Job applications overseas

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StellenboschStudent

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I applied to numerous jobs overseas, USA, England, Australia, Canada, Europe, all with the same result - No response...

I had one "call-back", had a second interview and then got the "Thanks, but no thanks" response.

I have a good education, B Eng, MScEng and a PhD (all in electronic engineering, guess from where...) Most of the jobs I applied for was in my field of research, so hence I believe I had the sufficient education for the positions. Granted, most of them required a couple of years of actual work experience, which I don't have (yet).

With the one "call-back" they asked me if I have a work permit for their country if they make me the offer and unfortunately I don't. There are million of Saffers in UK, USA, Canada, Australia working and making a living there and they have done so for a couple of years already. Is it just that much harder to move overseas these days? Or other countries more reluctant to give jobs to foreigners and rather hire locals with a lesser education (like take someone with a BEng if a MScEng is required) and train them? Or am I doing something wrong?
 
StellenboschStudent said:
I applied to numerous jobs overseas, USA, England, Australia, Canada, Europe, all with the same result - No response...

I had one "call-back", had a second interview and then got the "Thanks, but no thanks" response.

I have a good education, B Eng, MScEng and a PhD (all in electronic engineering, guess from where...) Most of the jobs I applied for was in my field of research, so hence I believe I had the sufficient education for the positions. Granted, most of them required a couple of years of actual work experience, which I don't have (yet).

With the one "call-back" they asked me if I have a work permit for their country if they make me the offer and unfortunately I don't. There are million of Saffers in UK, USA, Canada, Australia working and making a living there and they have done so for a couple of years already. Is it just that much harder to move overseas these days? Or other countries more reluctant to give jobs to foreigners and rather hire locals with a lesser education (like take someone with a BEng if a MScEng is required) and train them? Or am I doing something wrong?
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Your 2 biggest problems are:

1) You have no work experience

2) You do not have a work permit to work in the country you want to work in

Do not underestimate how insurmountable a problem number 2 will be. It costs a lot of money, effort and time for a company to sponsor a work permit. They will only do so for exceptional candidates.
 
Why don't you work here first? Lots of tech companies in Stellenbosch are currently hiring, it's the least you can do.
 
StellenboschStudent said:
I applied to numerous jobs overseas, USA, England, Australia, Canada, Europe, all with the same result - No response...

I had one "call-back", had a second interview and then got the "Thanks, but no thanks" response.

I have a good education, B Eng, MScEng and a PhD (all in electronic engineering, guess from where...) Most of the jobs I applied for was in my field of research, so hence I believe I had the sufficient education for the positions. Granted, most of them required a couple of years of actual work experience, which I don't have (yet).

With the one "call-back" they asked me if I have a work permit for their country if they make me the offer and unfortunately I don't. There are million of Saffers in UK, USA, Canada, Australia working and making a living there and they have done so for a couple of years already. Is it just that much harder to move overseas these days? Or other countries more reluctant to give jobs to foreigners and rather hire locals with a lesser education (like take someone with a BEng if a MScEng is required) and train them? Or am I doing something wrong?
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How old are you? Your age is also a big factor and my guess is you're not < 30 with a PhD in EE.
 
Bar0n said:
How old are you? Your age is also a big factor and my guess is you're not < 30 with a PhD in EE.
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Why not? If he has no job experience he could easily be under 30 with a PhD, especially if he just upgraded from his masters.
 
abzo said:
Why not? If he has no job experience he could easily be under 30 with a PhD, especially if he just upgraded from his masters.
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My guess would be 30 or up, but let's see what OP says.
 
abzo said:
Then he took way too long and it's no wonder they don't want to hire him :p
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Assuming he finished his degrees without failing any subjects:

Age 19 - Start 4 year B.Eng degree
Age 22 - Assuming there is a B.Eng Hons., 1 more year
Age 23 - M.Sc. Eng is 2 years of full time study according to sun.ac.za
Age 24 - PhD in Eng is 3-4 years of full time study according to sun.ac.za
Age 28 - Finished with PhD

This is assuming OP did not fail any subjects and completed everything within the quickest time possible. Maybe he took a gap between M.Sc. and PhD. Maybe he needed an extra year for M.Sc., etc.
 
Yep my calculations too. I'm guessing that's what he did.

Place your bets.
 
The other problem is that he's overqualified for his level of experience (nonexistent apparently?).
 
I am in a similar boat. I'm keen to try interview overseas but never get a response. What I don't understand is the problem pointed out that they want you to already have a work permit but how it seems near impossible without a company actually bringing you over?

Then you just land up in a circle of Need Work Permit to get job offer but I need a job offer to get work permit etc etc...

My thinking is maybe sign up for a recruitment agency and organise a time to visit that country so that the recruitment agency can try organise interviews during that time.
 
Don't forget that to a company overseas a PHD from Stellenbosch University doesn't mean anything, and it especially means nothing without any experience. When you're competing with graduates from Harvard, MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, etc all of a sudden a PHD from some little university in a 3rd world African country at the foot of Africa doesn't seem very impressive at all.
 
S1ght said:
I am in a similar boat. I'm keen to try interview overseas but never get a response. What I don't understand is the problem pointed out that they want you to already have a work permit but how it seems near impossible without a company actually bringing you over?

Then you just land up in a circle of Need Work Permit to get job offer but I need a job offer to get work permit etc etc...

My thinking is maybe sign up for a recruitment agency and organise a time to visit that country so that the recruitment agency can try organise interviews during that time.
Click to expand...

If you are the right candidate any company will move mountains to organise a work permit for you. But the reality is that this is usually for senior or high level positions. No company is going to organise a work permit for an entry-level graduate with no experience. It's just not going to happen.
 
deweyzeph said:
If you are the right candidate any company will move mountains to organise a work permit for you. But the reality is that this is usually for senior or high level positions. No company is going to organise a work permit for an entry-level graduate with no experience. It's just not going to happen.
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^ This

If you want to work overseas, I recommend taking the academic approach. Lecture at UCT / Stellenbosch for 1-2 years, then see if you can't get in at overseas universities. Build up a network and 'move' out of the university. It won't happen quickly. Might take a few years.
 
deweyzeph said:
If you are the right candidate any company will move mountains to organise a work permit for you. But the reality is that this is usually for senior or high level positions. No company is going to organise a work permit for an entry-level graduate with no experience. It's just not going to happen.
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That's what I've been told as well. I'm currently still at an intermediate level. Honours degree with 2 years experience. I still don't consider this a level worth moving mountains for :(
 
S1ght said:
That's what I've been told as well. I'm currently still at an intermediate level. Honours degree with 2 years experience. I still don't consider this a level worth moving mountains for :(
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Depends on what field you're in, but you're probably right. I know that Geologists get snapped out pretty damn quickly, straight out of university, by Australian companies. That is, provided that they did well during their studies and went on to Honours or Masters level.
 
Messugga said:
Depends on what field you're in, but you're probably right. I know that Geologists get snapped out pretty damn quickly, straight out of university, by Australian companies. That is, provided that they did well during their studies and went on to Honours or Masters level.
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Software Development (J2EE,C#,HTML. etc) Most my experience sits in Java but I don't really mind what language these days. The concepts are mostly the same so it's quite easy to adapt.

From what I've seen IT is still a required skill in a lot of countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada (where I'm looking).
 
Jip, I am 28...

I am working in TechnoPark now. The problem is that my specific field is not really present in South Africa. Only small operations at university, and after 9 years I am "gatvol" for university...

I do agree that work experience, in most cases, count more than any degree. So hopefully in a couple years time things will look up. It is just strange that a couple of years back (5 years?) it seemed easier to get a job overseas. I know of a number of people that got work out of university overseas. But economics changed and appointing local people are more beneficial I believe.
 
deweyzeph said:
Don't forget that to a company overseas a PHD from Stellenbosch University doesn't mean anything, and it especially means nothing without any experience. When you're competing with graduates from Harvard, MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, etc all of a sudden a PHD from some little university in a 3rd world African country at the foot of Africa doesn't seem very impressive at all.
Click to expand...

This isn't true at all. At the PhD level, what really determines the level of your qualification, is your publication profile, and consequently how well known and respected you are in your field. If the PhD holder has highly regarded papers in well known publications, he/she is set. Publishing just locally in SA, or one or two meh conferences/journals, etc. won't cut. Secondly, PhDs generally require external examiners - it is beneficial if these examiners are well known internationally.

In my case, I had a good publication profile, and was well known and respected in my field, so employers came to me.
 
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