Work overseas: new challenge

If you enjoy travelling and exploring new places work overseas may be the right match for you.

There are different way to get there. Nowadays most popular is teaching English abroad. Such countries as China, South Korea, Thailand, Russia and others are accepting new applicants for ESL positions. In some cases accepting company will pay for your accommodation and travel tickets. But mostly these costs are unpaid to you. The opportunity is open to Canadians, US citizens and some other countries of citizenship. This experience is really unique. You will explore new countries and cultures.

There are also opportunities for those who prefer a more professional stream. There agencies offering international internships. They can be paid or unpaid which varies upon agency and country. Before signing a contract for an internship you should carefully ready the contract and terms and conditions. If you miss something and arrive to the location it will be very hard to change something already. The agencies are mostly commercial organizations and operate for profit. If available try to arrange your internship with your college or university.

Another way to get hired overseas is though employment agencies overseas. Some of them can have branch offices in your city of residence or close to. I have a friend who had been hired in Ireland. After graduation he went there himself at his own cost. He managed to find a job as business trainer pretty quickly and worked for the company for about 2 years. The experience was great. He enjoyed the culture and people. Now he is back but thinking of going to China.

Well, there also disadvantages for this kind of job. One of which is job experience. If you worked abroad like for 3 or more years, in most cases your experience will not count in Canada or US. It just happens so. Local employers do not take it seriously unless you held a position of higher executive level and got great international skills. 

There is also you should consider. That is you will be away from your home and beloved ones. If you succeed abroad you may want to start there a family but when your contracts are finished you will have either to return or stay and try to find some new job opportunity. It is always difficult because there are work visa issues that is given mostly upon valid job offer.

So, as you can see all this is not so easy as you may think. Before making a decision do a research to better understand pros and cons. Good luck!