Why am I writing this post? Because a year ago, having just arrived in a new country, or a little more than a year ago, having just graduated from a university in Belarus, I would gladly read a post like this! Also because my job is not usual for a Slavic immigrant and I want to show that it's possible. And also because I want to share my life and my thoughts with you. Without further delay, here it is!
Warning: there's a lot of text about education evaluation, job search, and final employment, but at the end there is biblical encouragement!
Skip to read the spiritual part (and a very short description of my employment process)
Backstory
To begin with, in Belarus I graduated from an economic university with a bachelor's degree in business administration, and many times I've heard that I will not have a chance to use it in any other country. While still living there I worked as a project manager in a startup UX/UI design company for a little over a year.
In August of 2021, I moved to the US with a fiancé visa that didn't allow me to legally work until I receive work authorization papers or a green card. The whole document process took us almost a year in total so in that time I was helping teachers at a private Christian school (if you're interested, dm me, and I'll tell you more about it).
Education Evaluation
Right after moving to the US I researched the topic of educational accreditation and found out that there are plenty of agencies that evaluate and verify foreign degrees from basically any country. God blessed me to find a firm that didn't require a confirmation letter from my university (which is usually the hardest part of the process). Eventually, I translated my transcripts, sent them to that company, and in ten days received a letter with a description of all my courses, grades, and an American equivalent of my degree.
The best part of this whole story is that my Belarusian bachelor's degree was transferred into a master's degree because of all the courses and credit hours that I took. I notices that just saying that I have a master's degree impresses people so I was counting on making the same effect on my potential employer.
Job Search
By June I received my work authorization (and got scheduled for a green card interview) so I updated my resume and started actively looking for a job. In my resume, I tried to showcase my little experience in the best way possible and I started applying to all positions that were more or less corresponding to my degree.
I had one strategy: at first, I was going to apply to the company that my husband works at (they had tons of positions open) and if I'm unsuccessful, I would apply to other places. Jumping ahead, I didn't even have to use the second option.
Though the first one wasn't easy either. In total, I sent my resume to about 50 positions, but in the first month, I didn't receive any feedback. A little later when I started applying to positions related to my experience and not my education (as I did in the beginning), I saw that my application interested potential employers.
The Choice
Within a month I received a few interview invitations (all online, through Zoom). I prepared thoroughly with YouTube videos and other resources I found online; I was very nervous. Though I noticed that the more I interviewed, the more confident I felt.
As a result, I received not just one, but two offers! Which gave me a chance to choose the position, the team (and the compensation) that I preferred.
An interesting thing happened to me in this process. I was declined for one of the positions because of my lack of experience, but out of politeness I decided to text the hiring manager and thanked them for their time. The response that I received surprised me - they were interested in me and were willing to have another interview and modify the position so they can formally hire me! This is how I ended up on that team.
Employment Process
The whole process from the moment I accepted the offer till the day I started working took about a month. During that time they confirmed my information (such as where I live, my education, and my work experience), I needed to submit my fingerprints and sign in to different apps and services.
Even after I started working I am still considered an employee in training, taking different courses and gathering information about the firm and the department that I work in. The more I learn about my team and my position, the more I get inspired by what I'm going to be doing, and the more I appreciated the fact that I'm there. I can't go into detail about my position but you can trust me that I couldn't even ask for such a blessing!
I Will Not Be Shaken
The job search wasn't an easy season of my life. I thought I couldn't do anything and no one would want to hire me. I had to get out of my comfort zone and send my resumes to positions that I wasn't qualified enough for or go through multiple interviews. Even starting a new job was an emotional challenge for me.
But from the very beginning, I would always tell people: I might not know what the future holds for me but I have experience, and this experience tells me that God can bless me abundantly!
My only job before this one was a great blessing for me and turned out to be a valuable asset in my work career. I saw my husband fly through all the interviews and get a wonderful job. Do I have any reasons to doubt that God can provide for me on this journey? I was sure that He would give me the best job and this hope hasn’t disappointed me yet. He gave me more than I could ask for!
David once said:
"I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken." (Ps. 16:8, NIV)
This correlates well with my thoughts (especially when you read the Russian translation that says "I've always seen the Lord before me"). Throughout my life, I kept my eyes on the Lord and saw Him before me and next to me, He always led me in the best ways. This is why I will not be shaken, I will not be nervous or anxious because He is still taking care of my life in the best way possible!
The next verse shows how this "will not be shaken" theory works in practice:
"Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure" (Ps. 16:9, NIV)
My heart and my spirit are inspired and encouraged when I think about God's faithfulness and meditate in His presence. This is displayed through my lips, in my songs and prayers, when I proclaim my hope in Him. And then my body follows my thoughts and my words and rests in peace and security.
The last verse of this chapter talks about joy, and I wrote about it not long ago, so you can read it here.
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