gazza64

Hi all,

Got my green card now, and i`m going to start apply for jobs soon. Just wondering how much American companies bother with getting British work references and do they care about British work experience or qualifications? Reason i ask is, that i`ve heard that most only care about American experience/references/qualifications. How are US resumes different from UK CV`s?

Thanks for any help.

Gaz

NC Penguin

You should including your British work history and any British academic qualifications in your resume or CV.

Depending on your industry, you will use a resume or CV format. CVs are used for more technical job hunters, e.g. IT, medical, engineering, academic.

This is a good site for sample resumes-
http://www.damngood.com/

gazza64

Thanks NC penguin, i`ll take a look at the link you included.

Bob

Really depends on the industry...some it is more important, with others it isn't.

Resume is a bit more wafty with aims/goals and other rubbish, CV is a bit more to the point...but the resume does give you more scope to BS to your hearts content.

penguinsix

I mention this as sort of an aside--

Because of US libel and slander laws, and the lawsuit culture, it's very hard to find an American employer who will give a bad review / reference to someone. I've look at 100s and they all seem to say exactly the same thing (dictated in large part by the lawyers and general counsel's office). It's really not very helpful.

By and large when a company does a 'reference check' they are looking for the 'official language' but they are also asking the person giving the reference, sort of between the lines, if there is any way this potential employee is going to go psycho and start killing everyone in the office.

If you can, you might consider getting a reference letter (common). You have a letter from a former employer and you can hand that out (if asked for) during the interview process.

Of course, the best example of a reference check ever given was in the TV show Cheers:

Sam was on the phone and Diane was next to him listening in halfway to an employer due a reference check. It was all pretty normal until Sam said:

"I'm afraid I can't answer that."

Diane, in a nervous worry because she really wanted the job, mouthed 'go ahead, answer it'.

Sam then said, "Yeah I've seen her naked."

Doubt you'll get questions like that though on your interview.

gazza64

Thanks penguinsix,

I`ve never worked for a US employer before, so i think it`s going to be an "interesting" experience!

Gaz

PS Liked the cheers quote.

Werrf

The biggest problem I had with finding a job in America wasn't that they didn't check my British references or anything similar, it was that so many places required applications to be done through their websites, and every single one of them required a full address for my prior experience - a full US address, complete with a state selected from a list. No option for a non-US address (though some of the REALLY cosmopolitan ones gave an option for a Canadian address).

gazza64

Not looking forward to the " looking for a job" process to be honest, especially after some of the comments i`ve seen! The entire enterprise is such a meat market, especially in the US.

Gissa job!

NC Penguin

Bob,

If you're presenting yourself successfully in a resume, there'll be no waffling and "other rubbish". Since I began writing resumes, I've trimmed mine down to less than two pages. It does one no favors if one pad out what is essentially a self-advertisement.

Bob

I know, my resume is 1 page, CV 2 pages....but a resume is just used to whore yourself out with your aims and fluff you'd do rather than just bullet facts.

NC Penguin

It's not appropriate for me in my industry (OK, former industry) to use a CV.

Perhaps you're confusing the various formats/styles used for resumes? Functional and chronological are two styles of resume. I've tended to use functional myself because this helps me highlight groups of skills/experiences.

Bob

you include that on a resume, but also have your statement etc which is just waffle.

ugacrew

I have to disagree with the 'wafty' description of resumes. I have found that head-hunters value one that is concise. I have to keep mine to the point since I have a lot of skills to cover with mine. So I have to get rid of fluff words and BS in order to keep mine down to two pages. I find the shorter the bullet points the better. I make sure that when I do state something that I've accomplished that it's factual and really sells me. That's pretty much what a resume is anyway but the first sales pitch that you make to recruiters.

With regards to the differences between CV's and Resumes. I work at the local Uni here and that is where I was first introduced to the term CV --short for Curriculum Vitae. For that reason I associate it with our faculty, research staff, and students. The resume is something I've always associate with careers outside of academia. However, I've heard both terms used interchangeably. Both terms are synonymous.

Bluegrass Lass

My hubby works in the IT industry. He's had his British work references checked by every employer. Even the positions he turned down checked his British work refs. Kinda surprised me. I didn't think smallish companies would bother with checking out his refs, but they did.

Xebedee

In the US, the CV (course of one's life) format is usually used by professional people such as Lawers, Doctors, Engineers, Professors, etc. At least thats my take. The Resume is the common-or-garden format used by anyone at all, but not really expected of those aforementioned. That said, its only a tool used to get your foot in the interview room and its amazing how many interviewers will ask you a stream of questions despite the fact that the answers are right in front of them on your resume/CV Maybe to trip you up, but more likely because they spent 30 secs scanning over it that morning with their coffee.