Coming to America - Finding Work from Overseas

I’ve seen numerous international applications for work here in the U.S. For those unfamiliar with the process and want to move here and haven’t succeeded, I’d just like to review.

In America, we don’t use CV’s – they are quite rare outside the academic arena. Most companies expect a Cover Letter that discusses your best accomplishments and what differentiates you from the other candidates. You will also need to clarify your status to work in the U.S. There are not as many opportunities as there have been in the past to get an employer to pay for your H1-B visa status, which basically means “there is no one in the US with this person’s particular skills, so we are hiring internationally”. It’s a lot of red tape, involves a lawyer, and costs the employer money. This increases the risk for hiring you. Many companies expect you to remain an employee for a certain number of months, or repay the costs for your H1-B visa, or both. Before you can get another job, you will need the new employer to agree to sponsor your H-1B status, so you end up going through the process all over again. There is some risk. Without it, you can get in trouble with the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) and they have no sense of humor.

The next item would be your Resume. BE SURE TO INCLUDE CONTACT INFORMATION: Name, address, city, state, zip/postal code, country, telephone, fax, email, and web site if you have one, preferably on all pages. There are a number of web sites that can help you with formatting a resume. Try monster.com or sixfigurejobs.com. It should be brief (2 pages at most for someone with a lot of experience), plus you can include addenda such as project highlights, teaching experience, etc. Make sure you format your pages carefully. Even if your CV is quite extensive and impressive in content, if your document comes to a hiring manager with pages landscaped, some pages left justified, some pages right justified, and some with columns that don’t line up, your resume will end up straight in the trash bin. You may want to have a few formats available, 1) text only, 2) Word document, and 3) Adobe PDF.

One other thing you may want to do is provide a link to a web site where your resume and projects can be found. For example, on the web version of my resume, I include links to PDFs that chronicle the kind of work I did at certain companies: http://www.graphicawareness.com/about_founder_experience.asp

Scroll down and click on anything that says [PROJECT REVIEW]. (I’m in marketing. Your projects may differ obviously.) And use as many good quality photos of your completed projects – exteriors and interiors if possible. The more professional you look, the more impressed your potential employer will be.

FINALLY, Make sure you use American English, not British. Most Americans just think you don’t know how to spell. In that vein, check your spelling and grammar carefully. If you are not confident with your English writing skills, have someone else check your cover letter and resume for you. I wish you all the best of luck in coming here.