Experience applying to Engineering jobs EAD?

[mcgee201 56]

I am expected to receive my EAD  next month so I've been applying for jobs and haven't heard back from any of them.  

 

I have a two part question:

1) Do you believe applying for jobs before an EAD is a waste of time? My concern is that I don't want to apply to companies, automatically be placed in their  "no" pile and never be considered for the company again. However, I also want to get "ahead of the  game" so-to-speak. 

2) Do any engineers have advice for applying to jobs either before an EAD has arrived or after? Has it been challenging? I am a Mechanical Engineer with a B.S degree from Queen Mary, University of London with experience in application development/software engineer. I'm also aware engineering is in very high  demand.  

[Boiler 45,712]

I would network immediately, make sure you have all your contacts lined up for when you are good to go.

[Marieke H 2,519]

I work in a completely different field, so I can only answer your first question. No, it is not a waste of time. Even if you don't hear back, you are getting an idea of the job market, working on your resume, finding out how job applications work here. All very useful.

I applied for a job when I was expecting to get my EAD pretty soon. It took almost a month before I heard back. Got an interview, was completely honest about my status, and they were willing to wait 6 weeks until I finally had my EAD.

So it doesn't hurt to get started applying for jobs, you never know what can happen!

[Crazy Cat 41,982]

I agree 100% with @Boiler.  Good luck in your search.

[FlashLG 152]

I can't speak for the engineering industry, but when I got my job the whole process took a couple of months from when I applied to when I was offered the position. So like @MariekeH says, it's not a waste of time as long as you are honest when you interview. I waited until I received my EAD, but in hindsight I wished I'd starting applying before. The only problem you have is that you have no way of knowing when exactly you will receive your EAD, but you should have a good idea based on current wait times.

[TBoneTX 45,567]

Boiler is correct.

 

If you're not hearing back (which is frustrating), find ways to network among the professional engineering organizations.  You appear to be in the Twin Cities, which is a good large area in which to find them.

 

In addition, try this idea, previously posted by the member Darnell:
---
Each city has a chamber of commerce. Find it.

Once you find it - talk with the secretary - tell her you want a schedule of events and let her know you'd like to attend.

Then - go in person to the Chamber of Commerce Office - talk with the President of the Chamber, tell him/her you want to volunteer at several of their events.

Attendees at chamber events are business owners and sales geeks, all looking for new business.  It usually is an informal-enough gathering where you can approach people and talk with them.

Now, the cool thing about being a volunteer there - is that you will be talking to everyone at least once - you might be at the reception table, you might be at the greeters table, you might help to run the audio/video system - whatever - but - the point is that you can meet everyone there, face to face.

Attend 2 or 3 of these, and folk remember you. When folk remember you, they will remember you are seeking employment and will consider you, because you're just not some name on a piece of paper - they met you at a chamber event and know that you were volunteering, helping out the chamber.

Go Get Em, and Good Luck!

PS - live in a really small town? go to the biggest town that's within 15 miles of your house.

[geowrian 22,337]

I by no means can speak about the experiences others have had or if there are any differences in your area. I live in a small suburban area and work as a solutions architect here. I engineer IT solutions (software, hardware, infrastructure, etc.) and lead dev teams.

 

In my experience, having an existing EAD is not a significant factor. Our HR department reviews applications coming in, but so long as the applicant does not need to be sponsored to obtain work eligibility, and they otherwise are quality candidates, they get passed along to local management. Then management and/or I interview the applicant to see if they're a good fit. The work eligibility does not come up until a decision is made on intent to hire. Other local companies that I've interviewed for in the past in my field were the same way.

 

But this is very YMMV...there certainly are many employers that I've heard of from others that ask about work eligibility beforehand and just ignore them if not authorized yet. They aren't supposed to do so, but good luck trying to show that was the reason for not being selected.

 

There are quite a few recruiters that I've noticed that only want to see an EAD or even a green card for consideration (when one is not required...some government agencies have certain restrictions when permitted by law).

 

But I also see where you're coming from. Many times once not selected, I can see HR not bothering with another application for the same position, department, or even company. So I do see merit in waiting for an EAD as well.

 

Networking is important, especially with larger companies. My company is a smaller company (<= 50 employees)...networking isn't nearly as important as a large enterprise where applicants are basically a number/name.

[mcgee201 56]

7 hours ago, geowrian said:

I by no means can speak about the experiences others have had or if there are any differences in your area. I live in a small suburban area and work as a solutions architect here. I engineer IT solutions (software, hardware, infrastructure, etc.) and lead dev teams.

 

In my experience, having an existing EAD is not a significant factor. Our HR department reviews applications coming in, but so long as the applicant does not need to be sponsored to obtain work eligibility, and they otherwise are quality candidates, they get passed along to local management. Then management and/or I interview the applicant to see if they're a good fit. The work eligibility does not come up until a decision is made on intent to hire. Other local companies that I've interviewed for in the past in my field were the same way.

 

But this is very YMMV...there certainly are many employers that I've heard of from others that ask about work eligibility beforehand and just ignore them if not authorized yet. They aren't supposed to do so, but good luck trying to show that was the reason for not being selected.

 

There are quite a few recruiters that I've noticed that only want to see an EAD or even a green card for consideration (when one is not required...some government agencies have certain restrictions when permitted by law).

 

But I also see where you're coming from. Many times once not selected, I can see HR not bothering with another application for the same position, department, or even company. So I do see merit in waiting for an EAD as well.

 

Networking is important, especially with larger companies. My company is a smaller company (<= 50 employees)...networking isn't nearly as important as a large enterprise where applicants are basically a number/name.

Thank you so much for this information; it's very, very helpful! 

 

My wife is looking for a career change therefore we would be willing to move anywhere in the country if I found a job; hopefully that will help open up doors for my career opportunities as well. 

 

Are the recruiters you've noticed that want to see a GC or EAD before consideration, generally larger companies where the applicant is a number? I've only applied to  large companies and from your response, I'm starting to  realize that maybe I should go for smaller companies.  

[geowrian 22,337]

4 minutes ago, mcgee201 said:

Thank you so much for this information; it's very, very helpful! 

 

My wife is looking for a career change therefore we would be willing to move anywhere in the country if I found a job; hopefully that will help open up doors for my career opportunities as well. 

 

Are the recruiters you've noticed that want to see a GC or EAD before consideration, generally larger companies where the applicant is a number? I've only applied to  large companies and from your response, I'm starting to  realize that maybe I should go for smaller companies.  

You're welcome!

 

Yeah, a move to another area is also likely to open doors for you. It's not that uncommon in the field to have moving costs covered by the employer anyway.

 

Usually, yes. I've maybe seen a couple in the past few months that were for smaller companies (and likely don't know better), but most of the recruiters that want somebody with an EAD or green card before taking them on were for mid-size businesses and larger.

Edited October 16, 2018 by geowrian

[mcgee201 56]

9 minutes ago, geowrian said:

You're welcome!

 

Yeah, a move to another area is also likely to open doors for you. It's not that uncommon in the field to have moving costs covered by the employer anyway.

 

Usually, yes. I've maybe seen a couple in the past few months that were for smaller companies (and likely don't know better), but most of the recruiters that want somebody with an EAD or green card before taking them on were for mid-size businesses and larger.

Perfect. 

 

I also have one last question. Do you believe it is wise to describe my EAD situation (expected to receive my EAD next month) on my Resume/CV? Or is this something I should first bring up at the interview? I don't want to be bring this up unnecessarily early but I do want to be truthful.

 

Again, thank you SO much for your help. It has been incredibly useful. 

Edited October 16, 2018 by mcgee201

[geowrian 22,337]

38 minutes ago, mcgee201 said:

Perfect. 

 

I also have one last question. Do you believe it is wise to describe my EAD situation (expected to receive my EAD next month) on my Resume/CV? Or is this something I should first bring up at the interview? I don't want to be bring this up unnecessarily early but I do want to be truthful.

 

Again, thank you SO much for your help. It has been incredibly useful. 

IMO and personally, I would only bring it up when asked...no need to raise unnecessary questions.

 

Good luck!

[TNJ17 1,329]

It doesn’t hurt because if you get offered a job you can request an expedite and not have to wait so long.