At one time the world looked to the West as a symbol of progression and opportunity. However, it seems that the tables may be turning, with more and more Westerners opting to travel East to fulfill their career aspirations and gain job stability.
The state of the global economy is starting to seriously take its toll and more and more Europeans and Americans are being forced to seek out job opportunities overseas in response to redundancies and hiring freezes in their home countries. According to recent research by UK-based recruitment consultants Marks Sattin, almost 8% of people working in the financial services sector in Britain felt “very insecure” in their current job position and fear that their role may not remain safe over a longer period of time. Candidates in Asia and Australia, on the other hand, felt slightly more secure than their UK counterparts, with just 2.1% and 2.9% respectively of workers in these regions feeling that there security was at risk. In the United States, the Job Security Index as published by Scorelogix, indicates that job security in the US has decreased month over month since May 2011, indicating that the economy is poised for a dip in growth in the months ahead.
However, the overseas job market is not what it once was, and recruiters in the East are warning expatriates that the answer to their problems in the form of a job in the East may not be readily available. In an article recently published by The Financial Times, Nick Lambe, managing director of recruiter Morgan McKinley in Hong Kong commented: “People with good experience in more mature markets have a little bit of a misconception that it’ll be very easy to get a job. Whilst this is certainly the case for niche skill sets, it certainly isn’t true for all types of professionals.”
According to The Telegraph, it isn’t just financial services and senior management personnel that are seeking new opportunities overseas. Asia is luring people from all types of backgrounds including teachers and students. However, competition for jobs is high and at the top of the priority list is returning citizens who have gained experience in the West and now wish to find suitable job vacancies back home: “Asia’s fast growth is also luring back those from the region who had moved to North America or Europe to study and work. Such so-called returnees are the most sought-after employees, as they not only know the nuances of the local market but are perceived as cheaper to hire than someone from abroad and easier to retain,” claimed The Telegraph.
If you’re interested in finding job opportunities overseas then please check out the following resources. They contain a wealth of information about the best approach to take when trying to find a suitable job, together with hints and tips about networking and getting the contacts you need to get a foot in the door:
7 ways to market yourself when searching for a job abroad
