The article has been automatically translated into English by Google Translate from Russian and has not been edited.

Employment in the USA without English: how an immigrant looked for his first job in America

'11.10.2020'

Source: "Notes of an immigrant" on "Yandex.Zen"

Author of the channel "Notes of an immigrant" on Yandex.Zen talked about how his family was looking for their first job in the United States. Further - from the first person.

Photo: Shutterstock

About three weeks after our arrival, we received SSN, UAH cards and opened a bank account. Now you could look for work. You could start looking for work earlier, a week after your arrival, when you had SSN on hand. The green card number is on the immigration visa, and the bank account number is on hand after the first visit to the bank. But it turned out how it happened.

At the same time, they were looking for an apartment, but my sister was more involved in this. The criterion was, in addition to the price and area, the availability of public transport nearby. After all, we had one car, and the license, still Ukrainian, was only mine. The wife and son had to look for work that could be reached by bus or on foot.

However, it was the son who was the first of us to get a job. He was the most prepared among us for immigration to the United States, his English was practically fluent at the time of his arrival. At first it was planned that he would go to college, but for a number of reasons we were late with the flight, by the time of arrival the semester had already begun, the next one began at the end of January. Until that time, the son decided to go to work.

Personally, I searched for jobs on the Internet, mainly at indeed.com. Of course, the search was carried out among vacancies that do not require education and work experience. If you did not come to the contract on a work visa as a specialist, then you, in fact, are something like a teenage graduate of the school. You do not have an American specialized education and American work experience.

The process looks like this: you are looking for a vacancy that is suitable for salary (often there is no information about it), location and schedule (also may not be indicated). You fill out a questionnaire, or something like a resume. Waiting for a call. They may not call back, they may call back in a few days. If they call back, an interview is scheduled, often a few more days later. You go to an interview, communicate, and possibly fill out questionnaires. If you are hired, the first working day may not be right tomorrow, but in another week. This is mainly due to the fact that it takes time for the so-called “background check”. You are being tested for criminal history and all sorts of lewdness. As a result, the process of getting a job is quite unhurried, it can take at least a week, or even several.

On the subject: How Americans Relate to Accent and Weak English: The Immigrant Experience

The son took a slightly different path. I just called the phones on the advertisements that are posted on almost any “Now hiring!” Store, signed up for a meeting, where I filled out questionnaires. It is somewhat faster, but requires better knowledge of English. At first, I could not talk on the phone at all without seeing the interlocutor. It was very difficult even to understand who was calling and why. It was much easier for me to correspond.

In general, while I was just looking and waiting for calls, my son had already found two jobs, between which I could choose. These were two large chain stores, one mainly sells clothes, the other in everything except food. One immediately disappeared, although they paid more and had a good schedule, but there was nothing to travel and there was nothing. Another, the Target department store, paid less, the work schedule was from 6 am to 14 pm, but it was opposite the complex where we planned to rent an apartment, and it was possible to walk there in about ten minutes. The salary was 00 dollars an hour, after taxes, somewhere around 13 kopecks. Let me remind you that the minimum wage in the state is 10 per hour. The work consisted of unpacking the goods and laying them out on the shelves.

About two weeks after my son started working, we still lived with my sister, and I had to drive him to and from work, about 15 minutes one way. Then we moved and he began to walk.

So, my son was working, and I was sitting at home and was not in the best mood. This is not to say that it was depression, but a certain discomfort and nervousness were present. A month has passed since the move and I still haven't found a job. Moreover, two months have passed since my dismissal, and I have never been without work for so long. Firewood was thrown into the furnace by his wife, who was initially against immigration and from the moment of her arrival in the United States was permanently in a bad mood, she cried, then cursed, then demanded to return home.

I would love any work. I was especially depressed by visits to one of the supermarkets, where I also submitted my resume, which remained unanswered. Many people with disabilities worked there, not only in wheelchairs, but also mentally ill. I was healthy physically and mentally, but they didn't take me.

At home, I was an ambulance doctor, so for some time, by inertia, I was looking for a job in a medical environment. It soon became clear that even an orderly needed a certificate to work. Let it be just a few hours of training, but still. Without a certificate, you can only work as a cleaner in a hospital or a nurse.

My first interview in the United States was at one of the firms that provide nursing services. More precisely, it was not exactly those people who, for example, work in nursing homes and take care of the elderly, feed, wash, etc., were hired in that firm. There it was about looking after mentally ill people. No work experience was required of me, although employers were kindly interested in my work in Ukraine. I was only required to have a license and a car. They offered little, only $ 11 an hour. I, of course, did not feel much enthusiasm for this particular work, I did not have much to do with psychiatric patients in the ambulance, more with alcoholics and drug addicts. With that lads, one skill was required - to break, then deliver to the hospital. It is unlikely that these skills would be useful to me in a new job.

However, I didn't have to work there. Ironically, it was necessary to confirm that I did not have tuberculosis, and after a medical examination in Ukraine, I was just suspected of it.

Then I went to an interview at a large supermarket Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon. I applied to different departments but got a call from the seafood department. I must say that they do not have one “personnel department” for the entire store, each department has its own head and selects people for itself. I talked with the head of the department and his deputy, lied to them that I had experience in trade (I traded in the market in the village with my grandmother in the summer). Apparently, they didn't like my clumsy English, in that department they needed it to stand behind the counter, they didn't take me. They promised $ 15 an hour.

The next place I went for an interview was a chain wholesale supermarket “Costco”. In addition to the standard background check, there was a need to take a rapid drug test. The most interesting thing is that I did not go there for a specific position to get a job, but in general, for a “team member”, that is, an “employee”. It is not known in advance where they will deliver and in what shift. They took me outright, I had to work in a warehouse, roughly speaking, as a loader, which did not bother me, but the schedule was still: from 4 am to 10:30 am, before the store opened. This store is quite far away, it takes about 25 minutes to drive, which means you had to get up in the middle of the night. I got sick of working at night even on the ambulance, but the main problem was that the youngest son had already gone to kindergarten by that time (preschool), he had to be taken there by nine. I refused to work, they offered 14 dollars an hour.

Then I got a job at a large Amazon warehouse, also as a loader and sorter. That job had one major drawback - it was temporary. Every autumn, "Amazon" recruits additional people before the holidays, after Christmas it disperses. In addition, it was part time, that is, part-time work up to 20 hours a week. They promised $ 15 during the day, $ 16 at night. Also background and drug tests. They hired me, conducted training, I had to work three days a week, from 23 to 7 in the morning. This, of course, was not enough, I continued to search for more. Moreover, the work was to begin only two weeks later, in mid-November.

Suddenly there was another call from Whole Foods. This time from the department of ready-made food, culinary our way. They needed a dishwasher (oh yes, textbook immigrant work). This time they did not need good English, they took me, but for part time, the same three days a week, the second shift from 16:00 to 22:00. I decided to work two jobs, as I managed to get from the supermarket to the warehouse. As a result, it turned out almost a day's work, as in Ukraine. The supermarket paid $ 15 an hour. The first shift was on November 10, almost a month and a half after arriving in the country.

On the subject: 'At home, I thought I knew English': an immigrant spoke about the difficulties after moving to the USA

The most difficult thing was with my wife, due to the complete lack of English. Pittsburgh does not have its own Brighton Beach, which is full of Russian businesses, where you can easily find a job without knowing the language. However, it succeeded. Through the acquaintances of our acquaintances, they learned that they were looking for a maid in a large and expensive hotel. A very large part of the staff there, including the small bosses, "Russians". In fact, mostly Uzbek and Ukrainian women. It is quite possible to work there without knowing the language, although not very comfortable. In addition, the place of work, although far from us, in the city center, but you could get there by bus. They promised there immediately $ 13 per hour, but with a subsequent increase. This job was found in mid-November, but it was not possible to start until December.

You can draw conclusions from our history yourself: knowledge of English greatly simplifies the search for a job. The better this skill, the more choice and better working conditions. So I will repeat the main advice once again - if you are going to immigrate, make every effort to learn the language.

Original column published on the blog. "Notes of an immigrant" on Yandex.Zen

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