Hello, and welcome back to another episode of The Straight Shooter Recruiter. My
name is Emily Durham, and my goal is to help you thrive. And
you're nine to five and beyond. I'm a career's expert, baby, Okay,
I've worked in talent acquisition for over seven years. You've probably seen me
in the Globe and Mail, BBC, on TV, in the radio,
in your dreams, you know, lots of good things. But I was
super excited to be sitting down and recording today's episode because, as you know,
I have started to introduce a very permanent segment on the show where the
last bit of the episode is exclusively answering your questions. So if you're interested
in getting your question answered, make sure you are submitting your question in the
link that I have in the description of this episode. And wow, today's
questions are juicy. Okay, they're juicy, juicy, lucy, juicy apple
goosey. If you watch The Real Housewives, you know exactly what I'm talking
about. And if you don't, you're lost and you're like, girl,
what are we talking talking about today? Today's topic is all about getting a
job internationally. I know it is stressful, I know it is exciting thinking
about where your career is going to take you, and potentially if being in
a completely different region can be overwhelming. We're going to talk about what are
the best steps to take, what should you be doing, what paperwork do
you need to do. We're going to cover it all. Plus we're going
to answer some of your questions. So make sure you're listening through to the
end because it just gets more and more entertaining. I promise you that.
Okay, grab your coffee, you get comfortable. Let's get into it,
my friend. If you have decided that you are looking for a role internationally,
first things first, be very proud of yourself. It takes a lot
of courage and bravery to really kickstart your life in a totally different region,
and that is a huge accomplishment in and of itself. I know I personally
am not bold or brave enough to do that, so that is something you
definitely need to celebrate and be excited about. The first thing I would recommend
that you do is get pretty specific about what regions you want to work in,
because it's really going to help guide your job search as well as your
networking approach. So pick the first top two or three cities you'd like to
live in, or at least narrow it down by country or general region.
For example, if you're interested in coming to Canada, where are you looking?
Is it Montreal or is it Toronto? Because there's two really different kind
of workplace cultures and standards and expectations across both of those. So I would
highly recommend have your dream list of places to live at least boiled down to
a top three, maybe a top four if you're feeling wild. The next
thing I would want you to do is a whole bunch of research to actually
validate those are the places you want to work. I would like to live
in Italy. Let me tell you, I don't think i'd like to work
in Italy. The actual workplace culture is different, what's expected is different,
and I actually don't think after research, which AKA is speaking to my cousins,
I don't think I would thrive there. So I really think it's important
to look at the country you want to live in, but also validate it's
the country you want to work in. Simple Google searches will usually do the
trick, even watching like vlogs or YouTube videos to see okay, this is
what a day in the life of a software engineer in California looks like,
or this is a day in the life of a marketing manager in India.
It really helps you understand what the average working culture looks like. One of
the things that a lot of people share is kind of a culture shock when
they come to North America is just how insane the work expectations are. I
was trying to find a better word for it, but there's not because it's
actually just insane. We have a really unfortunate culture where we are not encouraged
to take breaks, we're not encouraged to rest. We are the definition of
hustle culture. So a lot of people who come from Europe will come in
work in Canada, work in the US, and they're like, what's wrong
with you guys, Like you don't take any vacation, You work through your
lunches, Whereas in Europe, for the most part, the culture can be
pretty different. But even within Europe there's all of these different subcultures. So
just make sure you're really clued into that and actually paying attention to the workplace
culture to make sure that it's right for you. But if you're already feeling
set about where you're going, let's get into the how you're going to do
it. Okay, first things first, I am not an expert on immigration
or immigration law. I'm just going to tell you what I've seen in my
experience as a recruiter and to someone who has made international hires in the past.
So the first thing that I would do is focus on localizing your resume.
There's actually really different resume cultures across the world and even across different countries.
For example, it's really popular or common to have a photo of yourself
on your LinkedIn or on your resume in Europe, but to put a photo
of yourself on your resume in Canada or the US is actually pretty uncommon and
sometimes can actually make it so that your profile isn't getting reviewed or read.
So make sure that you're googling what a great resume looks like in that particular
region. If you are looking to apply in North America, definitely check out
my pages because I've got a whole bunch on there, and admittedly that's just
where I have the most experience. I would also recommend updating your LinkedIn,
so you need your LinkedIn to show what reach and you're currently in. But
there's this amazing little feature on LinkedIn that says open to relocation, So make
sure you click that button. Because when recruiters are starting to reach out to
potential talent or candidates, they can actually filter for people who are open to
relocation and sometimes for jobs that's exactly what they're looking for. But if you
want to make it more explicit and really take it a step further, which
I highly recommend you do, make sure you include your desire to relocate in
your LinkedIn about me section or in the headline. So in your headline you
could say seeking a role in software engineering in California, or you can pop
that into your biography. The reason this is so helpful is people might see
that and realize they have the perfect opportunity for you, or it can be
one more tool to help validate the recruiter is reaching out to the right person
once they add that filter for the relocation option. Another thing I would highly
recommend you do is be thoughtful about what job sites you're using. The job
sites you're using in your local country are probably not the same job sites that
are relevant in the country you might be applying to. For example, in
Canada, we primarily use LinkedIn and indeed, but in the US there's other
websites like work appolists or seek out that are frequently used. So make sure
you're taking a peek at what the most frequently used websites are in the country
that you're applying to and look for jobs there. However, there's one thing
that's always going to work and it's LinkedIn, Baby, so make sure you're
looking for jobs on LinkedIn because LinkedIn has this fantastic little feature where you can
look up the location of the job too, so that can be another way
for you to kind of make your search and all in one, one and
done situation. Okay, so definitely I want you to apply to those jobs
directly, but let's put a pin in that because I am going to circle
back a little bit on how you can make sure your profile and your resume
is actually getting read, because I do want to call out one more like
bonus tip or caveat to this. So obviously you're going to want to look
for jobs that are in the country you plan to move to so that you
have a sense of community. They can potentially help with your sponsorships. You
know, all of that good stuff. However, why wouldn't you consider a
remote job. If you find a fully remote job, dude, you can
just move wherever you'd like to move and work the job you want to work
from wherever you would like to work. Hello. So if you want to
be on a beach in Mexico, I love that for you. So don't
like close your options off just to the country you plan to live in.
Take a look at some remote opportunities as well. Again, I do think
LinkedIn is one of the best sites for that because they have pretty unique filtering
functions. Wow, that was way too many efforts and not the efforts I'm
used to. That you can use those filtering functions to say remote work,
and that's where you can apply directly for those remote roles that are going to
give you that amazing sense of flexibility. Okay, so let's get back to
the job hunting and the actual application process. So as you're applying for these
jobs, you might be wondering, a is anyone reading this, like,
at any point in time, has somebody opened up my resume and actually reviewed
it? And you also might be wondering, you know, are they even
going to want to consider given that I'm an international student or an international hire.
Here's what I want to tell you. No matter where you are applying
from, the job market is competitive, and no matter where you are applying
from, there are going to be thousands of other applicants. So the advice
that I give you is the same advice I would give someone who's local to
that area. I really think it's important that every single time after you apply
to the position, reach out to that recruiter on LinkedIn, in their email,
whatever method of contact you have and say, hello, my name is
Emily. I currently live in Canada. I'm applying for jobs in Amsterdam and
I'm really excited to learn more about this opportunity. I will be managing my
own relocation. AKA, I'll deal with my visa, I'll deal with get
my ass over there. You just read my resume. The reason I think
that's so important is a lot of companies do have reservations about hiring talent internationally
because of the cost. It can be extremely expensive to move people over because
it's not just the cost of the flight in helping you find a new place,
it's supporting your visa, it's suppormating you know your paperwork, if you
have a spouse or kids you need to move over. Typically that's covered too.
So if you are open to relocating on your own dime or using your
own and like visa application process, that actually can remove a barrier that might
potentially be a blocker for you in the future. I don't want you getting
scared. Just because you need a visa or relocation support does not mean that
you're not going to be an amazing fit for that position, and also doesn't
mean that you're not going to get the job. It's just something we need
to be really thoughtful of, and especially because at times it can take up
to a year to relocate. When we think about your visa or your work
permit, I would highly recommend you kickstart that process independently. So start applying
for your work permit, Start applying for those pieces of paper, and put
that on your resume at the very top, say you know whatever, insert
the visa type application in process so the company automatically knows that you're on top
of it. But I would highly recommend looking at companies who have a reputation
for relocating people. And you might ask yourself, how would I know that,
Well, just go on LinkedIn look at people who work at those companies
and see what country they started in. But for the most part, a
lot of tech companies and larger organizations have the infrastructure and budget to relocate people,
which is often one of the easiest things you can do. On the
flip side of that, if you do have some time to kill, why
not start working at an American or Canadian or you know, whatever country you'd
like to work at a company where they have an arm or an extension in
the country you currently operate in. For example, if there was a company,
let's say I wanted to work at Louis Vatan and their head offices in
Paris, I could start working for Louis Vatan in Canada and then talk to
them my current employer about how they could potentially relocate me to Paris in a
couple of years. If I ever wanted to move to California, you better
believe I would tell my current employer like, hey, move me here,
move me there. So that is another option if you're not in an immediate
rush, But if it's something you want to do sooner than later, kickstart
your application process now, put that on your resume, and most importantly,
flag your application every single time. Another thing I would recommend you do is
check out Reddit and Facebook. They're going to have amazing groups, like actual
Facebook groups of people who have relocated from your country to another country to work.
There's so many people who are willing to be a mentor a friend,
help you with paperwork, answer your questions. So I would really recommend getting
tapped into those communities to make sure that you're understanding what you can do or
what some of the limitations are as you're applying for positions. And like I
always say, the easiest way to get in at a company is via referral,
and the best way to get a referral is networking. And if we
don't have time to network, we're going to go to Reddit or we're going
to go to fish Bowl, where people are literally willing to refer you for
jobs because they get paid if you get hired. So the worst case scenario
is you check those sites out, you connect with those people, and boom,
you've got yourself an into your dream company. Is the job hunting process
totally different if you're an international student or an international hire versus if you're local
to that country. Not really, it's the same process. It's the same
websites. You just need to do the work to make sure you've localized your
application and let you have a headstart on some of the legal requirements as well.
I also always get asked questions about if international experience accounts. Yes,
good companies emphasis on the good companies want experience period. You could get that
experience anywhere. Sure, there might be nuance as one country to another,
but for the most part, especially for more technical rules, you're doing the
job. It's just being done in a slightly different work culture or work environment.
So ultimately, good companies and companies that understand talent are not going to
discount your application because you have experience from somewhere else. Again, I always
recommend applying for some of these larger companies that have infrastructure and programs to support
you in your relocation. Small companies can be awesome for that too, but
it's definitely worth taking a peek at those bigger companies because frankly, they got
more money to spend. All right, besties, it's time for your questions
of the week. I'm so excited and friendly reminder. If you want yours
answer, just click the link in the description of this video. Because I
check it every single week when I am recording. All right, my friend
wrote, Hey, Emily, I'm a recruiter myself in Mexico. Oh my
gosh, I love that. The weather that you have is the weather I
wish I had. But I'm planning to move to Toronto. Oh my gosh,
love that too, because one thing about me, I love the city.
What would you say are the main abilities or knowledge I should develop to
help land a great job in Toronto? Thanks? And I love your style
by the way, Thank you so much, my friend. First of all,
what an exciting opportunity and what an exciting thing to do in your life.
You're going to absolutely kill it. You're going to be fantastic. If
I had to say, the first few things that are the most important when
you're thinking about what jobs you're looking for is number one, do research on
what the most popular industries are in the area you're moving to. So for
Toronto specifically, tech is absolutely booming. So I would highly recommend rushing up
on your technology recruiting skills, really thinking about how you're going to build those
transferable skills that are really relevant to the area that you're looking for. And
I would say This goes for anybody who's looking for a job in another city
or another country. Get to know what industries are really growing the most.
I would also highly recommend thinking about looking for companies that are operating in multiple
countries. So, for example, if you are coming from Mexico and you're
moving to Toronto and there's a company that also has a branch or an arm
in Mexico, make sure you're applying to those companies. Because your ability to
speak Spanish, your ability to understand the culture and the way the world works
there, that's going to be a huge asset. So really focus on those
things. As far as the hands on technical skills, Definitely brush up on
what salary ranges look like in Toronto, what the average recruitment process looks like,
as well as what the notice period looks like. So in some countries
you need to give one month notice before you quite month's notice. In Canada
it's only two weeks. And I would say that advice goes to anybody looking
to start your career in a new area. Just do a quick Google search
of what are the differences between being a software engineer in Toronto versus I don't
know, Paris and the same would go here. Like doing these quick searches
of what might be different in Mexico versus Toronto is an amazing way to understand
what those might look like. I really hope that helps, and good luck
on your move. I'm so excited for you. Hi, I'm zaid an
international student. Love your content. Thank you so much to say that means
so much so. I've been applying to summer internships since January in all of
the big five companies and even some of the smaller ones. I tried getting
references for some and I did. And I've also been applying to co op
positions, mailing and reaching out to people in hr on LinkedIn, the hiring
managers and recruiters with my resume and customized cover letters. But no luck.
When I look back and reach back out to some of them, I'm not
considered for the roles that I think I'm aligned with. What is the issue?
What should I be doing more of? First of all, you are
absolutely doing amazing. It sounds like you are doing all of the right things
that you're applying, you're following up, you're getting your name out there.
Here are two things that I would highly recommend doing. Number one is network.
It sounds like you're doing a fantastic job of applying to the right positions
and reaching out once you've applied, But sometimes, and especially when we're building
our network and when we're applying to these very competitive co op positions, because
believe it or not, those co op and internship positions are hard to get
into because there's so many applicants from all different regions applying. All to say,
I really think networking is going to be something that benefits you the most.
So I would make a list of people who work at the companies you're
interested in working at and reach out to them on LinkedIn or via email and
ask for a thirty minute phone conversation, and don't even make it about the
job you know, don't bring up the positions you're applying to. Just reach
out and say you're passionate about the careers that they work in and you'd love
to understand more about their career and ask them questions about how they've developed and
grown. Because when you have these conversations focusing on learning from people a they're
more likely to accept it because people love talking about themselves, even if they
don't realize it, they do b It's going to be a great way to
build that relationship. So at the end of that conversation you can say thank
you so much for your time. Would you be comfortable referring me for those
positions? And I know it's disheartening, especially when you do get a referral
and you still don't get the job. A referral isn't an automatic way of
getting the position, but the more referrals you can get them more likely it
is. And I think that's the hard thing to process or a hard thing
to accept, especially for early careers. Recruiting is sometimes we need to apply
to a lot of positions in order to get the one that we want.
So just be kind to yourself, be gracious with yourself. I know it
is stressful. It is going to be high volume. Like by nature,
you're probably going to apply to a lot of jobs for one yes, for
two yeses, for three yeses. So just no, it is to have
to apply to a lot of positions for these intern and coop roles. Another
thing that I would do is connect with your school. So did you just
hear that that was my job telling me to come back to which I say,
no, thanks, I'm busy right now, but one of the things
I would do is reach out to your school. A lot of these co
op programs have specific ties to different schools, so they only are posting their
job positions to these different schools directly. So talk to the school that you
either went to or graduated from and ask to see what their job board looks
like, because often less people are applying to those directly. Trying to think
if there's anything else I know you asked, like, what could be the
issue? The only thing I would think of is resume, So making sure
you have lots of data on your resume. Have you shown the number of
projects you work on? Do you have quantifiable data on your resume that explains
the work you've done. Is your resume clear and easy to read? Is
it one page? Do you have all of your relevant projects listed? So
really making sure that resume is crisp and focusing on networking would be my top
two tips if you do need help on either of those topics. I actually
have full videos on those on my YouTube channels, so if that is helpful,
you can always check it out there. But good luck, said,
I know you're going to get there. I know it distressful and it is
hard, but you are going to do it and you're going to be great.
Should I pursue my master's abroad right after my bachelor's or take two years
of work experience and then go get my master's abroad? Ooh? I Little
story Time also had this whole thought process. So as you know, the
real ones know, the ogs know, you know, you guys are aware
that my goal after I graduated was initially to get into law, and I
was considering going to practice law internationally. I was actually really considering a move
to the UK for a point in time. Obviously, none of that ended
up really happening, and thank god, because I think I would have hated
it. But I went through the same thought process. Should I be doing
it now? Should I be doing it later? And for me personally,
these were the couple of things I considered that ultimately made me realize that was
not the right move for me right now. I would say the pros to
moving are you don't have as much responsibility right now. You in fact,
probably have the least amount of responsibility that you will in your whole life.
I'm going to make an assumption and stop me if I'm wrong. And like
you know, for me personally, after my bachelor's I didn't have kids.
I mean I still don't have kids, but like i'd no kids, I
had no partner, I was not dependent on anything. I could pick my
life life up and move and it wouldn't matter. And if that's the case
that you're in, that's not a situation we are going to have probably for
a really really long period in our life. So that's definitely a bonus one
of the things I do think about, And that was one of the reasons
I didn't go with money, Like I didn't want to spend sixty thousand dollars
to go live somewhere for two years and get a different degree. So when
I think about the pros and the cons, the pro is the life experience.
The pro could also be the fact that you'll be done with school,
like you can get it all done at once and then get into the workforce.
And it's also like an amazing opportunity to meet new people and reevaluate if
this is what you want. Here's what I'm going to say. The cons
are you really want to be careful about what masters you are pursuing internationally,
because sometimes things are localized. So for example, if I studied law in
the UK, that wouldn't apply to Canada in a way. That's easy.
I probably would have needed to do another program once I got home to Canada
so I could practice law, and I didn't want to do that. So
you have to be very mindful that what you are doing internationally is going to
help you in your career. I also personally tend to value hands on experience
more than academics. That's just me. I learn better by doing, and
a lot of companies tend to have a preference for experience over academics, especially
in the tech sector. However, if you're in consulting, if you're in
investment banking, yeah, having those extra degrees really does help. So I
would say make a pros and cons list and be really thoughtful about the industry
that you want to work in and be realistic. Is getting the degree now
going to help you. If the answer is yes, great, go for
it. If it's a maybe, why not work for a couple of years
because you might find a company who was willing to pay for you to go
to school after Like, that's a real possibility to closing time. That's bad.
I keep joking. I'm like, one of these days, I'm going
to bust out into a song and it's going to be good and everyone's going
to be so impressed. But until then, I'm going to keep doing this
stupid, stupid stuff. I really hope today's episode was helpful. Do not
forget to leave a rating and a review. I can't even tell you how
much that helps the show grow. And like I always think, I'm trying
to get this show out into the algorithm, out into the universe. I
want to give you as much free and easy careers advice as possible. That's
my goal here, So please make sure you are hitting it up in the
Spotify or Apple ratings wherever you listen. Make sure you're submitting your questions as
well. But I cannot thank you enough for hanging out with me, and
I'll talk to you next week.