Getting a job in English...

Globalization! Isn’t it great? That’s one of the reasons that people do not have to learn the local language before getting a job abroad. In the past, it was a must to know the local language, today it is an asset at your CV.

Most of the international companies are using English as the official communication language within the company. Doing so, there is no miscommunication among there branches located in other countries and easier to approach the international market.

Learning the local language is needed if you want to survive and to get a social life in the local community. Keep in mind that even though a company’s policy is to speak English in meetings and other cases, this is not valid during launch or coffee breaks.

Bottom line is:

-         include in your immediate plans (after getting a job) to learn the local language

-         during the job interview mention that you are going to start language lessons as soon as possible

-         ask your future employer if he is going to support you for having a language course, by paying for the lessons and/or being flexible with your working hours

LinkedIn helps recent graduates find jobs easily

LinkedIn Jobs Home

Getting connected... Start using LinkedIn

What is LinkedIn? 

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site.

The site officially launched on May 5, 2003. At the end of the first month in operation, LinkedIn had a total of 4,500 members in the network. Today it counts more than 100 million professionals!

Roughly one million new members join LinkedIn every week, at a rate equivalent to a professional joining the site faster than one member per second.

One purpose of the site is to allow registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people with whom they have some level of relationship, called “Connections”. Users can invite anyone (whether a site user or not) to become a connection.

This list of connections can then be used in a number of ways:

• A contact network is built up consisting of their direct connections, the connections of each of their connections (termed second-degree connections) and also the connections of second-degree connections (termed third-degree connections). This can be used to gain an introduction to someone a person wishes to know through a mutual contact.
• It can then be used to find jobs, people and business opportunities recommended by someone in one's contact network.
• Employers can list jobs and search for potential candidates.
• Job seekers can review the profile of hiring managers and discover which of their existing contacts can introduce them.
• Users can post their own photos and view photos of others to aid in identification.
• Users can now follow different companies and can get notification about the new joining and offers available.
• Users can save (i.e. bookmark) jobs which they would like to apply for.

LinkedIn worldwide

• 100m+ professionals around the world as of March 2011
• 20m+ members in Europe as of December 2010
• 5m+ members in the UK as of December 2010
• 1m+ members in France
• 2m+ members in the Netherlands
• 1m+ members in Italy
• 1m+ members in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland)
• 1m+ members in Spain
• 9m+ members in India
• 3m+ members in Canada
• 3m+ members in Brazil
• 2m+ members in Australia
• As of April 2011, LinkedIn counts more than 11 million recent college graduates* around the world as members (*LinkedIn defines recent graduates as members who have graduated within the last five years--between 2005 and 2010.).

Blue Card

“Blue Card”, is a European version of the US Green Card that would provide highly skilled third country nationals with instant access to the entire European labour market.

Companies in the EU are having difficulty finding suitable staff to fill specialist positions in sectors such as Information Technology and Engineering. The blue card will help EU employers who need to bring in foreign skilled labour to fill these types of specialist level jobs.

This Blue Card will be allocated on the basis of skill through a Europe wide points system. Such an EU wide system will be more attractive than any national system from the perspective of high-skilled immigrants. Also, a European solution would provide greater visibility, predictability, and transparency than 25 different national systems.

In addition, students graduating with a Masters Degree or equivalent from European universities or top universities abroad should be automatically eligible for a Blue Card. This “Blue Diploma” will help to attract foreign top talent early and would also give European universities a welcome boost. The time has come to tell those bright young graduates from the world: Welcome to Europe!

The blue card will grant a work and residence permit to non-EU citizens and will allow them to move to another member state after certain conditions are met. EU blue card holders will also be able to bring family members with them.

Member states are moving forward with implementation of the blue card directive by summer of 2011.

High-Skilled Immigration Policy in Europe

Have a look at this document. It explains the immigration policy in Europe and for each European country separately. It was published on December 2010.

Source: Migration4development

Europe is HIRING according Monster Employment Index EU

The Monster Employment Index Europe records 26 percent year-over-year growth, the most rapid pace seen during the current economic cycle

• Industrial production related sectors lead the Index in annual growth in March with a 64 percent rise in production, manufacturing, maintenance and repair
• Financial services sector notes positive recruitment trends in March 2011, growing five percent on an annual basis
• Arts, entertainment, sports, leisure continues to decline and remains the only sector to chart a substantial year-over-year decline
• Germany continues to lead all countries in annual growth, at 45 percent

In detail 

Production, manufacturing, maintenance, repair: +64%

Engineering: +42%

Accounting, audit, taxes: +14%

Banking, finance, insurance: +5%

Arts, entertainment, sports, leisure: -20%

Source Monster

Preparation is everything!

Open your eyes and ears! Start using job search engines like Monster and EURES and professional networks like LinkedIn, for observing the job market’s trends and needs.

If you still have the luxury of not looking actively for a job, I would suggest you to use time and money to follow seminars and courses for covering the gaps in your CV.

If you feel that you are not ready enough to start our career in another country, you could consider doing training. The payment will be less but the experience on way of working will be great!
If you have selected the country you want to go, you could have a language coarse before getting there.

Paperwork... Motivation Letter

Of course your CV should be accompanied with a Motivation Letter aka Cover Letter or Statement of Purpose. While CV can be always the same when it is sent or attached to a job application, the motivation letter should be different each time.

Why is that? Well, the motivation letter is the letter in which you are explaining to your future employer why you have applied for the job he posted.

Believe me, people are reading it!

When writing the motivation letter, try to answer two things:

-         why do you want the job

-         why should they hire you

Here you can find some great examples and instructions.

http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/career/guides/cover_ltr.shtml

http://web.mit.edu/career/www/guide/coverletters.pdf

http://web.mit.edu/career/www/students/workbook.pdf

Paperwork... Curriculum Vitae

The CV (Curriculum Vitae) of a person can speak by itself to the employer or the recruiter.

A professional looking CV would give higher success rate to a person, compared to a CV made with a sloppy way. You would do the same, if you would be the employer.

Once you finish it, give it to a few people for evaluation. Consider their feedback and correct your CV if it’s necessary.

Europass - CV Template in various languages

Europass - Instructions of filling in your CV

Europass - Examples of completed CV’s

What do I want to do?

Setting a target concerning your career is something that will directly affect your life.

People need a certain level of satisfaction and there are few sources for that like social life, family, hobbies, work!

Yeap, work can give you a certain level of satisfaction as long as you like what you do.

There are people who are working in a constant routine every day, yet they feel happy. How do they do that? They compensate with other sources like a hobby.

Now, if you are qualified for a boring job, I would advice you to make sure that you can access your hobby in the country you are about to go.

For example, if your hobby is mountain climbing and you are used to do that every weekend while you are about to move to the Netherlands, maybe you should think again!

After making up in your mind what is it that you want to do, you’ll have to search for the place and the kind of sector where you’ll be able to do that!

Decision taken, now what?

The decision has been taken. You have used logic for that, but now you have to use you heart; what do you want to do in your life?
Ask yourself what do you want to do in your life. Europe can offer you much more career opportunities than the job market at your country (that could be the reason for leaving). But it is essential to define a path.
Setting targets is the way to go from A to B without getting lost nor disappointed.
Long term targets could derive from your ambitions and short term targets should be realistic, achievable and to leading (eventually) to the long term targets.

A common question during an interview is 'where do you see yourself in 5 years?'. Not being able to answer that question shall make the interviewer to assume that you do not care about the future or that you are a person with no plans.
Being ambitious is an asset. Having a plan on how you'll achieve your ambitions is more than an asset!
Try always to think from different perspectives!
If you would have to choose between a person with plan in his life and a person without a plan for a certain position in your company, who would you choose? Whom would you trust the most?

Taking the decision to leave...

Oh yeah, that's the decision which it might change your life.
It is not easy to leave everything behind, especially when you are coming from a Mediterranean country!
Family and friends will do many things to keep you with them but the final decision shall be yours.

That decision is one, if not the most important step on getting abroad.
A person who is doubting upon that decision, most probably will get back in less than a year.
The social adapting difficulties and working environment challenges shall weaken him to the point which he'll quit.
Therefore it is essential that you're sure about your decision and that you'll make a good preparation for the things you'll need.

Maslow's Pyramid of needs

First post! Introducing myself...

Hello all, my name is Evangelos, I'm from Greece and I've been leaving in the Netherlands for the last 10 years.
The reason I started this blog is because many educated people want to leave their country for a job abroad but they do not know where to look for a job nor what they have to do first.


I'll try to give as many advices as possible, based on personal experience.

More posts to come soon!