International Career Development for Engineers

International opportunities for Engineers

The opportunity to develop our professional career  outside of our own country is much more common today. Geographical mobility has become an access door to other work markets which allow us to put in practice our knowledge and experience in another cultural settings. Taking in consideration my own expatriate experience, I feel that is not only a temporary response to an economic crisis of a specific labour market but also an opportunity to develop professionally and personally.

Organisations have become aware of the great added value of international candidates and their professional profile is increasingly sought. Not only experienced professionals but also recent graduated are realising that other countries can offer them better opportunities to advance in their careers– other type of benefits are also accessible as better salaries, more support in career development and training and work life balance.

Among the profiles that are more demanded in other countries we can find the engineering profiles. Engineers are still in the first positions, it´s easier for them to move; their technical knowledge is appreciated, demanded and it´s less difficult to export. Nevertheless, there are cultural and language barriers that can require a preparation and adaptation process. To access to a new market it´s not always within an easy reach; you might require patience, perseverance and a long term mentality.

In my next talk for the Old Student Association of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, my objective will be to provide the participants with a guide that will allow them to start their job search successfully.

Since I started working as an International Career Development Advisor great part of the clients I have worked with have been engineers. I know by experience which are the challenges and barriers they can face in their job search.

My objective will be to share with them the key steps they need to consider when facing an international job search:

• Self-analysis– getting to know themselves, identifying their career objective and what they have to offer
• The ability to analyse different work markets of their preferred destinations and to select the one that will adapt better to their professional experience and personality.
• To make them aware of the tools and strategies that are needed for a long distance job search process.
• The help they can get from internet and social media but also the importance to plan ahead and to work to identify their strengths and the areas to work on– language, specific training or certifications- and how to create an offline/online network of contacts for the target country.

For more information about this talk you can access to the Old students association of the UPV at http://polivalencia.com/desarrollo-de-carrera-internacional-en-4-pasos/