How to get a Job Abroad
Working overseas isn’t for the faint-hearted. You’ll be uprooting your life in many dramatic ways – leaving your friends and family behind, working in an alien culture under different laws and with different approaches and attitudes. Nontheless, it can be one of the most fulfilling and rewarding experiences of your life and can give your confidence and personal skills a huge boost.
The requirements can vary enormously from country to country (jobs in the Middle East have very different backgrounds to jobs in Sweden, for example) but there are a lot of things to think about regardless of where you intend to work. Hopefully, these few tips and pointers will help guide your decision!
Your Personality
It might seem like a no-brainer, but if you are the kind of person who finds it difficult to strike up conversations with strangers or is overawed by new situations then you should think long and hard about whether realistically you’ll be able to cope with a job abroad. Many people harbour illusions about their own ability to survive without regular contact with family and friends. Before you make any serious move towards moving abroad to work then reall
Legal Requirements
To work in most countries, you will have to have a proper legal status. Entry to most countries for work is governed by a Visa system – and these can be very complicated. Australia, for example, has around a dozen different working Visas for different kinds of job and a strict review process that was designed against the backdrop of a drive to achieve ‘balanced migration’. There are many companies who claim to offer a service to help you acquire a Visa, but beware – most of them will still require you to make most of the running and supply the necessary paperwork and bona fides, and there is no evidence that their success rate is much greater than applications made in person.
Culture & Language
If you’re thinking about any country in particular, then investigate the culture of the country beforehand. People often find themselves in trouble for innocent mistakes based on cultural misunderstanding or naivety. If you’re fond of drinking, then working in an environment where drunkeness is frowned upon – or even illegal – isn’t for you.
It might seem like a no-brainer, but even though English is the lingua-franca of most of the world you can’t expect to work abroad without at least a smattering of the host language at your command. Even if your business will be carried out in English, trips to the shops or other cultural interactions can be incredibly hard to negotiate by means of gestures alone!
Employment Law
Wherever you end up working will be governed by laws that are very different to the ones you’re used to. In the USA, for example, hiring and firing is subject to far less regulation than in the EU. In some countries, an employer can legally force you to stay within the country until your contract has been served. An understanding of these requirements means you’ll be better placed to decide whether you want to work in the host country and what you can expect when you get there.
Your Skills
If you’re planning to work abroad, consider the skills that you have and where they might be most valued. In the Middle East technical skills in finance, computing and oil and gas specialisms. In Australia, nursing and IT skills are currently highly prized. A little research on the internet will soon show you where your skills will be most valued and rewarded.
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