jpspringall

Hi,

I'll confess my CV probably does need a bit of work, but it's been a while since it was used in anger.

I'm slowly but surely making some connections in the US, so we'll see if anything comes of that.

I did consider going over and job hunting that way, but not entirely sure what recruiters would be like if your address was a hotel room? And i'd also rather not give up my job here until i'd got a job over there.

Cheers

James

markwm

You could always rent a PO box for a month or so or use a friend's address and no one says you should give up your job: come over on holiday, enjoy your self and, at the same time, see if you can find a job worth pursuing.

Never said it would be easy!

Bigfootmum

Without wishing to sound too obvious here (and I’m new at this too, so am most likely completely clueless) but have you tried looking at the recruitment pages on the websites of the companies you’d like to work for?

My husband did just that. He applied on line, had a phone interview and they were interested enough to fly him out for a full interview… we’re currently mid visa application so the fat lady isn’t singing yet, but the company he applied to (who are big) are doing all the work and paying all the bills.

Bigfootmum

So having just done a 30-second google search I can see that Apple currently have more than 600 vacancies in the field of Software Engineering - many of which are in Santa Clara Valley, California - and it looks like a fairly straightforward on-line application process.

https://jobs.apple.com/us/search?job...&lo=0*USA&pN=0

Good luck!

celticgrid

So, what have you been using to do all the applying you mention?

Someone else has mentioned the CV but really didn't cover just how poor it is. Really, do not waste your time applying for any further jobs until you have got this sorted out.

jpspringall

Hi Mark,

Would using a Friend's address work, as i do have a friend in the Santa Clara Area, i'd just be a bit screwed if they suddenly wanted an interview.

Bigfootmum,

Unfortunately my skill set arent really used By Apple, Google and Facebook, as it's Microsoft based, and they don't place nicely.

I did apply to ancestory.com, but didn't hear anything back.

Can i ask what area your husband is in?

Cheers

James

jpspringall

I've just done a quick Google, and strangely enough, almost every site i've looked at, has suggested using a format similar if not identical to mine, bar possibly a personal statement, but i'm guessing that it should go in a covering letter instead?

So any suggestions why it's so bad would be great.

Cheers

James

celticgrid

Just quickly...

It is 5 pages. Too long.

Do you really think an employer in the US knows what an 'A' level is? You need to tailor the resume to the market - actually, you need to tailor it to every job application.

I may owe you an apology on this one, in that there may actually be such a thing as a "GSCE". Either way, same comment applies. Do you really think a US employer knows or cares? And here comes the possible need for an apology...

You cannot even spell GCSE!

None of the stuff you promote yourself with in your opening post is mentioned in the CV.

That's just the high level stuff. Good luck with your job hunt.

Bigfootmum

How about Microsoft then... 500 jobs in Software Engineering:

https://careers.microsoft.com/search.aspx

:-)

Fraid my husband's work isn't remotely IT related

jpspringall

Ah right OK, you've confirmed what i was thinking about the length.

The GCSE and A-Level thing, was unsure about, but thought putting in way better than leaving it out, but shall remove.

The stuff in the start of this post was stuff i was putting in a covering letter, to avoid the CV getting stupidly long.

Thanks for your help.

Cheers

James

le10

Hi,

Your CV doesn't really express in what way you are exceptional. Either in technical terms or in business value terms.

If an L1 visa is of interest to you it helps to have a proprietary skillset or experience relating to the employer that is sponsoring you.

In other words, being an exceptional .NET resource for Microsoft would probably have more sway than being an exception .NET resource working for Coca-Cola. Unless, you have intimate knowledge of some proprietary .net based system that Coca-Cola has developed etc.

I'm guessing the same would be true for EB2 (and it is a guess). You stating you are exceptional needs significant documentary evidence that supports your claim. That could be published white papers, invitations to present at user groups etc.

Ultimately being exceptional at something is subjective, and comparative, but I think you would need quite a bit of 3rd party support to be successful.

You do generally need to be of significant value to an employer for them to go through the expense and complications of visa sponsorship.

I would work on building up your CV to express the value you bring, not just a list of experiences and tools used.

Hope this helps....

jpspringall

Bigfootmum,

You raise an interesting point, currently i've only been applying for positions that explicitly say that they will sponsor an HB1.

Should i ignore this and apply regardless if there no mention of HB1 sponsorship?

Cheers

James

markwm

Did you look at the article I suggested?

The Resume should be no more than 3 pages, maximum and most employers are only really interested in the detail for the last 2 years and brief overview prior to that. If they like your resume you may get asked for more detail at interview.

Yes, you can use your friends address on your resume. It's not like they're going to mail you anything - they just want to see that you are in the US.

jeffreyhy

I see 5 pages of things you did (I agree with another poster that your CV is way to long), but I do not see any accomplishments - if you see the difference?

Example: "Create SOA Architecture" - specifically what did you create and what benefit did it provide or what problem did it solve?

So cut down the list of mundane tasks - anybody can do a task - and identify instead your achievements and successes that significantly benefited your employer.

Another one that struck me: "Delegate tasks to other team members" My mind quickly appended 'then laid back until they'd finished the project'. Don't write things in such a way that the reader has to supply the punch line - you provide the punch line.

Regards, JEff

jpspringall

Hi,

Thank you very much for all your feedback regarding CV.....

Currently updating, and there should be a V2 uploaded shortly

Again Thanks Everyone For Their Input.

James