10 Strategies You Should Be Using to Prepare for a Career Overseas (Part 2)

Posted on Sep 14, 2015 | 0 comments

10 Strategies You Should Be Using to Prepare for a Career Overseas (Part 2)

Welcome back, my friends. This is Marielys again with part two of “10 Strategies You Should Be Using to Prepare for a Career Overseas.” In this blog post, I am going to discuss the last five strategies to help you during your preparation for a career overseas.

At this point, and if things went as planned, you should have identified your target, searched for available jobs, developed your résumé/CV, applied for jobs, and finally, prepared and completed your interview for that excellent job that will help you embark on a new life experience. Shortly after, you should be celebrating that well-deserved job offer. These are great news, and I am happy to say that you are halfway there. Before I move forward with this blog post, I want to congratulate you on taking that big step in not only pursuing a new career, but a career that will give you the opportunity to be part of the community of expats around the world.

 

Making a decision like this takes a lot of strength, time, and determination, and you just did it. Like I mentioned in “10 Strategies You Should Be Using to Prepare for a Career Overseas (Part One),” working overseas could be one of the most rewarding experiences a person could have in his/her life, but at the same time, it could also be a challenging one if the person doesn’t play his/her cards well. And that’s exactly the purpose of this post: to help you get your ducks in a row by providing you with the strategies you need to be able to accomplish your mission. That being said, and without further ado, I will share with you these new important and helpful strategies that will help you finalize your arrangements to travel overseas and start your life as an expat.

Strategy #6: Research visa and job permit requirements.

Once you have received the job offer, the first thing you need to do is start researching the visa and job permits for your destination country. When dealing with this process, it is better if you start taking care of it sooner rather than later. Most of these processes take time much more time than expected, and the sooner you deal with them the better. The last thing you need is to not be able to report to your new job on time due to a delayed visa. In Passport Career, we offer country specific information related to visa/job permit request processes. Research your destination country portfolio in Passport Career for more information on this topic.

Strategy #7: Establish a trustworthy personal and professional support system.

Now that you know where you’re moving to and you have the visa process out of the way, the next step is to establish a good support system in your soon-to-be new home. Reaching out to people who live in the new country, or at least talking to people who have been there will help you get a better idea of what you’re getting yourself into. In order to do this, you can reach out to soon-to-be co-workers, to the person who will be your immediate supervisor, or also to an online international support group who can give you insights of your new city. The important part here is to have people who you can trust and who can help you during your transition. The more people you have in your corner, the better. And, the good thing about establishing a support system prior to your arrival is that by the time you make the move, you’ll already have people you can count on in case things don’t go as planned on those first couple of days after you arrive in your new country. Things happen, and it is better to be prepared on where and how to seek for help when needed. Join “Get Connected”, the Passport online global career network that enables spouses/partners to connect with other Passport Career members around the globe.

Strategy #8: Register with your Embassy.

Another important step you need to take once you arrive in your new country is to register with your Embassy. Each Embassy has its own way of registering their citizens, so it’s important that you contact themas soon as you arrive in your new country to see what needs to be done. Being an expat is a great experience, but it also has its risks. Like I mentioned in strategy # 7, things happen, but knowing that you have someone from back home that can help you in a moment of crisis is necessary for you to maintain a healthy emotional stability and also to maintain a sense of security. For more information on how to register with your Embassy, you can check your destination country portfolio in Passport Career for more information on this topic.

Strategy #9: Prepare for your move.

Now it’s time for you to start preparing for your move. One thing that has made my life easier in every single one of my eight overseas moves is to create a moving checklist. In this checklist I write down every single thing I need to take care of in preparation for my move. I put down things like gathering school records for the kids, making copies of important documents, and even the things that I need to pack or the things that I need to put in storage. Basically, I use this checklist to keep myself organized throughout the entire moving process. I have to say that using this method has worked wonders for me. Give it a try and start preparing your checklist today. You will see that once you have a moving plan, the actual move will not be as traumatic or stressful as you may think. Once you have that checklist ready, start “attacking” each task until you complete all of them. Again, the key here is to have something that can help you keep all your ducks in a row. I promise you that a well-prepared checklist will do that for you. Also, you may want to read the Relocation Strategies section in Passport Career’s Global Topics for additional tips.

Strategy #10: Enjoy your new expat life.

And finally, my last piece of advice for you once you have all of the above steps completed is to give yourself the opportunity to start enjoying this new chapter in your life. The decision to move has been made, and the moving process is well on its way. Now, it’s time for you to start enjoying the fruits of your labor, and be thankful for the experience. Believe me, you won’t regret it if you view expat life with an open mind and willingness to make the best of it. Go ahead – start enjoying your new expat life. At the end of the day, that’s basically what is going to make this experience a great one.

As you can see, these strategies aren’t difficult to follow. They’re useful bits of information that will make your expat journey an easy and pleasant one. Go ahead and give them a try and once you reach your goal and start your new career overseas, come back and let us know how you’re doing. Remember: we love hearing from you, and seeing you succeed is not only our number one priority, but also our main mission.


 

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT CAREERS OVERSEAS?

Passport Career provides more detailed career information and extensive resources about networking, finding a job, internship, or alternative career opportunities. If your organization, embassy, university/college, library, or other institution would like access to our country portfolios (15,000+ pages of expert content for 80+ countries and 250+ cities) to share with your students, employees, spouses/partners, and others managing a national or international career transition, please contact us (or send email to: info@passportcareer.com) regarding a free, live, online demo and details on how to obtain a license to access Passport Career.

Marielys Camacho Reyes, Expert Global Career Consultant

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