What Immigrants Need To Know About the US Hiring Process

Restarting your career in a new country can feel like learning to drive on a different side of the road: awkward, unnatural, and exhausting. If you’re wondering where to start, read on for an overview of the US job search process and common unspoken expectations you should know about. We offer words of advice from Daniela Ruiz, a career coach at TripleTen, who not only has a depth of experience coaching students on their job search, but who went through the immigration journey herself. Read on for her insights about cultural differences in the US job search and her best tips for success.

Cultural expectations in the US job search

Even before starting to write your resume, Daniela wants job seekers to be aware that the US job search involves a mindset shift that affects every part of the application process. In the  individualistic American culture, a job search requires you to “sell” yourself to prospective employers, playing up your individual skills and strengths in a way that can feel unfamiliar.

Does that describe you? Daniela recommends getting advice from a career coach, or having an American friend help you convey your accomplishments in a way that US recruiters will notice. For example, your resume needs to “use strong action verbs for the things that [you] have done, and take ownership of those accomplishments, even if they seem small or if they seem like part of the job.”

If you’re stuck, here are the questions Daniela uses to guide her clients: “I try to go deeper than ‘what did you do here at this job’: What did you accomplish? How many customers did you help in one day? How many customer complaints did you manage? Try to think of metrics that help describe a sense of your impact. If you hired or trained people, was it a team of eight, or a team of 20? All these things start making a difference.” And most importantly, your resume will still be honest: “It's not about lying whatsoever on your resume or your profile, but it's a different way of telling the same story” that plays up your unique contributions at your previous jobs.

Job search materials you will need

With this attitude shift in mind, let’s review the job search materials you will need. In the US, most jobs require you to submit a resume (CV) and a cover letter, as well as a portfolio, if applicable. 

As you put together your materials, it’s important to pay attention to the language in job descriptions and company websites. Daniela says, “You have to speak their language if you want to get into a specific industry. It's very important to become very, very curious first, and then also be very detail oriented so you're able to notice these words so you can incorporate them in your resume.”

How to apply to jobs effectively

Once you have your job search materials ready, you’re ready to start applying. The majority of US companies accept applications online only. Be sure to apply to roles where you meet at least 70% of the requirements. And ideally, you should tailor your resume and cover letter to each role. 

Interviewing in the US

If a recruiter feels you’re a good match for a role, they will email or call you to set up an initial conversation, called a phone screen (Most companies will send a generic rejection email if you haven’t been selected for an interview). The phone screen is typically with the recruiter, not the person who will be your future boss. The most common questions asked in a phone screen are:

• Tell me about yourself.
• Why are you interested in this job/company?
• Can you tell me about your experience with XYZ skill? (Check the job description ahead of the call to familiarize yourself with the top skills needed for the job).
• What is your desired salary range?

If you pass the phone screen, you’ll be invited to interview (virtually or in person) with the hiring manager and other members of your future team. The interviewers will ask about your past experience and skills. But for many immigrant professionals, some of the more subjective or personal questions can feel unfamiliar. For example, when a recruiter asks, “Why are you interested in this job?” they expect you to say that you’re excited about the company’s product, brand or work culture. They do not want to hear you just say, “I need a job, and this one pays well.” Evgeniia Unzhakova_{How an Immigrant Landed a Career in the US: Evgeniia Unzhakova’s TripleTen Story} ran into this issue when being asked behavioral interview questions_{No Prior Tech Experience? Here’s How to Pass a Behavioral Interview} during her job search: “I was asked about soft skills: how do you work with a team? What do you do with problems? It was strange; if you don’t live here, you don’t know how to answer some of these questions.”

Daniela tells job seekers that “even though it's very important to be sharp on your technical skills, interviewers are never going to remember your tech stack. They're going to remember your stories. More often than not, what makes a difference is not the technical part, but the soft skills, how you can relate to people, how you can tell the story, and who you are as a person.”

She recommends the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method to structure your answers to behavioral interview questions:

(Check out this blog post_{Prepare Yourself to Answer “Why Should We Hire You?” with Confidence} for a great example of the STAR method in action).

Networking

Job seekers are often encouraged to network_{How to Network (and Stay Sane)}: the idea is to make connections with people who may eventually recommend you for an open role. But it’s often misunderstood as “begging people for a job.” Not so, says Daniela: she emphasizes that networking is based on curiosity and human connection. She encourages job seekers to think about how they can be helpful, instead: “Try to see what you have to offer to the world. How could you be helpful to someone with your skills?” People will welcome connection and conversation, especially if you can help them.

Daniela reiterates that networking is a mindset: “When you want to buy a car and all of a sudden you see that car everywhere, the same thing is true when you're looking for a job. If you adopt this mindset of being really focused, you really want to make this step in your career, this is going to affect your interactions on a daily basis, and you never know where the right connection may come from. Recently I had a job seeker who made a good connection at a baby birthday party. He started talking to the dads and sure enough, one of them worked in tech!” 

Do you need to change careers?

If your career doesn’t translate in the US or has few open opportunities, there are ways to get a fresh start. You don’t have to go back to school for a lengthy or expensive degree, especially if you’re interested in tech. A tech bootcamp is a short-term (less than a year) course that can give you the tech skills for a specific career at an accelerated pace, and at a lower cost. And many tech jobs have great projected career growth, including software engineering and data science. (You can explore other in-demand tech positions in TripleTen’s Employer Report).

Words of encouragement about starting over

Daniela knows firsthand that moving to a new country takes courage. She reminds immigrant professionals that they have many impressive skills and qualities: “When you have moved to a completely different country, you have to adapt so much. You're often doing that adaptation constantly on a daily basis. You're having to process meaning and significance in your second language. And you’re adapting to subtle cultural differences.”

These skills can be used to your advantage in the job search: “In such a changing world that we're living in, having that ability to adapt, to change, that resilience, the grit that you need to have to go pursue a life in a different place and start from scratch: all those skills are so, so valuable for the current job market,” says Daniela.”[Immigrant job seekers] should be thinking about themselves and these skills as a real asset.”

How a bootcamp sets you up for success

You’re not alone: many immigrant professionals have made big career shifts after coming to the US. If you’re interested in pursuing a career in the tech sector, a bootcamp can give you the skills the market demands, help you create portfolio projects, and give you career coaching to succeed in the US job search. Take the bootcamp quiz to see if this path is right for you.