Introduction

There are a variety of options if international travel and work are a part of your long-term career plans. There are government, not-for-profit, and corporate jobs that will afford you the opportunity to live and work abroad for significant periods of time throughout your career.

There are some unique challenges to researching, pursuing, and obtaining jobs that will provide you with international exposure over the long-term. With patience, vision, and hard work, however, you will be able to achieve your long-term international career goals.

Background

As with a domestic job search, employers with international opportunities are most interested in the specific skills and competencies that you possess. They are more interested in your skills and competencies, for example, than they are in what languages you speak. Occasionally, there will be international jobs when language skills are as important as your job skills and competencies, but these are the exception. In order to run a successful long-term international job search, therefore, you must concentrate on how to become competitive for a specific job or field.

In some instances, you will need to understand the visa requirements for working in a particular country. You can use the Electronic Embassy web site to research working visa information for countries throughout the world. You can also go directly to the US Department of State's site for passport information.

Long-term International Job Search Strategy

After you have identified the occupational areas that you would like to pursue, you should research employers that have both the type of job you wish to pursue and an international presence. The following is a list of concrete steps you can take to conduct an effective job search. If the organization or program to which you are applying has a set application process (like the US Department of State), disregard the recommendations below and carefully follow their application process.

1. Use Internet and library resources to research companies and/or organizations that have the type(s) of job you are seeking and have an international presence. You can begin by researching the NU Main Library's "Going Global" resources and our own Researching Industries resources. As you conduct your research, be careful to keep all of the information relevant to your research and job search in one place. Print out important web addresses, take careful notes about any contacts you establish, and always make sure you can return to information that you believe is important to your search.
2. Begin your network. Discuss your career plans with your professors, family, and a counselor at UCS. You can also use the NU Alumni Association's CareerNet database to identify other people who are working in your areas of interest. After you have identified relevant contacts, set up some informational interviews. You can use these interviews to obtain critical information about your chosen areas of interest. Your network may prove a critical piece of your overall job search. If you feel as though you have exhausted all of your networking opportunities with no success, don't despair. The UCS staff can help you obtain information interviews with professionals in your areas of interest. You should also pay careful attention to UCS programs and events. You can meet with recruiters at these events and ask them who to contact regarding your specific interests.
3. After you have researched companies/organizations and conducted some information interviews, you should decide on the companies, organizations, and/or programs to which you want to apply. [Note: If you have decided that you need additional education, experience, or both before pursuing your international career, work with your UCS counselor to develop a strategy for becoming competitive for these positions in the future. And, work with professionals in your chosen field to set priorities for obtaining additional education or experience.]
4. Now that you have identified who you wish to apply to, create cover letters and resumes that speak specifically to the needs of the employers to whom you are applying. In addition to our online resources, your UCS counselor can help you with all of your job search correspondence.
5. Send out your cover letters and resumes, and follow-up with the individuals to whom you sent your materials 7 days to 2 weeks from the date of your cover letter. You can follow-up by calling or via email. In your follow-up message, reiterate that you a) are graduating from Northwestern University, b) forwarded materials to their attention, and c) would like to know if you can provide any additional information at this time.
6. You have now completed the first cycle of your job search. Now move on to your second tier of employers in whom you are interested in and do the same things.