H1 to h4 and back to h1

Hi, I have been working in USA with h1 b for 3 years and changed my status to h4 . Now I would like to go back to work and not sure where to start. I have few questions and I would really appreciate if you people can help me with those.

  1. Since I’m on h4 now ,should I have the status changed back to h1 even before I start searching for job?

  2. Once I filed my cos, can I start working immediately once I received my receipt or should I wait for the approval itself ?

  1. You can search for an employer even now, and once finalized they can apply COS + H-1 transfer for you.

  2. No, you need to wait for COS approval before starting to work.