How to find a job in another country, some insights from my own experience
I have decided to write this article after having a call with an old friend who was interested in a change of scenario, a career somewhere else. Talking about what I did made me think of what I could have done different, and what helped me a lot in my path. So I decided to share some aspects of my path and some insights that maybe could help many other people looking for a change.
The decision
I am originally from Italy where I went to University and worked for 2 years and a half as Android Engineer in Milan before moving to England almost 3 years ago. I did not want to start as a graduate, that’s why I decided to make some experience first. Life can be expensive in a place like London or basically any other big city, so if you have the opportunity try to make some experience first and possibly in the same field. It’s also a good way to save some money and pay your first rent.
I have always considered having an experience in another country, for study or work, as a great investment which will pay you back. Of course I did not want to leave such a beautiful country and my family but at the same time other countries offered better opportunities to grow in my field which meant an opportunity to change your life. I’m not just talking about work and salary here but also about the experiences that you will live, the places you will see and the people you will meet. Today I can say without doubts that that decision changed my life in better, so here are some advices that I feel to give.
Language Course
That’s probably the first step if you are not already fluent with english or the required language for your interviews, which was exactly my case. I was trying to move out from Italy so I decided to follow an English course of 4 months, 2 lessons per week after work, loads of talking and listening practice with final exam too. I did not start from a basic level but at the same time I was able to make some practice only when travelling and meeting people in some hostel around Europe. That’s exactly when I understood that being able to speak a proper english was very important in my life, not just for work but also for being able to communicate with others, creating connections, learning cultures completely different from yours. You have no idea of how many doors you will be able to open. So as first step I recommend to follow a course and learn the language that you will need. Just try to not wait too much time after the end of it and the interviews.
The beginning is the most difficult part
With high probability you will find yourself sending your CV to different job positions and many of them will not reply to you because you do not satisfy what they are looking for. In my case the skills requested for a Software Engineer medium level in UK/Netherland/Germany were the ones requested for a Senior position in Italy. So start thinking how to sell yourself and your skills better, but even more important understand what you still need to learn in order to fill the gap. You can check some Linkedin profiles of people who are currently working in a place which might interest you, or check if the current format of your CV is the right one for that specific country. For this last thing I have been helped by some recruiters that checked and send me some improvements to apply to my CV, so feel free to ask them any help or advise. Remember that if you will get the job they will get a bonus, it’s a win win, so they are your allies.
Another very useful instrument are websites like Glassdoor where people leave feedbacks about interviews that they had for a specific company. Very helpful to prepare an interview and it works very well especially when you need to prepare an interview for a big company.
Don’t be shy, Ask
Something very helpful that I did not do at the beginning was trying to contact an employee of a company that I was interested. Sometimes you will be surprised of how many useful insights you can get from a simple chat. I did it last year, I contacted a guy on Linkedin who used to work for a big company and he gave me a lot of useful insights about what I should improve, what that specific company evaluates more in a candidate, and he also shared my profile for an open position. That company was Facebook and I am sure some of you are aware of how difficult it is to get an interview with them, so again try to talk with people.
Fail often, Fail better
I got many closed doors in front of me at the beginning and that is absolutely normal. Do not take it personally, do not think that you are not good enough and you will never be. Everyone is born with an intense drive to learn. Infants stretch their skills daily without worrying about making mistakes or humilitating themselves. They walk, they fall, they get up. ( I recommend this book ).
Personally I always considered an interview like the best way to test our boundaries and understand what we still need to improve or learn. Last year for example I applied for this Senior position even if I knew that was not ready for it yet. That’s exactly why I did it. I took their feedback and worked on it for this whole last year and finally got that promotion.
I don’t divide the world into the weak and the strong, or the successes and the failures.. I divide the world into the learners and nonlearners. Benjamin Barber
Conclusion
The last advice that I want to give you is to not be too picky with the decision of your destination. I literally applied for interviews everywhere because I was aware of how difficult that first step was going to be. My plan was to find a job somewhere, stay there for the necessary time before changing for something better, again and again. I started in York, unknown place to me and definitely not a London in terms of tech companies and attractions, but it turned out to be a lovely place with a great lifestyle, green everywhere and I built a good work experience and met great people.
Go out your comfort zone, that’s the only thing that matters.
Thanks for reading
