Conducting an International Job Search? 34
An anonymous reader asks: "Ask Slashdot recently did a question about leaving America for someplace else, and that got me thinking — for those that left, how did you get started? After you had picked your destination country, did you just hop on a plane and look from there, if so how much money did you keep in reserve? Did you find the job before you went? What is the best site to look at for international job postings?"
College recruiting (Score:2)
When I was graduating, I considered a number of jobs overseas.
There's also employers like the State Department with an abundance of overseas postings.
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Yes, when I greaduated there were a number of US Gov't opportunities in Southeast Asia.
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Wow... (Score:2)
What industries are these people in where they think the
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I know that when i finish uni im going to want to leave the UK and live abroad, and im sure that the people who want to leave USA want to do it for the same reason.
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Three hundred thousand people are leaving the UK each year now. The reason most people are leaving are the high cost of housing (especially for retirees), the lack of job and pension security.
Even the immigrate to the UK websites [ukimmigrate.co.uk] give manage to put a positive spin on it: "high job turnover rate creating opportunities"
Although, there are many rea
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Between the housing debt, the credit card debt, the auto debt, the city debt, the state debt, the federal government debt, corporate debt, financial sector debt, and 50 trillion dollars worth of pre obligated costs like social security and medicare. The US is bankrupt [att.net]. It is about 500K per family increasing at about 30K per year. Can your family pay that?
The US economy is getting ready to collapse, and what do governments do when their economies collapse? Well, They become police st [freedomtofascism.com]
I don't get it... (Score:3, Funny)
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Parent is modded funny but it really should be Insightful. I travel and so do a number of people I know and America isn't scoring very high in the world's opinion right now. It used to be that when people in other countries knew you were from America the conversation would revolve around entertainment, way of life etc. Now you get the cold shoulder and it takes some effort to convince people that you're not like Bush; the undeniable log
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It is not going to be easy (Score:4, Informative)
I did not start from the States, but I did get jobs in different European countries. So I have the experience of applying "somewhere else", but given my right to stay and working within the EU, I did not have VISA/work permit issues. Even so it can be a difficult process.
1. Finding the job should be no problem. Got to www.monster., and you will find thousands of jobs. Unless you are very specialised, there should be something for you.
2. Taking the first hurdle. IT recruitment is usually outsourced or at least concentrated in HR. So your application will be scored, and you do take a hit for not "being there", and another for not being available immediately. Following up by phone really helps, but watch the time zones!
3. Phone interview. Again you have to watch the time zones, but it should not be a problem. I hope you speak the correct language!
4. Getting the interview. Obviously the interview is going to be costly if you are not "there". Usually European employers pay reasonable travel expenses, but I doubt this will include a transatlantic flight. In any way you have another disadvantage at this point, because the interview is expensive and difficult to arrange.
5. Moving. Finding a house and moving your stuff can be expensive, but that depends on your circumstances. Employers usually pay a contribution, and the rest is tax deductible (not bad at tax rates around 40%).
So 2. and 4. are difficult. And there is the work permit issue. You can nearly always get a work permit, if the company "sponsors" you. However, most companies try to avoid the paper work necessary. Getting a work permit based on skills (without a sponsor) is possible, but often expensive, and only valid in one European country.
And don't forget that unemployment is around 10%, so there is plenty of competition. Having a distinguishing (relevant) skill certainly helps a lot.
I hope this does not sound too negative. If you are determined to move, it is certainly possible. And you are rewarded with completely unamerican advantages such as state healthcare, an average of 30 private holidays per year, and usually shorter work hours. Plus you can visit all the European countries in a reasonably short time!
Companies with job centers in both USA and Europe (Score:2)
What worked for me (Score:1, Informative)
I took the 'burn the bridges behind you' approach and quit my job in NYC, took my future wife home to NZ for a month over Christmas and then went skiing in Utah for 3 months before heading to Scotland. YMMV.
A few months before I was due to move I started researching the IT recruiting companies and IT job sites. Make sure you polish your CV/resume in the format of your destination before you leave too. I also spe
Job sites and advice (Score:2)
Trade Organizations (Score:2)
I ran into a guy who worked at one such trade organization for an obscure european country at a christmas party, we started speaking the language, which I just so happen to speak (Language sk
Choose where you want to go (Score:2)
Become a specialist (Score:2)
Your best bet is to be specialized at something. You can be so focused and so good at a small slice of your profession that you don't really have any competition for the kind of jo
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An American Geek in London (Score:5, Informative)
Once you get it, you can enter the UK without a job, look for a job for up to a year and switch employers at any time. Work permits are also possible but are much more restrictive since you need employer sponsorship, they need to "prove" that no one local could have done the job and to change employers requires a new work permit.
There are a number of good IT job sites in the uk (http://jobserve.com, http://monster.co.uk/ [monster.co.uk] http://jobsite.co.uk/ [jobsite.co.uk] http://progressive.co.uk/ [progressive.co.uk] etc...). I applied to many and got very few responses until I put down a friend's address and phone number in England. I was then able to get some telephone interviews, but didn't get a final job offer until after I moved over. Even though I was fortunate to get a job offer relatively quickly, I didn't start work for almost a month and a half, and didn't get paid for over 2 months (salaried payment in the UK is almost always monthly, often in arrears, which takes a bit to get used to). Contract work is also an option.
A very good website for the HSMP and UK immigration in general is http://www.immigrationboards.com/ [immigrationboards.com] a free discussion board, part of http://www.workpermit.com/ [workpermit.com] a worldwide immigration service (which I didn't use but might be an option for you).
Best of luck!
On moving to France (Score:1)
Since I haven't completed the latter, I will give a few details on the former.
Unemployment is 8-10% here, but 20% among the youth. Naturally, it is difficult to get a work visa unless a company sponsors you. The way I did it was to get a non-work/visitor's visa, by showing sufficient resources and stating that I would not seek employment in France. I explained that I am
Add this one to your bookmarks: Planet Recruit (Score:1)
They are an English website, but you can do searches all across Europe.
Be Lucky and Pick the Right Job (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm the guy who asked the 'if not America, then where' question a week or so ago on slashdot, so I thought I'd throw in my own example. The first half was luck of birth. When I was looking in to possibly living abroad, I discovered that I qualified for an Irish passport due to my ancestry. So if you want to work in another country, I'd check the citizenship laws and trawl through your family tree to see if you have any useful connections.
Secondly, I picked an occupation with a critical shortage: physics teachers. If you seriously want to live and work abroad anywhere in the world, I cannot recommend a better job. Every week I see loads of ads for science teachers to work abroad, and I've even received a few job offers from schools (in China for example) through my journal [wellingtongrey.net].
So check that family tree, pick a job with a shortage and get out into the world. It was the best decision I ever made.
-Grey
attack the problem from many angles (Score:1)
Have passport, will travel (Score:2)
Only American citizens can get a security clearance these days, so the industry is pretty much immune to outsourcing. However working with the government & military means a lot of BS and sometimes not so great living conditions. Depending on where you are looking to go, t
Be Alert for Scams! (Score:1)
Get a domestic job... (Score:2)