j1 tips - some of the practicalities

abelard

Ok, so I'm off to America for a j1 soon, and while I'm not worrying about anything, I know there's a few small practical things you need to do when you get there, and I'd like to hear people's experience on them to save me any potential hassle etc.

Firstly, getting a phone. Is there a particular network/tarriff that would suit someone there for only a few months? I've heard they can be a bit of a rip-off so what's the best way of avoiding that? Is there any point getting a sim beforehand or should I just wait? Also, should I just get my current phone unlocked or get one over there too?

Next is a bank account. Should I definitely open one over there? Again, is there any bank that you would avoid/recommend? Any good offers etc. etc.

I have a CV I'm quite happy with, but does anyone have any good tips for converting a European style CV to an American style Resumé?

Any other general tips for job hunting in an American city (will be in Boston myself but anything more general would be helpful too)?

That's about it for now. Maybe if other people have similar questions they can add them on below and we can get together a decent info source for some of these minor practicalities.

Thanks.

random_banter

Heya,

Firstly, very jealous of you going off on your j1, I wish I could go again but alas I have graduated

Anyway, with regards to phones, wait till you get there and if you want a good package that all the J1-ers seem to get, its with AT&T (was cingular the first time I went, they got bought by AT&T). They had some sort of pay as you go plan where you had unlimited calling to other mobiles for a flat rate each day you use it, i.e pay $1 a day and you get free calls. There may be another better plan that im not aware of on some other network but this is the one we all got.

You're best off trying to find an old crappy spare phone and bringing that with you, get your sim from the phone company you chose and pop it in. You're not going to care about the latest fancy phones when you're on your j1, you'll only need it for the basics. Make sure it's tri-band though!

Can't help you with the bank account as we set up ours with the j1 friendly Washington Mutual (WaMu) and I hear they've gone out of business? Bank of America wouldn't speak to us because we had no permanent addresses, jobs, etc.

For job hunting on a J1 your prospective employers will be looking for a one page CV. So pretty much condense your current one into one page, cut out all the frills etc.

We used CraigsList to job hunt a lot of the time, but we were in San Diego and jobs were scarce. Depending on what you're looking for you should also just walk around the city and look in shop windows for those "we're hiring" posters. http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites - CraigsList is also great for looking for accommodation and cheap furniture etc!

Also, as soon as you get there- get down to the social security office and apply for your social security number asap! You wont be able to properly start a job till you get your social security number as its connected to your tax (some places will let you but its a lot of hassle without it) and ours took 6 weeks to arrive. Hopefully the wait times in Boston will not be as bad.

I'll post up any more tips if I think of them.

Have a brilliant summer! It is one that you will never forget!

Leprachaun

I've heard crappy phones on AT+T are the way to go too. As for bank accounts, SAYIT sorted me out with one before I go over,I guess that's one less thing to do when I get over there.

American Resumes are more like one page essays than bulletin points so try and write it up like that. I'd say in Boston, Irish bars would be your first stop when looking for jobs.