is listed chronologically. List your work experience with:
Education:This section should come before work experience if you are in school or have been out of school for one to three years, depending on your level of work experience and how relevant your education is to your career. If you have a high Grade Point Average (3.5 or above, equivalent to an A- or A), include it on your resume. If you attended college, list the name of the college and what you got your degree in. If you recently graduated or have taken courses highly relevant to the job for which you are applying, list those.
Certificates & Diplomas Courses, seminars, congresses or conferences that are relevant in relation to the position. Long or prestigious courses are also interesting. Point out a course's duration in hours. List these in a chronologically inverse order.
Languages: Since this may be relevant to an international job, you should list which languages you speak and your level: advanced, intermediate or beginner. Point out if you can translate, speak, or write in each language and list any associated degrees.
Computer Skills: Programs, applications, etc. Word processing, database, Internet, etc.
Personal Information: At the end of the resume you should include a brief section where you can list personal information such as hobbies or interests. This can be called something like "Other Interests," or "Skills or Interests." Here you should, very succinctly, list some of your hobbies, each in no more than three words. It's great if these are relevant to your job, but if they aren't these hobbies can simply reveal something about your personality. Interviewers commonly use this section as an icebreaker and as a source for starting a more relaxed, less formal conversation.
General Tips:
If you are still having trouble, here are a few sample resumes to help create your own http://www.distinctiveweb.com/samples.htm.
It is important to write a cover letter that gets the company interested in your skills and makes them believe that you have a specific interest in their objectives. The cover letter makes your first impression and is your chance to let your personality shine while still maintaining a professional attitude.
Cover letters should be brief and efficient. You must set out your goal regarding the position you are candidate for. Some tips for writing a cover letter:
For examples of cover letters and more tips, go to jobsearch.about.com/od/coverlettersamples/ or http://reslady.com/coverletters.html.
You will find information on voluntary jobs or internship abroad in our other articles on the left column of this page. |
After a company decides they are interested in you, they will usually call and decide a time for an interview. Some companies first employ a phone interview, and preparation for this is similar to a face-to-face interview.
If your company is taking care of the Visa process, it is up to you to provide the documents necessary for securing the Visa. Most of the time, this dossier will be completed by lawyers working in partnership with the company. The file must be validated by the US Labor Minister, then it will go through the INS process. This step takes at least 2 months, and the INS will indicate whether the demand has been approved by sending the appropriate forms. Those documents will have to be filled and showed at the US consulate to accept your Visa application.
For practical information go to www.americasemployers.com.
Update 2/01/2009
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