Choosing to go for a new job in the US, how to handle it?

deusexlumina · 7 Feb 2016 at 13:17

So at the place i work we have been contracted by another organisation for some time now (just over a year) and soon that work will be coming to an end.

I'd entertaining the possibility of asking them if they have any jobs on offer that i'd be suited to. However:

1. They are in the US
2. I don't want to annoy my current employer too much (burning bridges and all that)

Whats the best way to go about pursuing this possibility? Is it bad practise to talk about this kind of thing while we're still being asked by them to do other work?

If i go down this route, the job will be in the US. Anyone done this and have a view on how it was for them?

Thanks for any help

MuvverRussia · 7 Feb 2016 at 16:13

Are they willing to recruit from outside the US? It can be a pain for visas etc. You'd also want to look into the visa type that they are willing to sponsor you for.

dowie · 7 Feb 2016 at 16:37

Depends what your relationship is like with them - tis usually a bit dodgy to go to a client but people do it all the time. Problem here is they're in the US, you'll need a H1B visa and there is an annual deadline to attempt to apply for one. If they have a UK office it would make things much easier if you were an existing employee being moved to the US.

deusexlumina · 7 Feb 2016 at 22:35

Thanks for the replies guys. I'd heard of the visas, and i believe the deadline is in April which is why this is coming to a head all of a sudden and i feel i should ask about it.

With regards to the employment, they should be willing since its a reasonably specialised skill they're after (whether they accept me personally is another matter mind

)

The whole client/customer thing is what i'm most concerned about i guess.

dowie · 7 Feb 2016 at 23:00

other thing is - do you have a non compete agreement with your current place? Generally in the UK (subject to consultation with a reassuringly expensive solicitor) you can tend to wipe your arse with the thing... ditto to some US states like California... not so in other US states though - some of them take those agreements seriously

llamadal · 23 Feb 2016 at 09:45

Do you have a good relationship with anyone senior at that company? If so next time you chat you could always ask if they have worked in other countries, doing a job overseas has always been a dream of yours and see if they pick up on the hint and say "oh hey we might have a job for you"