benpackard

I moved over to the US from London with my wife, a US citizen, about 9 months ago. In the UK I had a decent job in IT with a great company and made a good wage. I was there for three years after graduating with an excellent degree and my career was going great until we decided to try thing on this side of the pond - my wife is enrolled at law school here so it's at least a three year commitment.

I received my GC about 4 months ago and have been applying for jobs since then. But despite applying for around 5 positions a week, I've not yet even had an interview. Only rarely am I even receiving an email telling my I'm unsuccessful. Most of the time my application disappears into the void.

I am trying to be open minded about what kind of work I will do, and I'm generally not applying for positions I don't think I have a shot at. Things are getting worrying enough that I am considering moving back to London for a few months to return to my old employer, which will be heartbreaking. At least I will be able to save some money before returning to have another go.

So I guess I'm wondering where I should be looking? I check Monster and CraigsList daily, and occasionally some other agencies (though mostly I find the same jobs posted there). But after that I don't know where I am likely to find more opportunities. I'm in DC, so most government jobs are US Citizens only - and there was nothing on the DC government list. I'm a Business Systems Analyst if it helps.

I'm keen to hear where other ex-pats found work - I've been told my resume is good, and adhere's to US standards (I've even tried to translate my grades into a GPA). It's extremely disheartening sending application after application into the ether.

helwardman

I found my first US job on a website that deals in local employment listings. I applied for loads of jobs including a lot that I was over-qualified for. The place that ended up hiring me weren't going to call me in for an interview because they could tell I was over-qualified, it took a phone call from me to the guy doing the hiring to convince them to take me on.

The second job I got through networking.

traceym

I cant offer any advise because I'm in the same position and its awful, and I know I'm not the only one on this site. I guess keep at it? I have a couple of days off then a couple of days on, as if I did it every day I'd go insane, good luck.

benpackard

Thanks helwardman - do you remember the name of the site?

traceym, I'll let you know if I find any better resources. Yes it sucks.

Englishtart

There have been a few members on here that have posted links to websites, I think one is called 'linkedin' or 'linkdin'? There is one called 'theladders.com' but I think that one is just for 100K plus jobs, no harm in trying though. Good Luck

Hopefuly Bob and some others will come on with a bit more info

ian-mstm

If you were to look at IT as a "get back to" goal instead of a "must have now" goal, your chances for getting a position improve greatly. It's easier to find work when you're already working... and if that means working as a server ( <--- IT reference ) in a restaurant for a while, then do it.

I wrote obituaries for the local newspaper while I looked for an IT job. In addition to giving me something to do each day (regardless of the low pay), it was an opportunity to meet people and network. Even the newspaper had an IT department. Indeed... I'm willing to bet that almost every business has some sort of IT presence.

As an aside, I'll note that everyone in my local area died in alphabetical order.

Ian

helwardman

The site is acadianahelpwanted.com. but it will only be any use to you if you are looking for work in South Louisiana

Tonyuk

I applied for 19 jobs when i moved over here october last year. But in January capital one called me out of the blue and arranged an interview as a bank teller. i got hired and have met 3 other brits working for capital one 2 from liverpool!!! Just keep trying, i get 8.68 per/h starting pay. so im glad all the crap jobs i applied for never called me

celticgrid

While Ladders purports to be only 100k+ jobs it isn't. Many jobs looking to attract people but offering somewhat lower salaries (80-100) appear on there as well so definitely give it a try.

rotoiti

Dice is a nice site for technology job seekers: http://www.dice.com/

paul_79

I found indeed.com very useful.

Also I went and met with several recruiters from recruitment agencies. Meeting with them I could talk through my UK experience. Often they know a large number of HR Managers so can occasionally open the door for an interview rather than joining a stack of 300 resumes.

Although saying that, I ended up getting my job after applying through Monster and it took 3 months.

Octang Frye

dice.com and rmiug.org were the best for me.

rmiug.org is a regional group (Rocky Mountain Internet Users Group). Try and find an equivalent in your area.

There's also sologig.com if you want to bid for contracts on your own.

Octang Frye

Okay, I chuckled.

naomi

When I lost my job a few years ago, my former employer paid for all us former employees to attend employment workshops. The workshops were through a professional employment company, and they helped with interview techniques, and also resume help. I would recommend signing up for something like that, they gave great pointers for my resume especially. Also, I don't know what kind of technical worker you are, but where I live (Seattle), there are a lot of high tech health care companies, might be worth checking into that (hospitals, insurance companies etc.)
Naomi.

indigogirl1976

When I moved to Southern Virginia I first took an internship....which paid horribly but it got me local experience which I could put on my resume. I found that when I then went to apply for 'real' jobs the fact that I had worked for a local company really got me far. I interviewed for 2 jobs and got the 2nd one but I don't think they would have even looked at me if I didn't have USA experience. Perhaps you could look into an internship or even just some volunteer work in a IT role? Don't know if this helps but I hope you find something soon!

http://www.volunteermatch.org/