Ten Essential Tips for Landing a Job Overseas Cont.
Randall S. Hansen, PhD, Provided by Quintessential Careers
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3. Research Potential Jobs, Companies, and Countries
In this step, consider building a spreadsheet that contains all the information you need to know, including job titles, skills and experience required, company name and location, and citizenship or work eligibility requirements. Focus your efforts on domestic and foreign companies as well as global conglomerates. Realize that one of the best methods of securing an international position is first working for a company in your native country—and building your reputation and skills—before seeking a transfer to a branch office or division in a different country.

Where can you get the information you need on companies and countries? Lots of resources are available, including:

> Guide to Researching Companies, Industries, and Countries
> Job and Career Resources for Global Job-Seekers
> Quintessential Directory of Company Career Centers

4. Develop/Polish/Acquire Key Job/Language Skills
Once you've completed your research, you should have a clear understanding of whether you have all the skills you need for the jobs you seek. Studies show that the three key items global employers desire from job-seekers are: technical knowledge in your field, cross-cultural adaptability and language fluency skills, and prior work experience. If you feel you are weak or lacking in a certain area, now is the time to get the education/training you need.

If you're still in school, see if your college or university offers the coursework you need; otherwise, consider colleges in your local area or distance-education programs. You can find more in our College Planning Resources section.

5. Prepare Job-Search Correspondence
As with any kind of job search, your job-search correspondence is critically important; perhaps even more so because of the regional differences in resumes and curriculum vitas (CV).

First, your cover letter. Remember the key rules of any cover letter: address the letter to a named individual (the hiring manager ideally); write an enticing and attention-grabbing first paragraph explaining why you are writing; relate how your mix of skills, accomplishments, and education matches the employer's needs; and end the letter proactively, asking for an interview. Take advantage of our Cover Letter Resources section, where youÕll find everything you need to write a dynamic cover letter.

Second, your resume. More than likely, you will need to convert your resume to a CV. Most countries outside the U.S. favor the CV over the resume. Do your homework on the region of the world where you want to work and tailor your CV to fit. Read our article, Culturally Competent Resumes for the Global Job Market and find other key resources and samples in the Resume Resources section of Quintessential Careers.

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