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IT Jobs in the USA
The I.T. industry in the U.S.A is one of the most, if not the most,
important driving forces behind the global I.T. industry as a whole,
and when the U.S.A job market suffers, so does the rest of the world.
Thankfully there are encouraging signs that the U.S. I.T. market
has been through the worst of the latest slump and may be heading
out the other side – in fact chip manufacturers are currently
experiencing one of their strongest resurgences in a decade, so
it bodes well for many good opportunities for people wishing to
enter the U.S. to work in the IT industry. |
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To do so however, you need to have the right paperwork in order to
enter the U.S. lawfully and look for work. Whether your intention
is to move there permanently or whether you are simply looking
to the U.S. for an extended working holiday, you will need, at
the very least, a valid working permit to actively seek a computer
job in America. (For a general overview of the immigration rules
and the type of visas that you will need to enter the U.S., click
here).
Assuming you have your paperwork in order, what can you expect of
the U.S. I.T. job market? Well that depends on your long and short-term
goals, and your commitment to achieving them. If you are heading
to the U.S. for a working holiday and are only interested in short-term
contract work with the ability to move around, then your chances
of finding employment will be far greater than someone who is migrating
permanently to the U.S. and is concentrating their efforts in one
specific area.
Much will also depend on your experience and the skill set that
you can offer to potential employers. U.S. I.T. companies are
becoming reasonably active in recent times at outsourcing some of
their services to countries from Asia and the sub-continent. This
has had an impact in certain areas of the I.T. industry (for example
helpdesk/call center staff and programmers), which lend themselves
to outsourcing. This in itself has led to a squeeze in the marketplace
for these kind of jobs with competition between candidates often
quite high. Having said that though things can change rapidly in
the I.T. business, so keeping an eye on the job vacancy boards and
identifying market trends will help you to identify the current
labour needs in the computer industry.
Given the size of the U.S., computer jobs in America are not specifically
focused in any one area, although Silicon Valley in California springs
to mind as an exception. As such you should be free to live in almost
any state in America and be reasonably confident that there are
sufficient opportunities to be had.
Locating I.T. jobs in the U.S.A can be done through a variety
of methods. One of the easiest and most common is utilising online
job banks. There are a number of them set up specifically to cater
for the I.T. job market, and registering is free and easy.
Another method of finding I.T. jobs in the U.S. is to use the
services of a professional job agency or consultancy. These agencies
can vary greatly in terms of quality and professionalism, so if
you feel you are not getting good service from an agency, simply
change agencies. Sign up with 3 or 4 in the area you wish to work
in and make sure that you have a mobile phone to take calls for
interviews. If you are overseas bear in mind that most of these
agencies won’t give much attention to resumes or C.V’s
that are sent from abroad. Unless you are applying for a particularly
niche computer job, and you have the skills to match, you’ll
find that your application will be largely ignored, at best. If
you do intend to conduct an e-mail campaign to numerous agencies,
put some thought into the presentation of your resume and the covering
letter you send. Too many applicants use terms like ‘I want…’,
and ‘I need….’, instead of concentrating on what
they can offer the employer.
I.T. expos (or tech fairs) are big business in America and there are many I.T.
‘job fairs’ held throughout the country every year.
If you are living in another country and are looking to move to
the U.S. permanently you should consider an ‘exploratory holiday’
to the area you wish to live to make contact with companies and
agencies in person. Ideally if you can time your visit to coincide
with one of these job fairs you’ll be enhancing your chances
of finding work. This is not always practical of course, but if
you are serious about finding an I.T. job in America, and you
live abroad, then this approach may be your best shot. There's nothing
like face-to-face contact to show a prospective employer that you're
serious about working for them.
Newspapers and tech magazines are also a good source of locating
I.T. jobs in the U.S.A Most mainstream newspapers will carry
a jobs section and normally have certain days of the week where
I.T. jobs are advertised. Try to see if there is an online version
of the local newspaper where you will be moving to and see if they
have a job section.
If you already have an idea of the area you want to live in, try
to identify local companies in the area and approach them with an
enquiry of work. The Internet is a valuable tool for such tasks,
and a mail campaign might just open a few doors if nothing else.
This technique can work if you have specialised skills to offer
an employer.
While sponsorship to work in America within the I.T. business is
relatively uncommon (unless you have exceptional skills or come
highly recommended), inter-company transfers are not so uncommon.
Many large American I.T. companies have subsidiaries around
the globe, so you should consider working for such a company in
your own country first and then applying for a transfer. While this
approach takes time, if you are successful with a transfer, it is
often a more painless way of migrating to the U.S.
For more in-depth tips and suggestions for securing an I.T. job
in the U.S., why not read our article 'Finding
Jobs Overseas'.
While we hope the information above has been of some use, we have
also gathered together an extensive list of useful
resources to help you find your I.T. job in the U.S. We
trust you will find these links useful, and we’d appreciate
hearing from you if you have a resource to suggest, or a hint for
fellow would-be I.T. workers moving to America. |
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