Chicago is one of the easiest places in the US to find work in summer, however, with J1 applicants now requiring jobs to be pre-approved and signed-off in advance, you need to be more organised than ever.
Many Bar and Restaurants in the city are familiar with the visa process and won’t have any problems signing your forms.
Our partner website ChicagoServiceIndustry.com has over 28,000 members from within Chicago’s Bar & Restaurant industry and lists 500-700 new jobs every month. In early 2020, we will be listing Jobs aimed at J1 Applicants, so join our mailing list or check back for more information.
Our partner website ChicagoServiceIndustry.com has over 28,000 members from within the city’s Bar & Restaurant industry community and lists over 500+ jobs per month.
Join the Facebook Group for live job listings under ‘Job Posts’ tab.
You will also find job posts at ChicagoServiceIndustry.com/jobs
Craiglist has dozens of local jobs posted everyday – just be mindful of scammers.
View their latest posts here.
Catering & Event Staffing companies regularly hire J1 students for the past number of years and are familiar with the visa process.
Chicago has dozens of events every week and from hospitality to concerts, conventions, sporting events, street festivals and experiential marketing – Catering & Event Staffing companies are constantly on the lookout for tempory staff, especially in the summer months.
A quick google search will point you in the right direction.
Note: Most of these companies cannot guarantee full time hours and job locations will vary. We recommend that you check their ratings on Glassdoor / Yelp before applying.
Updating your CV/Resume
When applying for jobs it’s important that you change your CV to an American style Resume.
Hiring managers will expect a one page document with information about your education and previous work/volunteer experience.
Note: If you are under 21, don’t waste your time applying for Bartender or Server positions as it’s not allowed under US law. All bars and restaurants will hire under 21 staff for other positons though, such as Hosts, Bussers (Bus Boy), Bar Backs (bar assistant) amongst others.
JobHero.com is a good website to go to for help. Click here for more.
Illinois BASSET Certification
All Bar and Restaurant staff in the US are required to complete a short online safety certificate program before beginning work.
Completing this in advance would be a significant boost to your Resume when applying for jobs, and put you ahead of other J1 applicants.
The course costs just $9 with our discount code: CSI123. Click here for more information.
