My Career Was Thriving within the US, however Then I Didn’t Get My Work Visa | Invesloan.com

My career was on a roll.

While in college at UCLA, I landed four editorial internships in my field of choice.

After graduating, I interned at the magazine where I’d dreamed of working since I was 12. Then, I was offered a full-time job as an associate editor for a different online publication.

There was just one problem: I was working there on my student visa, because I was (and well, still am) a French-born-and-raised UK citizen.

My company applied for an H-1B visa for me (a type of work visa that works on a lottery system for many organizations, often including those in the media), and I just didn’t win. I briefly considered applying for grad school so that I could get a new student visa, but quickly realized this just wasn’t the right choice for me. Other options, like the O-1 and E-2 visas, were too costly and time-consuming for me to pursue. My time was up, and I had to move to the UK to continue my editorial career.

I gave up my Los Angeles apartment, left the job I loved, and moved an ocean away from the many friends I’d made in my five years in America.

I’m lucky for many reasons. I was able to move in with family in France until I could find a new job. Then, a family member helped me secure a temp job as an assistant for a couple of months in London, so I moved there to continue my job search.

I’m also extremely lucky to have found amazing freelance and part-time work in the eight years I’ve lived in London. And though I consider myself an accomplished freelance writer, leaving the life I’d built behind took an emotional toll. I also can’t help but wonder if not getting that work visa took my career on a major detour.

I started off in the UK with a lack of connections

Thanks to my many internships and other professional experiences as an undergrad and beyond, I was blessed with incredible connections in media in both New York and Los Angeles. These connections gave me a leg up on many occasions while I was still in the US; to this day, many of my freelance jobs come through the talented, kind people I met living and working in America.

When I moved to the UK, I was essentially starting from square one. I tried networking, but British people just don’t network the same way Americans do, and the market here is just smaller and more insular. Most people I reached out to — friends of friends, people in the industry I admired — didn’t respond.

Luckily, some of my American connections knew people in London and helped me secure freelance work. However, what I really wanted was a full-time editorial role, and I have been applying for positions for years with no luck. It’s much easier to move up once you already have your foot in the door at a company, which is something I gave up when I moved back to the UK.

Of course, there are many reasons I might not have gotten interviews, but not knowing anyone at the companies where I was applying can’t have helped, either.

My résumé doesn’t reflect my seniority.

For the majority of my decadelong editorial career, I’ve been writing freelance articles when I’d like to be leading a team, shaping the long-term content plan for a publication, or editing other people’s work. Even though I have years of experience in the field, I feel as though I’ve been stagnant, and finding a full-time job that feels like a step up seems more out of reach for me than ever.

Again, I know there are many reasons I may be passed over for an interview or an offer — skill, experience, a botched cover letter, my online presence — but I still wonder where my career would be if I’d gotten my work visa all those years ago.

Still, in true British fashion, I’m keeping calm and carrying on.