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Funny You Should Ask About... Employment Funny you should ask about employment because, like many, I too have been unemployed and desperately seeking. As a 24-year-old Americanborn expatriate, I found myself thrown into the employment abyss at a time when people all over the world were - and still are - cringing at the very
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thought of job-seeking.
the time, “Today, a Bachelor’s degree is mandatory and often minimal for most jobs and, to some extent, a Bachelor’s is equivalent to a high school degree 20 years ago.” That makes me pause and wonder... when will it end? Will my future children be pressured to obtain their Ph.D. just to get their foot in the door for their desired career? Despite the emerging competitive expectations of today’s job market, one cannot deny the advantages that a top-level education can offer. By the same token, networking through fellow students and professors is undeniably an excellent skill to employ when looking for career direction. In fact, while in the process of obtaining my Master’s degree in Counselling at Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland, I discovered that finding what career is best suited for you is often accomplished
Having been an expatriate since the age of eight when I left
by taking the wrong path and finding out what you do not want
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to move to the Netherlands with my
to do.
family, working was never really an issue as I was always a full-time student.
My studies in Switzerland led to a close friendship with another American expatriate who provided me with a few
As a child, I often filled my mind with thoughts of potential
contacts for a Swiss magazine. Two weeks later I found myself
career ambitions - to be a singer or a poet, for example. The
sitting in the office as the new Editorial Assistant for an intern-
realm of imagination was endless. However, the joyful, carefree
ship with that magazine. The entire process was perhaps coin-
expatriate time as a student eventually came to an end, and I
cidental - right place at the right time - however, it immediately
found myself among the masses that are ‘well-educated, well-
opened my eyes to the world of writing, publishing and... well,
travelled, yet still looking’ for direction in life. How was I going
loving what I currently do. I’m now a freelance writer applying
to make my way in the world... to determine my career path and
for a Master’s in Global Strategic Communications instead of
ultimately find employment that suited me?
Counselling. I’ve changed my total focus. However, once you
Fortunately, being an expatriate does give us one automatic advantage - whether applying to a university or looking for a job
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ing from higher-degree graduates. As I hear from people all
discover your direction and ambition, as I did, what do you do next?
- particularly when we repatriate. The degree of adaptivity and
With employment an issue that is running through the minds
open-mindedness required for individuals to be relocated to
of millions of people in this current economic downturn, it is
foreign countries is a powerful character enhancer that employ-
no wonder that most online job searches come up cold. And
ers will certainly not overlook - so, as expats, we must not sell
when your closet is a suitcase, as mine has been for the past
ourselves short. I personally have had to expand the margins
three months - moving from one country to another - trying to
on my CV page to near-breaking point in order to accommo-
arrange interviews with potential employers is extremely dif-
date all the schools I have attended in various countries... and
ficult.
employers do take notice. However, while my extensive expatri-
On top of that, there are the ever-frustrating, expat-related
ate experience may add undeniable glamour to my resume, in
issues of figuring out which visa you will need to work in a
today’s world, ‘glam’ is still not enough.
specific country, whether the petition for the visa will even be
To be honest, even my Bachelor’s degree awarded from
accepted by the potential country’s government, how you will
McGill University, ranked as the top Canadian university, seems
go about getting health care, and whether or not your partner or
to pale in the piles of applications that employers are receiv-
family members can be included in any employment packages
THE XPAT JOURNAL