Relocating to the United States after a short period in a new job, major tech
Hi, I'm a backend engineer at a major tech company, currently stationed at an international site. I recently received a green card and have one year to relocate. After a four-year tenure with the company and a two-year break, I've rejoined for the past three months. I'm worried that my short time in the current role might affect my chances for an internal transfer, and that me notifying management on my intentions will cause them to just look for a replacement. What’s the minimum amount of time I should wait before asking for an internal move? I’m thinking about waiting until my first performance review, in a couple of months. Should I wait more? Alternatively, I could apply to other jobs, but I’m not confident in my interviewing skills and find preparing for them to be a hassle, but if I can land something better, and don't have to wait so long, I might do it.
Any thoughts or comments would be helpful. How is the job market in the US right now? Thanks
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Discussion
(2 comments)- 0
4 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroI agree that asking for an internal transfer right now would be hasty. An internal location transfer is effectively a promotion, especially if it's to the United States. This means you should treat the conversation and dynamic around it like a promotion. Follow the advice from our promotion course here: https://www.jointaro.com/course/nail-your-promotion-as-a-software-engineer/talk-to-your-manager/
How is the job market in the US right now?
Unfortunately, it's pretty terrible, especially for mid-level engineers like yourself (it gets better at senior and is pretty much normal at staff+). Something you could do though is to passively put out some feelers, applying to a couple jobs and responding to inbound. I think your goal should be to focus on performing at your current job (to set up an internal transfer) while lightly exploring outside US roles. You want to sustain your current role as it's probably the best bet to go to the US and the best time to interview is when you currently have a job: https://www.jointaro.com/course/ace-your-tech-interview-and-get-a-job-as-a-software-engineer/interviewing-while-employed/
- 03 months agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
How different of a role is the internal transfer? If it has a lot of overlap with your current role, you could phrase it as a logical extension of what you're doing now, a job which will let you become more valuable to the business.
You can use your previous 4 year tenure at the company (along with perf ratings or relationships) as additional credibility to support your move.
