How
do I market myself for an overseas job?
How can I make myself
attractive to an overseas potential employer?
If you are
seeking a professional or teaching type position - two
things are important. One, make them want to hire you.
Make yourself an attractive candidate in every way. And
two, let them know you don't have the problems the last
person they fired had!
Attractive
Candidate
Literally
and figuratively.
Make sure
your photo on your resume is professionally done and
that you are dressed professionally. Men should be in a
dress shirt and tie - women - uh, I don't know what you
call it - but dress professionally, okay?
Smile
in your picture. Avoid facial hair (men and women!)
[But the author has had a mustache and beard for years
so he is not following his own advice here, okay?].
If you have
tattoos, a pierced anything, a Mohawk hair style - or
anything that makes you look less professional - hide it
as best you can. You are, after all, looking for a job
in a market that is, most likely, more conservative than
your own. Reveal your true self later - not during the
job hunt!
More
Attractive
Highlight
your training if you have it (in particular - it shows
you are prepared and ready to go), any multi-cultural
knowledge or skills, travel experience, multi-lingual
skills (if you have them) - and anything else that makes
you appear ready, skilled, and professional.
Your travel
and knowledge/experience with other cultures and
countries will reassure potential employers that you
won't freak out and run away after only a week or two on
the job (it happens more often than you would believe).
Strange, it seems so many people have serious
illnesses in their family that they must personally attend
to just shortly after arriving at their job - that they
didn't like. You WILL meet these people.
Eliminate
the Negative
Write
specifically that you are reliable, can hold down a job
for long periods (if you can and have), highlight family
responsibilities - note if you are married, add anything
that stresses dependability.
Review
potential contracts and stress your positive side of any
issues related in it. For example, the author once had
a contract that literally read, "If the teacher gets
drunk and breaks the furniture in the classroom, s/he
must pay for the damages." What experiences they must
have had in the past!
That was my
very first of many teaching contracts. Expectations of employers
are often reflected in the contracts they show you. Try to counter any of the negative issues, even if they
don't ask.
