As a journalist at Computerworld Australia:
If the sight of bright-eyed backpackers sinking freckled toes into our sand and surf has you pining for an overseas adventure, perhaps it is time to join some 900,000 Australians who the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade reports to be living and working overseas.
The attractions of expatriate living are many and varied. For some people, a working holiday is a ticket to seeing the world without breaking the bank. For others, overseas work can be a strategic move to expand their professional experience. And there are others yet for whom overseas tax rates and booming economies can be attractive financial incentives for working abroad.
"The career benefits of working overseas are endless - professional development, seeing the world, experiencing a different culture," said Allison Martin, marketing co-ordinator of non-profit working holiday organisation International Exchange Programs (IEP).
"There are many opportunities for Australians to expand their professional experience by working overseas, and there are numerous career benefits involved," she said. "Most employers look favourably on international work experience because it shows a willingness to push yourself outside your comfort zone and use your skills in a different environment."
Sean McCarten, IT Business Manager of global recruitment firm Manpower Professional, agrees that most employers will value relevant overseas experience. However, he warns, re-entering the Australian workforce might be no small feat.
IT professionals working overseas may suffer a loss of relevant local market knowledge, McCarten noted, that can only be earned by working in the legal or tax arena, with local accounting compliant systems or with IT-specific legislation.
Additionally, as work culture tends to play a large part when recruiting staff in Australia, it may take some time for new entrants into the Australian workforce to suitably acclimatise to local companies.
"My advice to anyone considering entering the workforce in a foreign country would be to research the conditions of work in that country, company, work culture and work ethic as part of their employment search," he said.Global hotspots
London has traditionally been a popular destination for culture-hungry Australians looking for a gateway into Europe. Although the demand for IT skills has relaxed since the severe skills shortage touted in previous years, Manpower's McCarten reports that London continues to attract a widely diverse range of IT skills and nationalities.
Increasing stock in the mobile and telecommunications industries in recent times has made Scandinavia another European hub for IT professionals, who are turning to the booming telecommunications industries of Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and Norway to be a part of the growth.
Other bleeding-edge developers may aspire towards the famed Silicon Valley in the U.S., where IT opportunities are plenty. The U.S. has recently relaxed its work restrictions for Australian nationals through the provision of the E-3 working visa, which grants two- to five- year work permits to up to 10,500 Australians and their families.
Alternatively, if breaking cultural and language barriers is your kind of thing, why not follow the steady stream of outsourced jobs to Asia, where leading electronic producers and distributors like India, China and Korea are also fast becoming major players in the production and distribution of IT software.
Bangalore has been touted as the Silicon Valley of India, with companies like Google, Accenture and EMC ramping up their presence there.
As the 2008 Olympic Games approaches, McCarten also suggests that outgoing professionals consider Beijing, where some companies are offering attractive packages to attract required skill-sets.
"Job markets in Asia are very buoyant at the moment," he said, "especially for qualified and experienced IT resources."Exit strategy
Leaving the familiarity of friends and family behind can be a big task in itself, not to mention the added pressure of settling in and finding a job. It may be worth preparing for the move long before leaving Australia by considering and equipping yourself with experiences and skills that employers value in your destination country.
Language skills are a definite asset in Asia, especially in mainland China, where Cantonese or Mandarin dominate the workplace. According to Manpower's McCarten, Chinese or Indian nationals returning to their homeland from Australia are especially valued, due to their exposure to Western business practices and the understanding of cultural differences within their own communities.
In major Asian cities, McCarten reports a demand for candidates with experience and qualifications in telecommunications, enterprise project management, outsourcing and skills revolving around development languages like Java, C++ and .NET.
In Europe, he also mentioned a skill shortage for experienced professionals with solid functional and technical exposure to ERP and CRM technologies.
McCarten suggests that wannabe expatriates have at least three to five years commercial experience under their belts before relocating. "This way, the individual will have a good understanding of corporate culture and the experience to handle change," he said.
According to Peter Noblet, regional director of recruitment firm Hays Information Technology, it's not so much about how long a candidate has spent in his or her career, as it is about the skills and experiences they possess.
"Any time is good [for working overseas] really, as long as the skills used are relevant," he said. "Suffice to say, working in their chosen field will always improve opportunities. Working for larger corporations will also do this - for example working for a large investment bank in London will usually be seen by employers as more advantageous than working for a 2-person IT shop."
Finding a job overseas can be as easy or as difficult as the effort you put into it. The brave may decide to do most of their job hunting only after settling in their new home; however, thanks to the Internet, procuring an overseas job from the comforts of Australia isn't impossible either.
Before you hit the job boards, however, it could also be worth checking to see if your current employer has overseas branches or subsidiaries. Large corporations like Microsoft, for example, offer Australian employees opportunities to work in other subsidiaries around the world.
"We are seeing a trend for overseas experience on the CVs of our applicants, and often get applications directly from overseas residents looking to migrate," said Fiona Hathaway, Microsoft's recruitment manager for Australia and New Zealand.
"We have younger employees who like to work for a couple of years and then go travelling but just as many longer serving employees also look to take up options overseas as the workforce becomes increasingly internationalised," she said.
Around five percent of Microsoft Australia's workforce is comprised of 'exports' and 'imports' to and from its worldwide subsidiaries, Hathaway said, noting that most of the overseas moves occur between Australia, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), and the United States.
"From time to time we do have employees express a desire to travel and where appropriate we'll help them to find an opportunity in one of Microsoft's other subsidiaries," she said. "When the employee returns to Australia, Microsoft Australia obviously benefits from the experience gained by the individual overseas."
