i hesitate between having a job and volunteer!

[begood 8]

Hi, your help is always appreciated, i really do not know what to do , i'm planing to go to my home country 2 months from now may be in the first weeks in December, i hesitate between 2 things :

1. going to interviews request and have a job even i know i will need more than 2 weeks off soon, and between

2. having a short time volunteer opportunity where i may not worry about having days off, since may be no body will accept 1 month quick leave in job and when i come back i can have a job

i'm in USA since feb with cr1, i didn't work the past months, because i didn't find a convenient job, now i really need some professional experience ,i'm asking for advice, help ...

thanks

Good luck to you

Edited October 2, 2014 by begood

[begood 8]

is there any job accept leave for more than 2 weeks in your opinion?

Edited October 2, 2014 by begood

[VOL 425]

You would have to discuss this with your potential Employer. Yes it is not uncommon for someone to take more than 2 weeks off on a job the first year, although the time may be unpaid time off.

[Confusedtinybird 41]

I think most jobs would not be so willing to give you time off so soon. Unless you were the perfect fit, and you could set your terms.

You might not even find something between now and December.

But, if you do volunteer you can add it to your CV and begin the job search again when you return after your trip.

[mike411 15]

Wait to start after you return from vacation. 1 month of experience doesn't mean jack and I wouldn't call it professional.

What is the big deal! It obvious to me and will be to your employer that the vacation is more important and that is not accepted in this culture.

Tell them the vacation was planned for months before or doing for family commitment. Don't let them know you haven't purchased airline ticket yet.

You can't take more than 2 weeks in most jobs. I had problems when I took 3 weeks off for my 1st born. Management took actions to punish me. I survived but not good for my long term growth.

[Hotter Otter 1,211]

2 weeks is a bit much for a new employee in the US. I have a weeks vacation in December to go back to the UK before Christmas and I told my new employers during the interview process (September). I wouldn't have asked for two because it wouldn't have been paid and it would have looked pretty bad so soon after stating a new job.

I wish America was more like Europe; I used to get 6 weeks paid holiday plus paid bank holidays (UK equivalent of federal holidays)!

[d3adc0d3 186]

I would recommend, that you look for a volunteer opportunity which is relevant to your work field. This will get you some experience under your belt. You can also look into freelance websites such as elance.com and freelancer.com : these are work-from-home contracts which you can do from anywhere in the world! You can ask the contract employers after the job is done and closed if you can add them as a reference on your resume. Most will agree! The good thing about those sites is that they will guarantee that you get paid, as long as the employer accepts your work! I have never been stiffed by them.

I made a huge thread here that might help:
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/519137-job-search-tips/

[begood 8]

Thank you everybody for your appreciate help

i found out that if i want to volunteer i should fill out some paperwork and give a fingerprint , is this correct? did you filled papers and gave a fingerprint to volunteer? if you did volunteer before did you volunteer for 1 day or more?

thank you

[d3adc0d3 186]

Thank you everybody for your appreciate help

i found out that if i want to volunteer i should fill out some paperwork and give a fingerprint , is this correct? did you filled papers and gave a fingerprint to volunteer? if you did volunteer before did you volunteer for 1 day or more?

thank you

Depends on what you're volunteering for, some cases - yes that is correct. Especially if you're working with children, animals or the elderly. They want to be sure of who you are and run a background check to make sure you're not a known abuser, or violent criminal.

I haven't volunteered much (I'm far to busy to do that), but I am friends with those who have more time and love volunteering, so I am aware of how it works to a limited extent.