Guest Post: by Kelly Dunning
Are you stuck in a career rut? Are you struggling to find a job in your field? Do you find yourself hitting a road block when it comes to your career goals?
Perhaps the best solution might be to back your bags and leave the country. Working abroad can help you get ahead in your career in a lot of ways.
Stand Out in a Good Way
When you move to a foreign country to work abroad, you automatically gain the advantage of being different than everyone else which makes you stand out in a job interview. You will have studied at a different school and your life and work experiences will be something unique from every other applicant your age in town. The interviewer will very likely remember you more than anyone else, so make sure you highlight your foreignness as a positive.
When my partner Lee worked abroad in retail in Canada, his English accent and his stories of his travels made him very memorable to customers. We are intrigued by people who are different than us, so why not turn this into an advantage?
Take Advantage of a Better Economy
If your home country is struggling with high unemployment and lack of jobs, you might find it much easier to get a job somewhere else. For example, check out Australia which was almost completely missed by the recession and has a booming economy right now.
There is a huge demand for mining jobs in the Outback of Australia right now and international workers are being paid more than $100,000 per year.
Find A Place Where Your Skills Are in Demand and Make More Money
Another way that working abroad helps you get ahead is that it will allow you to relocate to a destination where you will get paid more for your skills and have more jobs to choose from. For example, if you are willing to get a Canada work permit and work up in the far north you can sometimes earn more than twice as much for doing the same job as anywhere else. You will have to get used to living in cold tundra region, but this can be an adventure in itself.
If you have teaching skills, there are many lucrative ESL teacher jobs all over the world which pay better than entry level teaching jobs in your home country, especially when you factor in that they cover your accommodation and flights.
Do a little research to find out where your skills and areas of expertise are the most in demand. Where there is demand, it will be easier for you to find a well paying job.
Skip a Qualification
It might be the case that in your home country there is a qualification standing in the way of you and your dream career, which doesn’t exist in another country.
For example, if your dream is to work in real estate and you live in the USA, you will need to complete a course at real estate school before you can be licensed. However, in the UK the only requirements to be a real estate agent is a UK work permit, drivers license, confidence, and great sales skills.
If you already know that you will be great at the job, why go through unnecessary and expensive training when you can get starting working somewhere else right now?
There are many ways that working abroad can help you to jump over hurdles and make it to the next step in your career.
Top Tips for Working Abroad
Here are a few bonus tips to keep in mind if you are considering working abroad:
- If you are between the ages of 18 and 30 you have the option of applying for a working holiday visa. Dozens of countries around the world offer this type of visa, which allows you to work and travel for up to 12 months. This is a great way to see if you enjoy working abroad.
- If you decide after your working holiday that you want to come back and relocate permanently, look into the longer term work permits offered by your country of choice. Make sure you find out this information in advance, as applications can take a while to be processed.
- Research your destination in advance. How much is the average wage? What does monthly rent cost? What cities have the best job prospects?
- The internet is your best friend when it comes to working abroad. You can start looking for jobs months before you leave, setting up meetings with potential employers for after you arrive so that you can hit the ground running.
- Save up money before you go. Most work visas require you to demonstrate that you have the funds to support yourself in the beginning and you will want to have this just in case you need it.
- Last but not least, make sure that you take time to travel around and enjoy the culture, food, people, nature and other aspects of your new home!
Author Bio
Kelly is a writer for Global Visas, the world’s leading authority on immigration, work permits and all things related to working abroad. To find out more about how you can obtain a working visa to many countries around the world, contact them today.