| The major
fields of temporary employment abroad are tourism and agriculture (casual
and seasonal work), au pairing (almost exclusively for women), English
teaching (difficult for periods of less than nine months), and volunteer
work in exchange for room and board. The following listing [Page Two]
of resources is heavily weighted in the direction of voluntary work since
the vast majority of mediating agencies arrange unpaid internships and
volunteer vacations rather than paid employment. The services of established
organizations are invaluable for guiding clients through the red tape and
providing a soft landing and backup in the event of problems.
Organizations
both charitable and commercial offer a wide range of packaged possibilities
from work experience in European businesses to teaching in Himalayan schools.
Fees and services differ enormously, so research is essential. If possible,
you should talk to a previous participant. If requesting information from
an organization outside North America, your chances of a reply can be increased
by enclosing several international reply coupons (IRCs) available from
post offices.
While the more
research you do before you go abroad the better, the available information
is often misleading or useless. Remain determined in the face of discouragement
and use the resources in Work
Abroad and the
September/October
issue of Transitions Abroad to discover what is possible and to clarify
what you want to do. The Internet offers a bewildering array of resources.
Try a search engine like [www.monster.com],
which lists over 50,000 jobs worldwide, or an introduction to the range
of lists on [www.job-hunt.org]. A
number of web sites, such as [www.idealist.org]
and [www.one.world.org], are devoted
specifically to matching willing volunteers with international projects.
As a first
step in finding a job abroad, contact the embassy or consulate and the
tourist office of the country in which you want to work. Consult their
telephone directories and yellow pages for addresses of companies in your
field and for English language schools. Diplomatic missions should also
have newspapers from which you can study the "situations vacant" columns,
and some foreign newspapers can now be read online.
Professional
or skilled people have a better chance of prearranging a job abroad. For
example, nurses, plumbers, architects, mechanics, teachers, divers, secretaries,
and computer programmers can sometimes find work within their profession
by answering advertisements in newspapers and specialist journals, by writing
direct to hospitals, schools, and businesses abroad, and by registering
with an appropriate professional association or recruitment agency. |
|
The
World on a String: How to Become a Freelance Foreign Correspondent
- If you are smart enough to teach English overseas, you are smart enough
to write stringers. |
|
Teaching
English Abroad: provides job information plus real-life experiences
of people who have taught abroad.- by Susan Griffith |
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