poppett62

Ok, so hi everyone, i am currently applying for a job working in a school in USA, however, the application specifies that i need to supply the following along with my application

A recommendation - can i get my aunt/cousin who lives in USA to give me this or does it need to be from someone i work/worked for (thought that this would be the same as the reference?)

Two references - now this is where my trouble begins, if they require work references i dont really want to inform my current employer that i am thinking of seeking employment elsewhere and possibly moving to another country, but is this what they want by way of references or can they be personal references? I have worked for my current employer for 10 years so my exit references will be fine, just not sure how favourably they will look upon me if they know i am thinking of leaving lol.

Thanks for your help with this one

Big D

I would get back to them and say that you will give references when and if an offer is made - this is usual practice in my experience, certainly wouldn't offer them at the application stage

MsElui

are the potential employers willing to sponsor you for a visa? otherwise it may be moot what to put on the form.

Duncan Roberts

Have some faith! The OP is married to a US citizen and is in the final stages of getting a greencard or is a US citizen themselves. Well, you can hope can't you..

poppett62

Sorry for the delay in replying my computer is on a go slow,

Yeah i thought that it is not usual practice to request references before an offer of employment was made - so i will just wait that one out and see what they say.

On the Sponsorship question - i am hoping that they will sponsor me, they have sponsored emloyees in the past and have said that if i meet the required criteria then this could be an option, i am hoping they will see how outstanding i am and just say yes no problem lol - like anything is that easy.

Myself and my husband are currently applying and looking for jobs with sponsorship as we are not eligible to go down the route of family sponsor due to the family we have in CA being an Aunt and Cousin, so we are always looking and sending of resumes, we are thinking of taking a trip out to CA and do a bit of face to face job hunting see if that works any better, we alos have our family members putting the word out for us too,

Thanks for your advice.

Steerpike

A recommendation would be a specific statement along the lines of, "I recommend Julie for the position of 'blah" because of her strong ability to understand .... and to ...".

The initial response to a reference request is usually nothing more than a name/contact info of someone you are willing to allow them to call and talk to. All references I've dealt with have been verbal. I would NOT say "... if and when you make me an offer' - that sounds uncooperative. I would give them your standard reference list but also say, please do not contact references 'x' and 'y' until a firm offer is made, as I do not want my references to know that I am applyiing for this position". That is a universally accepted concept. Refusing to give the reference could give a bad impression. Providing a long list of references gives the impression you have plenty of people willing to speak up for you.

Michael

A potiental employer will definately want work references. I've always gave references of work mates (friends that you should get their approval first to use as a reference) that would never notify my current employer. The new employer would need to check the references prior to making a firm offer but calls wouldn't be made unless they were planning to make a firm offer.

poppett62

Hi, thanks to you all for the informative replies, i did include the references and everything that was asked for anyway, i just thought ah well if they ask my employer so be it at least then they know i am looking for new employemnt.

Anyway it does not matter so much now as they just emailed me and said that they had already placed someone in the position even though its still advertised as being unfilled on their web page,

Back to the drawing board and look for more jobs to apply for in the hope of sponsorship.

Thanks again for your replies i appreciate the time taken..

Poppett x

scrubbedexpat099

It would appear not...

poppett62

Hi, yeah boiler is right i am not married to US citizen - unfortunately lol - we just want to move out to CA as we have close family there and our parents are wanting to move - they can get family visa - we dont qualify until they have been there for 5 years i think, so we are trying to get over to the USA on working sponsorship/visa but its proving very difficult, we have our family members putting the word out in CA but has proved fruitless up to now so fingers crossed i will still keep at it you never know lady luck might smile down on us lol

fatbrit

At a guestimate, budget at least a dozen years from your parent's arrival as permanent residents to yours if taking this route.

Manc

so long as they haven't gone bankrupt due to health problems in the meanwhile.

poppett62

Yikes , well worth a try i am not one to give up easily i will keep applying you never know, and if i win the lottery i am off like a shot. Stranger things have happened lol

scrubbedexpat099

Say 6 years to Citizenship, but probably more than another 6 for Child Sponsorship.

But a long time, anyones guess.