A Major Employment Source. Help wanted advertisements are easy to find in major newspapers in any community and also on Internet employment sites. Not only do these advertisements give you leads as to where to find employment and in what fields, they also can give you a sense of the strength of the local economy. Read …
The United States has a system of mandatory unemployment insurance, operated jointly by the federal government and the individual states. Your employer must withhold a certain percentage of your pay and transfer it to the government unemployment insurance fund. The employer also pays a certain amount into the fund for your benefit. The system applies …
Many newcomers to the United States work “off-the-books” in the “underground economy,” for a number of reasons. In many instances, the newcomer is not able to work legally, lacks immigration documents or a work permit, and does not have the requisite social security card. In many other cases, the newcomer accepts the undocumented employment because …
A Major Force. Temporary help agencies play an important role in the American workplace. They can be an excellent first stop for the newcomer to the American work-force. These agencies exist in nearly every field and income level, from general office work to skilled engineering consulting and computer programming. The Concept is Simple. A company needs an …
Take Home Pay. When you get your first job in America, don’t spend your money before you get your first paycheck. It’s a sad fact of American work life, at least if you work for someone else, that the amount printed on the check is often shockingly less than the money you thought you were going …
Many immigrants face challenges when seeking employment and economic stability in a new country. Such obstacles include having a résumé that is not formatted to North American standards and requirements. Other barriers include: Lack of information and awareness about foreign credential recognition services and resources. Unaccustomed to North American style of job search and interviewing. …
Don’t take it personally. Rejection is always part of the employment process. The first rule is not to take it personally. In the United States, there is no one method of finding employment. The whole system is a patchwork, and is likely to remain so. Only the most general of rules apply. As a result, you …
Every office in America has office politics, which is the way people influence decisions in a company from outside the designated chain of command. The chain of command seen in most offices requires changes to come down from the top or laboriously up from the bottom. A worker with an idea has to convince his …
Don’t Leave it to Chance. Once you get some experience in the American workplace, you should do some careful career planning. Avoid expensive consultants in this area. Many books are available on this subject. The most well known is What Color is Your Parachute, by Richard Nelson Bolles, which is constantly revised. It contains valuable hints for …
Networking is a phenomenon known all over the world but it is especially well-established in the United States. Whether you are looking for a job, trying to develop your own business, or seeking to grow the client base for your employing company you will not get too far without networking. Recent statistics from the Federal Bureau …