Irish man moving to Chicago on one year visa (2013, job market)

[mcgrathwill77]

Hi everyone,

My name is Will I'm a recent Irish graduate and have an opportunity to take up a full one year working visa in your great country. I met many Americans in my time studying in NUI Maynooth and I really like the people. I'm trying to make some contacts with perhaps other Irish people who may have left these shores on the type of journey I am pursuing.

I have 3 months to gain employment upon arrival and I have to gain employment in my area of study which in Business and Management. I understand its difficult to try make connections without actually being in Chicago. I just want to know about job opportunities what parts of the city are nice etc and maybe have you a similar story to myself ? anyway thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you soon. Looking forward to learning more about the windy city and hopefully building a future there.

[chicagobear]

There are many Irish and Irish descended people in Chicago and I don't think you would have any problem fitting in or being accepted.

[thefallensrvnge]

You picked a great city to work in. I'd suggest job searching within the Loop (the downtown area) first. You'll find a lot of the larger corporation have office space downtown there. Do you have a preference on any type of job specifically? Any companies you have in mind?

I'm not really sure what the current situation of Chicago's job market is, but if it is anything thing like most of the US, it's a little shaky. But don't be afraid to get creative and look on the outskirts of the downtown as well, especially the north side which has many, many stores and business that line the streets. Maybe look through some help wanted ads and applications for potential jobs now to get an idea of what is out there so at least you have general idea of what some employers are looking for. Here is a positing about Chicago's Irish neighborhoods. A lot of them seem to be on the south side. //www.city-data.com/forum/chica...rish-live.html

Welcome to the States. Glad you're coming!

[mcgrathwill77]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the responses, that is some good advice all ready, Im not too worried about fitting in I know Chicago is a diverse city with a lot of different cultures, I am very happy to meet new people and mingle with them I am not interested in just Irish people! lol But just connection reasons maybe for work is what I was thinking. I have not actually arrived in Chicago yet I plan to arrive the beginning of March 2013 so I just want to put in some ground work and build my knowledge. I look forward to the task of finding work ahead, however I would like to make some connections in this respect before arriving as my niche is not so much selective it just has to be a so called professional job under the terms of my visa. I would have been happy to work in the service industry till I secured something inline with my visa but this is not allowed. Anyway again thanks for the feedback, if you know of anywhere looking for an enthusiastic Irish grad hit me up lol. I'm looking in the areas of Business and Management. I do understand the economy is not at 100% but hope things are improving and I would be honored if I could contribute to this.

[marothisu]

Very cool. Well, it will be interesting if you want to stay here. You have to find a company to sponsor you basically. If not, then yeah you have a year here if you find that job... I know a lot of people who've done the same thing.


There are a lot of Irish descended people here as others have stated, but you guys might be different. From all the real irish people I've met...real Irish and American Irish are very different things. In any case, i don't think you'll have a problem fitting in or making friends. You just have to put yourself in a spot to do so.

[themag62]

People I don't think this man is worried about making friends, finding other Irish people (Uh not what you go live in foreign country to do), or fitting in; he wants a job and is trying to network!

The above notwithstanding, you may have job luck from getting to know some Irish-Americans who will likely be sympathetic to you. Some places to start are the Irish American Heritage Center and Abbey Pub.

[Irishtom29]

I had an aunt who after a short time here went back to Mayo. She said Americans were crazy people who cooked outside and shat inside.

[aragx6]

Does it have to be permanent full-time work, or could you look into temping? Most of those jobs would probably fall under the business/professional banner. There are a lot of temp agencies that could probably get you working pretty quickly if that would satisfy your via requirements.

[mcgrathwill77]

Again many thanks for the responses , themag62 understands what I'm saying and looking for again thanks for all the feedback. Yes temp agencies I must say I did not consider again this would be fine as long as its under the umbrella of my area of study so administration, marketing, management any form of business really. I might try to locate a few recruitment agencies see if they could place me for a period of time.

[thefallensrvnge]

Good idea. Traveling to a new country, you might as well mingle with the locals. It's disheartening to see some immigrants move here and then search for neighborhoods with their ethnicity, and have little desire to socialize with other types of people.