wow,the move is harder than i thought
Apr 25th 2007, 10:45 pm
#16
Mr. Grumpy
Joined: Jun 2003
Location: Nashville, TN
Posts: 3,100
Re: wow,the move is harder than i thought
Hey, I've lived in TN for 4 years so I have a pretty realistic outlook on the place
reasons for you having a hard time
1. living with the wifes gran - no matter how much you think its not too bad, it really is bad
2. you live in podunk rural TN, Bob is one example of someone who lived in the sticks (in Maine) whose life changed when they moved somewhere OK
3. bellsouth dsl is cheaper for the same speed than BTinternet
4. get a shared cingular cell phone plan with your wife - makes it a lot cheaper. I'll give you a free gsm phone I have lying around if you want....
5. Again, you live an hour south of nashville in the sticks. move to the city where there are jobs and people aren't so closed minded.
Nashville is #1 city I think for the last couple of years for businesses to relocate to in the USA and its thriving... unless you have to live close to gran for her health reasons, there is no good reason to stay where you are...
PM me and if you want i'll give you a call when I get back to the USA thursday/friday and we can meet up for a relaxed beer sometime over the weekend and I can give you a (fairly established) brits view on living in middle -TN
reasons for you having a hard time
1. living with the wifes gran - no matter how much you think its not too bad, it really is bad
2. you live in podunk rural TN, Bob is one example of someone who lived in the sticks (in Maine) whose life changed when they moved somewhere OK
3. bellsouth dsl is cheaper for the same speed than BTinternet
4. get a shared cingular cell phone plan with your wife - makes it a lot cheaper. I'll give you a free gsm phone I have lying around if you want....
5. Again, you live an hour south of nashville in the sticks. move to the city where there are jobs and people aren't so closed minded.
Nashville is #1 city I think for the last couple of years for businesses to relocate to in the USA and its thriving... unless you have to live close to gran for her health reasons, there is no good reason to stay where you are...
PM me and if you want i'll give you a call when I get back to the USA thursday/friday and we can meet up for a relaxed beer sometime over the weekend and I can give you a (fairly established) brits view on living in middle -TN
Apr 25th 2007, 10:56 pm
#17
In the pink
Joined: Oct 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 3,324
Re: wow,the move is harder than i thought
I had to get a job in a small town in Fla when I first came here, took me a while.
Be glad you aren't an American trying to find a job in the UK!!!
Have you tried to get a job selling cars - they are always advertising?
Good luck anyway.
Be glad you aren't an American trying to find a job in the UK!!!
Have you tried to get a job selling cars - they are always advertising?
Good luck anyway.
Apr 25th 2007, 11:04 pm
#18
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2007
Location: NW Chicago suburbs
Posts: 11,253
Re: wow,the move is harder than i thought
So i have been in the US for 6 weeks now, with my greencard in my hand and a ir1 visa in my pocket.... and its hard being here!
I thought it would be pretty easy, get visa, move to US, get job, get apartment be happy. But my job fell through and i cant find any work. I know its only been 6 weeks (and we are living with the wifes gran for now) but my UK experience means sh*t to these people. I mean i have travelled the world managing my previous company's divisions, and was based in london, but people here dont really care and just want you to sell insurance for them!
I have worked (PT&FT) since i was 13 years old, and i have been unemployed for 8 weeks now. i am just not used to this...
people here are nice but i can tell that their sincerety is completely fake...
i have always lived within 5 miles of my entire family and now im 4000 miles from them..
Plus, living expenses are way higher than i thought they were... for example, i bought lettuce yesterday from food lion, it cost $2.00! the same lettuce is £0.30 in the uk (i guess its not a high demand item here)
Plus mobiles are way more expensive than i realised, internet is more pricey than the UK and everyone wants to sell you something!
So, i have had my rant now and just needed to get my frustrations out there... i have massive respect for all of you that came here and have made a go of it, i hope i get to that position soon..... any advice to keep me sane is welcomed! i check BE whenever i can, but im stealing my neighbours internet and its a bit dicey!!!!
and if anyone wants to send me a Wah-mbulance, feel free!
I thought it would be pretty easy, get visa, move to US, get job, get apartment be happy. But my job fell through and i cant find any work. I know its only been 6 weeks (and we are living with the wifes gran for now) but my UK experience means sh*t to these people. I mean i have travelled the world managing my previous company's divisions, and was based in london, but people here dont really care and just want you to sell insurance for them!
I have worked (PT&FT) since i was 13 years old, and i have been unemployed for 8 weeks now. i am just not used to this...
people here are nice but i can tell that their sincerety is completely fake...
i have always lived within 5 miles of my entire family and now im 4000 miles from them..
Plus, living expenses are way higher than i thought they were... for example, i bought lettuce yesterday from food lion, it cost $2.00! the same lettuce is £0.30 in the uk (i guess its not a high demand item here)
Plus mobiles are way more expensive than i realised, internet is more pricey than the UK and everyone wants to sell you something!
So, i have had my rant now and just needed to get my frustrations out there... i have massive respect for all of you that came here and have made a go of it, i hope i get to that position soon..... any advice to keep me sane is welcomed! i check BE whenever i can, but im stealing my neighbours internet and its a bit dicey!!!!
and if anyone wants to send me a Wah-mbulance, feel free!
I'm sure it's hard coming to a new country. The only concrete advice I have is try to get some American to go through your resume and cover letter and make sure it looks like ours (I am a USC). Make sure the spelling and writing style are US style. If it looks "wierd" to employers, they won't call you in.
Welcome to the U.S. anyway.
Apr 25th 2007, 11:28 pm
#19
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: TN
Posts: 1,759
Re: wow,the move is harder than i thought
Hey, I've lived in TN for 4 years so I have a pretty realistic outlook on the place
reasons for you having a hard time
1. living with the wifes gran - no matter how much you think its not too bad, it really is bad
2. you live in podunk rural TN, Bob is one example of someone who lived in the sticks (in Maine) whose life changed when they moved somewhere OK
3. bellsouth dsl is cheaper for the same speed than BTinternet
4. get a shared cingular cell phone plan with your wife - makes it a lot cheaper. I'll give you a free gsm phone I have lying around if you want....
5. Again, you live an hour south of nashville in the sticks. move to the city where there are jobs and people aren't so closed minded.
Nashville is #1 city I think for the last couple of years for businesses to relocate to in the USA and its thriving... unless you have to live close to gran for her health reasons, there is no good reason to stay where you are...
PM me and if you want i'll give you a call when I get back to the USA thursday/friday and we can meet up for a relaxed beer sometime over the weekend and I can give you a (fairly established) brits view on living in middle -TN
reasons for you having a hard time
1. living with the wifes gran - no matter how much you think its not too bad, it really is bad
2. you live in podunk rural TN, Bob is one example of someone who lived in the sticks (in Maine) whose life changed when they moved somewhere OK
3. bellsouth dsl is cheaper for the same speed than BTinternet
4. get a shared cingular cell phone plan with your wife - makes it a lot cheaper. I'll give you a free gsm phone I have lying around if you want....
5. Again, you live an hour south of nashville in the sticks. move to the city where there are jobs and people aren't so closed minded.
Nashville is #1 city I think for the last couple of years for businesses to relocate to in the USA and its thriving... unless you have to live close to gran for her health reasons, there is no good reason to stay where you are...
PM me and if you want i'll give you a call when I get back to the USA thursday/friday and we can meet up for a relaxed beer sometime over the weekend and I can give you a (fairly established) brits view on living in middle -TN
Im willing to commute to Nashville, most of the jobs i have applied for are there. once i have something were planning on moving closer to the city, probably about 20mis south...
and as for number 1, you're right, i got a lecture this morning on business from an 80 yesr old woman who thinks she knows everything... grrrr biting my tounge!
Apr 25th 2007, 11:42 pm
#20
Mr. Grumpy
Joined: Jun 2003
Location: Nashville, TN
Posts: 3,100
Re: wow,the move is harder than i thought
hey, got shared tmobile phone already (brought better handsets from the uk, a few years ahead of the crap tmobile have here!)
Im willing to commute to Nashville, most of the jobs i have applied for are there. once i have something were planning on moving closer to the city, probably about 20mis south...
and as for number 1, you're right, i got a lecture this morning on business from an 80 yesr old woman who thinks she knows everything... grrrr biting my tounge!
Im willing to commute to Nashville, most of the jobs i have applied for are there. once i have something were planning on moving closer to the city, probably about 20mis south...
and as for number 1, you're right, i got a lecture this morning on business from an 80 yesr old woman who thinks she knows everything... grrrr biting my tounge!
first 18 months I really missed england and my mates, after that i got pretty well assimilated
I'll bring you a box of tetley....
Apr 26th 2007, 2:04 am
#21
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: wow,the move is harder than i thought
Ouch...I know the feeling, it took me nearly 2 years to get a career job, till that I volunteered for loads of stuff and done some random and crap freelance work when I could get it.
definitely network, www.linkedin.com might be handy if you've got any one you know on it etc...good luck
definitely network, www.linkedin.com might be handy if you've got any one you know on it etc...good luck
Apr 26th 2007, 2:36 am
#22
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 28
Re: wow,the move is harder than i thought
Nice Job stealing the neighbors internet, serves themselves right if they cant be bothered to secure it.
One thing ive learnt in the south though, is that a handshake does way more for you than a resume, in other words, try and apply for jobs in person whenever you can.
One thing ive learnt in the south though, is that a handshake does way more for you than a resume, in other words, try and apply for jobs in person whenever you can.
Apr 26th 2007, 2:40 am
#23
Homebody
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: HOME
Posts: 23,181
Re: wow,the move is harder than i thought
Nice Job stealing the neighbors internet, serves themselves right if they cant be bothered to secure it.
One thing ive learnt in the south though, is that a handshake does way more for you than a resume, in other words, try and apply for jobs in person whenever you can.
One thing ive learnt in the south though, is that a handshake does way more for you than a resume, in other words, try and apply for jobs in person whenever you can.
Apr 26th 2007, 2:56 am
#24
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2007
Location: NW Chicago suburbs
Posts: 11,253
Re: wow,the move is harder than i thought
Fair or not - if a resume looks "wierd" or foreign, it'll likely hit the trash before anyone ever really reads it. So I think it's important to get some yank to help make it look 'merican in style.
Apr 26th 2007, 2:59 am
#25
Homebody
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: HOME
Posts: 23,181
Re: wow,the move is harder than i thought
From reviewing another fellow's resume, I think the UK resumes look very different from ours in writing style.
Fair or not - if a resume looks "wierd" or foreign, it'll likely hit the trash before anyone ever really reads it. So I think it's important to get some yank to help make it look 'merican in style.
Fair or not - if a resume looks "wierd" or foreign, it'll likely hit the trash before anyone ever really reads it. So I think it's important to get some yank to help make it look 'merican in style.
There's probably quite a bit of 'lateral thinking' and a certain degree of BSing required - without overegging the custard, obviously.
Apr 26th 2007, 3:14 am
#26
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: wow,the move is harder than i thought
that's where linkedin is handy, type the company name into the search, it's impressive what names of people at those companies get thrown out, and some make it easy to figure out the internal email too...that's what I did...
Apr 26th 2007, 12:18 pm
#27
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,442
Re: wow,the move is harder than i thought
Just keep pounding the internet streets......its the only thing you can do. Saturate the local firms with your prescence......absolutely do not expect any contact other than a phone call for an interview.......then there will be a follow up, maybe.......in which case you wont be told unless they want you back again. Its very impersonal until you fill out a W2.
Tailor you CV to be a resume.......pile on the bullshit.....thick....(buzzwords, achievements, success stories)......forget the English habit of not tooting your own horn......it'll sink you. Sorry......
Best of luck pal.........keep posting here, it seems lots have gone through this.
Apr 26th 2007, 2:40 pm
#28
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Vermont
Posts: 3,264
Re: wow,the move is harder than i thought
Good luck Waj, hope you find something soon and life becomes a little easier.
Apr 26th 2007, 2:53 pm
#29
SUPER MODERATOR
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 88,023
Re: wow,the move is harder than i thought
When my USC husband moved to the UK it took him 6 months to secure a job with Zurich in IT, later went onto work for IBM in system admin. When we moved here it took him 9 months to find a crappy tech support job, similar to the one he left to come to the UK on similar money.
Good luck Waj, hope you find something soon and life becomes a little easier.
Good luck Waj, hope you find something soon and life becomes a little easier.
Apr 26th 2007, 3:05 pm
#30
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Vermont
Posts: 3,264
Re: wow,the move is harder than i thought
No, he tried and although there were quite a few IBM jobs came up they were mostly contracted to the military, and as he had been out of the country for four years he wasn't eligible apparently 