Working in your new location

"It is a bad plan that admits of no modification."— PubliliusSyrus, 1stCentury BC

Your career plan can be one of the biggest impediments to skipping the country. You may have a job you love that you’ll need to leave. You may have clear ideas about where your career is going, and be reluctant to mess with the schedule. You may have no idea what you could do when you get to your new destination.For the first two worries, take a look at this post.

For what to do when you get there, here are some thoughts to get you started:

1 ) Stay in your current job

These days, companies are far more flexible about remote work. Please don’t instantly dismiss this as a possibility. There’s no harm in asking! Take it slowly, demonstrate greater productivity outside the office than in, and negotiate convincingly.

For a wonderful, step-by-step guide to how negotiate remote working with your current boss see Tim Ferriss’ “Four Hour Workweek”, Chapter 12.

2 ) Consider teaching English

You lucky, lucky person. You are already fluent in the most in-demand language in the world. English teaching is one of those jobs that you can pick up, anywhere in the world.  
Some tips:

1. Don’t assume you have to do a TEFL. TEFL can be a great way to get your confidence up, but it’s also costly and time-consuming. Many private language schools will accept native English speakers with any university degree.
2. You don’t have to teach kids. Business English teaching tends to be better paid and less demanding.
3. You don’t have to teach big classes. Many business people prefer one-to-one classes during working hours.
4. Look out for schools that offer paid training or free teaching resources, so you won’t be going in cold.
5. Don’t assume that taking a teaching job when you first arrive means kissing your career plans goodbye. English teaching can be highly rewarding.  It is an intense training course in public speaking, sales, communications and intercultural studies. And, if you go down the Business English route, can also be a great way to network with professionals in a wide range of industries.

3 ) Find work before you go.

This is a lot easier than it used to be. Some ideas:

1. Plan a short mid-week trip and visit some recruitment agencies.
2. Invest some time in LinkedIn.
3. If you speak the local language, check out the Classified section of the local paper.
4. Check the local embassies and consulates for job opportunities.
5. Take a look at worldwide employment sites – for example:

http://xpatjobs.com/

http://www.Monster.com

http://www.angloinfo.com/

http://jobs.expatica.com/

4 )Find work when you get there
This is perhaps the scariest option, but can also be the most practical, if you have some savings to live on for the first few months. It gives you time to look around you, join some local networking groups, get to know the language, and spend some time enjoying your new home before the daily 9-5 kicks in.

Written by: Rosie

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