Indeed, the H-1B visa lottery mostly comes down to luck. It is a lottery system where you have no control if you are selected, but you could slightly increase your chances of winning the lottery by obtaining a master’s degree or higher; beyond that, it is a random system. In 1956, John Austin’s “A Plea for Excuses” explored the concept of luck and its role in our lives, and while Austin did not necessarily believe people can always control any type of luck they have, there are certainly ways you can capitalize on your luck to ensure that you take advantage of your own luck in your job search.
I write about luck as it relates to your job search because you do have control over how you may find a job, and it not only involves your knowledge and skills but also, the strategies you employ as you job hunt.
He outlined four types of luck to highlight how different forms of luck can influence our actions and decisions:
- Resultant Luck: This type of luck comes from the things we do. Anything we do can lead to something positive, negative or neutral. When you apply for the H-1B lottery, resultant luck is at play because we cannot predict or guarantee the outcomes of our action in entering the visa lottery. However, you can control your resultant luck when it comes to your job search by creating resumes/applications that are more tailored to the jobs you are applying for. We encourage you to download the FrogHire.ai extension as it will review the skills you list on your resume and compare it to a job post, showing your areas of deficits so that you can polish your skills or tailor your resume more appropriately for the job posting.
- Circumstantial Luck: Circumstantial luck involves the external factors and circumstances that affect our actions and decisions. These factors can significantly impact the way events unfold. You can control your circumstantial luck by majoring in the STEM field, should you want to stay in the U.S. after college/university graduation. Why? Simple: the U.S. lacks skilled workers in the STEM field and therefore, the STEM-OPT extension work program would allow you to stay in the U.S. for an additional two years beyond the standard OPT one year duration. By downloading the FrogHire.ai extension, you will be able to search the five major job platforms to find open positions in the STEM field, while also filtering to view only the employers who will sponsor your visa.
- Constitutive Luck: Constitutive luck refers to the innate characteristics, abilities, and traits that individuals possess due to factors beyond their control. These characteristics play a role in shaping the choices people make and the outcomes of those choices. For instance, a natural talent for study in the area of STEM can be a type of constitutive luck. This natural inclination influences the opportunities and challenges a person faces, and those who take advantage of their natural talent for the sciences can capitalize to create more opportunities for themselves in this area when it comes to their career.
- Causal Luck: Causal luck refers to the unforeseen events or circumstances that occur due to causes beyond an individual’s control. These events can disrupt plans and intentions, leading to unintended consequences. Causal luck can be seen as the chain of events that result from the interaction of various factors, often in unexpected ways. For example, in 1998 the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act temporarily exponentially increased the number of H-1B visas issued in 1999-2000. Thus in 1999-2000, non-domestic workers ‘lucked into’ an increase in the number of visas issued, from 65,000 to 115,000.
Austin’s framework highlights how luck can influence the choices we make and the outcomes of those choices and how people may use different types of luck as excuses to explain why things did not go as planned. As you can see, however, when it comes to your job search it is not all about luck alone—you can do things to gain some control over the outcome of your job search, and the FrogHire.ai extension is one way to control your career’s fate.
TLDR:
While there are different types of luck and we have always thought of luck as ‘out of our control’, there are many proactive actions you can take to increase our luck when it comes to your job search. Download the FrogHire.ai extension today to make your job search more effective and efficient, while you filter through employers who will sponsor your visa while also quickly finding ways to tailor your application to each job posting’s requirements!
