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Overseas Jobs
- how to find them -
Overseas jobs - the very mention of those two
words is enough to elicit visions of travel, adventure and new
beginnings. While it is undoubtedly an exciting proposition to
consider going overseas to work and to live, especially if it
is a dream that you have harboured for any length of time, the
reality of trying to find a job overseas before you arrive normally
consists of a lot of work, numerous rejection letters and much
disappointment. Yet having a job already arranged can often be
the difference between travelling abroad or not and so the rewards
can far outweigh the sacrifice.
Many people write to us asking if it is possible
to land a job before leaving for overseas and, if so, how? While
we don’t suggest that securing an overseas job is easy,
it's certainly possible with the right attitude, the right planning,
and a bit of luck.
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When
looking for work overseas only one thing can be stated as certain.
It will normally require a lot of time, planning, patience, and
perseverance if you wish to succeed. That is of course unless
you are extremely lucky or have an in-demand skill set that you
can offer. For the most part however you should be prepared to
spend a lot of time and effort to secure an overseas job - but
the rewards are undoubtedly worth it.
The key is in the preparation. Having a clear objective in terms
of where you want to live, what kind of work you wish to do, how
long you want to do it for, and what you expect out of that work
will set the foundation for your approach to finding work overseas
and ultimately, hopefully, your success.
Where do you want to live?
It sounds like an obvious question, but there are underlying factors
that can affect your chances of success. Do you just have a specific
country in mind without any particular region or city? If you are
willing to live anywhere within a given country your chances of
finding work will be greater than if you are just looking to move
to a very small, localised area. Equally, having skill sets that
lend themselves to city-like environments (such as I.T. or financial)
may mean that setting your sights on living in a small rural town
will seriously lessen your chances of finding work in that area.
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What
kind of overseas work are you looking for?
Again,
another basic question but one that needs to be looked at carefully.
Each person will have a different reason for wanting to find an
overseas job and each person will have a different set of skills
that they can offer. If moving to another country has been a long-term
goal you may consider doing whatever work comes your way until
you can find a position in your chosen field. In that regard many
migrants the world over can be found working as taxi drivers,
shop assistants etc., until they can assimilate better into their
new country. While this is obviously not ideal it does offer a
foot in the door for some people and allows them the opportunity
to look for work from within the country. With such an approach
in mind you may be better off looking toward the big cities as
job prospects there will be much higher. One thing to bear in
mind however is that you may be able to save much more money by
staying in your own country and working in your chosen career
than by migrating to a new country and only being able to find
work in a secondary position for a while. You should think carefully
about the financial aspect if you are unable to work in your own
profession for a while in your new country.
What
do you expect from working overseas?
As
we've touched on before each person will have a different set
of reasons and therefore expectations from working overseas. For
some people working overseas is a career-enhancing move and for
those people it is more important to locate the right position
rather than any position at all. For other people working overseas
offers the chance to earn money and live in a new country, perhaps
with a goal to living there permanently. Yet for others extended
working holidays offer the chance to travel through countries
while having the ability to earn money and further their travelling
experiences. If you are moving overseas with a family you will
have other considerations to take into account. You will need
to give extra consideration your family's needs such as what schools
are in the area? What jobs can your spouse do? What are the employment
options for him/her like there? How long will you have to travel
from where you hope to live to possible work areas? Is there public
transport? The list of questions is endless but it all comes down
to planning. You don’t have to take any job that is offered
to you but lack of planning about the other things in life can
make even the best job turn out to be a nightmare. Look before
you leap because you can’t turn back the clock at a later
stage. If you’re travelling by yourself then these are headaches
that you don’t have to deal with.
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