Tips for Job Hunting Abroad
Dreaming of a job abroad, for example in Europe? Follow these tips and learn how to maximize your chances of getting international career opportunities.
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Congratulations, you made the decision to step out of your comfort zone and lift your career to the next level. If you‘re planning to start your professional adventure overseas, keep this in mind: In many cases, no company is waiting for YOU over there! In fact, they don’t know who you are and you probably don’t have a local network or a personal brand yet. Luckily, there are exceptions: Learn more about organized programs like the international V.I.E Program at companies like Dior or Airbus. Competition is tough, so let the following tips do the magic.
By the way, there are not only classic jobs abroad. Why not consider a volunteer program at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, for example? Click here to find out how to apply for the Olympics (how cool!).
✨International Career: Never Stop Trying
Always go the extra mile, learn from failure, send more applications than others and don‘t give up until you reached your goal.
- Scrolling through job boards and your school’s portal should be a daily activity and ideally, your priority. Besides mainstream portals, you should also regularly browse university career sites and industry-specific sites. Here are great job boards for your job search in Germany!
- Also, alarms and any kind of notification are highly recommended. Make use of all smart features the internet has to offer, for example LinkedIn’s #OpenToWork.
- It’s important to also submit an application, even if you don’t tick the box for 100% of the requirements. When in doubt: Apply! When rejected: Apply again later.
- If it didn’t work out and you know the recruiters’ name, ask for feedback and send a kind message back to express your interest in upcoming opportunities. Try, try, try!
🔨 International Career: Tailor your CV
…to the country, the job, the industry, and the company. Here are 5 Resumé Myths debunked!
- Believe it or not, the perfect CV layout differs from region to region. For instance: In the US, you should never add a photo or any other senstive data such as address, citizenship or date of birth. In Europe, it is not unacceptable, but even there it is becoming a relic of the old days. More details on the perfect resumé coming soon.
- Be sure to individualize every single resume and customize texts to the specific job and company. It is important to spell the keywords from the job description accurately. Example: If knowledge of “Adobe CC” is required, write it that way and not “Adobe Creative Cloud.” Adjusting everything per job is cumbersome, but it’s worth it. Stick to the limit of one page and don’t forget to choose a proper file name. Pro tip: Use the local default size, e.g. US Letter (North America) instead of DINA4 (Europe).
- The most important aspect nowadays is a machine-friendly design. Do not use fancy fonts and layouts, no bright colors, no lines. Of course, you can reuse a template as long as the buzzwords from the particular job description are included.
- The second most important aspect is to make the application appealing to people. This goes hand in hand with a minimalistic design for faster decision making, because recruiters don’t have time to search forever. Use short sentences or bullet points that describe your impact and results at previous jobs. Also, make sure to adda touch of uniqueness. This includes accomplishments, awards, special projects, volunteer work, and just about anything that makes you an expert in your field.
- Again, you should do this for e-v-e-r-y single job, although a general version of the resume is helpful for networking purposes. After a while, you will have a collection of elements that you can mix and match for different jobs.
- A PDF file is the best choice when it comes to ATS-friendly files. It keeps everything in place.
📢 International Career: Ask for help
Be everything, just don’t be shy!
- Share it with peers, connect with alumni and inspiring people on LinkedIn or similar platforms, find mentors in the digital or real world. The more people who know about your future plans, the more opportunities arise from the community as such.
- By the way: If you approach people in a focused and professional manner, it is unlikely that you will receive a flat “no” as an answer. With a bit of luck, you might even get a recommendation from a company (that’s a plus, but not a must).
- First stop when things get serious: Contact your school’s career center for a CV review, information material or events. Professors and alumni who have experience abroad will also be happy to support you.
- Just don’t overdo it with posts. Don’t constantly create a new post on the same topic. Instead, choose content and timing wisely and focus on communicating your goal in a professional yet personal way. Value your network’s time.
🍕 International Career: Connect & Interact
You will easily find likeminded and inspiring connections.
- Sign-up for professional events, school talks and after work gatherings. Indeed, finding meaninful career events in an overload of after work gatherings can be tricky. Instagram is actually a hidden gem for career events as well as university or corporate career pages. Here’s a link list of career profiles from Consulting companies like McKinsey, Deloitte and more. No need to search!
- If you identify as an ally or member of a specific community, for example women, BIPOC, or first generation students, make yourself visible and join respective initiatives, groups, sites, newsletters…
- To expand your network, it’s also a great idea to attend events at the embassy or consulates, at foundations and organizations with close ties to your home country, or at the chamber of commerce. A short follow-up afterwards can open many new doors for you.
- Sign up for companies’ talent pools and subscribe to their newsletters based on your preferences.
Here’s one final recommendation. Do it now. Don’t delay it. If your dream is to live and work abroad, the perfect time is NOW. Go!
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