Working Overseas
There are many misconceptions relating to working overseas for more than a few days so I will try and clear them up so that if/when you make a decision to apply for an overseas position, you will know in advance that it may not be as easy to finalise
as you would have imagined.
It is not enough to convince an employer that you are ideal for the advertised position. Assuming that you do not have an automatic right to work in a selected foreign country, the way one goes about finalizing arrangements for a job depends to a large extent on the foreign Governments attitude towards foreign workers.

Their approach to you will fall into one of three broad categories:

  • We don’t really want you but if you have special skills and a reputable sponsor we will consider you
  • We really want you because you have special skills but only for a fixed time period
  • We really want you on a long term but we are going to check you out thoroughly first

In the first category you will generally find all of Europe and the USA. Europe is “full” and there is no real shortage of skills, plus, with the recent expansion of the EU most Western Europe countries are struggling to accommodate the influx of workers from what was previously generalized as Eastern Europe. However opportunities do exist but a firm job offer is required before the relevant Government will consider your case. The process may differ slightly for jobs in the UK, as additional options exist because South Africa is a member of the British Commonwealth. The USA has traditionally been a popular destination for South Africans but for the last five years it has become increasingly difficult to get in. Working visas are severely rationed and you can expect a delay of at least six months between being accepted and actually relocating..

In the second category you will find the rest of Africa, the Middle East and anywhere else offering relatively high contract rates, often being very tax friendly also. But you are left in no doubt that you will have no chance of remaining there long term, so enjoy the high income whilst you can.

The third category covers countries still trying to grow their numbers. One method they adopt is to accept immigrants who based on their “points” are deemed worthy to immigrate. Points are accumulated (or in some cases deducted) based on years of relevant experience, age, qualifications, make up of family group, assets you will be bringing with you and many other factors. Countries falling into this category include Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

You will have noticed that two large groups of countries have been omitted above. South America - is not a common destination for South Africans which because of language differences would not be an easy place to find work and also Asia because of the plentiful supply of cheap, skilled people from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and again the language problems, making employing from South Africa an expensive business.

Of course all of the above will be influenced to some extent by whether you are considering contract or permanent work and again with respect to contracting, whether it is short term, (up to a month or so), or longer.
The jobs that we advertise are all real jobs, we don’t have time to accumulate CV’s for possible future vacancies but you need to be patient once your name has been put forward to our Client as the decision making process is slow, often because the number of candidates being considered from all over the world is immense but also influenced by time available to communicate which may be influenced by having a different weekend (Middle East, Thursday/Friday) or being 8 hours ahead of or behind South Africa, (East Coast of Australia or West Coast of USA). Once the job is obtained the visa process may also consume a considerable amount of time.