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So we have all been there. The excitement and apprehension of moving to the US with our spouse, but learning soon after that we can not ‘work’ in the US as we are on the ‘H4 Visa’. The H4 ladies span all ages, young college grads looking to make a mark and thirty-somethings right in the middle of a thriving career. And here you are, not able to live the dream of working and establishing yourself in the new land, while you wait for a work visa or green card to come through. Its hard, those stay at home days without a job, family or the many roots that support you. The long naps, the midnight trips to Kroger, the evening drives with hubby.
But while you are figuring out the new country, while you will not be earning money, you don’t have to necessarily put your career on hold. I’d say, look at it as a time to invest in you. To prevent stagnation, here’s what you can do:
1.Continue your education: This is probably the most obvious and effective way of using your downtime. If you like studying or are looking for a career change, this may be the route to go. The benefits are Of course, it costs money, but scholarship programs may help out, especially after a semester of two of good results. Also, you may need to change your visa to a student visa, definitely for the full time ones. Check with your lawyer.
1.A masters degree or PHD: You can, of course, take the GRE or GMAT and join the university in town or relocate to a town with universities you want to go to.
2.Completing your Bachelors: If you have completed your bachelors in a country like India, you probably have three years of study behind you. A recognized degree in the US usually needs about 4 years of graduate education, so it may make sense to complete your bachelors here. You may get some credits for your study back home, but often times not as much as you like. Still, it’s worth the investment if you are thinking of a career here.
3.A vocational course: Nurses and teachers are in high demand. If that fits your dream, you may decide to go down the route of a vocational course that helps you get a license and be ready for work when your green card or work visa does come through
4.Evening Courses: This means seeing even less of your husband, but they are often cheaper and easier to get into even with prime universities. Explore the ones in your area
5.Technical Courses and certifications: You can use a variety of books or online courses for technical certifications to bolster your resume.
2.Network outside your network: Intuitively when we arrive here we seek friends we knew back home or those we know through weekend parties and our cultural gatherings. These networks are a social safety net, great fun and an absolute necessity. But they should not be your only bet in finding a job or boosting your career. For one, these networks are often of a particular ethnicity or national affiliation. When you work in America, you have to look beyond. So seek out other networking venues. TIE (http://www.tie.org/) may have local chapters that have great events to attend. Or your school and college may have alumni associations here. Check out your country’s dominant social networking sites to look for people in town. I attended a TIE event once and landed up learning about another network – an international supper club which was more fun.
3.Join a Professional Association or two: I didn’t realize the importance of these till well into my American career. The US is the land of professional networks. Not only do they give you a chance to meet like minded people in the same profession and build a business network, it’s a great way to freshen up your skills in the new country and push your platform.
1.Google your profession (say Supply Chain Management) and ‘association’ and chances are you will land with a list of associations of like minded people.
2. Look through the ‘events’ section and the ‘about’ section or the ‘local chapters section (for example, http://cscmp.org/ for supply chain management).
3.Try and event or two. If the events are good, and you like the group, consider joining. Now I will caution you though, all associations don’t work for everyone, and some may not even be good, so try out before committing to a membership.
4.The fees may be expensive sometimes, but perhaps can be offset against volunteering. Which brings me to the next point…
4.Volunteer : Growing up volunteering was something housewives did as part of ‘social work’ or part of school projects. Here, and this is one of the things I love about the US, people love volunteering and they are passionate about what they volunteer in. Senior managers with full time jobs find time to find causes they will fight for. So you meet people from many of you local companies. There are literally thousands of organizations available, so find one that’s your passion.
◦You learn valuable skills about working in this country
◦It gives you international experience.
◦It gives a world of business contacts you have already met in an informal setting
◦It gets you out of the house and in the new office environment
◦Of course, if it’s a worthy cause, you do a world of good J
Note: You don’t have to volunteer for a non-profit. Sometimes for profit organizations like labs or universities or schools may have volunteer opportunities. More on volunteering here.
5. Build a platform : While you are technically at home, there’s nothing stopping you from doing some PR on the sly. Some ideas
1.
1.Start a blog
2.Ask associations for speaking assignments
3.Research and write articles, maybe with slant on your own country (given the importance of globalization) for professional publications which are often looking for these.
4.If writing is not for you, participate in online forums.
5.Join linkedin, and build a profile. See who connects to you and what kinds of jobs are offered.
None of this is easy. But it takes away some of the isolation and when time comes around, you will have a freshened resume for your job. What are some of your ideas? I would love to know. Also, I wrote about the first interview after a H4 hiatus and things I learnt from interviews in general. Also, after feedback from this one, five true qualities of a H4er.
A new post on what I think I did right to land a job here.
And volunteering on H4 and some ideas to try to make your time more productive. Here is one more post on things to remember when choosing a volunteer job. Here are some tips for the first networking event.
Read a serialized story on H4 life here..
And one on just some ideas to enjoy your time on H4 here. I am sure you have more ideas, do share!
Please let me know what you think in the comments below.
Last 5 posts by Amrita Bakshi
◦Self Publishing How To's - Tips on Self Publishing Success - May 18th, 2010
◦Office Politics - April 29th, 2010
◦Five tips for a networking event - March 22nd, 2010
◦H4 Visa Volunteer Jobs - 5 things to remember - February 14th, 2010
◦H4 Visa - The most romantic visa? - February 13th, 2010
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