Expert: Michael Achilles - 4/12/2001

Question
Hi,

I am a 45 yr old male utility professional based in India. I am a graduate in Electrical Engineering and have worked with the second largest private electric utility of India for more than 22 yrs now. I have spent most of my time in the distribution side of the utility business but 'am quite familliar with tariff & regulatory issues.

I wish to work in other countries. Mainly to have a taste of living and working in different societies and cultures. I am not particular about the exact location - Africa, Americas, Australia - as long as the salary is reasonable, the country has a stable Govt (don't want to get stuck in the middle of a civil war!!) and the weather isn't too extreme!

Can you give me some tips in how to go about securing a change? I'll be most grateful.

Thanks for your time.

Regards,

Arup


Answer
There are two ways for you to begin your international job search (1) searching for international opportunties and (2) having international opportunities search for you.

1.  Searching for International Opportunities
This can often be a grueling task but is most effective in the long run.  You see, there are hundreds of online career sites, some that are region specific, industry specific, and there are a handful of truly international job sites.

I would start off by searching for job vacancies on:
- GlobalCareerCenter.com http://www.globalcareercenter.com
- Monster.com http://www.monster.com
- Also try using key word searches on major search engines (International jobs, jobs is United Kingdom, etc)

When you find a career site with the types of jobs that you are interested in then we move onto number 2.

2. Prepare to have Opportunities find you
In order to do this, YOU MUST POST YOUR RESUME / CV on multiple career sites.  This is the most effective way of finding a job because once you post your resume, it continues to work for you..  However, this process can take some time, but it is well worth it in the long run.  The sites above also have resume posting features so it should give you a start.

Other Considerations:
1.  Try using a resume submittal service (some require payment but do what you are comfortable with)  
examples include:  

http://www.resumezapper.com
http://www.recruitersnetwork.com/resumedatabases.htm

2.  Get in contact with a number of recruiter's that specialize in engineering in some of the locations that you are looking to travel.  There are thousands upon thousands in just about every local, so you shouldn't have a problem there.

Last but not least, be patient.  The labor market in the US is slowing down due to the dot com craze but don't worry..  Some days you will get many leads and some days you won't get any...  

Good Luck in your search!

Michael Achilles
President
GlobalCareerCenter.com

http://www.globalcareercenter.com