Podcast 19: How to find a job abroad

Deciding to work abroad is a big decision and one that should not be taken lightly. Factors such as learning a new language and cultural differences make individuals sceptical about moving overseas. However, getting a job abroad can open up an array of opportunities. In this podcast, were joined by Adrian Jones, Business Director at Hays Globalink Asia. Adrian has moved his career from Japan to the City of London and offers expert insights into making an international move.

1. So we’re here to talk about working abroad today. How could an international move boost a candidates career and what are the key benefits of working abroad? For instance, does international experience increase employability?

Well, talking from my personal experience, I lived in Japan for twenty years and I am now running our Globalink Asia team, helping people return home to Asia or relocate over there. Here at Globalink, we’re supporting people moving and returning to Japan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia as well as Australia and New Zealand. We’re established to identify and engage with overseas talent for our clients in those locations and can start the job search process for individuals whilst they’re still here. I’d say there’s a couple of obvious ways it will boost your career. Firstly, I think an international move will really show your adaptability and tenacity as well as your comfortability around taking risks, which hiring managers always wants to see examples of. When living overseas you’ll need to adjust to living in a different country, culture and also sometimes professionally there are maybe subtle, sometimes huge differences in the market dynamics and details of the work.

Could you give us some examples there?

The duties and responsibilities of the role may be the same or very similar, but the market forces or local issues may be very different, meaning the challenges of the role, are completely different. Adapting to all of this will definitely boost your future employability and will really show your strength of character. Secondly, I think in an ever increasingly global world, being experienced in multiple markets and having a wider experience in your specialist field will enrich your CV and give you more strings to your bow for your future career.

It will show you as being more worldly and give you a wider perspective on things which is often required for those more senior level roles covering regional or global responsibilities that may come up later in your career. I should add a caveat to all this that it will depend on what you do and in some cases it might not actually be a benefit or a boost to your employability at all. But for me though, the biggest benefit of working abroad, and I can say this personally, is that it’s just fun to experience. It’s highly interesting and stimulating both professionally as well as in relation to the actual daily life challenges that you will need to overcome and experience. It can also potentially single you out in the future with some clear unique selling points against your competitors for future roles.

2. So for those listeners of ours that have taken all those points that you just mentioned into consideration and would like to work abroad, what would you say are the three most important things that they should consider before they start searching for that role?

It’s hard to narrow it down to just three things for such a big decision in your life, but I’d say firstly, know which country you want to work in and why and make sure you understand that country culturally, socially, as well as professionally and that includes knowing about the lifestyle and the cost of living. In Globalink, we sometimes get people saying to us, “I want to work abroad”, but they don’t really know where they want to work or why, so they definitely need some further research. Secondly, be able to describe and explain your strongest cross-transferable skills that will be useful and marketable in that country and check that those skills are actually needed in the country and the employment prospects. Finally, make sure you are as flexible as possible in terms of interests and demands, packages, et cetera, in order to be considered a viable candidate for that overseas market. And if I were to add a fourth one, it would be to make sure you research the visa situation first. For some countries, you’ll need to have this sorted out before you start applying for roles and for some countries, you’ll need to get the job first.

3. So there are a lot of considerations to take on board before you take that next step. So once our listeners have thought about all these points, how can job seekers then go about finding a job abroad and how does it differ to searching for a role in your home country?

Well, like with any job search, I like the phrase “Google’s your best friend”, which I’ve heard on another Hays podcast. You need to research a real expert recruiter in your field and industry in that country. You can do this by looking for jobs online in your area, talking to friends who’ve done a similar move or talking to anyone you know in that country. Then reach out to them and start the dialogue regarding your interest for opportunities in your field in that country, making sure that you’re well prepared about your knowledge of the country as best as you can, as you want to make sure you make a strong first impression with the consultant whilst also coming across as flexible and open to their consultation.

As with the second part of your question regarding what will differ in a different country, I think one thing is that unless you tick all the boxes for a role or have a particular in demand skill set for a niche role, you’ll probably be at a disadvantage competing with local candidates. So it’s imperative that you’re as flexible as possible on all matters as well as doing everything you can to become the most desirable candidate.

Being open and flexible is key in working with the agent and when talking to the potential employer. A lot of the time when you’re actually interviewing for roles while out of the country, it will have to be by phone or Skype and that’s really different to face to face interviews, it’s much harder to build a rapport. In addition, don’t expect an expat or relocation package, it doesn’t happen much these days, it’s much rarer. Actually, it also makes you less desirable by virtue of the increased cost. Of course you can ask, it is probably best to direct this to the agent, but don’t expect it. And certainly ask in a positive way so as to not give a negative impression.

4. Most candidates know that they should be tailoring their CV to the role that they’re applying for. But are there any other considerations or changes that they should make when applying for a job abroad?

Yes, It’s probably even more vital when applying from overseas to have a CV tailored to the role. I’d also advise to include anything relevant to that particular market, any project or customers related to that country, any examples of work experience there or anywhere else, overseas in related markets, including business trips and other things that demonstrate your adaptability as well as your capability and track record overseas.

Definitely get advice from a local recruiter regarding the CV style. For example, interestingly in Japan, there are three different versions that you sometimes need, an English version and two completely different Japanese versions. Before this, ensuring you know about work rights and the visa process is also vital. For some countries, as I’ve already mentioned like Australia and Singapore, you’ll typically need the visa to be sorted out before you start your search. In some instances, companies will provide visa assistance for certain niche skill sets. For other countries, you do the search and secure the job and then the company will sponsor you. And definitely make sure you’ve actually been to the country before, that you love it and have compelling reasons and motivations for going. On a related issue, be aware of the difference in timing, the interview process might take longer due to the difficulties in scheduling interviews and the time differences, so make sure you can be as flexible as possible with your availability. It might mean taking an early morning or late evening call. Skype or the equivalent is always better than phone for building rapport and understanding the chemistry, so that means especially being in a really quiet private place.

5. Now, you just mentioned telephone interviews or Skype interviews. Obviously the prospects of attending an interview for a job abroad presents different challenges then when you’re in your home country, what should candidates be most aware of and how can they best prepare?

To start off with, for some job types, it’s simply just not possible to interview remotely or from overseas, as clients will feel they have plenty of locally based candidates so they’d be highly negative towards overseas candidates knowing they’ve got a good choice already. In those areas where they will interview overseas candidates, where it’s a candidate short market, particularly niche, or if there’s a big demand or an increased need for resources, they will be prepared to do phone and Skype interviews for the first round but it’s usually expected that the candidates do a final interview face-to-face for the final stages within the country and often it’s expected that the candidate will cover the costs themselves, though always ask the agent on this. And in some countries like Australia, there probably won’t be many cases where they will start interviewing you until you actually physically get there.

Sometimes the company may have an office in the same country as you’re in and they might ask you to do a face-to-face interview there or via video conferencing, but that’s not always the case. In those circumstances, if you do decide to fly over to the country for the final interview, work closely with the agency to try to get other interview processes arranged so you can maximise your time there and increase your chances of success and definitely try to meet the recruiter first to do the final preparation when you’re over there. For phone and Skype interviews, you do have to work hard to build the rapport with the interviewer and you can do this by having some well-planned questions which show your research and positivity towards the company and role, as well as your understanding of their position. Also, in addition to the usual advice regarding how to prepare for the interview, that’s been covered in other podcasts, there’s some specific advice we provide for doing phone or Skype interviews. So make sure you’re very well prepared and practice this style of interview if you haven’t done so before.

6. So once the candidate has accepted the job offer, what are the key things that you would recommend they do to ensure their transition is a success?

Firstly, if you don’t already hold one, make sure you are aware of how the visa application process will work and who will be responsible for it and make sure you get all the necessary documents ready as soon as possible. You don’t want anything to delay your starting date. Secondly, do as much research on the country you’re going to be moving to. You should have done this already before you decided this was your target country. However, it’s good to do it again now that it’s all becoming real. Work with the agents and the new company about things they want you to study, research, learn, so that you can make a strong first impression during your on boarding.

Next, I’d say go through your affairs such as the company, accommodation, banking, et cetera, to take care of finishing up your personal affairs in your current country of domicile and get started on things straight away. Don’t prevaricate as you’ll be surprised how quickly things come around. Similarly, list up what you need to do and learn regarding your new country, draw up a list of contacts you’ll need to get, such as estate agents, contacts in the new company, the agency, et cetera, as well as researching on good locations to live to make it an easy commute to the new workplace. Look at the best banks for that country, shipping companies, schools, pet relocation and tech specialists and finally use LinkedIn to connect with people living there now and in the company. Check first with HR or the hiring manager just in case and join any relevant forums or groups to give you advice on the move and pick up hints and tips. The Globalink team have all lived there in those countries where we’re recruiting for so we have experience in those locations and are happy to share our personal advice and information to help you make the transition a success.

7. Thanks for your insights there Adrian. More often than not, I imagine expats will eventually want to return home at some stage. What are the key signs that they are ready to do so, and how can they successfully transition back to life and work in their home country once they’ve been working abroad for a certain amount of time?

Yes and this is a very personal one, I think everyone’s different. For me personally, I lived in Japan for 20 years and I still love the country very much, but just felt it was the right time for me to come home. I still consider Japan my home too. It’s a different reason for everyone. It could be personal or family related, it could be a visa expiring, loss of job. It could be politically driven, economics driven, it could be career motivated. There are many possible reasons why someone would be leaving and returning. I just say, be honest with yourself. Make sure you move before things become negative, that’s usually the key sign that you should have already left, leave for positive reasons. Also remember that nothing has to be forever and that you don’t have to make any big decisions now just because you’re looking at opportunities back home or considering it as an option. You’re just looking, just checking out the job market back home, that investigation might help you decide if it’s a good time to return home as there are good opportunities back home, but it might equally reveal the opposite.

8. We just got one more question. This is one that we ask all our podcast guests. If you were to give one piece of advice to our listeners, what would that be?

Have fun and enjoy what you do. Sounds simple and obvious, right? I think if you enjoy your job and the environment and the people you work with, you generally do a better job and you’ll be more successful and if you’re more successful you’ll have more fun.

 

Did you find this advice useful?  You may enjoy some of the related content below:

• Ask yourself these 8 questions before relocating internationally for a job
• How could an international move enhance your employability
• How to thrive in your new overseas role
• Podcast 5: How to lead an international team