Starting Work In Usa

Dear Lady1(Malathi ma'm)

So nice of you for sharing lot of information which would be useful for job hungers like me..i moved to USA 1 year back with L2 EAD .Though i didn't post. but for sure searching all job and friendly sites to known where i stand ,ofcourse pros and cons...
Thank you once again for valuable suggestion.

Thank you Papanadu for writing a post which reflect many peoples thought who are willing to start career in USA..

 

Humbled. Just trying to help with whatever little knowledge I have.

 

No problem, whatsoever.
Ask your question and I will be happy to share what I know briefly.
Some general, basic caveats for inexperienced job seekers in the USA from other cultural backgrounds:
1. Do make sure you learn to speak and write English with correct grammar. You'll be surprised it differs from the British English we grow up learning: in it, we say 'ONE of them 'says,' whereas Americans say: One of THEM, say,' be ause they view the whole phrase one of them as the subject and as plural because of 'them'whereas we were taught to place the emphais on the 'one OF,' which causes us to consider the subject as singular making the verb therefore plural. You may need to re-learn subject -verb compatibility, etc. Not a big deal- you'll pick it up over time. Just train your ear to pay attention when you hear=listen.

2. So, speak less, and 'listen more...but when you do, speak with clarity in pronunciation. Nowadays lots of pronunciation audio aids are available on line for free. Avail of them- you'll be surprised at the clear differences: E.g. (for example), when we say the word 'Government,' Americans hear 'garment,' brcause we hardly voice the 'n' in there; or, fie (the no.5), because we leave out the v‼️

3. Americans (this definitely does NOT mean ALL white people and includes African-Americans and second and third generation Asians from the Far-East, Indians, Hawaiians, Hispanics etc.), generally give you 100% marks before they start to interact with you, trusting you yo be honest and upright and basically good-that is, place their complete trust in what you say you want or can do, etc., to them and then each time you prove in your action you did not actually mean what you said (claimed), they take some marks away...meaning, their 'trust' in you starts to decrease. This is in sharp contrast to any other place where you EARN others' trust slowly and painstakingly, one word and one action at a time bearing it out!

Lastly, realize that where spoken communication falls short, people watch our body language and expressions-Americans do that a lot... One way to give out good body-language and facial expression signals is to keep the mind generally friendly, open and positive and try to keep a smile on the fac (reduces stress), until it becomes a new habit. Mainly when we shift our attention from ourselves to the others and fulfilling their needs, this shift happens naturally and we feel and therefore, look more relaxed.

Many newcomers fail to realize these simple facts and tread unnecessarily heavily in the beginning, trying to IMPRESS.

But having this insight helps concentrate on performance, rather than making claims.
Good Luck y'all

 

Thank you again. I appreciate your quick response. These are imp soft skills for everyone- no matter which work stream/ profession we decide to pursue. They come handy especially after a long break in career. I totally agree with your points on grammar and pronunciation. It is a challenge in my work because lot of global employees work together in a single project, so the workplace is a good mix of both in-person and online conversations with folks with American, European and Australian accents, pronunciation and grammar from different continents. I am still learning to get it right. I think most people joining workforce now will have more or less similar work environment, with all the emphasis on globalization and collaboration.

I am totally taking away OP's platform to ask questions here (Sorry) , but if I may (or ideally it should be a separate thread?) , I have a question regarding the balancing priorities at work and personal front.

I see a lot of people who have been working here clearly set the timelines for work times and personal times. No matter, how urgent or the complex the work issue is, they take a hard stop at their designated times ( sometimes 3pm, 4pm or 5pm) and then they are not available for resolving pressing questions. They beautifully handle the stress of not being available after the hard stop and yet manage the work next day with ease. I still can not get my Indian work mentality out of my system. If my questions do not get solved at the end of the business day, I tend to carry on with work, sometimes feel restless and then get frustrated that I need to respect people's time and my time as well. Does it get easier with time? did you also face this in your work? how did you manage work-life balance, especially because we Indian ladies tend to feel guilty if work takes precedence over home responsibilities, we overwork ourselves and bite off more than we can chew.

I appreciate your response deeply.

Love,
Blessings1010

 

I haven't read all the posts here, I am touching on only one point here : If you have completed CA in India, I do not think you need to go for your Masters in the US. You will be considered eligible to sit for the exam as far as credits are concerned. [Do confirm from the State Board you will be registering with. You will know how many credits your CA is worth when you send for credit evaluation] Consider purchasing a good CPA review course, which will cost couple thousand dollars instead of taking 20-30k loans and repaying them. Also,in the meantime go for H&R Block agent during tax season. They provide the training and you will get the experience.

 

Dear Blessings1010,
I don't think anyone participating in a thread is interfering with the original poster. So, plase do not worry. You are not stepping on anyone's toes. Right, OP? Besides, you have raised an important point of interest to many seeking a good balance in life, not just in the 'work' which is only one part of our existence. Life comprises of four quadrants: 1. Self, 2. friends/coomunity/society 3. Spiritual and 4. Work. (Notice that I placed self first and work last).
That essential skill to acquire, is "Time Management."
1. Use the Franklin-Covey Day Planner system. You are trained by using it in capturing all appointments, calls with return call expectaions and all other deadlines in one calendar planner which you consult on a daily basis at the end of the day and cross off each task as it gets done daling with them in a particular order of priority which is as follows:

Do the important tasks first;
Stephen Covey who wrote a landmark book, 7 Habits of highly successful people, uses a metaphor of filling a bucket with rocks then pebbles, then sand and last with water (representing tasks and commitments from the most important to those with progressively lessening importance/value), in that order, to accommodate all activities that can be in a day, according to importance rather than just urgency ...in fact, preventing them from becoming urgent
This translates to:
Very often if you commit specific times for the important activities and make addressing tgem first a habit, you will also fiind time to fit in the less important ones.
To quote some experts:
"The rocks which were placed in the jar first represent those tasks that are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - things that if everything else were lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that do matter a great deal but not more than the above prioriyies, like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your work seriously, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal, but in a well considered, prioritized, scheduled manner Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand, and will fall in place,"

A cheap tool for transforming the performance of important daily tasks towards work and life as a whole, is to make your own chart with 60 columns (60 days) and enter in it the things you must do every single day and giving those tasks an exact amount of time everyday. Each day you complete that daily task within that time give yourself a check. This will help you transform your daily tasks definitely into regular (helpful) habits in those two months.

2. Habits thus formed are your foundations for shaping your 'character.'

3. Character is defined as the disciplined and untiring ability and inner conviction to keep up with learned good habits as a 'routine' even long after the initial passion on which they were originally formed (such as to gain more time) has dissipated.

Let me know if this helped and how you fared after giving it a try.
Good Luck
Malathi (Lady1)

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us and I will really helpful if anyone also get to know about
admissions consulting Boston.

 

OP,

All of the state universities need a 4 year degree. but I do not know about community colleges. But Since you have a bachelors degree and CA, It will be good enough to apply for a masters degree, if you want to study further. Sometimes you might not need a whole degree, a few courses will do. but this needs a little bit more research before you dive into that.
But like someone pointed out, start with your available education in a field of your experience before spending money on further education. I have friends who volunteered in places like that. yes volunteering means no money and hours, but it can be listed as your work experience, but make sure you take to the supervisor and he/she is okay with this. Also, list them as your reference after talking to them. When applying for job here, people definite prefer local contacts as references. The goal is to familiarize your face in the field of your employment. Also, meet people over lunch or coffee to go through your resume and for any questions or clarifications you have about this field of employment. this is called informational interview. My friend after 8 years of gap did this when started looking for job and she was successful in using these contacts.