I’m currently both studying and working in civil engineering in Sydney. By the time I graduate I will have three years experience in construction project management under my belt. My question is directed at people who have applied for jobs in countries other than their own for a chance to live and work abroad. I wanted to ask how hard is it getting a job in a foreign country? How good do you have to be? Obviously a company will prefer to employ someone who is local for a large number of obvious reasons, but for those of us who want to travel and work overseas and not be limited to just working as waiters or kitchen hands (not that I have anything against that; I’ve served my time in the kitchen), whats the best way to go out about it?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I have placed newly qualified candidates in international jobs , hence from that perspective , my opinion is that its going to be tough but not impossible ..
Few challenges :
- The university you have graduated from , its standing in the international market will make a major impact
- your grades and experience gained and how much you have achieved out of those three years , not just technically but also commercially ..
If you grade well on the above two, then the only hurdle left is for you to know the local market of what ever country you are interested in moving to , therefore you must spend loads of time reading about major projects , the market place, challenges in that market place etc etc ..
If visa and language issue isnt going to be a huge hassle , Big industry players will consider taking you on for a role and train you .. Small and Medium sized businesses ( SME's) might be skeptical about taking you on though, coz they usually dont have set budgets aside to train new people , they usually prefer people from within the local market ..
Start keeping an eye on any internship, grad hiring jobs usually advertised on company websites .. the more you know about the target companies , the better you will be able to prepare yourself .. and they do welcome international grads / interns to improve diversity in their portfolio ..
PS : Alot really depends on what country you choose to work in. Market is extremely different in every country, requirements are totally different, so you need to be very clear in your mind, what specific country you want to target.
AS CB mentioned , your degree from the specific uni will perform a big role e.g the uni’s ranking in the list of world wide universities.Preparation and careful planning will go a long way to ensure a safe and successful international work experience. First thing, you need to decide is that what you want to do and where you want to do it? The next step will be to look for opportunities on the Internet, in newspapers or magazines, or with placement agencies.
According to my knowledge , employers love to hire abroad workers. I receive so many emails from top companies in the world to go for the work placement internship and even few don’t mind to hire you as a Volunteer.
Here are few questions to look at…
Why do you want to work abroad? Is it to learn another language, to learn about another culture, to be with friends or family, or is it that you think it will be more like a holiday than work!
• How long are you intending to work abroad? Is it a permanent move, or are you thinking of spending just a year in another country?
• Do you have a specific country/continent in mind?
• What are the language and visa requirements for working in your chosen country? Can you satisfy them?
• What is the job market like in the area where you want to work? And what experience and skills have you got to offer an employer that might help you with your quest for work? In some countries the higher education system is very different from your country, and your degree might be viewed rather differently by employers.
Good luck Coughy and where are you planning to go?
I'm currently both studying and working in civil engineering in Sydney. By the time I graduate I will have three years experience in construction project management under my belt. My question is directed at people who have applied for jobs in countries other than their own for a chance to live and work abroad. I wanted to ask how hard is it getting a job in a foreign country? How good do you have to be? Obviously a company will prefer to employ someone who is local for a large number of obvious reasons, but for those of us who want to travel and work overseas and not be limited to just working as waiters or kitchen hands (not that I have anything against that; I've served my time in the kitchen), whats the best way to go out about it?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Do you see yourself as a high value candidate in your field? Candidates with high value skills that are not very common have better chances of getting a job overseas. If you are just a regular graduate with regular experience then your chances are bleak.
If you’re thinking of applying somewhere in the EU, make use of the EU job portal EURES - and get in touch with the Eures adviserof the city/country that you’re interested in. They’d be the best people to speak to about all your questions.
I'm at UTS, University of Technology, Sydney. I think its a pretty good uni. Not sure much about RMIT, but from what I know it's a great uni.
By no means am I a top of the class student. I think with my application my experience will definitely what gets me over the line, my grades aren't eye opening. I've got a fair few important subjects to go so I plan to giving them more attention than I have been giving the ones crossed.
CB- Thank you for those pointers, really gave perspective.
Lilly;
-At the moment it's whatever I can get. But I am definitely open to a permanent move.
-I'm really keen for Europe. Beyond that I'm not picky.
-I've got a lot of research to do, but I'm going to enrol for German classes.
-I'm sure there are both technical and communicative skills that I can bring to the employer but I think it will be very job specific.
Maait- I think in terms of experience, definitely. In terms of grades, I'm certainly not the leader of the pack, but I'm working on it :D
Huma- WOW! From a brief overview, that looks like a very helpful site. Thank you so much! I have a friend who's keen on moving around too and I've shown it to him too.
I know ideally a sponsorship from an employer would be the dream, but would a "personal" sponsorship help too?
I'm at UTS, University of Technology, Sydney. I think its a pretty good uni. Not sure much about RMIT, but from what I know it's a great uni.
By no means am I a top of the class student. I think with my application my experience will definitely what gets me over the line, my grades aren't eye opening. I've got a fair few important subjects to go so I plan to giving them more attention than I have been giving the ones crossed.
CB- Thank you for those pointers, really gave perspective.
Lilly;
-At the moment it's whatever I can get. But I am definitely open to a permanent move.
-I'm really keen for Europe. Beyond that I'm not picky.
-I've got a lot of research to do, but I'm going to enrol for German classes.
-I'm sure there are both technical and communicative skills that I can bring to the employer but I think it will be very job specific.
Maait- I think in terms of experience, definitely. In terms of grades, I'm certainly not the leader of the pack, but I'm working on it :D
Huma- WOW! From a brief overview, that looks like a very helpful site. Thank you so much! I have a friend who's keen on moving around too and I've shown it to him too.
I know ideally a sponsorship from an employer would be the dream, but would a "personal" sponsorship help too?
Hi Sister if you are into Structural design especially well versed in theory of elasticity, you may want to consider Aero Structures and join the aerospace companies!
Why would someone leave Sydney permanently? Surprised , let’s swap it man , you come to England, I 'll go to Australia. I think you want to live in EU, is that true? Go for French instead of German language. I am sure you 'll get a good job in Eu as they love abroad workers.
I love Australia. But I just want to work elsewhere too. It's just one of those things I've wanted to do. Theres just so much more to learn when u go around.
I wouldn't mind going to Europr and starting over. Would be a fun challenge.
Save some money and then go where ever you want to go. I prefer road trips... hire cars etc. In my case I enjoy *without *the sense of belonging to a place. Because once you start living some where, have responsibilities and people know you then the excitement fades away.
The country you live in has the best pay rates compared to any other country; no matter which industry you work in. Go to Perth or Kalgoorlie, work for bhp etc. Make some big quick money and then go where ever you want.
and where are you planning to go? 
Surprised , let’s swap it man , you come to England, I 'll go to Australia. I think you want to live in EU, is that true? Go for French instead of German language. I am sure you 'll get a good job in Eu as they love abroad workers.
Saudia is good for visiting only like Pakistan. :rotato:
