ortizan

Thanks to everyone who replied. Sorry it took me a while but I had to focus on job search. I did get to find a job eventually after 2 months. I'm now taking a leap of faith and moved all the way to another state with my husband.
 
For anyone who's reading this and is having trouble with finding work, my experience lead me to conclude:
If you're from the Philippines and is used to a faster hiring process, don't expect the same here. I had that same expectation which almost got me depressed. I thought I was just not cut out to find work here. Finding candidates here though is different and you have to use that to gain advantage. Most companies here use ATS. To those who were taught to write resumes/CVs as if a human eye will read it, forget about all that. Make your resume/CV short and have it only contain the important keywords that their job post is using. Make sure that you still use sentences but you don't have to write it with fancy english words (unless you're applying to be a copywriter, I guess?). I used https://www.jobscan.co/ to understand how it works, I'd recommend you try it. It gives recommendations on your linkedin profile too which I highly suggest. The company hiring me approached me through a recruiter on LinkedIn. I highly recommend to optimize your LinkedIn so that recruiters can approach you too. Make sure that you've set your profile to be searchable by recruiters and that they can message you even if you're not connected. It was extremely difficult to get an IT job at the city that we were living in. So consider your location as a factor to getting a job. I had to move to Tennessee for this job. Put your profile everywhere. There are several job posting sites and it's a good idea to just be searchable everywhere. I had my profile up in LinkedIn, Indeed, Seen by Indeed, AngelList and Monster.com. Just to give you an idea, I was approached in LinkedIn, Seen by Indeed and AngelList by several recruiters from different companies. Job hunt here takes months. The company I'll be working for took 2 weeks just to get all the interviews done. After that, my background check and paperwork took 3 weeks. It didn't help that we had to work around holiday schedules so just be ready. Also, most of the companies I applied for took a month before they got back to me for the first round of interviews. 1 of them took 2 weeks to let me know about proceeding to 2nd round of interviews. Some additional info I'd like to add:
Make sure to lookup the salary of the position you're applying for in the specific city that they are located. Make sure you don't undersell yourself. Yes, you're an immigrant but if you're giving them what they need, you deserve the same pay. Send out as many resumes as you need, put yourself out there. Most people suggest networking and it's better if you could do that. It's not like all cities have a community of what you need so that's just a good bonus option. Also, I'm an introvert and I hate meeting strangers XP. If you're interested in finding a community though, try meetup.com When you get scheduled for an interview, make sure to prepare. My husband was so surprised when I whipped out my pen and paper to write down my "Tell me about yourself" bit. I researched a lot of questions to prepare my answers and also tried to find good questions for my interviewers. Getting your resume noticed is a battle but your interview will let you win the war. I sent out my resume probably a hundred times but I was only interviewed twice. Lucky enough that I found what I was looking for in those 2 interviews but I brought my A game both times. Happy job hunting!

Thanks to everyone who replied. Sorry it took me a while but I had to focus on job search. I did get to find a job eventually after 2 months. I'm now taking a leap of faith and moved all the way to another state with my husband.
 
For anyone who's reading this and is having trouble with finding work, my experience lead me to conclude:
If you're from the Philippines and is used to a faster hiring process, don't expect the same here. I had that same expectation which almost got me depressed. I thought I was just not cut out to find work here. Finding candidates here though is different and you have to use that to gain advantage. Most companies here use ATS. To those who were taught to write resumes/CVs as if a human eye will read it, forget about all that. Make your resume/CV short and have it only contain the important keywords that their job post is using. Make sure that you still use sentences but you don't have to write it with fancy english words (unless you're applying to be a copywriter, I guess?). I used https://www.jobscan.co/ to understand how it works, I'd recommend you try it. It gives recommendations on your linkedin profile too which I highly suggest. The company hiring me approached me through a recruiter on LinkedIn. I highly recommend to optimize your LinkedIn so that recruiters can approach you too. Make sure that you've set your profile to be searchable by recruiters and that they can message you even if you're not connected. It was extremely difficult to get an IT job at the city that we were living in. So consider your location as a factor to getting a job. I had to move to Tennessee for this job. Put your profile everywhere. There are several job posting sites and it's a good idea to just be searchable everywhere. I had my profile up in LinkedIn, Indeed, Seen by Indeed, AngelList and Monster.com. Just to give you an idea, I was approached in LinkedIn, Seen by Indeed and AngelList by several recruiters from different companies. Job hunt here takes months. The company I'll be working for took 2 weeks just to get all the interviews done. After that, my background check and paperwork took 3 weeks. It didn't help that we had to work around holiday schedules so just be ready. Also, most of the companies I applied for took a month before they got back to me for the first round of interviews. 1 of them took 2 weeks to let me know about proceeding to 2nd round of interviews. Some additional info I'd like to add:
Make sure to lookup the salary of the position you're applying for in the specific city that they are located. Make sure you don't undersell yourself. Yes, you're an immigrant but if you're giving them what they need, you deserve the same pay. Send out as many resumes as you need, put yourself out there. Most people suggest networking and it's better if you could do that. It's not like all cities have a community of what you need so that's just a good bonus option. Also, I'm an introvert and I hate meeting strangers XP. If you're interested in finding a community though, try meetup.com When you get scheduled for an interview, make sure to prepare. My husband was so surprised when I whipped out my pen and paper to write down my "Tell me about yourself" bit. I researched a lot of questions to prepare my answers and also tried to find good questions for my interviewers. Getting your resume noticed is a battle but your interview will let you win the war. I sent out my resume probably a hundred times but I was only interviewed twice. Lucky enough that I found what I was looking for in those 2 interviews but I brought my A game both times. Happy job hunting!

Thanks to everyone who replied. Sorry it took me a while but I had to focus on job search. I did get to find a job eventually after 2 months. I'm now taking a leap of faith and moved all the way to another state with my husband.
 
For anyone who's reading this and is having trouble with finding work, my experience lead me to conclude:
If you're from the Philippines and is used to a faster hiring process, don't expect the same here. I had that same expectation which almost got me depressed. I thought I was just not cut out to find work here. Finding candidates here though is different and you have to use that to gain advantage. Most companies here use ATS. To those who were taught to write resumes/CVs as if a human eye will read it, forget about all that. Make your resume/CV short and have it only contain the important keywords that their job post is using. Make sure that you still use sentences but you don't have to write it with fancy english words (unless you're applying to be a copywriter, I guess?). I used https://www.jobscan.co/ to understand how it works, I'd recommend you try it. It gives recommendations on your linkedin profile too which I highly suggest. The company hiring me approached me through a recruiter on LinkedIn. I highly recommend to optimize your LinkedIn so that recruiters can approach you too. Make sure that you've set your profile to be searchable by recruiters and that they can message you even if you're not connected. It was extremely difficult to get an IT job at the city that we were living in. So consider your location as a factor to getting a job. I had to move to Tennessee for this job. Put your profile everywhere. There are several job posting sites and it's a good idea to just be searchable everywhere. I had my profile up in LinkedIn, Indeed, Seen by Indeed, AngelList and Monster.com. Just to give you an idea, I was approached in LinkedIn, Seen by Indeed and AngelList by several recruiters from different companies. Job hunt here takes months. The company I'll be working for took 2 weeks just to get all the interviews done. After that, my background check and paperwork took 3 weeks. It didn't help that we had to work around holiday schedules so just be ready. Also, most of the companies I applied for took a month before they got back to me for the first round of interviews. 1 of them took 2 weeks to let me know about proceeding to 2nd round of interviews. Some additional info I'd like to add:
Make sure to lookup the salary of the position you're applying for in the specific city that they are located. Make sure you don't undersell yourself. Yes, you're an immigrant but if you're giving them what they need, you deserve the same pay. Send out as many resumes as you need, put yourself out there. Most people suggest networking and it's better if you could do that. It's not like all cities have a community of what you need so that's just a good bonus option. Also, I'm an introvert and I hate meeting strangers XP. If you're interested in finding a community though, try meetup.com When you get scheduled for an interview, make sure to prepare. My husband was so surprised when I whipped out my pen and paper to write down my "Tell me about yourself" bit. I researched a lot of questions to prepare my answers and also tried to find good questions for my interviewers. Getting your resume noticed is a battle but your interview will let you win the war. I sent out my resume probably a hundred times but I was only interviewed twice. Lucky enough that I found what I was looking for in those 2 interviews but I brought my A game both times. Happy job hunting!

Thanks to everyone who replied. Sorry it took me a while but I had to focus on job search. I did get to find a job eventually after 2 months. I'm now taking a leap of faith and moved all the way to another state with my husband.
 
For anyone who's reading this and is having trouble with finding work, my experience lead me to conclude:
If you're from the Philippines and is used to a faster hiring process, don't expect the same here. I had that same expectation which almost got me depressed. I thought I was just not cut out to find work here. Finding candidates here though is different and you have to use that to gain advantage. Most companies here use ATS. To those who were taught to write resumes/CVs as if a human eye will read it, forget about all that. Make your resume/CV short and have it only contain the important keywords that their job post is using. Make sure that you still use sentences but you don't have to write it with fancy english words (unless you're applying to be a copywriter, I guess?). I used https://www.jobscan.co/ to understand how it works, I'd recommend you try it. It gives recommendations on your linkedin profile too which I highly suggest. The company hiring me approached me through a recruiter on LinkedIn. I highly recommend to optimize your LinkedIn so that recruiters can approach you too. Make sure that you've set your profile to be searchable by recruiters and that they can message you even if you're not connected. It was extremely difficult to get an IT job at the city that we were living in. So consider your location as a factor to getting a job. I had to move to Tennessee for this job. Put your profile everywhere. There are several job posting sites and it's a good idea to just be searchable everywhere. I had my profile up in LinkedIn, Indeed, Seen by Indeed, AngelList and Monster.com. Just to give you an idea, I was approached in LinkedIn, Seen by Indeed and AngelList by several recruiters from different companies. Job hunt here takes months. The company I'll be working for took 2 weeks just to get all the interviews done. After that, my background check and paperwork took 3 weeks. It didn't help that we had to work around holiday schedules so just be ready. Also, most of the companies I applied for took a month before they got back to me for the first round of interviews. 1 of them took 2 weeks to let me know about proceeding to 2nd round of interviews. Some additional info I'd like to add:
Make sure to lookup the salary of the position you're applying for in the specific city that they are located. Make sure you don't undersell yourself. Yes, you're an immigrant but if you're giving them what they need, you deserve the same pay. Send out as many resumes as you need, put yourself out there. Most people suggest networking and it's better if you could do that. It's not like all cities have a community of what you need so that's just a good bonus option. Also, I'm an introvert and I hate meeting strangers XP. If you're interested in finding a community though, try meetup.com When you get scheduled for an interview, make sure to prepare. My husband was so surprised when I whipped out my pen and paper to write down my "Tell me about yourself" bit. I researched a lot of questions to prepare my answers and also tried to find good questions for my interviewers. Getting your resume noticed is a battle but your interview will let you win the war. I sent out my resume probably a hundred times but I was only interviewed twice. Lucky enough that I found what I was looking for in those 2 interviews but I brought my A game both times. Happy job hunting!

Yes! Just started this week actually

Hi!
 
I actually moved to Nashville since the new year for the job opportunity. Fayetteville is a nice city, good people and mostly peaceful. Some say people there don't know how to drive but I've seen worse so 🤷‍♀️
 
I wasn't able to find a community there, I was actually looking to have more local friends than Filipinos just so I can understand the culture. We grow up watching American movies and shows but that's not representative of the whole country's culture and so I wanted to learn more and pay respect to my new home. There was a Filipino restaurant there which was hella expensive, not gonna lie. I did not come back after getting my pancit from that place for my birthday 😆
 
  
 
Thanks! I really wanted to have the time to sit down and write it all down because I had such a stressful time over thinking it. I hope that with my post, people who need the advice would be able to read it and learn something from it. I know I learned a lot with my visa process just by reading from this forum!

Thanks to everyone who replied. Sorry it took me a while but I had to focus on job search. I did get to find a job eventually after 2 months. I'm now taking a leap of faith and moved all the way to another state with my husband.
 
For anyone who's reading this and is having trouble with finding work, my experience lead me to conclude:
If you're from the Philippines and is used to a faster hiring process, don't expect the same here. I had that same expectation which almost got me depressed. I thought I was just not cut out to find work here. Finding candidates here though is different and you have to use that to gain advantage. Most companies here use ATS. To those who were taught to write resumes/CVs as if a human eye will read it, forget about all that. Make your resume/CV short and have it only contain the important keywords that their job post is using. Make sure that you still use sentences but you don't have to write it with fancy english words (unless you're applying to be a copywriter, I guess?). I used https://www.jobscan.co/ to understand how it works, I'd recommend you try it. It gives recommendations on your linkedin profile too which I highly suggest. The company hiring me approached me through a recruiter on LinkedIn. I highly recommend to optimize your LinkedIn so that recruiters can approach you too. Make sure that you've set your profile to be searchable by recruiters and that they can message you even if you're not connected. It was extremely difficult to get an IT job at the city that we were living in. So consider your location as a factor to getting a job. I had to move to Tennessee for this job. Put your profile everywhere. There are several job posting sites and it's a good idea to just be searchable everywhere. I had my profile up in LinkedIn, Indeed, Seen by Indeed, AngelList and Monster.com. Just to give you an idea, I was approached in LinkedIn, Seen by Indeed and AngelList by several recruiters from different companies. Job hunt here takes months. The company I'll be working for took 2 weeks just to get all the interviews done. After that, my background check and paperwork took 3 weeks. It didn't help that we had to work around holiday schedules so just be ready. Also, most of the companies I applied for took a month before they got back to me for the first round of interviews. 1 of them took 2 weeks to let me know about proceeding to 2nd round of interviews. Some additional info I'd like to add:
Make sure to lookup the salary of the position you're applying for in the specific city that they are located. Make sure you don't undersell yourself. Yes, you're an immigrant but if you're giving them what they need, you deserve the same pay. Send out as many resumes as you need, put yourself out there. Most people suggest networking and it's better if you could do that. It's not like all cities have a community of what you need so that's just a good bonus option. Also, I'm an introvert and I hate meeting strangers XP. If you're interested in finding a community though, try meetup.com When you get scheduled for an interview, make sure to prepare. My husband was so surprised when I whipped out my pen and paper to write down my "Tell me about yourself" bit. I researched a lot of questions to prepare my answers and also tried to find good questions for my interviewers. Getting your resume noticed is a battle but your interview will let you win the war. I sent out my resume probably a hundred times but I was only interviewed twice. Lucky enough that I found what I was looking for in those 2 interviews but I brought my A game both times. Happy job hunting!

Thanks to everyone who replied. Sorry it took me a while but I had to focus on job search. I did get to find a job eventually after 2 months. I'm now taking a leap of faith and moved all the way to another state with my husband.
 
For anyone who's reading this and is having trouble with finding work, my experience lead me to conclude:
If you're from the Philippines and is used to a faster hiring process, don't expect the same here. I had that same expectation which almost got me depressed. I thought I was just not cut out to find work here. Finding candidates here though is different and you have to use that to gain advantage. Most companies here use ATS. To those who were taught to write resumes/CVs as if a human eye will read it, forget about all that. Make your resume/CV short and have it only contain the important keywords that their job post is using. Make sure that you still use sentences but you don't have to write it with fancy english words (unless you're applying to be a copywriter, I guess?). I used https://www.jobscan.co/ to understand how it works, I'd recommend you try it. It gives recommendations on your linkedin profile too which I highly suggest. The company hiring me approached me through a recruiter on LinkedIn. I highly recommend to optimize your LinkedIn so that recruiters can approach you too. Make sure that you've set your profile to be searchable by recruiters and that they can message you even if you're not connected. It was extremely difficult to get an IT job at the city that we were living in. So consider your location as a factor to getting a job. I had to move to Tennessee for this job. Put your profile everywhere. There are several job posting sites and it's a good idea to just be searchable everywhere. I had my profile up in LinkedIn, Indeed, Seen by Indeed, AngelList and Monster.com. Just to give you an idea, I was approached in LinkedIn, Seen by Indeed and AngelList by several recruiters from different companies. Job hunt here takes months. The company I'll be working for took 2 weeks just to get all the interviews done. After that, my background check and paperwork took 3 weeks. It didn't help that we had to work around holiday schedules so just be ready. Also, most of the companies I applied for took a month before they got back to me for the first round of interviews. 1 of them took 2 weeks to let me know about proceeding to 2nd round of interviews. Some additional info I'd like to add:
Make sure to lookup the salary of the position you're applying for in the specific city that they are located. Make sure you don't undersell yourself. Yes, you're an immigrant but if you're giving them what they need, you deserve the same pay. Send out as many resumes as you need, put yourself out there. Most people suggest networking and it's better if you could do that. It's not like all cities have a community of what you need so that's just a good bonus option. Also, I'm an introvert and I hate meeting strangers XP. If you're interested in finding a community though, try meetup.com When you get scheduled for an interview, make sure to prepare. My husband was so surprised when I whipped out my pen and paper to write down my "Tell me about yourself" bit. I researched a lot of questions to prepare my answers and also tried to find good questions for my interviewers. Getting your resume noticed is a battle but your interview will let you win the war. I sent out my resume probably a hundred times but I was only interviewed twice. Lucky enough that I found what I was looking for in those 2 interviews but I brought my A game both times. Happy job hunting!

Kamusta!
 
I'm Jamie from the Philippines. I'm a recent immigrant of the US, petitioned by my American husband. Our petition took a year to finish though we were approved pretty fast. I've only been here for 2 weeks, so far happy and adjusting well.
 
We live in a small city, pretty peaceful and quiet which has made it challenging for me to gain friends. I'm already too shy as it is and so I'm hoping I could gain a few from here. Would love to know about other people's experience with moving here.
 
To those reading this, I'd like to know(pick a question):
What was the thing that you had to adjust to the most? What's the weirdest thing that you found here in America? What's the thing you like the most? What's the thing you dislike the most? How did you eventually make friends?  
I'd love to get to know people here.