LeighD

My husband has American citizenship but has not lived there since he was a child. He is in Marketing/Advertising, at a senior level with international experience.

We are considering moving to the US, but in our initial investigations (NY mainly) he has encountered resistance due to "lack of US experience" - seems that experience in a global context is not enough. I've heard that the US is insular, and this may be the explanation. Is this a common problem encountered by others in this forum? Could this just be a NY thing?

Someone mentioned to us that it would be better to first move over there, and then start looking for a job due to the fact that the market moves pretty quickly over there and that US companies don't care to wait for people to relocate etc etc. I would appreciate any advice in this regard.

Thanks

NC Penguin

Perhaps your husband could prepare a portfolio to complement his resume (without breaking confidentiality of the clients he worked with)?

Has your husband heard the phrase, "lack of US experience" during his job search so far? If that's the case, your husband has to create a very strong US resume (please search for previous threads in this forum for assistance) that clearly indicates transferable skills appropriate to working in the US.

To be honest, it would be better to start applying for employment once in the US. An employer is most unlikely to keep a position open until yur husband moves.




NC Penguin

Elvira

I agree with everything Penguin said but would add that perhaps you would not want to make your move permanent initially - ie do not burn your bridges, so that you could go back without too much hassle if things don't work out.

Dan725

Agree with the above. It takes a lot of people quite a while when moving across here to find work. Took me 4 months to find a relevant job in my field (although some of that was paperwork and bureucracy holdups), and I think I'm one of the luckier ones at that. That said, once here, it is much easier - the fact that you can start straight away, you can go and talk to the employers face to face and so on and so forth.

It'd be a rare employer that holds open a job for someone still overseas outside of inter company transfers, really exceptional talent and that kind of thing.

I don't think the lack of US experience is too great a factor (obviously depends on your field to some degree), but like penguin said your husband needs to carefully word the resume - you can go some way to "hide", if you like, the lack of US experience by using recognised terms that are not geography specific, and concentrated on the work.

Good luck!

steppke

Hi,

I was in a similar position for a while and, I have to say that now I understand the relevance of direct US experience, even for Global marketeers, if you are looking to be based here. My first job here was on an H1B visa and subsequent moves through headhunters, for most people it's a case of being willing to take an apparently downward move for a bit whilst you get your US "credentials" and then move up once established. Took me about 2 years to get back to the level I was at in Europe and I have 20 years plus of global marketing experience. Additional languages are also a big bonus and give added credibility as does international living experiences.

I don't want to be discouraging but it really is tough to find something from over there, may be much easier once you are here, also, be prepared for the whole culture shock of moving to a new country - not easy to start from scratch on all fronts but, it can be more than worthwhile for the opportunity it provides if you want to take up the challenge.

Good luck

antjen

i had a similar problem (uk citizen though) coming into California, i went round a few agencies who told me they couldnt help me as i have no US employment history - and they are not alowed/unable to call internatinaly for references - personaly i just think it's ignorance or lazyness!!

Ant

Dan725

I remember this well! I would say its both ignorance and laziness on their part. That said, being outside of your own country, I suppose you have to expect it. I got round that reference BS by getting my references to call them....worked out in the end

antjen

- and i even supplied them with email addresses to contact my uk past employees, which they would not contact, whichi thought to be very strange!!

Ant

Dan725

Haha, sounds exactly like a repeat performance of what I went through! Got really pissed off for a while, but the best thing to do, as any good job hunting book will say, is try not to give up, and come up with ways to get around the problems. It was much harder than finding a job in UK, and a lot more time consuming, but in the end, someone will hopefully take notice because you are managing to jump through the hoops. If you can at all avoid the HR tossers, and get directly in touch with the right people who actually know what the job is all about that is an extremely big help too.

Bob

I've got some reference letters scanned and on my website, a year later, I'm still looking for work, and we're in a position to move straight away, on a month by month lease on the apartment, and work authorised and all that shite...
major pain in the butt, but can only plug away, certainly get more response being in the states though

Elvira

Not just a big help but in many fields it's the only way!

LeighD

It seems that everyone agrees that the US is tough to break into. My husband does speak 2 foreign languages (Spanish and French) so one would hope that would help.

We are also looking at Australia and New Zealand as options - seems it may be easier to integrate there as well as to get jobs as they seem to value UK and South African (where we live now) experience.

My sister lives in the US but is a Systems Analyst and so she got a job fairly quickly - seems that IT is a lot easier.

We will definitely have to go the resume vs CV route!

Leigh

Dan725

Sounds like luck to me, it's not my field but from what others have said IT is definately over subscribed here.

NC Penguin

The US is perceived as the place to emigrate. Your husband having competency (fluency?) in two other languages would be helpful.

<<snip>>

When did your sister first begin working in the US? Post 9/11? Getting an IT job in the US, even when one is American, is far from easy at the present time. It's been this way, in general, for at least the last two years.

<<snip>>




NC Penguin

rincewind

It's laziness. I have a number of UK references on my resume and they have been contacted recently by US companies.

For the most part, an e-mail address would make it easier for them to contact them but they certainly can do it. To say they are not allowed is BS.