American Working Abroad

August 18, 2004 6:12 AM

Any advice for an American trying to find a job abroad? Good resources, things to avoid, tips and tricks? Anyone have success stories? (Bonus points if you were looking in HK)
posted by NotMyselfRightNow to Work & Money (4 answers total)

I have seen related AskMe threads on Saudi and UK. I spend about 5 mins here per week, I am sure there is more in the archives. Also, what is HK? Hong Kong?
posted by asok at 9:54 AM on August 18, 2004

You don't mention what job sector you are looking for; various sectors might be easier/harder to get a visa for, depending on the country.

I do recommend contacting the country's embassy to find out what kind of legal hoops you and your potential employer will have to jump through; be prepared to find out that you are missing Form 000FooBar once you have completed all the paperwork and/or have to pay a *cough* administration fee *cough* so that your application doesn't languish on the bottom of the inbox. Not that I'm saying all countries have a byzantine archaic system of red tape, merely some personal/ancedotal observation.
posted by romakimmy at 10:06 AM on August 18, 2004

I've been told that www.eslcafe.com has job postings if you're interested in doing the teaching-english thing.
posted by scarabic at 12:39 PM on August 18, 2004

I got my job in the UK a couple years ago by applying for a BUNAC visa. I got my Australian work visa by shacking up with an Australian. :)
posted by web-goddess at 12:53 AM on August 19, 2004