Unless you are retired, planning to find a job in your new country should be one of your top priorities. Corporate movers have a job before they relocate, but self-movers need to have a job-hunting strategy in place before they make their move.
There are several things for you to consider when planning to find a job in your new country of choice.
First, can you get a work permit that will allow you to work? The degree of difficulty obtaining a work permit depends on the needs of each individual country. Some countries are very restrictive while others are more welcoming. In most cases, countries seek workers from abroad most often for specialized jobs that are difficult to fill locally. Many countries will require you to live in the country for a specified period of time before you can even apply for a work permit. You can find out about work permit requirements, jobs in demand and other information pertinent to finding a job in your new country by visiting their government website. For example, New Zealand provides information on visas, employers in New Zealand, temporary jobs available, skills in demand and much more on its site.
Second, are you fluent in the language of your new country? Unless you are moving to an English-speaking country or perhaps a resort area where English is widely spoken, you will need local language proficiency to be considered for a job. In areas of countries where there are large expat populations, find a job in your new country in a service category that caters to the English-speaking community…often a good way to enter the work force because fluency is not generally required, although extremely helpful. When I conducted research for my book “Boomers in Paradise: Living in Puerto Vallarta,” I discovered that the work point-of-entry for many American and Canadian expats living there was selling condominium and hotel timeshares to tourists or selling local real estate to expats. A working knowledge of Spanish was required, but not fluency.
If you have the financial resources, the best way to approach how to find a job in your new country is to move there, establish residency, improve your local language skills and develop your expat and local contact network to uncover local jobs. If you do not, the Internet has made international job searching a whole lot easier for those moving abroad. Monster is one the leading job search sites and a good place to start. Other sites you may want to visit are OverseasJobs, RecruitNet, Indeed and Jooble. Each country guide on MyInternationalAdventure also features a number of job related links to help you get started.
You also can track down job leads by mining contacts through your Linkedin network, members of professional and alumni organizations you may belong to or expats who are active online forum participants in your new city or country. Also, do not overlook the websites of larger companies with offices throughout the country, the U.S. Embassy’s website and your new country’s government website.
Importantly, be prepared to work in a job that may be completely different than the one you have been working in. I have known lawyers who have become real estate agents and film executives who have become retail store managers. Keep your mind open to new experiences and opportunities, because that is what moving abroad is all about.