With hoards of graduates fighting over a handful of jobs here in the UK, it won’t surprise you to hear that working abroad is becoming more and more popular among young people. And why not?! Not only is the job market here pretty dire but let’s face it, so is the weather. A staggering 10,000 Britons made the move to New Zealand last year, not to mention those heading to neighbouring Australia.
Of course, it is no coincidence these are the first two countries we mention when talking about working abroad because they are simply the most popular. Nevertheless, there are many other great yet less traditional destinations for graduates looking for work, for example Germany, the US and Singapore.
Having suffered huge devastation during earthquakes last year, Christchurch in New Zealand has a range of jobs open for skilled labourers. However, if you don’t fit in this category don’t expect it to be easy finding work amongst the Kiwis. It looks like we aren’t the only ones having an economic downturn recently, poor old New Zealand isn’t doing much better. It may be that you will need to compromise on your chosen career or entry level in order to gain experience, for example taking a junior position in a company despite being overqualified (and with a junior position unfortunately comes a junior salary!). There has however been recent growth in the film industry so you budding directors get out there!
We thought you might need some cheering up at this point so we’ll move on to one of the fastest growing economies in the world at the moment – Brazil (not to mention their supreme footballing talent!). Oil and gas companies recruit large numbers of people every year and technology specialists are in high demand. You might need to act quickly though as with more and more Brazilians going on to higher education competition for graduate roles is growing every year! Something else we should probably mention is that a grasp of Portuguese will be useful, and that there are several differences between European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese so do your research.
Don’t forget there are a few things you need to do before setting your heart on working abroad – namely, investigating visas for the country you want to head to. This can be a lengthy and frustrating process so best to know what you’re getting into and to start applying early to avoid being disappointed at missing your departure date! If you’re thinking about combining working abroad with some adventure and travel, take a look at our Working Abroad and Gap Years section.