a real success story
In today's world, where borders are becoming increasingly arbitrary and remote work is the norm, many professionals are considering a career in American companies without leaving their home country. The story of Alexey Konoshenkov, a data science specialist, shows that this is quite achievable.
Alexey managed to get two job offers from companies in the USA while in Cyprus. His path from a graduate of Moscow State University to a candidate for positions in American companies includes a number of stages and strategic decisions.
How did he do it? What steps did he take? And most importantly, what practical conclusions can be drawn from his experience?
In this article, we'll look at Alexey's strategy: from working on his resume to creating an American phone number. You'll learn how to effectively use LinkedIn to attract recruiters' attention and why participating in professional competitions can be useful when looking for a job.
From Moscow State University to Global Tech Giants
Alexey Konoshenkov's career path began at the Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics at Moscow State University. After receiving his diploma, he continued his education in the UK, where he received a master's degree in actuarial mathematics.
Returning to Russia, Alexey realized the need for further professional growth. This led him to move to Cyprus, where the idea of working for American technology companies was formed. It was here, among olive groves and ancient ruins, that an ambitious plan matured in Alexey’s head – to conquer the American labor market.
Alexey explains his choice by the fact that the most important technology companies are located in the USA, which can provide a huge number of opportunities for professional development.
Thus began a new stage in the life of our hero – searching for a dream job in US corporations without leaving the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Spoiler: it will not be easy, but very interesting.
Strategy for conquering the American labor market
1. Summary: Working on mistakes
The first step was to carefully work on the resume. Alexey used tools like TealHQ to optimize the CV, but quickly realized that high scores from automated systems do not guarantee success. Resumes created by resume builders lose the uniqueness of the specialist, turn out to be templates and, as a result, do not have a high conversion rate into a call from a recruiter. He admits that he thought he was brilliant at the process, and was somewhere in the sky at the level of his ego. But it turned out that 90% of candidates use resume builders, which turned out to be not brilliant at all.
After consulting with Anna Naumova, Alexey radically changed his approach to his resume. Instead of two pages where he tried to show himself as a jack of all trades (engineer, product, project, and data analysis specialist), Alexey focused on the specific position of data scientist and relevant experience.
In the new version of his resume, he clearly stated his goal – the position of Data Scientist. Alexey reformulated his work experience, emphasizing precisely those aspects related to data analysis and machine learning. He also added a section with awards and achievements, including successes in hackathons and programming competitions.
The result was not long in coming. The resume began to attract the attention of recruiters from precisely those companies and positions that interested Alexey. He began to receive invitations to interview for relevant positions. Moreover, during some interviews, interviewers even mentioned materials that Alexey published on LinkedIn
2. LinkedIn: The Key to Success
LinkedIn became the main tool in job search. Alexey actively developed the profile, wrote articles and established connections. He began to actively network, write in groups, add people in companies that interested him.
Practical advice: don't just ask for help, but show genuine interest in the person you're talking to. Alexey noted that when you start asking people how they managed to achieve success, you get many more answers.
3. Creating unique content
Alexey experimented with content creation. He tried writing weekly, daily, but eventually found his format – original content as interesting ideas appeared. For example, he wrote a function that works three and a half times faster than all existing analogs, added it to his GitHub and wrote an article about it. This article got 3,000 views and attracted American recruiters who began writing and referring to this article.
4. American number: a little trick
To increase his chances of getting an interview with a company in the States, Alexey created an American number through the OpenPhone app. The cost is about $10 a month, but the effect is significant. He explains this by the fact that if there are two identical candidates, but one is easy to contact via an American phone number, and the other is not (because the phone number is from Europe), they will contact the one who is easier to contact. American recruiters do not use instant messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp, they call a mobile phone.
5. Participation in hackathons and competitions
Alexey actively participated in various hackathons and programming competitions. The result is second place at the Skolkovo hackathon, fourth place at DataFest, bronze medals at Kaggle. The awards in the resume turned out to be very attractive for American companies.
Results: two offers in a couple of weeks and an unexpected decision that he doesn’t want to work remotely in the US, but wants to be at the epicenter of events.
Thanks to this strategy, Alexey received two offers:
1. From a company that outsources tasks for tech giants.
2. From a small EdTech startup.
However, Alexey declined both offers. He realized that remote work was not interesting and he needed to go to the States. Working as a remote employee outside the US limits opportunities for development and building a network of professional contacts.
Future plans: PhD and O1 or EB1 talent visa (green card)
Alexey is currently aiming to enroll in a PhD program in the US, preferably at Stanford. In parallel, he is considering the possibility of obtaining an O1 or EB1 visa for people with exceptional abilities. He believes that if nothing works out with the PhD, he can always apply for a talent visa.
Key Practical Tips for Finding a Job in American Companies
1. Start preparing for a job search at least six months before the active start: improve your resume, LinkedIn profile, network, meet useful people from your dream companies, practice your answers at interviews. Prepare yourself for a long job search process, do not expect quick results.
2. Actively manage professional social networks, publish expert content. Experiment with content creation formats, find your own publishing style.
3. Focus your resume on the specific position you are applying for, avoid generalizations.
4. Update your resume every 3-4 weeks while actively looking for a job.
5. Don't limit yourself to LinkedIn for job searches. Use specialized platforms for job searches in startups: Wellfound, Y Combinator's job board, 500 Startups.
6. Adapt to cultural differences: Smile and have a positive attitude when interviewing American companies.
7. Consider long-term strategies: pursuing a PhD or obtaining a talent visa to successfully integrate into the American labor market.
8. Create an American phone number through special applications for easy communication with recruiters.
9. Participate in hackathons and professional competitions to expand your portfolio of achievements.
10. Test different approaches to your job search, don't be afraid to change your strategy.
The story of Alexey Konoshenkov shows that it is quite possible to receive a job offer from an American company while being outside the United States. However, it is important to understand that remote work for an American company is only the first step. For full career development and maximum growth opportunities, it is still worth considering options for directly moving to the United States.
The main thing is not to stop at what has been achieved and always strive for more. Work with a cool head, change modes, test different hypotheses. Something will definitely work, you just need to make enough attempts.
