1. How to choose your employer for sponsoring your H1B Visa ?

I am having hard time with other obligations to keep posting regularly…..I will try…This post is part of the series : Everything you need to know about How to get a Job & face interviews in US

There are primarily two class of people looking  :

• Students who are in US trying to find a n employer who can sponsor visa , train them, provide accomodation and help them get job
• Experienced professionals or students back in India who are interested to come to US on H1B and pursue a career in US.

In either case, the first and foremost things to look in an employer are :

• Size of the company
• Is the company willing to pay for your H1B Visa, provide boarding and lodging and train you.
• Does the company have good marketing team ? Do they have direct clients ?
• What is the company’s specialty in Marketing ? is It SAP, Microsoft , Java,etc ?
• Does the company pay on time, without delays
• Do you know anyone in the company who can give you unbiased feedback
• Does the comapny do  Green Card processing, Do they have anyone with Green Cards
• Do they give hike or re-negotiate the Salary package or Percentage as you work for longer time?
• Do you know the head of the company of some key person in the company and not just the recruiter ?

The size of the company is very important. You do not want to go to really small company ( like having just 20  - 50 or less )  if you are starting your career because you do not have any connections in the market and you might have hard time to get job. You can always switch to smaller comapnies as you work more projects and know more vendors and contacts in industry. The larger the company ( around 100 to 150 ) the more chances of the company to have a bigger marketing team.

You really have to make sure the company pay for your H1B, train you, give you boarding and lodging facilities. I know some big companies do not do this especially boarding and lodging. It is very important if you are coming here to US for the first time or finding your first job as a student. Make sure they do all these. Training is very key and you need help with resume and other things too.

Most of the times, you talk to some recruiter and commit for the deal. But, it is very bad idea. You have to know someone like the Owner or someone who owns stake in the company and influential. It is very important for you for your future salary negotiation and growth in the company. It is VERY Important for your pay negotiation after you find project. If you get your own project, you can get better percentage if you talk to the owners and explain. Also, for Green Cards and other situations you need support from them.  You do NOT want to among those people who always go through recruiter and you do  not know what the recruiter is  saying to owner. It is VERY important.

Every consulting company is primarily very good at marketing  only some technologies. You really have to identify your company based on what technology you work on. Some companies are good at Marketing for Java and some for SAP.  What it means is, it will be easier for you to get a job in that technology if the company is good at that and they have some clients ( for consulting jargon click here ).  No one never says, they do not market. Anyone can do marketing for any technology, only thing is they might SUCK .

Paying on time is very important. I do not think, the company recruiter or owner will tell they wont pay on time  Here is where you need to know someone who can give you unbiased info about paying. Many companies, say we are waiting for client money and we will pay after 60 days. These kind of companies, hold lot of your money to make sure you do not transfer. So, be careful and get to know the company.  The person you talk to is  key, Make sure he is not looking for just BONUS if you join the company ( some companies give bonus if they refer someone ) and wash his hands off by giving you wrong info.

If you plan to live in US for more than 6 years and may be settle down here, you need Green Card. Check with the company if they do Green Cards, Most of them do. But, here is they key, see if they are big enough and old enough to support themselves and give you support too along the process of Green Card.

Key take aways,

Talk to someone who work in that company before you join that company. You need Unbiased clear details about the company.…I recommend to choose companies of medium to bigger size if you are starting your career in consulting. You can always move around once you know the nuts and bolts of consulting arena.

Related posts:

1. Plan to apply for H1B visa for 2011 quota in 2010? Things to verify before you choose employer to sponsor H1B visa ?
2. Negotiation Salary & Benefits with H1B sponsoring Consulting Companies
3. 2. What should you ask the employer before you decide to join them ?
4. H1B Sponsoring Comapnies list in US with FULL details
5. Flash News : Additional requirements for filing H1B Visa petition for 2011. USICS releases additional Employer Employee relations Memorandum