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Jobs Overseas (cont.)
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Following up
No matter what your approach to finding an overseas
job at some point it will pay to follow up on your initial approach
– regardless if you have heard back from the employer or
not. When following up be assertive and positive, but not overbearing.
When applying for positions from overseas you need to be aware
that your chances are proportionately less than if you were applying
locally so you need to be more persistent in your efforts and
your follow ups. It certainly won’t hurt to make follow-up
phone calls or e-mails, but don’t become too pushy in doing
so. A follow-up phone call can give you the chance to make personal
contact with the employer and potentially offer you the chance
to re-iterate some of the benefits that you may bring to the job.
It’s a sad fact of life that most people have pre-conceived
ideas about other cultures and other societies, so you may be
battling someone else’s misconceptions about your culture
and attitude when you apply from abroad. Getting the opportunity
to talk in person to the person responsible for hiring for that
job you applied for could be the difference between another failed
application and a new life in a new country. Be sure to send a
thank you note, fax, e-mail or something similar after any interview
or contact with the employer – even if you get a rejection
letter you never know when another opportunity might arise, so
send a thank you note and above all, be courteous.
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Summary
As you can see, preparation, research and planning are the most
important ingredients you can have when attempting to secure an
overseas job. Also give some thought to what life will actually
be like if you do find a job overseas. Make sure that it is really
something that you want and that you know exactly what it is you
are getting yourself in for. While it might be nice to day-dream
of a new life in a new country you must ask yourself if you have
what it takes to suffer seemingly endless rejection letters from
job applications (which more than likely will be the situation),
suffer the bureaucracy and red-tape from immigration officials,
and whether you could cope with just the general upheaval and uncertainty
would follow from such a major life change.
Chances are you’ll answer yes to all those questions so hopefully
some of the tips, suggestions, and advice on these pages will help
you find that overseas job. Remember, if you do land an offer of
an overseas job you are under no obligation to accept it. Make sure
that you are totally comfortable with the bone-fides of the company
and the offer they are making to you. This is where having acquaintances
in the other country can help. They can at least assist you in determining
if the company is real or not and if the offer sounds reasonable.
Don’t be afraid to approach government agencies for assistance
if you have any doubts and don’t ever sign an agreement just
because you think it might be the only opportunity you’ll
get. You may end up regretting it. |
There
are many books that have been written about the subject of finding
jobs overseas and some of them provide valuable resources and
ideas for further research. A quick search at
Amazon will turn up many.
All in all, if you plan and research your approach well and if
you persevere with your efforts then in the long run you may find
success and a rewarding overseas job.
Good luck!
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