Conducting an International Job Search?

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

[eric76]

If you're still in college, check with the office that handles on-campus recruiting.

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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[the eric conspiracy]

When I was graduating, I considered a number of jobs overseas.

Yes, when I greaduated there were a number of US Gov't opportunities in Southeast Asia.

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[lhand]

Yes, when I greaduated there were a number of US Gov't opportunities in Southeast Asia.

And I taked one teaching Engrish!

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[honkycat]

Was that in the late 60s, early 70s? :-)

Wow...

[WebCrapper]

I'm in awe of the whole "I'm leaving!" mentality thats apparently taken slashdot by storm. I'm an American living in Germany due to the military and I get chased by recruiters from the US on a regular basis. In fact, I'm working with one right now for a pretty serious offer. I've gotten recruiters from everywhere from Florida to Las Vegas bugging me on a regular basis and I don't have anything that I would call special other than web coding experience.

What industries are these people in where they think the

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[kdcttg]

I dont think that it is the fact that people cant get jobs, more the fact that they want to get out of countries that are becoming more and more oppressive and untrustworthy everyday.
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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[mikael]

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.

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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[the_unknown_soldier]

What industries are these people in where they think they have to leave to get jobs? Good grief! It's not about leaving because there are no jobs, its about leaving because of America's domestic and foreign policy. People want to move to countries with decent social welfare, that are not aggressive towards sovereign states. Of course, this type of apathy very rarely leads to anybody actually ever moving. Change is only a mid-term election away.

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[argoff]

You don't understand.

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...

[joto]

Why do you think that we would want you here. Please stay in America.

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[itwerx]

Why do you think that we would want you here. Please stay in America.

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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[STFS]

For heavens sake don't give up your citizenship. We need people like you to retain their right to vote in the US to prevent a disaster like this [wikipedia.org] from ever happening again.

It is not going to be easy

[thsths]

> for those that left, how did you get started?

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

[ElMiguel]

Lots of companies have job centers in both the USA and Europe. If there is a job center for a company you're interested in relatively near to your home, you could perhaps do some interviews there and get a general feeling for the company before investing more time and effort in interviewing in Europe. Let them know from the beginning that you intend to move to Europe and if they're interested in you they'll probably try to help.

What worked for me

[Anonymous Coward]

My background: I'm a New Zealander who worked in NYC for 5 years and decided to move to Scotland.

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

[castlec]

thedailywtf has international postings. In addition, someone already mentioned monster. I know for certain they have a large presence in the UK, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic and they probably have more than that. I have visa experience from the Czechs and the laws are probably standard across the entire EU. The way it works here is the potential employer has to ask for permission to hire a foreigner and give the qualifications for the job. If the labor office can find someone registered with t

Trade Organizations

[kninja]

I recommend finding trade organizations for your target country in the U.S. or your current country, and talking with them. They usually have a network of companies that are doing business in your country and who might have an interest in hiring someone from that country for a number of different positions. Helpful Link [yahoo.com]

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

[PrinceAshitaka]

I chose where I wanted to move to(Basel, Switzerland), moved there and then conducted a normal job search with online resurces, newspapers, and headhunters. I suppose this choice depends on your personality. Is the location more important or the position you want to have. For me personally Basel is the perfect place as it has a great chemical industry for me to find a job in (I am a chemist) and it also has the social aspects I want in a community. ps If you want to find a job here look at jobs.ch [www.jobs.ch]

Become a specialist

[JanneM]

Most "pedestrian" jobs have plenty of local applicants already, in whatever country you're looking to move to. There is little reason for any employer to even consider an overseas applicant, considering the extra risk, hassle and paperwork involved. Also, in many countries the more common the job, the harder it is to get a permit.

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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[voot]

yeah learning the language is really important. if you can get a change to go over there and take language classes at university until you can get credentialed as knowing it you can easily get a job working as a language teacher. the best way is to contact the goverment education department and let them know you want to work for 5 years or so as a teacher and you will usually get citizenship out of this as well and that will help a lot when finding another job

An American Geek in London

[copito]

I migrated from the LA to London 2 1/2 years ago under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme [workingintheuk.gov.uk], which, if you qualify, is a very good way to enter the job market in the UK. You earn points based on your education level, number of years graduate (post university) working experience, salary, and other factors (bonus points for being young, an MD, or MBA from a top 50 school).

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

[Drubber]

I have just made an international move myself. I decided to move from the States to France for a few years. I am in the job hunt phase now.

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

[OhRock]

If you are looking for a Job in Europe, you can get a wealth of information from them: planetrecruit.com

They are an English website, but you can do searches all across Europe.

Be Lucky and Pick the Right Job

[Wellington Grey]

Hey Anonymous Questioner,

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

[No One You Know]

A few years ago I decided to move to Canada (not for political reasons). First I needed a job, and I just attacked that problem from every angle I knew -- I posted my resume to job sites like dice.com, monster.ca, etc. I visited the city I wanted to live in three times, and spent as much time as possible during my visits networking with people, going to interviews, and walking around the city to get an idea of where I wanted to live. It took me nearly a year before it happened, but I made it out here and

Have passport, will travel

[Fallon]

I have been living & working overseas for going on 8 years now as a defense contractor. If you have technical skills (more field skills than development), a passport, and a security clearance or the clean record required to get one.

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!

[tillerman35]

Please be careful when doing your job search. As soon as you post your resume to a foreign job site, you will be a target for a upfront fee arrangement scam. If you're asked to provide funding for things like "visa application fees" or "filing fees" or "process fees," warning bells should start to go off. If you're not sure of the process or who/when/what/howmuch you should expect to pay or even if you're expected to pay anything at all, you should contact the country's embassey, or do some web investiga

Get a domestic job...

[GWBasic]

You can always get a domestic job for a big multinational corporation. Once you're inside the corporation, work towards getting transfered overseas. It'll take a little longer, but someone else will pay all of your moving expenses.