Getting a graduate job abroad

by NickyD on 01 February 2012 13:39

Hello everyone, i've been reading a lot about graduates leaving the UK in order to get jobs in countries such as China. Can anyone tell me their experiences of doing this? I'm a typical recent graduate with a degree in Business & Management and keen to learn if the risk is worth taking!

by Michael on 09 June 2013 09:54

I'm also curious as to how this is done. What process/avenue can we use to apply for jobs abroad.

Am I wrong to say you have to be REALLY valuable and stand out, for the foreign employers to take you over their nationals?

by Fiona on 20 August 2013 09:23

I've been living in China for the last 7 years, I moved when I was 18. It started with 6 months as part of my gap year and I ended up staying. I studied Chinese for a few years and then did my degree at a Chinese university. RE work, internships, opportunities etc... the general scene here is hopeful to say the least.

My advice for anyone coming out. Learn the language. Get out here. You can live off a little for a while. Find a teaching job (legally and the right way; I wouldn't suggest any backdoor or dodgy behaviour here as, if caught, it could really damage any potential of staying abroad). Find an internship that will sponsor a visa. Granted, not many of them will pay, but the experience is invaluable. Come out, make friends, join expat communities to make friends and settle a bit and, for your own good, get stuck in with the Chinese community. Sure it might suck for a while, homesickness and culture shock is a very real and painful thing to go through, but it comes and sure enough it goes again. But everything you do around that is worth those few days/weeks of feeling glum.

There are networking meetings (a few of them are a bit rubbish, more about showing off or trying to find a special someone for the night), clubs, sports clubs, organisations, events... everything goes on here.

If you really want to get stuck in, head out of the top tier cities. Leave Shanghai, Beijing and HK. Go make your place in the hidden gems of China. (I use this term very loosely as the following places are actually quite popular in their own right but there isn't the same interest and migration there as the bigger cities) Nanjing, Tianjin, Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou etc. All amazing places. And, though there is still an expat scene in each place, the need for Mandarin will be greater which will give people a bigger kick up the butt/ opportunity to pick up the language.

If moving abroad is a big enough of a deal already without going to a smaller city, then not an issue. Just do your homework, and get in touch with companies here already. If you can't be bothered to do preparation and research yourself then go through a company that sets up internships/teaching jobs/mandarin classes for you. They cost a bit but its a great way to get settled with other people in the same boat as you. Everything will be sorted for you; accommodation, food, travel within China etc. Very nice way to get comfortable. And once you have your foot in the door, that's when you get cracking on staying there. That's if you want to.

If you don't want to pay the fee for these type of companies then look online for companies that offer internships directly and not through 3rd parties. Look for smaller companies to get experience in. Good to start somewhere small and personal.

If you can't find any jobs/internships then come out on a language course. Either one of these small schools or training centres that have small classes and flexible schedules OR if you really want to be hardcore then do what I did and join a university course for a semester or two. Best thing I ever did. And there is no way you won't learn the language that way. I was the only Brit in my university and one of 5 westerners. The rest were Korean, Russian, Kazak, Thai, Japanese. What a great time I had.


Basically. Come out. The initial cost might be a bit of a jump for some people but well worth it.

My university is UIBE in Beijing, but there are other universities that do language programs. All of them do.

I hope this helped a few of you. Keep on trucking guys.