CHEAP FLIGHTS: It wasn’t too long ago that we talked about the best way to find a cheap flight for your work or volunteer abroad experience. We’ve also covered the topic a bit more in depth. Think that you know everything there is to know about buying discount airfare? Think again. The extremely helpful people over at Lifehacker have compiled the Ultimate Travel Hacking Guide, which walks you through some alternative methods of making sure that you get the absolute best deal on your next overseas flight. Be sure to check out their related posts as well for more info about flying on the cheap.

FUNDRAISING: This is an incredibly old (especially in Internet-years) link from Go Overseas, but they give some great advice for how to fundraise to volunteer overseas. If you’re looking for more on the subject, make sure you check out another page full of info about funding your volunteer abroad experience.

WORKING ABROAD IN THE MIDDLE EAST: Do you think the folks over at CNBC read the JobMonkey blog? Because they recently reported about the increasing popularity of the Middle East (namely the UAE) as a destination for people looking to escape the rough US job market. They even called the Middle East the “newest hotspot” for jobs. I recall reading something very similar about turning a study abroad trip to the Middle East into a job last summer….(in fairness, it may have been the New York Times that made the point first!)

WORKING ABROAD IN CHINA: But let’s not count out Asia as an area growing in popularity for (specifically, young) people looking abroad for career advancement opportunities. As USA Today reports, China is attracting all kinds of English-speakers for jobs in sales and business development. But before you pack your bags, be aware that when a country starts to be labeled “popular” you can pretty much assume that jobs will also be “competitive”.

WORKING AT HOME, LIVING ABROAD: This story from the US News & World Report about a guy who tele-commuted to his job in the US from Venice is pretty amazing. And there are some great tips about how to try and get a deal like that for yourself!

GREEN JOBS ABROAD: Looking for natural energy jobs abroad? With the popularity of both green jobs and jobs abroad on the rise, you probably are. Make sure that you check out Greenjobs.com, which is currently featuring a bunch of international jobs on their website.

These are just a few of the happenings around the Internet right now! If you have some great scoop on work abroad or volunteer abroad news, make sure to leave them in the comments!

If you put in the work and find the right fit, you’ll be moved into the interview phase. Interviews for jobs abroad can be different from other job interviews, and it is important to put in a little extra prep work to make sure that you are fully prepared.

People who hire from outside of a host country to fill positions are generally looking for two things: someone who can be successful in the job, and someone who will be comfortable in a foreign culture, and is willing to be pushed outside of their comfort zone.  To that end, most interview questions will fall into one of three categories: skills assessment, personality fit/drive, ability to work abroad.

Keep these three categories in mind while you are preparing for the job interview, and look online for practice interviews and sample questions to help you get started (there are some great resources below). Another element of the interview to keep in mind, which is especially important if you are interviewing over the phone or Skype, is small talk.

Why does small talk matter? Let’s face it – phone and video interviews can be a bit awkward. Without visual cues from your interviewer, you can expect to have a few moments where there is either silence, or people start talking at the same time. It’s ok! Most people who conduct business via the Internet experience this, but as the interviewee, there are ways to make the first moments of the phone interview set the stage for a smooth conversation.

First of all, make sure that you know a little bit about the person interviewing you. That way once you get on the phone and say hello, you are also ready to dive into another conversation about the person’s history with the organization, hobbies or anything else that might be appropriate. This is especially important during conference calls – with many people calling in, you might have a few minutes at the beginning to fill before everyone has had a chance to call in.

Another important element of a job interview for an overseas job is knowing as much as possible about your potential host country. Make sure that you have done research, subscribed to relevant blogs and read newspapers from that country, so that you can engage your interviewer in thoughtful discussion about current events. Imagine interviewing someone who wasn’t aware of a recent bank holiday, religious observance or long weekend? Current events can also serve as a resource for small talk topics!

If you’re looking for more resources to prepare for your work abroad job interview, check out these websites to help you with practice questions and tips for success:

• Jobs in the Sun focuses on fun jobs in the Caribbean and other tropical climates, and has created a handy list of 50 popular interview questions for jobs abroad. Many of the questions on the list deal with relocation and living in a foreign country, while others are typical job interview questions for any type of position. This is a great resource if you are interviewing for an entry-level position abroad. 
• Quint Careers offers some more practical advice, for everything from the international job search to securing the interview. If you have already landed a phone interview and are looking for ways to maximize your effectiveness on a long-distance call, check out their article on phone interview etiquette.
• Working Overseas gives a comprehensive view of all elements of landing the interview, from who your interviewer might be, tactics for answering questions, and examples of “situational” interview questions.
• If you are considering including a recruitment fair in your job search, check out these tips for teach abroad fair interview etiquette at Overseas Digest. While many of the questions are teaching-specific, the information can be easily applied to recruitment fairs of any type!

Finally, the best resource for preparing for job interview is speaking directly with a hiring manager. If you know anyone who has been in charge of a job search, make a point to talk to them about what they were looking for, and candidates who impressed (or didn’t impress) them during their interview. Whether that interview was for a job abroad or not, you gain very useful insight about the interview process from someone who has experienced it from the other side.

Work abroad jobs generally require much more planning and legwork than jobs in your home country. Between visas, living arrangements and airfare, the logistics can be time consuming. But the best time to put a significant amount of time into planning for your job abroad is before you even know what the job is! Just as you would if you were looking for a position right out of college, your skills, areas of improvement and objective should be the driving force behind your job decisions. This can not only position you for success at your job abroad, but can help you find a job that is the best fit for you.

The best way to approach the work abroad job search is to start organizing your thoughts, and to determine what you really want to get out of your job. Transitions Abroad magazine has a great template worksheet for working abroad that can help you to get started with outlining your job search strategy. It begins with the basic questions (Where do I want to work? In what industry?), and then slowly encourages you to go into more detail about your skills, and what areas in which you’d like to gain more skill.

You might find that you’ve designed your perfect job just by filling in some boxes on a spreadsheet. But what next?

The next step in finding a job abroad is the most fun, to me anyway. Using the information that you just organized, start to explore different organizations that might meet your needs, whether or not they currently have job openings. You should also browse the "About Us" section to see what types of position they have, and what kinds of people they hire. Have they been with the organization long, and worked their way up? This could give you some insight into how the organization works, and what kind of culture it promotes.

Once you have an idea of what kind of organizations occupy space in your chosen industry and country, you should start making connections. You might find out that someone you know works for, or has worked with, someone at the organization or has some other connection. If that doesn’t happen, start writing emails and asking for informational interviews. You can have these over Skype or on the phone, as a way to learn more about the organization, as well as get your name and face out there as someone who is looking for work abroad.

All of this legwork is helpful because it can keep you "in-the-know" about organizations of interest, and you can continue to check job postings and open positions. Also look for volunteer opportunities within the organization. There might be something that is a good fit for your needs, and could grow into a larger position. Some people travel abroad and take on both a paying job and a volunteer job to meet their needs – working for environmental conservation by day and waiting tables by night can help you do something you love, while exposing you to local culture.

The secret to work abroad is planning, and the planning starts at home. The Internet is a powerful tool, and gives us exposure to many types of organizations and jobs that many people probably didn’t know existed a few years ago. It can give you (along with your own initiative) all of the tools you need to find a great job abroad.

If you’d like to learn more about jobs abroad in general, please visit the Work Abroad section of JobMonkey.com.

Perhaps they never had opportunity to travel and now feel isolated within their country’s borders, or maybe they briefly spent time elsewhere and could not afford to stay as long as they wished.

Maybe they even feel they have experienced everything on offer at home and crave the adventure of building up a new life from nothing. Alternatively, they may have friends or relatives who have already left and wish to follow them over the horizon.

Everyone who decides to move abroad has an individual combination of motivations, but some reasons crop up regularly: desire for change, a better job or a more appealing lifestyle.

In a series of blogs on life as an expatriate, Working Abroad Magazine will explore the pros and cons of setting up a new life in another country, the unexpected pitfalls and the welcome surprises, the time consuming paperwork and the agonising decision over what to take with you.

First of all, the biggest decision is where in the world you wish to emigrate, as this will have the largest effect on your future plans.

Moving to another country for an extended length of time will always be complicated, but some nations are more accepting of foreign nationals than others.

UK citizens will find it easier to relocate to a European country, particularly one in the European Union (EU) because of mutual trade and immigration agreements, than to the US or Canada which can involve waiting for months or even years for approval. See our block post about working in the European Union, which was published on the blog recently.

Likewise, people who were born in a country outside the EU will not enjoy any special benefits there and may prefer to seek a new life in a nation with ties or friendly relations with their own to minimise the inevitable red tape.

Picking a suitable country will rarely depend on the convenience of its immigration policy. Many people choose a destination because they like the weather, the people, the culture or the pace, maybe “falling in love” after going on holiday.

Others are more career-driven, moving wherever looks like the best place to improve their job prospects. Indeed, most expats before the second half of the 20th century moved because of work requirements. It is only recently that the relative cheapness and ease of international travel made emigration an option rather than a necessity.

Moving abroad permanently to work is easier if you can organise a job before you leave, either transferring within your current company or ensuring you have a job waiting for you with a foreign employer. This is because long-term work visas are very difficult to obtain without a sponsor, and some countries will not let you move there for more than a year if you plan to work as well. This causes an age split within the expatriate community, as a high proportion will be retired people using investments or pensions to fund their lifestyles, as they cannot legally work.

If the main factor for moving is to get out of your home country, it can be tempting to go for a place that offers the polar opposite in terms of population density, urbanisation, weather and wealth. This is why two very popular destinations for British expatriates are rural France and Spain – sunny days, slower pace of life, a personalised feel in smaller businesses and the laidback Continental lifestyle can seem irresistible to someone used to regular rain, a lengthy daily commute and grim, city life.

Yet language barriers are more obvious when faced with conversing in a different tongue everyday, so other English-speaking countries such as the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand attract thousands of Brits every year.

But to be honest – choosing the best country for your needs is only the first decision in a long series of choices that will require many hours of research, documentation and bureaucracy. The next blog will look at the ins and outs of becoming an expatriate in greater detail on timescales, red tape and requirements, and will help point you in the right direction for organising your overseas relocation. In the mean time, the internet has a staggering number of expat forums where people can make friends and ask questions: a few of the best include EasyExpat, ShelterOffshore and BritishExpats.

Have a Winning CV

1. Presentation is important. Don’t hand-write your CV, or use wacky typefaces or colored paper. Arial or Times New Roman will do fine, in 10, 11 or 12 point.

2. Pay attention to layout: make your resume easy to read by spacing sections out and keeping margins generous.

3. Use a ‘professional’ sounding email address such as (your real name)@hotmail.com rather than kitty_kat_ibiza_angel@email.com

4. Keep it simple. Weigh up information that has to be on there with stuff that’s more suited to conversation at interview.

5. Use active verbs (such as ‘achieved’, ‘set up’, ‘managed’, ‘led’) to make you sound positive and dynamic.

6. Don’t use bullet points: prose is easier to read and allows you to get more description into the same space.

7. Proofread (for spelling errors, misuse of words or poor grammar). Then do it again.

8. Then ask someone else to do it, too.

9. One last check: has the CV got your name, address, phone number and email address on it?

10. If you’re applying for more than one kind of job, you’ll need more than one CV. Have a ‘skeleton’ CV but be prepared to change the order of things around or highlight particular skills or experiences to fit the job you’re going for.

Jade
Before you go abroad make sure you take a little time to learn about local customs. While in Thailand last year I discovered that it’s very offensive to kiss someone on the cheek when you meet them. Instead it’s customary to bow.

Sam
I was working abroad in Australia for 10 months and couldn’t find any work in the cities once I was out there – most restaurants and cafes will only hire women. Problem for us blokes! Therefore I would strongly recommend either looking for a job in the newspapers before you get to a city or secure a placement through a website before you jet off to Oz. I survived purely on non-taxed ‘cash in hand’ based jobs, working as furniture removal man or any sort of labour work. There are plenty of those jobs about especially in Perth.

Tips from Working Abroad Magazine Readers

Allison
I have working in Malia, Crete for the last 3 years. I would say going to work abroad is the best thing I have ever done. It gives u lots more confidence and you meet lots of new people.

Amanda
Do look out for special offers and tickets when you are working abroad. In Sweden it costs less to travel if you are a youth. Under 26′s save up to half on some routes. The Swedes are fairly trusting by nature and you don’t normally need to show proof unless you look old for your age.

Andy
Always make a photocopy of your passport and insurance details. If they are lost or stolen it will speed up the time it takes to replace them at the consulate.

Pascha
Never get into an unlicensed taxi – even in European countries. Check that they have all the correct licenses before getting in. (they should be clearly visible).

Adam
Email yourself your CV and print it out in the country when you arrive, that way it will look fresh and neat and not scrunched up coming out of your backsack!

Natalie
It’s really easy to find volunteer work online! There’s loads of different organisations around. The big ones are Raleigh International, VSO and BUNAC; but they tend to have longer programs (a year or so, rather than just the summer). i-to-i has lots of placements in Africa and Asia.

Amanda
Sleeping Soundly – You may have accommodation arranged for you, but if you choose to find your own, then check-in to a hostel or hotel to allow yourself time to explore the area before you rent. Colleagues can advise the best places to live: they may have a room to rent or know a man who does. Listings section in the local papers and notice boards at work are worth a look and if working in a country where local papers are not in English, many have websites which are translated. Research the area and speak to the locals as you could find that there is no public transport after 7pm which could curtail your social life or impact your finances.

Emily
I did a ski season in Canada. If you’re in an awkward situation at work and your visa is linked to your job (in other words if you get fired – you have to leave the country) – don’t be afraid to speak up if something has physically stopped you from working properly. Have a word with your boss and they’ll try to transfer you rather than lose you. This is especially important for those wanting to work as ski/snowboard instructors, if you break your leg you can’t teach!

Jim
If you are renting private accommodation, read the terms of your lease carefully to know what you are responsible for maintaining. (in other words, what you’ll lose your deposit over) Take photos of the condition of the flat before you move in and send copies to the landlord so there won’t be arguments later!

Angie
Remember the cultural differences in other countries, we may be used to mini skirts, strappy tops and bearing all in the UK but in some countries, that kind of dress code could be misunderstood, respect local customs, traditions and think about what might appear to be offensive or you could find you get unwanted attention

Adam
Opening Bank accounts abroad can be tricky – sometimes you need to fulfill a point system in order to open an account. Take copies of your driving licence, passport, birth certificate and UK bank details as they all help to build up your points and make it a lot easier for you.

Amanda
Looking Good – Depending on your destination, clothes and shoes can be cheaper abroad; stock up on tailor made suits for interviews in Hong Kong or Thailand, accessorise your wardrobe in Malaysia and Baltic amber jewelry in Poland.

Tod
Sailing schools and yachts are desperate for people to start in September and October as a lot of people leave then for uni. If you’re on your gap year, it’s easier to get a job then and it will be a lot easier for you to get a similar job the following year!

Branwin
Anyone who fancies working in the outback of Australia, check out www.visitoz.org They place you in all kinds of outback work – I governed on a cattle station, but there’s also mustering cattle, station cooks, hospitality and a lot more. If you fancy the true blue Aussie experience away from backpacker-ville, I totally recommend it.

Pete
Worked abroad, had a great time? Remember that you might want to go back to the resort you worked in next year and find work again, so if you let your hair or your boss down at the end of the season, he’ll remember it!

Stevo
Worked Abroad? No I think it’s more like “lived abroad and got paid for it!” It’s the best time of your life. Most of the time, it just doesn’t feel like work at all, last summer I worked abroad and came back to the UK for a week, but I only stayed for a day, I couldn’t wait to go back abroad!