Managing Expectations

Finding overseas or more broadly-defined international employment can be a long and exacting, sometimes frustrating but also extremely rewarding process. When starting your search, wherever you’re starting from (as an incoming freshman or graduating senior, graduate or professional student), it is important to understand both the possiblities and limitations before you.

Below are a few suggestions and comments on the process that Go Global! has heard from career center personnel on campus. If you are pursuing an international position you would be well-advised to utilize the resources of the career centers. While you wait for the office to open, however, we offer the following:

  • Many organizations do not hire students straight out of university for positions abroad; such placement is typically reserved for employees with considerable experience in the profession. Instead, many firms start initial hires in domestic offices, offering the possibility of working into a position overseas.

  • Some companies are increasingly less willing to hire expatriates for their overseas offices, looking instead to the local employee pool. This is largely due to cost/expense issues involved.

  • Considering the above, one avenue is to research and target firms in your job search that do a great deal of work internationally and/or have overseas offices, knowing that you will need to work your way to an overseas placement or work internationally from a domestic base.

  • The resume/curriculum vitae and cover letter are key to your job search. Make sure you understand the necessary formalities, style, language and format particular to the firm, field, and country. Do not apply for a position until you know how to tailor your resume to the position. Our Preparing an International Resume page is a start; as is our own Tailoring Your Resume for the International Marketplace. Be sure to visit one of the Career Centers, whose advisors can provide invaluable assistance.

  • If you have the flexibility, consider a short-term internship or volunteer position overseas during the summer, a long break, a semester, or following graduation.

  • Your first jobs abroad need not be career-focused in any narrow sense. If you have the time and inclination, “low-level” jobs such as apple picking in Spain or bartending at a Greek resort can open the door to “travelling with a purpose.” These positions can earn you valuable experience living, working and navigating abroad.

  • A new scam has been reported by job recruiters running Internet sites. Identity thieves pose as human resource professionals of fake companies. Job seekers, thinking they’re conversing with a potential employer, are lured into providing their Social Security number, mother’s maiden name and other personal information. Online users are advised not to disclose personal information that isn’t related to job hunting, and to be particularly careful of prospective employers from outside the country.
  • Additional helpful information on job scams and how to avoid them is available from OverseasDigest.com.