Don’t pack your bags

Overseas jobs are just as hard to come by

Considering looking for work abroad? Don’t pack your bags just yet, says Ruth Halcomb, founder and editor of the Network for Living Abroad. “A lot of people think, ‘Jobs are scarce here; maybe I’ll try overseas.’ But it’s not going to be any easier,” she says.

Most other countries have high unemployment rates too, she adds. Institutional impediments can make matters worse. “In the European Union, there’s a rule that says they can’t hire anyone not from an EU country unless they can prove an EU citizen would not be able to do this job.”

There are some exceptions to the rule, however, such as the travel industry. An American working in Paris may be better suited to deal with other American tourists than a French citizen.

On the other hand, a lot of countries, such as Panama and Brazil, are receptive to entrepreneurs looking to start their own business abroad.

“Brazil is not a place you would go and find a job. But if you wanted to be a farmer in Brazil, and you had a little money, you could do that,” Halcomb says.

In other words, countries are happy to bring in people who are going to create wealth and jobs for their own citizens.

Even in neighboring Canada it can be tough, unless you have connections who can work a loophole, or you’re in a prominent field such as entertainment.

And if you don’t happen to be famous? Finding work at a multinational company in the States is a start, particularly if you speak a foreign language.

Or, you might simply relocate and hope for the best.

“If you have some money you can go somewhere and wait out the recession where living is cheap,” says Halcomb. “What you spend on a New York apartment alone could probably support you living modestly in Mexico or Costa Rica.”

“Eventually,” she says, “you might find a way to make a living there. But I wouldn’t count on it.”