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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?"
> 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!
I migrated from the LA to London 2 1/2 years ago under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, 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/ http://jobsite.co.uk/ http://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/ a free discussion board, part of http://www.workpermit.com/ a worldwide immigration service (which I didn't use but might be an option for you).
Best of luck!
"L'IT c'est moi!"
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 logic being that if he "won" the presidency then the greater part of America must support his actions. (No need to flame on that, it's just the perception someone outside the US is likely to have.)