How To: Find advanced training and job opportunities in the US

You can realize your great dream of living and working in the US, even without a green card. There are other options if you want to realize your own American dream, at least temporarily.

In Germany, job offers from abroad are published every day on www.arbeitsagentur.de. An email application is the best way to apply, since it is also the fastest. We recommend to always give your email address, since employers prefer this way of contacting applicants for the first time. Applicants with a completed job or vocational training have the option of doing 18 months of advanced training in the US. In order to apply for the necessary J-1 visa, you need the support of an authorized exchange organization in the US. If you are doing an advanced training in the US, the employer does not have to prove that there were no American citizens available for the position. This is what often makes it so difficult to find a job in the US.

The exchange organizations the ZAV (international employment agency) is currently working with are the Association for international practical training (www.aitp.org) and the German American Chamber of Commerce (www.gaccny.com). These organizations also find job offers that the ZAV publishes on www.arbeitsagentur.de.

In case you found a job offer by yourself, you will also need a J-1 visa. This visa can generally only be obtained with the support of one of the many authorized exchange organizations. Get an overview on the homepage of umbrella organization www.alliance-exchange.com.

The support of an authorized exchange organization is relatively expensive. You cannot count on it that the employer will reimburse you for these costs. Not all employers looking for foreign workers do this, for example in Germany, via the international employment office of the Bundesagentur fuer Arbeit (Germany's federal employment office). That's why we recommend to use other sources as well to find a job.

OTHER WAYS TO FIND A JOB

Anyone looking for a job in the US online may do so on the following websites:

Job finders in the most important US newspapers:

Financial Times news.ft.com
Los Angeles Times www.latimes.com
New York Times nytimes.com
USA Today www.usatoday.com
Wall Street Journal careerjournal.com
Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com

Find more (also regional) papers under www.newslink.org. The US Department of the Interior also offers a list under www.doi.gov. To get an overview of the American job market, it is definitely worth having a look at the job bank of the US Department of Labor under www.ajb.dni.us. You may also find something suitable on the website of the German Chamber of Commerce in the US, however, the address list of German subsidiaries sorted by region is only available if you are willing to pay for it.

The Internationale Weiterbilding und Entwicklung gGmbH (Capacity Building International) InWEnt offers job-related and practically oriented advanced training, dialogue and online courses via its homepage gc21.inwent.org.

The US are still the number one desired region for job-related advanced training abroad for junior staff. The experience of living and working in the US have a significant impact on development of one's personality, it improves language skills professional competence and is a serious advantage on the global job market.

InWEnt, together with its cooperation partners CDS International and Carl Duisberg Brasil S/C Ltda. Offers numerous advanced training opportunities in the US, for example job-related advanced training for working people and students, graduates and young professionals.

In addition, you may participate in dual-training programs, consisting of lessons at a renowned US institution and work experience in the form of an internship at a US company.