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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 forEnglish 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.
Yet all the
information and contacts in the world are of little use unless you make
a personal approach to the particular situation. Some of the resources
listed here will be of use mainly to people willing to job hunt once they
are overseas. An au pair agency in Rome or a workcamp association in Latvia
is more likely to help if you are there in person rather than making contact
out of the blue. While traveling and looking for work, you must be resourceful
and persistent: make your willingness to work known to all you meet, check
bulletin boards, and ask other travelers for leads. Most importantly, do
not be shy about walking in and asking for work.--Susan Griffith.
Go To Page
Two: Short Term Job Resources Around The World - Click
Here - |
 
This article first
appeared in Transitions Abroad Magazine. Transitions Abroad is a
bimonthly guide to practical information on affordable alternatives to
mass tourism: living, working, studying, or vacationing alongside the people
of the host country. Subscriptions
are a bargain - the information unique. View their website - http://www.transitionsabroad.com |
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