General Overseas Work Tips
These tips assume you won't necessarily be using a special placement program, and are meant primarily for non-youth and/or those seeking long-term employment.
Decide what you want to do and where: Are you looking for paid employment, volunteer opportunities or a new business venture? What social, climatic and language situations appeal to you?
Evaluate your job skills: Do you want to build on your previous experience, or do something new?
Look for opportunities: Use the Internet, newspapers, magazines, and placement agencies. Local newspapers (link: www.ipl.org/div/news) give you job listings and an appreciation of the cultural and political situation in your destination.
Evaluate job offers carefully: The more research you do before leaving, the better. Check out: the contract (with a lawyer), promises of travel and living expense reimbursement, profiles of common scams (including prostitution rings, etc.), the cost of living.
Learn About Your Destination: Learn about all the dimensions: political, cultural, economic, social; working conditions, pace of life; talk to others who've worked where you're going, and even for the same company.
General Travel Considerations: What documents do you need?
General Living Considerations: If you're working long-term, there's a whole lot of things to think about: language, culture shock, homesickness and making a new life at your destination; health, drugs (legal and illegal), safety, budgeting, banking and taxes, local customs and laws, marriage and divorce, and registering with the local Canadian government office.
For more information: visit the Federal Government Working Abroad web-site. |