How to land a job overseas with sponsorship ( I did it 6 times !)

1. Understand demand vs supply

There is the basic rule of demand and supply. Any country will hire you if you meet these 2 criteria

Your job must be in high demand but less supply in that country . Meaning if that position cannot be fulfilled by the local talent, that is when a company will think of hiring from outside.

This is the basic law of demand and supply.

Any country or government will support to hire locals first. If for any reason, like labor shortage or non availability of skillset then you have higher chances of getting jobs overseas.

build a hot skill

Try to build skill sets that are in high demand.

Create a target list of companies that you want to work with

Many people apply through job portals and LinkedIn. I am not against it. It may work or may not. PersonallyI am a big fan of research. I have specific preferences and want to work in a company that has good culture and where I can hone my skills. When I started applying for overseas jobs, I was highly interested in working with only those organizations that were Agile.

1. Finalize the location you want to work in

Its important to get an idea of where you want to work. There are many factors that go into deciding this – cost of living, pay, safety etc.

Just to give you a perspective ( a very high level one)

Asia offers low cost of living, high pay, money stretches a long way, good climate and increased affordability.

Europe offers good quality of living, but the salaries are very low compared to US. Affordability decreases and cost of increases. The winters can be cold and gloomy.

US offers great pays. Safety is quickly becoming a concern these days. Winters can get gloomy.

Ultimately it all depends on where exactly you want to move. If you have questions on specific countries, please mention them in the comments below and I will answer them.

1. Have a ATS friendly resume

There are companies where humans read the resumes. I love such companies. But generally it is a bot that reads your resume.

1. Don’t forget the cover letter

Cover letters are not a big deal in Asia. So I never realized the importance of them until I started applying and working overseas.

1. Apply

You can apply on job sites, LINKEDIN, indeed.

My favorite method is to apply directly the companies website.

Go to the companys website. Find a page called Careers. Look for the position that suits you and apply directly. I’ve had 100% success rate with this method.

1. Crack and interview
2. Of course applying is only half work done. Get on with the interview and crack it.
3. Get flying !
4. If this is a position that requires to relocate to a different country, please ask the HR for the details. Companies generally take care of your visa and visa for your immediate dependents (spouse and children). They also provide relocation assistance and a relocation bonus. The relocation assistance can vary from providing you a temporary accomodation in the new country till you find your place or it could be providing assistance to find a new accomodation. Example. When I moved to Malaysia, we got a great service apartment with breakfast for a month and we had to look for a condo to rent ourselves.
5. However with the job offers from Europe, there is no accommodation provided. Instead, they help you with the documentation and search for a place to live.