Working abroad is extremely exciting and appealing. For many people, this is a chance to have a completely new experience. Our lives might be stressful, but they are full of routine and they offer very little in the way of variation. For people that are sick of the same old 9-5 rat race, this is their chance to escape. Not only could they find themselves with a new career, but they also have a chance to experience new parts of the world at the same time.
Find The Work
The first thing to do is to make sure that you are situated in a place that is well known for having lots of jobs. If you look online, you will find lots of different job websites; you can use these as guides. Search 2-3 different professions and see how many jobs are listed in certain areas. If you aim for the areas where there are regularly 30-50 positions available rather than 10-20, then you are going to have a much better chance of getting a job.
Remove Language Barriers
Language barriers are usually the hardest part of moving abroad. Where are you moving to? What are the main languages that the people here speak? If you are fluent in the language that is used by the locals, then you have a much better chance of developing contacts and finding a good job!
Improve Your Skill Set
The main issue that expats have when trying to find work is that their skill set is only equal to that of other potential candidates. Most Governments will persuade their small business owners to employ natives rather than expats, unless the expats can do a job that the natives can’t.
Think about your job role and what extra skills might be required. For instance, if you are a purchaser, would the ability to speak French and German to communicate with suppliers, be welcomed by the employer? If you can set yourself aside from the rest of the potential candidates, then you have a much better chance of getting a job.
Get A Transfer
A popular way of becoming a working expat is to get a transfer from the current place of work. Speak to your employers and explain your plans. Even if they don’t have a position in the country that you want to move to, they might have contacts there. The more contacts that you have, the better! After all, it is not what you know, but who you know.
Applying For Visas
If you have developed a plan, then you should know how long you plan to stay in the particular country. Based on your length of stay, there will be a suitable visa. Most visas will take a few months to be processed. For this reason, you need to get the process of applying for your visa rolling a few months before you are due to depart.
Don’t book plane tickets until your visa has been accepted as there are sometimes some problems. Before you apply, it might be worth familiarising yourself with the requirements for a work permit for South Africa.
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About the Author
Alex is a writer based in the UK. He has been writing for various top quality blogs since 2007. During that time he has even started many of his own blogs relating to finance and small business. Although over the years he has written on various subjects and niches, his favourites are relocation for expats and travelling.