Prep for the Immigration

[Ismaeell94 0]

Hi,

My immigration case is underway under I-130 and I was hoping to get myself prepared for the upcoming challenges for a new life. 

I need assistance on how to get a job as soon as I am arrived, i.e. what are the best practices to get hired. Also, what are the challenges faced by immigrants and what else should I prepared myself for? 

 

 

Thanks,
Ismael

[appleblossom 2,438]

2 hours ago, Ismaeell94 said:

Hi,

My immigration case is underway under I-130 and I was hoping to get myself prepared for the upcoming challenges for a new life. 

I need assistance on how to get a job as soon as I am arrived, i.e. what are the best practices to get hired. Also, what are the challenges faced by immigrants and what else should I prepared myself for? 

 

 

Thanks,
Ismael

 

That would really depend on whereabouts you're going, and what kind of job you'll be seeking? 

[Ismaeell94 0]

11 hours ago, appleblossom said:

 

That would really depend on whereabouts you're going, and what kind of job you'll be seeking? 

Well, I'd be moving to Virginia & I have plenty of Experience in IT Sales. However, I will be open to other opportunities as well. My primary objective will be to start earning as soon as I can & the preference will be a Blue or a White Collar job. 

[appleblossom 2,438]

26 minutes ago, Ismaeell94 said:

Well, I'd be moving to Virginia & I have plenty of Experience in IT Sales. However, I will be open to other opportunities as well. My primary objective will be to start earning as soon as I can & the preference will be a Blue or a White Collar job. 

 

What kind of case, who's petitioned for you and in which country? Just wondering how long it may take before you'll be able to move. 

 

Make sure you get any qualifications assessed if needed, make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and sells you really well. And be prepared to take a much lower job than your current level to start with if needed. Do you have any experience in companies with a US presence? If so, it may be worth asking them about roles if they already know you and could give a reference to the US side of the business. 

 

Good luck. 

[A Polite Parrot 42]

Dream

What do you want to do in 5 years? What about 10? Set that goal and map a path to it. And don't be surprised if you change it in a year -- welcome to the US! 😆

 

With that identified, or at least ruminating, I would strongly suggest continuing in something akin to, if not the same industry that your experience has. It's helpful to keep moving while you have fresh experience!

 

As you continue your career, you will find you can use "transferrable skills" to help you maneuver from one job type to another, or even different industries. Your people skills from your IT Sales may work wonders in the services industry. It can also be a great skill for frontline IT Support, or a team manager, which can lead to a director, etc. Don't be afraid to apply for those related jobs just make sure you tweak your resume to fit those changes when you shift!

 

Research the industry

Meet people in the industry ASAP, ask them out for a cup of coffee and ask them about what skills they use how they got there...learn from their experience. This is what the career advising industry calls an "Informational Interview." It's literally just meeting someone and getting them to talk about themselves so you can learn more about the industry. If they're not too full of themselves, they may also ask about you and help guide you a bit! Maybe you learn that the industry expects credentials you may not have, so you will need to complete a course, a certificate program, or a degree, etc. Or it may be you need to get your foot in the door before getting back to your previous position because the industry expects a different skill set than the one you practiced. All this you will learn

 

Create application materials

If you make any good connections in the industry, ask them (whom you trust their judgement) to review your resume. Take their suggestions and see what keywords to update or sections to add, remove etc. save a new copy of that resume. Keep tweaking it as you apply to jobs or get more experience.

 

Apply

Go to LinkedIn or other job boards and apply.

Avoid job scams soliciting you: things that are too good to be true usually are.

Continue to tweak your resume and cover letter for those bigger jobs applications. You should be replicating the language in the job posting. Use their keywords in your resume and cover letter.

Continue to meet with people and grow your network, maybe study something that will help you in the job now so you can learn more keywords.

 

Resources

Consider the following free resources, many thanks to the US gov.

• Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook General guidance on how to find a job.
• O*Net Explore occupations, their typical requirements, statistics, keywords, etc. There are great tools on there.
• My Next Move Based on career advising theories and psychology, this tool helps you explore what occupations you may enjoy doing.
• Make friends with your local librarians. They can connect you to a ton of resources. Don't get overwhelmed and ask if they can connect you with any free resume or job search workshops. Some libraries host these themselves!

This is my long-winded way of saying there's no easy and quick way that I know of to find a good job -- it's takes work to find work. However, you must do it. Best of luck!

[TBoneTX 45,250]

To add to what A Polite Parrot has posted:  try this idea, previously posted by the member Darnell:

--------------------
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE:
 

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.