AndrePettersson

I have made inquiries with the relevant bodies, and are able to study the professional US and Canadian HR qualifications to the highest level by online distance learning from the UK.

Therefore, I am shortly going to complete the UK CIPD Level 7 Advanced Diploma in HRM and an MSc in International HRM. So, if I did decide to invest and go down this route to eventually become a: 'triple qualified British Citizen in UK/EU, US and Canadian HR and Employment Law,' could such a combination as this help in anyway possible or get me 'slightly closer' to penetrating the North American market etc?

Of course, the main snag there is that I still don't have the US and Canadian HR working experience, not being my home market, but as I can already speak French and German (the former more useful for Canada), I could also start learning Spanish to possibly open the door with a North American company that has shifted its operational or production base to Mexico. As such, I may want to focus on HR slots in the Mexican market with my existing HR qualifications, MSc and others etc.

I feel that in order to crack the American HR nut, I am going to have to come up with a very unique and special marketing angle, so I can penetrate the market and find my own specialist niche within in.

drunner

Well, reading through all your many, many posts on this subject...you are determined, I'll give you that.

Given that you are in your 40's, how long are these extra qualifications going to take to complete?

I am lucky enough to be going to the USA in January for a few years with my husband (I'll be an E2 visa spouse) but I am realistic enough to realise that there is no way I'm going to fall into the same senior type of job I have now (NHS clinical governance, quality improvement, Lean Six Sigma background). I may eventually find something that fits but its a long shot.

What you are planning is admirable (and may help your career here in the UK) but realistically, there are 1000s of North Americans who will already have those qualifications....what makes you so sure that a US company will take you over a local with the exact same experience & qualifications? And as for setting up your own business in the USA (even if you do get a visa for that) be prepared to sell your house in the UK to finance it.....given the state of the EU & Brexit right now (and for at least the next 10 years) this is something I would be very wary of.

AndrePettersson

I can garner all these qualifications in the next two years max.

Turning 43 next month is not so much an issue for me as its still relatively young (40s are the new 30s), it gives added life experience and I enjoy what I do, so have at least a minimum of 35 years working life still ahead of me etc.

However, the big 'if' or unknown is naturally whether or not doing all these additional studies will ultimately 'get me in,' or if I can also play on / sell my Britishness for US companies wanting to relocate to the UK/EU, and vice versa, who require HR policy and procedure advice etc.

The Americans and Canadians also generally like the British, so may well prefer an international candidate who can offer a different yet both wider and the same things, in addition to overseas transferable skills, qualifications and experience. Home grown has the disadvantage that they are only well versed in their own domestic market.

Shirtback

I'm afraid that this is showing quite some ignorance (even delusion) about the North American mindset & job market .

Being 43 IS a significant hurdle to overcome for immigration to Canada (& probably the US too), whether YOU like it or not. Unless you have some sort of niche specialisation, or work at a very high level in some kind of big multinational company/worldwide NGO etc that might transfer you, I just don't see your "plans" working out, sorry.

AdobePinon

IMO, the kind of question you need to ask yourself is: What is the gap between your current position and an executive role? Are you close enough to be able to consider crossing that bridge? Or would that also constitute a career restart? Broadening your experience is more likely to be successful than becoming the most overqualified HR guy in the galaxy.

scrubbedexpat099

35 years?

20 would be pushing it.

Pulaski

Er, no! That is so far removed from reality, in almost all cases, that I am not going to dignify it with a detailed reply. All I'll say is that you are deluding yourself.

Rete

Do they? They might like the accent but that does not mean they like the British or the Canadians.

Your overseas skills and qualifications are not transferable to the US employment market. You bring nothing, absolutely nothing, to the table to make you special or your skills transferable to the US human resource market. The US market is the only market they need to deal with. If there is an organization that has a branch office in the UK, they will hire HR personnel in the UK to man that department. They certainly would not send over an American employee to head the HR department in the UK, even if that employee knew all the laws governing employment in the UK. I can see you now browbeating everyone with "but that is not how it is done in the UK"; "employees in the UK have more security than US employees, let's change the policy."

You have become trollish in your postings and I can see that members are starting to not only sigh when you have started, yet again, another thread on obtaining the right to live and work in the US but they will be laughing at you shortly, if they are not already.

Give it a break and sit back and get a grip on yourself. Your spouse is probably pulling their hair out at your lamenting and unrelenting posts.

AdobePinon

I thought about it. But then I decided that eating breakfast would have a more satisfactory outcome.

AdobePinon

This. In fact, I would go one step further than Rete and suggest that your overseas qualifications would be a strong negative in getting the job. Not a positive. Not even a neutral.

Mirage88

The lack of US working experience will make it extremely difficult for you to find a job here. What everyone has been kept on telling you on this forum is really for your own good. At your age and life juncture it simply does not worth it no matter how bad you think the grass is greener on this side. By the time you actually land in America many years from now on you gonna feel so disappointed and say to yourself "I can't believe I've wasted all these years just to end up in this sxxthole"

Maybe try the L1 route to have a UK company transfer you over?

Owen778

Actually, my experience is that, since they often assume the American way is the only way, American companies are happy to use American HR staff to make decisions about a UK office. When my company had a round of layoffs in the UK, it was run remotely by an HR representative in the US who was responsible for the international offices. They used a UK consultancy for advice, but didn't always consult them on decisions, with the result that the UK staff several times had to tell them that what they'd just said was illegal.

Mirage88

Hear hear.

And it's not only the Americans, the Japanese, the Russians and more recently the Chinese and Saudi companies too, there were a lot of breach of employment law committed by these companies mostly on discrimination, harassment and wrongful dismissal..

Guindalf

Andre,

Let me be blunt.

Your futile attempts to produce a single viable option means that you are HIGHLY UNLIKELY to meet ANY requirement to emigrate to the US. In fact, I'd go as far as to say, it's NOT going to happen for you!

HR is unlikely to provide a route given your level of expertise, the fact that you'd have to retrain and involve any prospective employer in thousands of dollars in cost, not to mention the wait time for you to be legally able to work and, of course, your age!

To think that, at 43, you still have 35 years working it totally delusional. Do you really think you'd work until you were 78, or even that a company would still want you at that age???

Also, to think you'd be able to buy into a big-name franchise for $200k is insane at best! You MAY be able to get as high-risk, no-name franchise for that amount, but it would be a solo operator venture which would be highly unlikely to succeed in obtaining a visa.

You have stated many times that you wouldn't be prepared to sell your house to finance your 'dream'. Well, that tells us that your level of commitment is most definitely not high enough to even begin this journey.

So please, give it up. Accept that you're not coming to the States as anything other than a visitor and stop wasting your, and everyone else's, time!

Rete

There you go ... proof that the two HR managers are not interchangeable. What a dumb arse thing to do. But then again, how very American.