Make your dreams of working overseas a reality
Finding opportunities to work overseas is not as hard as most people think. In truth, all you really need in order to realise your dreams of working overseas is the right strategy, a good platform, a reliable headhunter or a decent opportunity.So then, how do you go about unearthing potential opportunities?
A. Opportunities obtained via an internal platform
Enterprises whose headquarters are overseas and who have management or leadership trainee programs.These programs generally include 6-12 months of overseas work. Management trainee programs usually recruit graduate students who are fresh out of university, or students who graduated about a year or so ago, whereas leadership trainee programs usually look for employees who already have 3-5 years of work experience under their belt. Examples of such programs include: the CITI Management Training Program, the GE Financial Management Program, Bosch’s China Training Program, and the HSBC Banker Development Program.
Those amongst you who already work for one of Fortune’s 500 most powerful companies, who have an outstanding performance and who are the subject of praise from their company executives have probably already been sent overseas, either due to job rotation or in order to work on a project. The type of positions that generally lead such employees to work overseas are as follows: core technologies/products personnel, and finances; followed by marketing and sales; and then, less commonly, HR.
Domestic enterprises who intend to exploit, or who have already exploited, overseas markets.As a result of globalisation, more and more domestic enterprises are establishing branches overseas. These enterprises often allow employees who are familiar with both domestic and international business activities to transfer to an overseas branch. This phenomenon is increasingly apparent within the marketing, product development, technology R&D and even HR and administration departments of China’s most famous Internet companies, such as Tencent, UC, Maxthon, YY, ZTE and Huawei.
B. If your current situation doesn’t correspond with the above scenarios, then another viable strategy is to increase the visibility of your CV and to actively seek out recruitment information.
Consider uploading and regularly updating your CV and contact information on LinkedIn. Having a LinkedIn account can help HR staff and headhunters to discover you. Also, if regularly contribute to professional groups on LinkedIn, you may very well find that employment and HR staff will actively consult your profile.
Send your CV to either global consulting firms or domestic consulting firms who provide overseas opportunities. Here at Morgan McKinley, we operate in eight countries across the Asia Pacific and EMEA regions so please get in touch with one of 18 offices here.
In conclusion, life is full of possibilities—the key in seizing them is making that first step.
