Opportunities to work while travelling is a prime chance to fund an exciting overseas adventure, whether it is a gap year in your transition from education to the workforce, or you have decided to take a hard earned break. The typical positions previously available to the transient and travelling individual of fruit picking, bar work and other sub-menial tasks is giving way to provide a dearth of demand for short to medium term contracts for educated and skilled holidaymakers, in an environment where work is becoming harder and harder to come by.
The key is not to solely look for a return to the motherland, but also to consider the opportunities to undertake a useful and positive experience in a new climate and culture. If you can demonstrate your notice period requirements, showing that you have sufficient length of service in the UK, then there is every scope to be presented with job offers whilst you look for holiday abroad. The other alternative is to be offered a work permit without residence permit, where you will be allowed to work without having a work permit. This is a very popular move as most employers, upon commissioning the vacancy, are anxious to avoid the cost of employing an overseas employee, and will grant the necessary form to work without the relevant social security number and work permit if you can formally express any unhappiness in the terms of the contract.
So why do some organisations choose to employ an overseas employee? The majority of companies are conscious of the impact of immigration on the cost of employing an employee. Although invariably there is a ‘overhead’ associated with hiring an overseas employee, the other factors to consider are the skills and experience of that individual, and the localographers and local political situation. Obviously, if someone has recently arrived via Australia, the localographers and political situation may not be very favorable in that country, where similar amounts of money could be made if the position was based in the UK.
Any position that is of long duration requires a candidate to formally introduce themselves with ease and present a conciseSummary of their skills and experience. This is a major concern with the unemployed of today – many can feel harsh that ‘they didn’t get the job because they didn’t have the right paperwork’, however, often that’s not the case. If you cannot collect the right documentation – your work permit, passport and registration order – then you will be unable to demonstrate your skills and experience to any new employer.
If you play your cards correctly at the interview stage, introducing yourself with paper and stick, then collecting documentation requires only a minimal time out of your head. We always suggest to our candidates that they print up a picture of themselves with their qualifications printed on it, that they prepare a brief personal sales pitch, and perhaps a short presentation about the skills and experience they have, including examples of work experience or qualifications obtained. These documents should be provided to the interviewer along with the application form.
The majority of companies Send the interviewer a packet of information to be read and considered, even on the web there are differences in communication across companies and hiring managers. We always describe where to find the specific information Doctors, Nurses and other health professionals expect to see. The information may be called Achievements, Studies, Achievements, List of Interests or something similar.
This may not be possible for all interviewers and it is a general suggestion. Find some form of written description or picture and send it with your application. This will show your prospective employer that you are determined and the message employers want to send.
We have found in some cases that Work Permits are often unnecessary and more often than not will not be granted, even though employers and the IODs believe they are essential. In the same way some companies will not approve specific IODs such as Germany, they may see this as a particular threat to their business.
Employers should be aware of the differences in IOD procedures applied to senior management, and training of their personnel.
