If you are looking for work in international locations, you will need to know how to showcase your skills and achievements in a manner that is familiar to an overseas employer or manager. Translating your experience also applies when you are looking for a job in your home country but are changing career paths or industry.
Translate your Resume/CV
It might be tempting to copy and paste your resume or CV into an online translator tool but this can be a risky approach if you aren’t familiar with the target foreign language. Find a native speaker who can review and comment on the initial translation. It is very likely that what you thought your were saying in your resume has been interpreted differently than you intended.
You can also look at hiring an translation service but consider looking to make a connection with someone from the culture or country you are looking to work in. Making a new contact is an excellent opportunity to learn more about another culture and give you some practice in appreciating another point of view when it comes to discussing work experience.
Provide an interpretation of your skills
Depending on the management and work cultural of any country, your achievements need to be seen as offering a “good fit” for a company or organization. As part of your research into the culture of an overseas work environment, take some time to consider what is valued.
For example, you might have exception entrepreneurial talent and multiple skills to work independently on a project to bring it to completion and success. However, if a local culture views team collaboration as a critical element for an organization’s success, your ability to function more independently might be perceived as disruptive rather than an advantage. In this scenario, you might alter the description on your resume to mention how your entrepreneurial abilities include establishing strong relationships that ensured success for your efforts as well as your colleagues or partners.
Recognize how your skills relate to other job roles
If you have previous experience from a job or training while completing a degree, you can also consider how to translate that experience into skills that apply to other job roles. The skills categories on O*NET offer a user-friendly way to look for skills descriptions and then match them to related job descriptions.
Once you have a better understanding of how your skills relate to other jobs, it can be easier to modify your resume or CV to become more tailored to job opportunities you find online.
Improve your ability to use other languages
If you are interested in working outside your home country foreign language skills are usually beneficial, and in some cases, required.
For international development and nonprofit work overseas, language skills are critical as the project work typically occurs in locations where the host country languages are the only ones spoken by residents. In an article on Devex entitled “Foreign Language Skills in International Development: What’s in Demand” (login required), the author describes the variety languages that have seen a growing demand for capable speakers for both development work and humanitarian relief.
The Goinglobal.com team is comprised of individuals representing many different nationalities who all have one experience in common—we have all lived and worked outside of our home countries. Goinglobal.com is committed to providing “grassroots intelligence” through our team of in-country researchers.
Traveling outside your home country for extended periods of time (30 days or more) should motivate you to think about potentially troubles you could encounter while overseas. It certainly isn’t practical to think about how your trip could “go wrong” but the tips below can prevent headaches (and possibly injury) during your trip.
Have Cash on Hand
It used to be more difficult to access your bank accounts while overseas but the previous inconvenience has been replaced by a greater dependance on debit cards and cash access points and automated bank tellers. Travelers and expatriates can now use their bank and credit cards throughout the world, as long as service fees don’t become an issue (and they can add up). However, if you happen to lose your card because of accident or theft or if your card is “eaten” by an automated bank teller it could be several days plus expensive shipping fees to have it replaced. Below are examples of services that can make it easier to travel with more accessible cash resources:
Moneygram – https://www.moneygram.com – sending money around the world with pick up locations at both banks and, depending on the country, post offices. This option requires you to have an emergency contact in your home country to arrange for the transfer. There are also prepaid cards available that enable a holder to use them where Visa debit cards are accepted.
Western Union – has an option to send international money transfers but it requires an account sign up and there is a dedicated site for individuals who wish to send money overseas at http://onlinefx.westernunion.com/. There are short-term cash transfer options but the most cost effective is a wire transfer, which takes 1-2 days.
Some credit cards may offer emergency cash transfers but travelers should check on the interest rate and any associated fees that are applicable if the emergency service is used. As with any of the services mentioned above, travelers should conduct additional research before selecting solutions that best meet their needs and traveling conditions.
Have an ID backup plan
Replacing a lost ID (residence card, passport, etc.) becomes a lot harder when you can’t show the authorities that you had the document in your possession prior to its loss or theft. This can be particularly important in any locations that have a threat of street crime or higher potential for burglary. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
South America has several advantages for the overseas career and international internship seeker. Among the fourteen countries in the region are some of the most promising growth centers in the world. Brazil is a growing economy that is widely acknowledged to be among the most powerful emerging market countries (as part of the BRIC countries). Peru has seen continued economic growth during the past decade and has attracting a variety of international companies from both the Eastern and Western hemispheres.
Other countries in the region also are expected to see growth in the near future.
Fueling LAC’s momentum is a global commodity and food price surge that has largely benefitted agro-commodity producing countries, mostly South American net food exporters, which jointly account for between 30-50 percent of several key food exports globally. By contrast, non export-based Central American and Caribbean economies face the double peril of a food crisis and price hikes in other commodities that can hurt their most vulnerable populations.
Networking, and particularly social networking, is a powerful way to expand your connections and potentially identify job or internship opportunities in Brazil. An excerpt from the Brazil Country Career Guide highlights the following advice:
Professionals entering the Brazilian market [should] understand that building personal networks will be an essential feature of business life and will prove just as important as having a good résumé/CV.
Searching for a job in Chile can focus on either international companies who are looking for expatriate employees or you can use Spanish-language keyword terms to identify opportunities within multiple industries. Below are some examples of keywords to different industry areas in Chile:
Arquitectura
Asesoría
Banca
Construcción
Contabilidad
Diseño
Edición
Educación
Entretenimiento
Farmacia
Hostelería
Informática
Ingeniería
Inmobiliaria
Logística
Producción
Telecomunicaciones
Transporte
Turismo
Using host country languages as part of your job search queries on search engines or job search sites is one tactic for expanding the number of job opportunities listed in search results.
Colombia
Gaining work experience overseas can also include taking advantage of volunteer opportunities. A brief internet search identified several potential choices for finding volunteer work in Colombia:
Peru has expanding international trade ties with multiple countries around the world and offers some of the best cuisine and cultural experiences in South America. The Christian Science Monitor observed:
…Peru has enjoyed an average annual economic growth rate of 7 percent since 2003 or that per capita income has doubled and poverty plummeted from 50 percent to 35 percent in roughly the same time.
…the Commission for the Promotion of Peru Export and Tourism (PromPeru) revealed that Peruvian agricultural exports reached 136 markets in the first half of the year, 11 more compared to the same period last year.
The main destinations for exports were the U.S. (301 million / 25.4 percent growth), Netherlands (194 million / 40.1 percent), Spain (123 million / 44.1 percent), Ecuador (68 million / 28.6 percent) and France (44 million / 53.9 percent).
The academic year has begun and students facing the prospect of graduation or finding an internship in the next several months can take action now to advance toward their career goals. The tips below will give you (as a job or internship seeker) a jump start as the semester begins:
1. Monitor industry updates
Take advantage of news alerts to track what’s new and changing in your professional interest area. This applies equally to commercial industries and nonprofit sectors in markets around the world. Setting up multiple alerts using different keyword combinations can simplify the task of getting the latest news. You can see the variety of news alert tools and services when you run a search for “related:www.google.com/newsalerts”.
Consider using multi-lingual news searches to increase the chances of getting country-specific updates. Prospective employers offering overseas opportunities will expect you to be informed about the local news and issues that impact job sectors in overseas markets.
2. Update your networking profile
Diversify your online presence, especially outside of networks connecting friends (e.g., Facebook). There are several professional networking sites that offer a range of tools to increase your visibility for international topics and career areas. LinkedIn has numerous groups focusing on careers abroad and expatriate-focused organizations from around the world. Don’t forget about online networks that focus on expatriate and country-specific communities such as: InterNations.org, Xing.com, Glocals, LivinginPeru.com, and OrientExpat.com
3. Create a catalog of your skills
Think about what skills you have and how “transferrable” they are to overseas jobs and opportunities. Create a list of skills based upon your experience so far and then look at the job requirements for positions that interest you. Find the gaps between skills you have and those you need to expand or acquire. You’ll have more time to address the gaps if you prepare your ‘skills catalog’ at the beginning of your academic year. To take action on gaining new skills look at local organizations and clubs and review your options for online learning (iTunes U, podcasts, web-based seminars and training classes).
4. Start searching now
Finding a lead on an overseas job or internship takes time and following up on it can also be a time intensive process. If you put off your search efforts until the last month or two of your academic term you risk being overwhelmed by the tasks of both finding opportunities as well as filtering out which ones best match your skills and experience.
5. Connect and stay in touch
Building your network should be among the primary goals of your job or internship search. More importantly, once you have made new connections be sure to stay in touch them on a regular basis. It becomes potentially very awkward to ask a person for a reference or job search assistance when you haven’t spoken with them for months. Aside from any social discomfort, you risk losing your networking connections and any potential new connections your network might otherwise have offered. Fortunately, there are resources that can help you improve your networking skills and make the most of your contacts. One example is the collection of videos and online tips from Kintish.tv about networking both online and face to face.
When we travel, we become a sort of ‘ambassador’ for our home country. What better way to represent our country than to volunteer as well? Not only are we experiencing the excitement of being a new country, but we are also getting a close up look at the cultural situation as well. Today’s guest post comes from Adam Saks. He gives the perspective on how beneficial a volunteer trip can be and how to vet the best option for you. Adam has volunteered abroad throughout Latin America and currently works for ProWorld Volunteers organizing volunteer trips in Latin America, Asia, and Africa for individuals and university groups.
Gift giving is the cornerstone of the American holidays – and with it comes both joys and stresses. In addition to buying gifts for friends and families, we are often approached with donation appeals from local, national, and international charities. This year, consider giving a different kind of charitable donation – by volunteering your time internationally. More people are using their vacation time to explore the world through volunteer work, allowing them to experience a different country in a way that most tourists never do. And, the holidays are a perfect time to give yourself the gift of travel – especially when you know your gift will benefit a local community in another country.
But, how do you choose the right destination and organization for a volunteer vacation? Follow these five tips and you’ll be on your way:
Ask yourself, “Is a volunteer vacation right for me?” And, don’t feel bad if the answer is no. You have to be willing to enjoy the conditions where your volunteer work will take place. Most international volunteering is in developing countries where a bucket may be your shower and a dirt floor may be your bed. If that isn’t your idea of a vacation, then enjoy a different form of travel and spend some time volunteering closer to home.
Decide where you want to go. Choosing a country for travel and volunteer work requires more than just figuring out dates, flight times, accommodations, and meals. Consider the type of experience you want to have. Do you want to brush up on a foreign language you first learned in high school? Connect with your family’s cultural heritage? Or, contribute a specific skill set that you have to a project? While travel agents can help arrange your travel logistics, working with a volunteer organization is a great way to find the right mixture of place, time, project and skill set. While these organizations charge placement fees, a portion of the money goes directly to the community you will be helping. So, if you decide to go with an organized group, just make sure you are getting what you are paying for.
Understand you won’t change the world in one week. Make sure you are committed to the volunteer work, but acknowledge what is and isn’t possible in the time you have allotted. You won’t be saving the world with a week of volunteer work – but that doesn’t mean you won’t be contributing. Don’t choose a project just because it sounds like fun; choose a project because you have skills that will contribute to that project or because you are passionate about the project area or work they are doing.
Research the organization. Make sure that the organization you are working with is part of the local community and contributing in a sustainable way before and after you are there. Just because your impact will be small, doesn’t mean that the overall work that you are part of can’t be great. If you are one of tens, hundreds, or even thousands of volunteers working with an organization then you are a piece of something huge. Don’t be afraid to ask questions: Is the organization well-respected? Do they offer past volunteers as references? Are they committed to real and long term collaborations in the places they work? Who are the local partners? Who is being helped? Where, exactly? Why? What is the relationship between those being helped and those who are helping? Whose idea was this project and how important is it really? It is important that the community select the project they most need – and work together with the volunteers to achieve it. Some great resources for research include www.idealist.org, the Volunteer Work Abroad section of www.transitionsabroad.com, and the International Volunteer Programs Association: www.volunteerinternational.org.
Prepare yourself. A vacation doesn’t often require homework, but when you are going to be working with a local community on a volunteer project, it helps to know as much as you can about the country, the people and the language. Start with a guide book, but go beyond that. Read novels, travel articles, National Geographic stories, and, if you have the time, histories about the city or country you are going to visit. Take a language class or at least learn a few phrases in the local language. Talk to past volunteers and see what they wish they knew before volunteering. The more information you know ahead of time, the more you will get out of the experience. And, above all – be flexible. No matter how much you prepare, you should always be ready for things to change. That’s half the fun!
Jim Key - Director of Global Marketing at Intrax Internships Abroad
Today’s guest post is brought to you by Jim Key, Director of Global Marketing at Intrax Internships Abroad. Last year, Jim took us through the international job searching funnel starting by preparing for a job abroad, researching potential employers and turning those findings into potential interviews. Now that you know the process, it’s time to narrow down your focus and chose your industry. In this guest post, Jim will teach you about the fascinating world of entrepreneurship and what you can expect working in that field.
In last fall’s series of guest blog posts, we went through how to find an internship overseas and turn it into a job. This winter and spring we will look at a few different categories and why you might consider them for an international internship.
Photo courtesy of Jim Key
Our second category is Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs start businesses in industries ranging from high tech, consulting, freelance marketing work, HR placement & outsourcing, to any other industry you can imagine. I’ve met entrepreneurs who manage art galleries, who produce & distribute wine, and who run incubators (office complexes)…for other entrepreneurs. I’ve also met quite a few who have created and run social enterprises, which are for-profit businesses with a social mission.
So what do entrepreneurs do?
Students often think in terms of majors – is entrepreneurship more like management or accounting or finance or marketing or management information systems? Entrepreneurship is pretty much all of the above, but faster and more unpredictable because entrepreneurship is business in its rawest essence. While an intern in finance or marketing with a large organization may look for a harmonious stream of projects related to that one function, an entrepreneur (and by extension, the intern) can expect a more staccato flow of operations, sales, marketing, product development, crisis management, HR, program execution, finance, and a few more things to be determined on the fly. Students are often taught to think in terms of a Fortune 500 company – an organization that grew from the chaos of a few people working out of a garage to a mature company with a brand, a recognized logo, an office building or a campus as a headquarters, and unique departments for the different functions staffed in proportion to the amount of workflow of each function: Product Development, Engineering, Manufacturing, New Business Sales, Account Management, Marketing, Finance/Accounting, IT, HR, etc. When there are 3 or 8 or even 20 people, everyone does everything and the flow of work is often driven by specific events – a product launch, a large customer’s needs, or a conference that brings together most of your target market. For example, last time I saw one tech startup in the UK, everyone was focused on a weekend music festival (the customer) using their mobile phone app, which had been designed specifically for that festival. Since hundreds of thousands of music lovers would be attending, this firm had a lot riding on getting it right.
Why do students choose to intern with entrepreneurs?
1) Passion – in an entrepreneurial firm, you will be exposed to the zeal of the founder. The founder created the firm and the vision, so they believe in what they are doing with a passion that you rarely see in larger, more mature businesses. The business is much more personal and meaningful to the whole team. Take that passion and double it with the social enterprises – all the mission orientation of a non-profit with the passion (and urgency) of an entrepreneurial founder.
2) Real experience even, if you don’t speak the language – the entrepreneurs that I have met tend to be well-connected, internationally-oriented people. They are often targeting their product or service to a global or at least Europe-wide market. As such, they have great opportunities for interns to do meaningful work and add value even if they are not fluent in the local language, because much cross-border business is done in English. Of course each national culture (and company culture) approaches the challenge of the business environment differently, so you are still getting cultural immersion, but you can often do it even if your French needs some work.
3) Exposure to a variety of functions helps students figure out their strengths – many students are not really sure what they want to do. They often choose a major by the intro class that they liked or what others (parents, teachers, advisors) have suggested that they should do. As an entrepreneurship intern, students get to see operations, finance, sales, marketing, and put out a fire in account management – sometimes all in one day. With that experience, students can identify and gravitate towards what they enjoy and do well.
4) Understanding how organizations work – the flip side of the point above (figuring out what work you like best) is that students see the dynamic of how different functions interact in a small business. Most business classes provide a sense of how finance or marketing or accounting work on their own, but not necessarily together. Unless students take an entrepreneurship classes or discuss the interworking of functions in a strategy or case method class, it is easy to miss the bigger picture of how organizations really work internally.
5) Fast moving environment – there are some who love the structure of a larger organization and the certainty of knowing what they will be doing months before they do it. Others get bored and wonder if the research project they are working on will really impact the company or be read at all. Working for an entrepreneur, the intern often sees a more frenetic pace as she works on varied assignments that are almost always directly related to the success of a firm. Obviously every company is different, but being small often means that they are working close to the margin. What happens today means either a) success & growth or b) closing up shop at the end of the year (especially in this economy), so there is no time to drift. As one student said, “this company has the personality of its founder and its founder is definitely ADD – just like me.”
6) Job Opportunities – we have seen students get job offers and get hired by their internship company in several countries, almost always with small businesses. Why? They can make decisions. Back in the 90’s when I interned abroad in Germany with Opel (GM Europe), my boss liked me and wanted to hire me, his boss liked me and wanted to hire me, but… it was General Motors. It takes about 18 people to agree to make a decision like hiring someone, plus another five to justify hiring a foreigner (requiring all the extra paperwork). When the Founder/CEO of a small firm says “He’s doing a good job, let’s hire him,” it gets done.
In summary, working as an entrepreneur is unstructured because you are creating something new. Students who embrace that challenge can gain meaningful work experience in a dynamic environment, learn more about themselves, and get a better sense of what they want to do.
Imagine working abroad for the first time, armed with all the information you need to successfully acclimate yourself to the work environment, social scene and overall cultural customs? That is where Goinglobal steps in. Goinglobal is committed to providing you with an arsenal of career information and resources to ease the transition abroad and help you be prepared before you leave. We have career country guides for over 30 countries, written by in-country researchers, aimed to help you as a professional, regardless of whether you are a novice or seasoned expat.
Every week, we will feature an insight from one of our global career guides to help you achieve your dream of working internationally.
Living in Gumball Machine, Photo attribution to 29cm
Today’s tip: Knowing your cost of living in Italy
Salaries and Cost of Living
Italy is one of the least expensive countries in the European Union. Even though the Euro has made great gains in recent years against the US dollar, average prices in both Rome and Milan are still slightly lower than in New York, North America’s most expensive city, according to investment bank UBS.
Housing
On a per-square meter basis, apartment rent is most expensive in central Rome and least expensive in Milan. Apartment rent in Venice is more expensive than in Florence,
but both are less expensive than Rome. In central Rome, a 30 square meter (323 square feet) apartment rents for 1,100 EUR (1,737 USD) per month. In Milan, a 50 square meter (538 square feet) apartment rents
for 600 EUR (948 USD) per month.
Vacation and Leave
Workers receive a minimum of four weeks of paid holiday, although many receive up to six weeks. There are also 10 public holidays, plus some half-day holidays and feast days for local patron saints. Many Italians choose to take their annual leave during August.
This is just a sample of what you’ll find in the complete Italian country guide. To learn more about Goinglobal and our other country guides, please visit www.goinglobal.com
Going Global is the leading provider of country specific career and employment resources for individuals interested in working outside of their home country. More than 500 universities around the world currently subscribe to Going Global for use by their students, staff and alumni. We provide Country Career Guides, USA City Career Guides, corporate profiles for the world's leading employers and a job search database with over 500,000 worldwide job and internship listings. You can learn more about us at Goinglobal.com.
