Whether you're hoping to work abroad or for a U.S.-based organization with international ties, beginning a search with a global scope can be daunting. Here are some tips to help you get started.
- Tell people about your job search goals. Your network works best when you activate as many members as possible to be on the hunt for opportunities for you.
- Maintain or re-establish any overseas connections you made while abroad by phone, email or mail.
- Visit your college's career center and use the available resources to create a list of overseas companies or U.S. companies with overseas operations that you would like to pursue as employers.
- Do some preliminary research on companies of interest and get the names of people to contact in the companies that you have chosen.
- Ask your institution's alumni office for names of alumni based abroad whom you could contact for informational interviews.
- Polish your resume to highlight your international experiences (study abroad, language abilities, work experiences with international companies, coursework with international/global aspects).
- Refine your completion to the following sentence: “I want to work abroad or with an American multinational organization because…” The more focused you are about what leads you to your goal, the clearer your goal will be – and it’s easier to make a plan to hit a well-defined target.
- Narrow your field of options – it can be a tremendous relief. Is it one city or country or continent where you’d like to work? Is it in one sector? Is it speaking a certain language? Are there certain job types you know you can rule out?
- Keep an eye on the visa regulations for working in different countries. It’s easier to work in some countries than others.
- Consider gaining some experience in international education. Volunteer in your study abroad or international students office and/or volunteer to be an alumni advisor for Arcadia.
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