[Working Abroad] #6 What to do if you are aiming for a job abroad from an overseas university (or graduate school)

In the previous article, I wrote about the experience of passing an interview for an overseas internship but being unable to actually work due to visa and work permit issues.

This time, I will write about what students and working professionals aiming for jobs abroad should do first.

As a premise, this article is basically written about software engineers.

However, I believe the way of thinking itself applies to some extent to professions other than software engineering. What should you organize before you suddenly start applying for jobs when you want to work abroad? What should you think about before choosing a country?

This time, I will organize those points based on my own experience.

Think about the work and lifestyle you want to achieve

When aiming for a job abroad, I think the first thing you should consider is what kind of work you want to do and what kind of lifestyle you want to lead.

For example, speaking specifically about software engineers, if you want to be deeply involved in the development of new products or new features, it is better to go to places like Silicon Valley or New York in the United States, and if you want to do work that takes a service from an already growing company from 10 to 100, then Europe or Singapore also come into view.

This is not limited to software engineers.

For example, if you are an accountant, do you want to build a career that allows you to move across countries in the Pacific Rim area? Or do you want to specialize in Europe? Depending on which region you work in, the necessary qualifications, language, experience, and ease of changing jobs will change.

It is not just about work; the image of your life is also important.

If you want to work intensely, the United States is likely a good option, and if you want to travel to various countries while taking proper vacations, Europe is also attractive.

It is not a matter of which one is correct.

However, if you proceed with just "I want to work abroad" while leaving this vague, your choice of country, choice of graduate school, and job hunting will all become quite blurry.

Accumulate as much as you can before moving

Once you have a clearer idea of the work and lifestyle you want to aim for, the next thing to do is to accumulate as much as you can before moving.

In my case, even before going to graduate school abroad, I was conscious of gaining experience as close to practical work as possible.

Whether it is a part-time job, an internship, or contract work, I think the form does not matter. The important thing is to increase, even a little, the experience that is directly linked to the goal you thought of at the beginning.

As I wrote in the ninth article, the preparation for finding a job abroad did not suddenly start after studying abroad.

Practical experience, specialized knowledge, GPA, and language skills. These are not things that can be acquired all at once in a short period of time.

When aiming for local employment, it is easy to think that the real challenge begins only after you go abroad.

However, in reality, I believe that what you have built up before going abroad is also quite important.

On that basis, look at the country

I think it is best to consider the work and lifestyle you want to achieve, gain as much experience as possible before immigrating, and then look at the country.

At this time, the first thing you should check is the conditions under which you can work in that country.

Can you do an internship with a student visa?
Is there a residence permit for job hunting after graduation?
Is it a country where companies find it easy to hire foreigners?
How many companies are there where you can work only in English?
To what extent is the local language necessary?

These conditions vary considerably from country to country.

As I wrote in the previous article, I passed an interview for an overseas internship, but in the end, I could not work due to visa and work permit issues.

From this experience, I think that when it comes to working abroad, it is not always the case that "if you have the ability, you can manage."

Technical skills, English proficiency, CV, and interview preparation are all important.

But before that, you need to see if you can actually work in that country.

Working abroad is heavily influenced not only by effort but also by systems.

That is why I believe that when choosing a country, you need to look realistically at the conditions for working there, not just your aspirations.

Once you have a country in mind, decide on a graduate school

Once you have candidates for countries, you then look at graduate schools.

In my case, when choosing a graduate school, I was very conscious of whether it would lead to employment after graduation and whether there were scholarships available.

Of course, I think you will also be concerned about rankings and the university name.

However, in my case, rather than deciding based solely on rankings, I placed importance on whether going to that graduate school would bring me closer to local employment.

In particular, the budget is quite important.

Overseas graduate schools require not only tuition but also living expenses. No matter how good a program is, if it is financially unfeasible, you will have no breathing room while enrolled.

I previously wrote about going to an overseas graduate school using a local government scholarship.

Whether or not a scholarship is available significantly changes the countries and graduate schools you can choose from.

Once you arrive in the country, first look at the conditions and timing

If you have already researched the systems to some extent and looked at local job openings while choosing a country, all that remains is to apply in large numbers at the appropriate time.

Unlike job hunting in Japan, it is not always the case that everyone moves at the same time. Also, it is not guaranteed that everyone in your class will job hunt in the same way (especially for master's or doctoral students). Internships and new graduate positions at popular companies may have openings quite early.

It is important to follow your own plan rather than waiting to see what those around you are doing.

Get your LinkedIn and CV in order early, at least to a minimum standard

If you are aiming for a job abroad, you should get your LinkedIn and CV in order as early as possible.

However, you do not need to make them perfect from the start.

That said, you should at least ensure that your educational background, work history, internship experience, projects, and usable skills are in a state that will appeal to the companies you want to join.

LinkedIn is not just a place to store your resume.

In overseas job hunting, it is also a place to look for job openings, connect with recruiters, and research companies and the people who work there.

In fact, in my case, I was contacted by a recruiter via LinkedIn.

You don't have to try to do it perfectly from the start

Writing this much might make it seem like there is too much to do.

In reality, there is a lot.

However, you do not need to do everything perfectly from the beginning.

I didn't know everything from the start either. I was strategic about choosing a country and preparing before moving, but my resolution regarding how to act after moving was low, so I ran into visa and work permit issues after passing an internship interview.

Even so, if you move early, you can make corrections when you fail.

I believe that finding a job abroad is not about getting it right on the first try, but rather about gradually increasing your clarity as you research, apply, and listen to others.

Finding a job abroad does not start with applying for jobs

When you hear about aiming for a job abroad, you might imagine starting by applying for job openings.

However, based on my own experience, there were things that needed to be done before that.

What kind of work do you want to do?
What kind of life do you want to lead?
In which country is it easiest to achieve that?
Can you work in that country?
What kind of experience should you gain before immigrating?
Once you arrive in the country, when and what can you apply for?

If you act without organizing these things, your efforts may end up being misdirected.

Of course, you cannot research everything in advance.

In reality, there is much you only learn after arriving in the country. There are also things you won't know until you actually apply.

Even so, it is important to think about the general direction first.

Think about the work and lifestyle you want to achieve.
Look at countries based on that.
Build up what you can before you immigrate.

None of these are flashy topics.

But this kind of humble preparation will pay off significantly later on.

Next time, I plan to summarize in a checklist format the things that people aiming for overseas graduate schools or local employment should organize first.