Independent program
StudentTour recommends this program the most! This option is suitable for everybody who want freedom, but still wouldn’t like to start with a job hunting on the spot.
Independent program means that you will find your job before the start of the summer. It might sound complicated, but hundreds of people have found their jobs like that and so can you.
There are lots of good sides of that program:
First of all you are able to pick your own dream job
You don’t have to struggle on the spot after arrival and you can start working right away
This means you can save money
Even if you don’t find any job before leaving you are still familiar with the area you are leaving to and employers are familiar with you and are convinced that you really want the job.
You have more contacts which is very important to get hired.
Work
Register yourself into our program as an independent participant and pay the registration fee. This ensures that a place in our program has been reserved to you. We will also start posting independent job offers to our customers and you can pick your jo there. If there is any other job that you’d be interested, but it is a Premium placed offer, you can switch the program. Also if you have no luck of finding your job from your home country, you can switch the program to Walk In and participate as a walk in student.
Gather information
If you have friends among the former participants ask them if they are still keeping in touch with their managers and if they could reccomend you . Even if they can not recommend , you still know a whole lot more about the places that might be hiring students for the summer. The most important thing is to gather lots of contacts and names before the summer.
Put together a CV and Cover Letter
Your CV should be on one page and look like an official document. It should present all your best qualities. Always add your picture to the CV. This way you can be certain that your face will be remembered.
Keep in mind that CV should be relevant to the position that you are applying for. There is no point of saying that you are a top notch lawyer back at your home country if you are applying for a waiter job in San Diego. In fact this may become an obstacle, because the employer might think that you are over qualified fot the job. So make your CV fancy enough, but still relevant. Tips on how to write an awesome CV can easily be found over the internet.
3.2 Cover Letter
Cover letter should be sent to the employer together with. Always have a Cover Letter because this might be the little edge that makes the difference later. It will not be read during the first round but later when there are two or more equal candidates this may give you the job . In a cover letter you should show interest in that particular job and explain your experience in that field. The smartest move would be to create some different cover letters – one for shops, one for bars etc.
Send e-mails
After you are ready with the documents you can start looking for businesses where you woud like to work.
Open http://maps.google.com and find the area where you would like to work. One nice place to work is Huntington Beach in California. Lets say that this is your preferred destination. After you have found the area, you can write a name of a business to find businsesses there. You can also use key words like bar, cafe, retail etc to find places to send your CV
You can find the contacts and web page addresses if you click on the letters on the map. You can find lots of other sites where you can look for a job. Some of them are specially made for J-1 students.
Craigslist.org - this is the best place where you can look for a job and housing
Backpage.com – also a very good place where you for job and house hunting
maps.google.com – very good tool to find businesses in your area
www.j1jobs.com – lots of J1 jobs for students
www.summerjobs.com – summerjobs
www.snagajob.com
www.adventuresports.com
www.careerbuilder.com
www.coloradojobs.com
www.coolworks.com
www.duderanches.com – jobs in ranches
www.fishingjobs.com – Alaska jobs
www.hotjobs.com
www.jobsmart.com
www.jobmonkey.com
www.monster.com
www.ocean-city.com/helpwanted
www.resortjobs.com – ski resorts, amusement parks etc
www.seasonalemployment.com
www.themeparkjobs.com
www.usajobs.com
www.us-national-parks.net – jobs in US national parks
www.cedarpoint.com
After you have found the e-mail addresses of the businesses start sending out your CV-s. The more CV-s you send the better are the odds of finding a job.In your e-mail you should explain that you are a foreign student and participating in an official student exchange program during the summer. You should also mention that you are legally allowed to work in the States and you have a social security number.
5. Call!
Expect to receive no answers to your e-mails. This is just how it works. Wait couple of days and then call all the businesses you sent your CV. You can also do it vice versa – call first and send your CV later. Use Skype to call and consider the time difference.
First thing you must do – ask for the staff manager. Don’t even speak to anyone else. If the manager is busy ask his name and when it is better time to call back. If you reach the right person tell him or her your story and speak slowly, because it may be hard to understand your accent over the phone.
Always explain that you can legally work in the states: “I will be participating on the Work and Travel USA Program sponsored by the Intrax Cultural Exchange (Spirit Cultural Exchange). As my sponsor, Intrax is authorized by the US government to issue the necessary documentation for me to obtain a J1 visa, allowing me to work legally within the US for up to four months.”
If the manager agrees to hire you send him the Self Placed Agreement that you will receive from StudentTour. Ask him to print it sign it and scan it again and send it to you via e-mail.
After that send it in with all your other documents. After the visa sponsor has checked the employer you are ready to go!
Alternative way of looking for a job
You can also upload a video of yourself to youtube. Introduce yourself and send the link to the manager. It is a very good way to get in touch with the employer
StudentTour recommends this program the most! This option is suitable for everybody who want freedom, but still wouldn’t like to start with a job hunting on the spot. Independent program means that you will find your job before the start of the summer. It might sound complicated, but hundreds of people have found their jobs like that and so can you.
There are lots of good sides of that program:
- First of all you are able to pick your own dream job
- You don’t have to struggle on the spot after arrival and you can start working right away - this means you can save money.
- Even if you don’t find any job before leaving you are still familiar with the area and employers are familiar with you and are convinced that you really want the job.
- You have more contacts which is very important to get hired.
Work
Register yourself into our program as an independent participant and pay the registration fee. This ensures that a place in our program has been reserved to you. We will also start posting independent job offers to our customers and you can pick your jo there. If there is any other job that you’d be interested, but it is a Premium placed offer, you can switch the program. Also if you have no luck of finding your job from your home country, you can switch the program to Walk In and participate as a walk in student.
More information on how to find a job from your home country can be found from our blog.
