Job hunting in the US

Job hunting and choosing the right offers

At first we will look at job hunting in the US, since this is the first important step for many of you. We will only point out a few specially selected criteria, since the so-called "recruitment," "employment" or "placement" through a governmentally led employment bureau is characterized by a wide spectrum with great regional differences. We want to especially inform you about the strategies for job hunting in connection with visa or work permit processes. Especially interesting are the private employment agencies, who are still in high demand despite the possibilities of the internet (or maybe because of them) and whose service often is an interesting alternative to the typical ways (newspapers, trade publications, internet etc), but not very well known among foreigners.

Structures of the placement service

There is no employment agency like the one in Germany in the US that has something like the monopoly on job placement. The US ideology of "laisser-faire" and the regulatory reservation has its effect here as well. A government regulated employment agency as such does not exist, instead there is the so-called Education and Training Administration (ETA) as part of the Department of Labor, responsible for questions of job market analysis and recently increasingly for training programs.

Search techniques

...on the internet

Without a doubt, the most popular, if not always the most suitable place to start looking for a job is the internet. It gives you effective and easy access and a fast update of possible job offers.

There are quite a lot internationally renowned databases. Many of those allow you to either look for registered job offers or have yourself registered as a job seeker. The best known are probably America's Job Bank, Career Path, Career Web, Career Mosaic or the website of the Department of Labor. Others such as hotjobs (hotjobs.com) or tojobs (topjobs.com) are more international and not for the US only.

Unfortunately, many databases don't really offer appropriate information about the application terms of the company. You should contact the company, stating the reference number from the ad, and ask for information about that yourself. In general, the disadvantage of applying via email is that you don't stick out of the great number of applicants anymore. This is a decisive criteria for getting an invitation to a job interview, something most internet databases don't like to mention. That may also be the case because most providers don't know the placement business on an insider basis. So don't judge a provider by the internet presentation alone. A provider should also be measured by his company-customer relationship and be able to give you important information about things such as wages, work contract, possible social security benefits, interview strategies and other relevant questions about the placement.

In the end, it takes a lot of effort to speculate about all the advantages and disadvantages. It surely depends on what service you as a job seeker are actually expecting and how important the information about the job really is for you.

...in the print media

Despite the internet boom, it is still customary in the US to publish job ads in newspapers as well. The big national newspapers all have a section with job offers, often limited to the respective state or region. So if you haven't decided on a specific location yet, the national newspapers such as the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times or the Herald Tribune may be especially interesting for you. However, you will unfortunately not find their job ads in the international edition available at the newspaper stands in your home country. The US editions you find in US consulates or embassies are often several weeks old and thus worthless for you.

So you should try to find current editions of the newspapers interesting for you online with the help of search engines. You may sometimes have to pay to download the part with the job ads.

...with private employment agencies

It will probably be less well known that the US has a diversified network of small and medium-sized private employment agencies who can support you with your job hunt. We are not talking about the so-called temping agencies, such as the internationally well-known agency "Manpower" from the US that rents out work force. Employment agencies place you at US companies without having own interests in the long run. You have to differentiate between two types here - agencies who get a commission from the company and agencies who raise a fee for the job seeker.

Labor market access and value

In the US, there are regional differences in the labor market situation even within a sector and thus also in the hiring of new employees. In that light, you will often need the help of a placement service specialized in the sector. In the so-called "Employability Report," they will give you an expert analysis of your placement chances on the basis of the documentation you submitted (especially resume and references/diplomas). This analysis will usually be very extensive and will give you a good idea of your actual chances. The agency will not limit this to the companies he is already in contact with but also use his networking contacts and exchange with the human resources managers of other companies. Such a report can help you optimize your strategy and differentiate between possible companies and companies that are not right for you. A professional placement agency should be able to give you detailed background information on the company.

At the same time he should tell you how to behave during the application process and the interview. Basically, you will become your own placement service with this option.

All from one source

This option allows you to replace your own job hunting with the professional search of an employment agency. All your submitted documents will be professionally worked out and adapted to the US system. In phone interviews the agency will try to find out what your important personal and professional characteristics are. After that they will draw up a marketing concept with you, defining the strategy for the well mapped-out marketing of yourself. After that, your application will be sent to different companies and maybe interviews will be scheduled for you. By the way, you will not always have to do these interviews on-site, frequently they will be done over the phone. However, you should insist on rehearsing interviews before that.

And the expenses?

As mentioned above, US employment agencies offer different options for who's to pay. It might seem obvious that it is better for you if the future employer pays the costs for the placement, especially if you can agree on a percentage of your annual gross income (often a rather large sum for high wages) and you will have a lot of expenses anyway because you will have to move to the US.

BUT BE CAREFUL!: What seems like a financial advantage here can also have certain disadvantages. Why? Most placement services that get paid by the company, especially if they are larger companies, quickly become kind of dependent on the management. The bigger the turnover for the placed employees, the more likely it is that the agency will try to tie itself to the company. Not a small number of agencies quickly get sucked in by the management and over the years they develop more and more into a recruitment office. For you this might mean that the company mainly works for a small number of companies and doesn't consider your personal preferences and wishes. But for the creation of a nice work atmosphere this can be vitally important and should thus be the most important factor for you.