By Aoife Conway, Senior IT Recruitment Consultant, Vantage Resources
Travelling and working abroad is one of the most enriching and challenging experiences but, at some point everyone needs to think about the future and where they want to ‘settle down’. For most Irish who go abroad for work, the answer to this question is to return home, we’re all home birds at heart! With the job market picking up here, this is the perfect time for prodigal sons and daughters to make their way back to the Emerald Isle!
Nobody needs a job or place to live organised before coming home but it is a good idea to start the research ahead of your arrival all the same, even if that’s only browsing job boards and rental websites to get an idea of what’s out there.
If you have been working abroad and are coming home to work in the same type of job, this makes little difference to employers. Experience is experience, no matter where in the world it’s gained. However, if you’ve been travelling for a year or two, working here and there in a variety of jobs it can prove more difficult. The key thing here is that you’ll be going up against people applying for the same job as you with more recent and relevant experience so you need to make your CV stand out as much as possible. Nina Mufleh was keen to work for Airbnb, she really went above and beyond with her application bit.ly/1frk1eC. I’m not saying everyone will need to go to those extremes but it’s a good example of how to make an impression.
Update your LinkedIn profile and CV to include your time travelling. Unexplained gaps in a CV make employers nervous.
Do your research and find agencies that specialise in your industry. Don’t send your CV on to every agency; pick a select few and use these only as it can be hard to keep track of your applications if you go to too many agencies with your CV.
Lastly, make sure you are as flexible as possible when it comes to interviewing; be prepared to work your schedule around the interviewer as opposed to asking them to work around you. The more flexible you are the more it appears to prospective employers that you want the job
