Working in Canada or United States

[mserica]

Im looking at working in Canada or United States to further my exposure in HR, is anyone aware of organisations that can assist with the placement of Australian candidates in the U.S and Canadian markets?

[kevinh]

Can I ask what stage you are at in your career ? (years of post grad experience?)

[mserica]

I have been working full time in HR for over four years currently managing the HR function at an organisation with approximately 350 staff.

I am 3/4 of the way through my undergrad B.HRM at Macquarie University. (I study part time, hence the reason for the degree taking so long to complete).

[USHRRep]

I can only offer perspective on working in the US.

Most overseas workers come into the US on an H1-B visa that is good for 3 years. There are limited number available each year, and these slots get filled up almost instantaneously by larger companies hiring technical talent from abroad. This requires the sponsorship of a US company, which means you would need to have a job offer before you can apply for one.

Part of the H1-B process looks at your education and experience - the employer must justify why they are hiring a non-US worker for the position. Thus you are in a better position the more skills and schooling you have.

HR is a challenging field for this because it requires knowledge of the local laws and regulations, something difficult for a non-US applicant to acquire. My guess is having experience at a global organization, where you might leverage that experience in a similarly global HR team in the US, would be one of the few possibilities.

There are other visa options as well, but they require somewhat unique circumstances (a student status, a spouse working in the US under a visa, etc.). This is too lengthy to get into here. My suggestion is to at least finish your degree - that should be a minimum requirement for the work visa. Then you may want to focus on developing a more specialized or unique HR skill set (applicable globally) that would attract a US company's attention.