Land my first overseas job
How did I find my first job in London?
CAREERJOBLONDON
In 2022, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to work abroad. This is my first official job after graduation. Below are a few tips with my own experience.
Identify your goal and go through step by step
My job goal: Find a job that can afford my basic expenses with the salary.
1. Think of the city/country where you want to apply.
Applying to multiple cities might increase your chances. but you might also want to consider which city you want to live in. You are not only working there; you also live there. its important to consider whether you like culture or not.
Are you also a BNO (overseas) passport holder?
Do you have other passports that allows you working aboard without VISA sponsorship??
Where is your dream country to live in?
I know I am a city girl, and it's my first time living abroad and moving alone. I prefer to pick a city similar to Hong Kong so I could adapt to life easier.
Also, I have a BNO passport. BNO holders are entitled to a BNO visa, which has given me the privilege of getting a job with any visa sponsorship in the UK.
As a result, I only applied for jobs in London.
2. Consider what job/area you are looking for.
Do you wish to have a career switch, start over, or continue building up your career, or whatever it is as long as it is a job? I would recommend doing some research to understand which industries dominate or are popular in the city where you want to apply.
Which kind of job you are looking for?
Is it trending/demanding in the city you want to go?
Do you mind working in one grade lower in your new job?
Do you need to transfer any certifications when changing jobs or careers?
By the time I was applying, I was pretty sure I wanted to develop my career in technology and sort of knew there were plenty of opportunities in digital project management, at least more than in Hong Kong. (As for how to figure out your career aspirations, I will write another article sharing my story.)
So, I only applied for project management roles. (A few roles I had been applying for - project coordinator, senior project coordinator to project manager.)
My tip here is to aim slightly lower than your grade to land your first job because I was pretty confident in my work performance. All I needed was a job to get me moving across continents. This also gave me more job options.
3. There is no quick path. Just keep applying.
A few websites I kept my eyes on: Linkedin, Glassdoor, Reed and Google search
How much time will you spend on job hunting? everyday per 1 long application? every week?
I didn't write a cover letter for every job application (ChatGPT was not a thing yet, and writing can be quite exhausting). I applied to at least 20 jobs (some with cover letters) before I got my first job interview.
It usually takes a while for HR to process all the applicants. By the time they responded to you, you might forget which one you were applying for or the job spec. It's good to keep track of all the applications in the spreadsheet and find out the URL once you get the first interview.
Start an Excel spreadsheet with date, company, job, status, URL (see below)
This is the spreadsheet my job hunting tracker in notion.
Hope this can help you get your first overseas job :)
