Moving abroad to work is becoming more and more popular. On Average, 207,000 people per year move abroad to work permanently. Working abroad has it’s advantages, especially if you specialise in a certain subject. In some cases, it is the only option as the economy in the UK presents more problems for job seekers. You’ll also experience some great things while broadening your horizons. Surely a lot of thought has to go into this big decision though? Here’s some things you need to know if you fancy working abroad:
Weigh Up The Pro’s And Con’s
Moving and working abroad is a massive decision and you need to be 100% sure that you’re up for it. You need to weigh up the pro’s and con’s. How will you feel about leaving your family and friends? Do you think you can handle working in a completely new country with different cultures? If you feel the benefits are greater than the risks and you will be able to handle it, do it! Remember, there are benefits from working abroad such as higher pay and better opportunities, but you really must WANT to do it.
Finding Your Job Abroad
It helps if you’ve previously done a bit of networking and made some connections in the country you’ll be moving to. Sign up to some specialist magazines to see what’s available for you. You can also look at Jobs.ac.uk to help you!
It isn’t always as easy as that though, depending on where you are moving to you may need to get your CV translated, and you may even have to find out some old school documentation you wouldn’t have to present for a UK job.
It also depends on what your trained in. Some positions have specialist sites for doing that job abroad. For example if you’re an sql developer or an accountant you may be able to find certain job boards that specialise in helping people like you find similar work abroad.
The Legal Stuff
If you’re a european moving to another country within europe, you won’t have a lot to stress about and moving should be pretty simple for you.
If you are moving outside of europe this can become quite challenging and you’ll need to get things such as work permits and visas sorted out way before the move.
Your whole life basically up sticks and moves when you decide to move abroad. This means your pension, health insurance, taxes, and such.
The Culture
When moving to another country it only makes sense that you try to find out about their culture so you can live by it as well. This can be a really enjoyable part of moving away, and you will most likely develop the ability to speak the countries language too if you put the effort in.
It could take you around 4 years to go from not speaking a word of the language to be able to speak it as if it was your first.
Stay In Touch
Just because you’re moving to a whole new country and forging new connections, you don’t have to forget the old ones. It’s simple enough to stay in touch with old friends and loved ones via Skype or e-mail. Stay in touch with old colleagues too as this will allow you to stay up to date with the industry in your home country. Staying in touch will also mean you may have something to fall back on if working abroad doesn’t work out!
