How to obtain a Foreign Work Visa.
The Employment Process
You are confident that you have both the education and the experience employers are looking for, and that you have the necessary resources to offer them, however you wonder why you find yourself stuck in a continuous state where you cannot seem to move past the job search, into the interview stages, and on to the actual job.
The employment process today is the company "giving you a job". Coincidently enough, it isn't surprising that most people also admit that they feel they are underpaid, overworked, and under-valued.
But this is understandable as these feelings aren't the result of random and uncontrollable circumstances, rather of the natural consequences of an ineffective employment process.
The Immigration Process
The thought of living and working internationally is as seductive as it is terrifying. A Google search on the subject yields scattered, complex, intimidating, contradictory, and discouraging results. There are so many official government websites documenting administrative policies and restrictions, and even more unofficial, unverifiable, unproven, and unhelpful information to sort through that desire quickly tempers into fear as the thought of all of the sacrifices, restrictions, and limitations you are up against brings you crashing back down to reality.
You must understand this:
Employment Problems compound in the international working environment. Job-hunters seeking employment are up against so many disadvantages and discriminations that, all other things constant, you haven’t got a fighting chance.
In the foreign job market, you are competing against nationals and other foreigners of similar age, education, and experience. All other things constant, you will inevitably lose.
You are fighting in his country, in his language, among his people, and with the laws and regulations on his side.
He is already living in the country, he knows the culture, he already has contacts and references, he already has the working papers, he already has an apartment, he is readily available for a job interview, and he probably isn’t 90,000€ + interest in debt thanks to higher education.
To work in a foreign country, you need a working visa and papers. To get a working visa and papers, you must convince a company to give them to you. Companies, to avoid the hassle of working visas, require you have a working visa and papers before they will give you a job.
Herein lies your problem. All other things constant, you haven’t got a fighting chance.
As if this information weren't dismal enough to crush your dreams, the US Embassy has this to say:
Since July 1974 there has been a virtual freeze on the employment of nationals of all countries other than nationals of members of the European Union… and laws and regulations governing immigration and employment (in France) are enforced with increasing rigor… Americans should not come (to France) expecting to find a job and to regularize their status after arrival. Such expectations are unlikely to be fulfilled and personal hardship may result. (Source: US Embassy handout Paris, France)
All other things constant, you haven’t got a fighting chance… fortunately for you, “all other things” are no longer constant.
- Get a job interview, even if you aren’t the "most qualified"
- Network and meet the people who can help you
- Launch an information gathering campaign against your company
- Manipulate the results of intelligence and personality tests, handwriting analysis, and other psychometric evaluations
- Negotiate your contract and defend yourself against manipulative tactics
- Argue so that you never lose
- Analyze confrontations, recognize verbal attacks, and diffuse your aggressors
- Put HR into a mild hypnotic trance
- Know if Human Resources is lying to you
- Convincingly argue your way through case studies
- Talk about subjects you know nothing about
- Make it nearly impossible for your boss to fire you
- Protect yourself from serious legal issues that will arise during employment
- Manage student loans and protect yourself if you are in default
- Translate your resume and cover letter into any language in the world.
- Legally enter nearly any country and obtain working papers
- Answer "The Visa Status Question"
- Convince even the most skeptical boss to give you a working visa
- Become conversationally fluent in your target language
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