How long before you got a job?

[NikLR 13,228]

Four years and no job yet. Well actually I got one in retail and stuck around for 18 months. I quit mostly because of the pay, $8 bucks an hour, no benefits and my schedule is too irregular.Would have preferred if I was given a Monday to Sunday 10 hour per day schedule rather than 3 days straight this week then 4 days straight next week. I really do not need days off, all I wish is a Sunday off.

What i do now is sell stuff on eBay while waiting for results of various applications I sent. EBaying is a lot better than 8 bucks an hour. Makes me think whether the decision to move here in the US is good.

Here is the book that I wrote about my eBay selling experience: http://www.phenomenaljulia.com/

Fulltime work in the USA is 40 hours per week. After that unless you're under salary (fixed pay) you will not find many employers willing to give you hours as they have to give you time and a half pay. You're best doing what you're doing, and being self employed.

However it's good to note that you are self employed and should be doing your taxes as if you own a business and making sure you have a valid business licence as needed.

[mrbravod 4]

You've probably already done this 3 years in, but my background is also finance and admin and I wasn't getting anywhere applying on my own. It might be worth signing up with your local Accountemps and Officeteam location - they do a lot of temp work and contract-to-hire but contracts is better than nothing, right?

I already did it, tried to contact and have some interviews with Accountems (wich never answers) and OfficeTeam, and Excel, and others more, NOTHING yet. I have been hired finally to work in a College but it is a temporal contract (less than 1 month), better than nothing.

[yvy23 11]

I already did it, tried to contact and have some interviews with Accountems (wich never answers) and OfficeTeam, and Excel, and others more, NOTHING yet. I have been hired finally to work in a College but it is a temporal contract (less than 1 month), better than nothing.

Ahh - I figured you probably would have found them by now but I thought it was worth mentioning in case you hadn't. I must have got lucky with the local office here - they've been really pro-active. I agree - anything, even for a month is better than nothing. It's difficult first not being allowed to work, then having to take even longer finding a job when you're used to working. Best of luck with finding something else for when your contract finishes.

[mrbravod 4]

Ahh - I figured you probably would have found them by now but I thought it was worth mentioning in case you hadn't. I must have got lucky with the local office here - they've been really pro-active. I agree - anything, even for a month is better than nothing. It's difficult first not being allowed to work, then having to take even longer finding a job when you're used to working. Best of luck with finding something else for when your contract finishes.

You're right. Some recruiters are very smart and helpful, some are not, even when I am making follow-ups with them. Anyway, thanks for your support. And also I suggest all the people who come to USA from outside, try to rebuild your RESUME.

[MiniKoala 13]

I have a BA in Communications and moved to the US on a K-1 visa pretty much immediately after graduating. I was super anxious about the job search thing because I figured it was going to be difficult finding something without much relevant work or any internship experience.

I got a few interviews for internships even before I received my EAD but had no luck actually getting one. I then signed up for an account on ODesk and found a full-time contract job as a translator the same week I got my Green Card. I was initially excited about the idea of working from home and didn't care about not having benefits since I had health insurance through my husband. Unfortunately he lost his job that same week and things got very difficult because we suddenly had so much less money and had to pay so much for health insurance (it was one third of my salary!). So I had to start searching for something better right away.

A few months later I was contacted by recruiters who wanted to place me with one of the Tech giants in the Silicon Valley because of my language skills. I got a job but never started it because the conditions were actually far worse than what I had with the ODesk job. Little did I know that Google, Apple, et al. are known to exploit new immigrants by hiring them for sh*tty contract jobs with graveyard shifts, low pay, etc. Just because they can. Aren't all of us immigrants desperate to gain work experience in the US somehow?

I felt horrible for turning down a job being in my situation, but eventually I was also proud of myself for not letting anyone exploit me. Half a year after receiving my Green Card I finally got a real job with a company I had always wanted to work for. I get a decent salary, I have full benefits and the job itself is awesome. Funnily enough, this opportunity came up just when I was about to give up on my job search. It had stressed me out so much and I had serious health problems because I couldn't deal with all the pressure, and then BAM!, dream job comes along and it all suddenly seems worth it I was especially glad for all the disastrous interview experiences in the previous months, because as horrible and upsetting as they were, they taught me so much! I wouldn't have gotten my current job if I hadn't done so much research about how to apply for jobs, how to present myself online, how to be a good interviewee, etc. But one thing that was definitely obvious to me from the start is that it really is SO VERY HARD to find work in America (and it's certainly wayyyyy harder than in my home country). Competition is huge and electronic job application filters are ruining everything. The only comfort for me during this time was knowing that it was not just me but that it is difficult for almost everyone. Hang in there, everyone, the right opportunity will pop up eventually!

[jbanya 19]

I have a BA in Communications and moved to the US on a K-1 visa pretty much immediately after graduating. I was super anxious about the job search thing because I figured it was going to be difficult finding something without much relevant work or any internship experience.

I got a few interviews for internships even before I received my EAD but had no luck actually getting one. I then signed up for an account on ODesk and found a full-time contract job as a translator the same week I got my Green Card. I was initially excited about the idea of working from home and didn't care about not having benefits since I had health insurance through my husband. Unfortunately he lost his job that same week and things got very difficult because we suddenly had so much less money and had to pay so much for health insurance (it was one third of my salary!). So I had to start searching for something better right away.

A few months later I was contacted by recruiters who wanted to place me with one of the Tech giants in the Silicon Valley because of my language skills. I got a job but never started it because the conditions were actually far worse than what I had with the ODesk job. Little did I know that Google, Apple, et al. are known to exploit new immigrants by hiring them for sh*tty contract jobs with graveyard shifts, low pay, etc. Just because they can. Aren't all of us immigrants desperate to gain work experience in the US somehow?

I felt horrible for turning down a job being in my situation, but eventually I was also proud of myself for not letting anyone exploit me. Half a year after receiving my Green Card I finally got a real job with a company I had always wanted to work for. I get a decent salary, I have full benefits and the job itself is awesome. Funnily enough, this opportunity came up just when I was about to give up on my job search. It had stressed me out so much and I had serious health problems because I couldn't deal with all the pressure, and then BAM!, dream job comes along and it all suddenly seems worth it I was especially glad for all the disastrous interview experiences in the previous months, because as horrible and upsetting as they were, they taught me so much! I wouldn't have gotten my current job if I hadn't done so much research about how to apply for jobs, how to present myself online, how to be a good interviewee, etc. But one thing that was definitely obvious to me from the start is that it really is SO VERY HARD to find work in America (and it's certainly wayyyyy harder than in my home country). Competition is huge and electronic job application filters are ruining everything. The only comfort for me during this time was knowing that it was not just me but that it is difficult for almost everyone. Hang in there, everyone, the right opportunity will pop up eventually!

Your testimonial very encouraging Thanks!

[tokyobelle 2]

It took about 1 year and 5 months before I got a job. I worked in IT industry before I came here and had almost 8 years of experience. EAD took a while, and I got calls from recruiters in other states but it was difficult for my husband to leave his job. We both have specialized fields of work.

I received an offer from IBM, which was similar to what I was doing before but the offer was not worth it to justify moving to another state and have my husband quit. Some offers were mostly 6 months to 1 year contracts.

Then I decided to just get into a tech support job. It was a total demotion but I was so depressed not feeling independent so I took it. I did 4x10s so I could go to other interviews without having to take time offs. My friend from work found a better job, higher pay, and he referred me to his manager. Only 6 months in my first job, I quit and took this one. It was so worth the wait. They gave me a pay raise twice within 1 year and 7 months of working here.

[Naghihintay 1]

I started on my job 2 months after I arrived in the US. Technically, I dont have my GC (it got lost in the mail) then but since I got here on a permanent resident status via a petition from my Mom, I am able to work legally. I presented teh Gc to my employer eventually.

I took the agressive route on finding a job, and that is to search online daily from 8AM to 5 PM. My mindset then is "my job now is to find a job" since I have a family to support. Even when I got my first verbal job offer, I continued entertaining interviews until the job was signed. Unfortunately, the offer I got required me to move 120 miles from where my Mom lives.

I was a Manager from an IT BPO firm from the Philippines. The job I got It was a demotion for me although it still with IT. I also experienced some hesitations from the interviewers when they get to realize that my experiences are all offshore although I worked with US partners for most of professional life. It's still ok since I recognize that I needed to work to climb up the ladder again.

[pinayanne27 8]

Hello everyone! I just got my EAD combo card. I still don't know where to apply here in the US. I have 2 yr work experience in a BPO company and 5 years in a bank in the Philippines.

Anyone who's working in a bank here?

[relativeways 27]

Took me about 2 months, exact same field. Much higher pay, but living standards are different. I got the job offer the day before I got my EAD approval!

[pinayanne27 8]

Took me about 2 months, exact same field. Much higher pay, but living standards are different. I got the job offer the day before I got my EAD approval!

Hello! What's your job? From what state?

[fobarmariaaloha 0]

hello,,its been 2 months for me to take a job because i had been waiting for my social security to come and luckily i got my social 1 and a half month...and then i started to apply on different job site. i thank God coz He give me this job. I'm working in a food chain which is

under by Andrews air force management.

[seanjoe 1]

Hi all,

I came here on a GC in Feb, applied for jobs in my field of HSE for 3 months. In between that, I was working at McDonalds. Eventually in May, went back to the UK to see my son, whom I sorely missed.

Came back in June and the search goes on. I am so depressed that its taking so long. Everyone asks if I have US experience, but how do you get US experience in your field if you don't get the job in the first place.

Some of the outside state jobs that I apply for, they treat me as a out of state candidate, even though I have reiterated that I am willing to relocate/travel.

I was working in safety for a oil and gas client, but am willing to do safety for any client. I was working for many clients in the chemical, plastics, power, and nuclear plants on projects.

Is anyone else in the same boat and do you have any guidance on how to apply? I am using Linkedin and various agencies, but I feel the agencies have not been that great as compared to direct searches?

Any help would be appreciated.

[dandk 72]

Took me about 2 months, exact same field. Much higher pay, but living standards are different. I got the job offer the day before I got my EAD approval!

The MRS was like your situation; the same exact field (global manufacturing) and 2 weeks after EAD.

[pinayanne27 8]

The MRS was like your situation; the same exact field (global manufacturing) and 2 weeks after EAD.

What company and what type of business?