Job Search in USA: Silicon Valley

I decided to generalize my more than ten years experience of searching for work in the USA in the IT market. Anyway, the question is rather topical and often discussed in Russian abroad.

For a person unprepared for the realities of competition in the US market, perhaps many considerations will seem rather exotic, but, nevertheless, it is better to know than to remain in ignorance.

Basic requirements

Before you decide to look for work in the United States, it makes sense to get acquainted with the requirements for emigration and the right to work in the United States. It is also desirable to have a solid idea of ​​how to make a resume, to be a pro in your field and as they say today in the youth environment “fluent Albanian” aka English is a great help in the matter of finding a job. In our particular case, the basic requirements will be left out of the discussion in this article.
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Recruiters

A recruiter is the “front-line” of any job ad in the USA. The recruiter performs the function of the first contact from the employer's company.

You should distinguish between two types of recruiters - the internal recruiter of the company who is hired and works in the company of the employer on a permanent basis. This is the best scenario if the internal recruiters of the companies call your ad placed on one of the websites in the USA (for example www.dice.com ). First of all, it means that the resume has been compiled correctly and you have fallen into the general technological trend that is currently in demand in the labor market.

The second type of recruiter is a recruiter from a recruiting company that earns by reselling you to employers. In the current slang, these companies are called "nipples." The main task in contact with the "nipple" to find out the existence of a real position and the existence of an exclusive agreement between the "nipple" and the employer, the term established in English - "primary vendor".

For the sake of laughter, it is worth noting that many of our compatriots got into a situation when, when entering a new job, they found that they worked in two / three “nipples” with their new employer.

Interview

Typically, an interview for a position in IT consists of several steps:

The call from the recruiter where usually within 15-30 minutes all the basic requirements for the position as technical and for payment are clarified and, as I have already mentioned, legal aspects with the right to work and as mentioned above by the relationship between the companies.

Technical telephone interview - pre-screen “preskrin”. It usually lasts from 30 minutes to one hour. The purpose of the technical telephone interview is to find out how the professional level of the candidate fits the open position in the company. Often the candidate is asked to write the code during the interview so that it makes sense to look in advance how it works so as not to hesitate. I had to use Google Docs or for example collabedit.com.

Interview in the company of the employer. Here it is usually assumed that you will spend a few hours, get acquainted with the company itself, its product, manager and team in which it is supposed to work. In large companies, it is possible that the interview will be conducted by “specially trained” people with whom you will not have to work in the future.

Further, there may be various options. It is possible that you will be called up again for an interview or for some reason the hiring team will reject you, but recommends you to the other team as a good candidate.

Interview format

Each interview usually assumes the following format:

The introductory part begins with the introduction of the interview participants and a brief description of the position under discussion.
Questions to the candidate. Here it is desirable to give a detailed answer to each question, unless it is specifically stated that it can be short. It is welcome to present your own question in your own words, ask leading questions and make sure that you understand the essence of the question correctly. It is not recommended in this section to ask the question itself that it is against the time limit and format of the interview. For your questions you will be given time that is usually assumed.
Questions of the candidate. The rules of good tone suggest that you are well acquainted with the company's product and this should be followed by asking questions. Usually questions are prepared in advance, still at home, after studying the company's website and the description of the position itself.

Your goals for each stage of the interview

At each stage of the interview, you must clearly understand the sequence of your actions.

I'll try to explain. In order of receipt of the interview participants from a conversation with a recruiter, you must clearly bear a few things:

• the amount of remuneration meets your expectations
• A recruiter has an exclusive contract to schedule an interview with your employer.
• if all previous conditions are right for you

In a technical telephone interview, you should understand how interesting the project is for you and, in terms of the level of questions, understand what technologies are supposed to be used in the new workplace. It is also worth noting that technical issues can be easily prepared by reading reviews about interviews and technical issues on the Internet on such sites as Glassdoor, careercup, and so on.

At the main interview there act on the circumstances, the format may be different. According to the rules of good tone, I would highly recommend asking for a list of participants in the interviews with their posts and the schedule of the interview. Sometimes on aggregate factors of the list, it is enough to refuse further consideration of the position.

What to expect from technical questions on the example of a Java developer

Questions can be divided into three main blocks:

• Basic questions on Java taken from books on Java certification
• Questions on technologies and frameworks
• Algorithms

It is also necessary to understand that often many interviewers try to put the candidate in an awkward position by carrying out a kind of questioning pressure, figuring out how the candidate behaves in conditions close to “combat”. This should be normal, you can neigh together ... in general, everyone can screw it up.

Time to search for a new job

Based on practice, the situation is as follows:
The first week is spent on telephone interviews with recruiters and technical prescripts. It may well work out two / three every day. As a result of these efforts, for the second week you may be called in to an office for an interview. If you continue in the same spirit and work full time in the search for a new job, then by the end of the third week you may well get from three to five interviews with employers.

It should be noted that we are talking about "Silicon Valley" in California during the "hot" market in IT. It’s hard to talk about other states, as there the recruitment process is a little slower than in the “Valley”.

Oops! - flooded!

Well, here and finally the first job offer (in the future we will use tracing from the English "offer").

Rule number one - do not rush. Try to evaluate all the important points in the "offer" besides the work should be interesting and you will have the opportunity to learn new technologies, you should also appreciate the entire compensation package, which usually includes:

• medical insurance
• vacation (usually three weeks in the US in IT)
• bonus for signing the "offer"
• annual bonus based on company performance
• pension contributions 401K plan
• stock options

Try to collect as much information about the company as possible using completely legal methods, starting with comments and reviews about the company on GlassDoor and ending with the US Securities and Exchange Commission www.sec.gov .

The main thing is still at this stage if you are lucky to wait for the second “offer”. Then you have a unique opportunity to dictate your requirements to the hiring company. You can put forward your considerations on what conditions you sign the "offer".

It is clear that you can put forward your conditions if you have one “offer”, but alas, this is usually counterproductive and the company most often withdraws its “offer” if you refuse to sign it in its original form.

Conclusion

I would like to share more important thoughts about the passage of a telephone interview. Do not hesitate to use a second computer or tips hung on the walls. It is quite logical to invite as many people as possible, if something is useful then the people will immediately write on the blackboard - all you have to do is read. Actually, you can start drinking beer even before the interview, try to get as many positive emotions as possible from your job search.



All successful hunting in search of work!