Slashdot Mirror
Finding American Companies for Overseas Work?
markjrubin asks: "After reading this article I became interested in looking for Web work in Europe. I have been put in contact with numerous European companies, but am running into troubles getting companies to sponsor work permits. While my skillset is strong enough to get most of the jobs, the firms that I have talked with are all hesitant to sponsor a work permit. I've been told that the quickest solution is to find an American company to send me to Europe on contract work, but I'm not sure where to start looking, as the majority of the job boards do not offer this search feature. What does the Slashdot community think? Is the right solution to look for an American company? I'd love to hear comments from other Slashdot members."
I work here now, but I got my visa the old-fashoned way -- I married a Japanese national.
I do meet a few Americans here, and they are nearly all coming over to work on the same thing: wireless wireless wireless.
"Reactionaries must be deprived of the right to voice their opinions; only the people have that right." - Mao
Not Europe, I know, but nice none the less.
:)
Loads of work here, easy work permits, and employment agencies that actually seem to do their jobs. Best way is to just punt over and talk to a few people, though you can search with your skillset here.
Give me a mail if you actually want to do it and I'll get you set up.
Dave
I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
I don't know for sure, but the thought is a bit scarey so it would pay to be sure. Find out this answer first, obviously.
Would becoming a citizen also make you eligible to be drafted into that country's military service?
Actually the US funded the Germans before the rise of hitler. At the same time as the French were driving the them into facism. The French tried to milk every last drop out of their WWI victory, a war ended by the influx of fresh Americans. The nazis were not funded by Americans.
And the Americans had a major influence in the European theater. They were also the only country to hold out on carpet bombing.
While its fun to pretend the Americans are always bad, this is not real. You must learn to seperate joking from reality.
Work permit? How about citizenship? If one of your grandparents was born in Ireland, you are entitled to citizenship. See Your Right to Irish Citizenship.
This lets you live and work, without a work permit, in any member country of the European Economic Area (the EU + Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein).
A warning on the mention of "post-nuptial declaration" in these documents: apparently the law has been changed, and from 2003 will require 3 years' residence in Ireland for the PND to be valid (basically making it only a shorter term for naturalization). If you were married in 2000 or earlier you might get in under the wire if you hurry. However, as the spouse of a citizen of an EEA country, you are guaranteed a work permit anyway.
(US citizen by birth, Irish citizen by PND.)
Hi there
I second the poster above who mentioned Ireland as a suitable location. Germany is also good, with a caveat (will get to that in a second).
Pretty much any EU country is a good choice as many employers are willing to give people a chance without formal technical qualifications. You may have those qualifications, so you may be in a stronger position compared to those going over without them.
The most important piece of advice I could offer would be to network, network, network in your area first. While the job boards are useful to get an idea of what kind of things employers are looking for, your chances of success drop as soon as the jobs are posted in comparison to what you could find on your own in your area. Locally, there is always going to be a smaller range of candidates competing for positions in your area than over the Internet.
Do you have any European languages other than English? If not, are you willing to learn? This will also increase your employability. Don't get me wrong, I know North Americans who have been able to get jobs in Europe without those other languages, but they've faced more of an uphill climb than multilingual candidates. Just keep in mind that companies are looking for well-rounded individuals who not only have the technical nous to do well but some degree of congeniality, openness and adaptability. Other languages, while not the only factor, are strongly indicative of a person's malleability.
Good luck and keep us posted! Your experiences will help others that follow you.
========================================
Death will come, and will have your eyes
-- Pavese
Renowned American company, with business open anywhere in the world, you might even choose to work in Moscow or Peking if you like !
"Naughty, naughty, naughty, you filthy old soomka !"
So, apply for a job at consultant type of company and emphasise you don't mind to travel 100% of time. Such companies as computer associates, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and other are constantly looking for this kind of employees.
You might not end up with constant employment at once place in europe, but you might work 6-24 months per project in single place and then move to further project at some other place in Europe or at other place in the world.
If programs would be read like poetry, most programmers would be Vogons.
No matter how good your skills are, European companies are not likely to sponsor a work permit. The best route is to find an american company that will send you over there.
Here's some information about working in Europe. Hope you'll have some luck finding work over there.
If any of your parents or grandparents were born in Ireland, you are considered an Irish citizen, and can register for a passport at and Irish consulate or embassy.
b as sies.html
Irish citizenship allows you to live and work in any EU member nation without any restriction. The United States does not recognize this as valid and you cannot travel into or out of the United States on the passport. It does not affect your American citizenship, unless you are a military officer or hold a policy-level federal position.
Note however that you ARE fully subject to any and all European taxes (which are HIGH). Depending on circumstances, you may also be liable for US taxes. Consult a lawyer or CPA who specializes in these matters. It may be very also be difficult to move quanities of cash to and from countries.
This page should refer you to the embassay or consulate you need.
http://www.goireland.com/low/visitorsguide/irem
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
No no no no no. You don't understand. The American going to Europe to work cause he can't find Web work in his home country isn't an opportunistic economic migrant leech, he's an adventurer spreading prosperity and capitalism. The European in the same situation who would like to work in the US is an invader, threatening job security and mom and apple pie, and should be given lip service and treated like crap.
--- Jump!! Fire!! Bullet time!! - Lego version of the Matrix
I can sympathise with you about the hassle of finding a sponsor, been there, done that. Usually, it's because of ignorance about the visa system, or greed. So let's spell the rules out for the UK:
If you have an IT degree, or any degree with 1 years IT experience, and the job appears on the shortage occupation list (i.e. almost anything in IT), then the work permit is automatic, and takes about 2 weeks to be issued. The employer can fill out the application themselves, and it doesn't cost them anything. Check out www.workpermits.gov.uk for full details.
I've found that most UK IT recruitment consultants are ignorant of the rules and take some convincing. I even had one consultant who didn't believe me, and so she checked with the immigration consultant firm they usually used. The immigration consultant, the greedy bastard, told her I was lying, and that it was so hard to do that they needed to be involved and it would cost about a thousand pounds. Needless to say, I was no longer considered for the job.
The key, obviously, is to find a good recruitment consultant, one that knows about the rules, and is used to convincing employers to sponsor people. After too many bastards, I may have found a good one in www.abbeywood.com, time will tell, but certainly they're open to sponsoring visas. In general avoid the really small outfits, they're just cowboys out to rip people off. Some of the big internatioanl recruiters should also be used to dealing with visas.
If you are approaching companies directly, try the big international firms, they're used to dealing with permits. Otherwise, be prepared to tell them about how easy it is. I do this by emailing them a completed application form, just to show how easy it is, and give them the phone number of the work permit people to ring and ask verify.
Of course, as some people have already mentioned, if you have English or Irish grandparents, or your spouse has, then you're in like Flynn. The UK will give you a 4 year residency permit, allowing you to work there, and after 4 years, you can claim permenant residency.
The number one IT job search site in the UK is www.jobserve.com, if it's not there, it's not available.
Good luck!
Go look for big consulting companies ...) or go with the big guys (IBM, the evil Empire, HP, Sun, ...).
I am sure you will find something ...
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Accenture
KPMG
Arthur Andersen
Arthur D. Little
They all have offices in Europe. Other than that, look for European Companies with an American Presence (Brokat, Trintech, Intershop,
However, this requires strong language skills in the country of your choice. Of course a number of my colleagues were able to work in Great Britain and Australia where language was not a problem.
Good luck! Working in Europe is a truly wonderful experience.
--brian
If you don't feel like going through this kind of trauma and humiliation go to another country which actually has a real immigration policy. You can apply even if you don't have a job lined up beforehand. And yes it's quite a bit different from the US of A.
Hope this helps.
Your pizza just the way you ought to have it.
You're not correct. I've been through the process and it is not nearly as easy as you project. With solid experience and an enthusiastic company I still got my work permit refused first time round. The process is long, uncertain and daunting. It was easier for a couple of years 1998, 1999 but according to many people I keep in touch with OLS is hardening up again. You could have been one of the very few lucky ones whose applications seem to have been stamped approved right away due to a clerical error but that's an exception rather than a rule. See my post below about just how tough it can get for a UK employer to hire an overseas worker.
Your pizza just the way you ought to have it.
You wouldn't be looking for work in Amsterdam, would you? :-)