muddy mudguard

Hello everyone,

Update on my case is that I went to the Knighsbridge Doctors yesterday and had my medical, everything came out alright, and now I'm just waiting for my Visa Interview Date to be sent.

My question is simple really, I'm trying to arrange job interviews for the US and wanted some advice on how to approach them. I'm in Sales (Software) and am pretty good at my job.

From my experience some Americans are quite "Rah Rah" and I wondered for example if I should go to interviews and bring out the phrases of "Smile when you dial" "A grinner is a winner" etc.. etc..? Or should I approach the interview exactly the same as I would in the UK?

Any help anyone can give would be great!

Thanks

Muddy

Rete

Don't know where you get your info from but if you went with a Rah Rah attitude ... believe you are thinking of going in as a cheerleader???? unless, of course, you have a nice set of pom-poms ... you will have made the interviewer's day and given 'em something to talk about.

As for the phrases, if you called me and came to me with those I would probably have to kill ya!

Be yourself and interview in much the same way you would in the UK.

muddy mudguard

Thanks for your reply.

I thought that would be the case - I'm just really quite nervous over this - it's not just a job in this case, it's going to get my family over to the US!

Rete

Are you married to a USC? If so, the job is not a requirement to get you a visa into the US. And a sales job will not do it anyway.

Noorah101

Also, not sure what visa you are getting, but if it's a K-1 fiance visa, you might have to wait for your EAD in order to get employed.

Rene

notacrime

Be yourself. Unless you are sexist or like to swear a lot, and if that's the case be someone else.

muddy mudguard

Thanks to all that have replied.

I'm married to an American lady and I'm a UKC, at the moment my wife is a housewife and I'm the sole earner, hence the fact that it's an important interview - I will only move my family back across to the US if I am employed - otherwise our savings will soon run out (they're very depleted as it is).

Noorah101

Well, the one big problem with your theory is that you can't actually get employed while you're still in the UK, as you have no US work authorization.

When you enter the USA using your Immigrant Visa, THEN you become a US PR and are much more employable, you then have permission to work.

You're waiting for your Immigrant Visa interview right now. You know you must move to the USA within 6 months of receiving the visa, right? It's possible to come to the USA, become a PR, and then return to the UK for a while, but you shouldn't stay outside the USA very long in that case...and you'll need a US address for your green card and SSN to be sent to. However, at least in that scenario, you WILL be work authorized, and can tell an employer that you can start work as soon as you hop the next flight over.

But, if it takes a while to find an employer, and you're having to make a trip back to the US every few months (to keep your PR status going while you wait to make the big move over), that's going to eat into your already depleted savings.

Rene

Noorah101

I read your first post again, and you were asking how to conduct the job interview. The employer will most likely ask if you have US Work Authorization. Of course you can say "not at this time, but I will be work authorized upon entry to the USA, once I get my visa in-hand". As you can probably tell, this probably won't go over too well with the employer....they don't really know when you're coming, and it's only your work that you'll have work authorization when you get here. Right now you have nothing to show them.

Do a google search for an I-9 Form. This is the form employers use for work authorization verification. Until you can meet the requirements on that form, it's unlikely you'll actually get a job offer. By all means, interview, and get your foot in the door....then once you DO arrive in the USA, you can show up with your work authorization and say ta-da!

But I wouldn't count on your theory of "I'm not moving to the USA until I AM employed". At this point, you cannot GET employed.

Rene

jeffreyhy

M,

You'll find that you have a lot of competition from a lot of pretty good sales people who are out of work, many of them for quite some time now, for a shrinking number of positions.

If you're the 'bread winner' and you've got a job you should seriously consider staying with it.

Regards, JEff

muddy mudguard

I should perhaps make myself a little clearer:

The job I'm (hopefully) interviewing for is with my old company - they are HQ'd in Texas and I worked for them for 5.5yrs here in the UK. They are completely aware of where I am in the immigration process and are fully aware that without my Visa that I won't be able to work.

The fact that I am the sole earner would make it financial suicide to enter the US without a job - it has never been my intention to move over there without a job offer maybe not 'employed' but certainly a job offer as we will need to continue receiving an income.

For me it's all about timing - that's all.

I just wanted some advice on interviewing over there - whether or not 'culturally' or 'professionally' it's that much different than the UK.

Noorah101

OK, sorry I couldn't help you with this one. Good luck with your interview, I hope you get a good job offer and can take advantage of using your Immigrant Visa.

Rene

jeffreyhy

M,

Definitely. Seemingly minor details can make a significant difference.

To answer your question I think that one would need to know the corporate culture and the individual interviewer. If you are a good salesman you will have to employ your skills and 'size up' the interviewer quickly.

Good luck to you.

Regards, JEff

meauxna

This thread is current, but maybe not too helpful: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=597096
You can search in that forum for more tips related to your question.

I'll move your thread to the right forum so you can get more answers.

lansbury

If the guy is coming in on an immigrant visa, therefore in some way sponsored by his wife even if they have a co-sponsor, will she not have to be here when he arrives or come over with him?