133: Top 10 strategies to get a job offer abroad

Do you think you need to be exceptional to get hired abroad? Think again.

The truth is, companies aren't rejecting international candidates because they don't like foreigners. They're rejecting uncertainty. And once you understand that, the whole game changes.

In this episode, Jordan gets brutally honest and tactical about what it actually takes to land a job offer in another country. She applied to 200 jobs over six months with nothing to show for it — then flipped her strategy and walked away with four job offers, every single one with visa sponsorship.

This episode is your playbook.

You'll learn:

• Why your US resume is making you look "complicated" before you even get a callback
• The "already moving" technique that flips the hiring manager's mindset instantly
• The bridge job strategy — the underrated move Jordan used herself to get her foot in the door in London
• Why small companies may hire you faster than big global brands
• How to network before you apply (and why it changes everything)
• Which countries are actively looking for your exact skill set
• How your American background can become your biggest competitive advantage abroad

Whether you're just starting to explore moving abroad or you've been applying for months with no results, this episode will help you strategize your international job search.

👉Take the free quiz: Which European city should you move to? 🤔

Grab my free guide: 5 exact steps to move abroad

Website: jordangiberson.com
Instagram: @jordan.giberson

Transcript

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You can definitely get a job abroad if you are working really hard and if you know that you fit the eligibility requirements a lot of people might think that they need to be exceptional to get hired, but you actually just need to be strategically positioned. convince them that you're extraordinary, that you are the best fit, and that you are there for the long run Hey, my name is Jordan Giberson. I'm a Texas girl living and thriving in London. The best thing I've ever done? Moving abroad, hands down. And I'm passionate about helping others do the same. Are you curious about finding a job abroad? You're in the right place, friend. I'll teach you the tried and true secrets of how to make moving abroad a reality for you and how to live a fulfilling life once you get there. We'll cover topics like choosing the best visa for you, how to get a job offer in another country, how to get over your fear of moving abroad, and how to live a life you love once you get there, this is The Move Abroad Podcast. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Move Abroad Podcast. Today, we're talking about the strategies for getting a job offer abroad. In today's episode, we'll be talking about why getting hired abroad feels harder than it actually may be, what employers are really worried about and what they're looking for, how to position yourself as a low-risk, high-value international candidate, and some creative strategies to help increase your odds of getting an interview and getting a job offer abroad. A lot of people might think that they need to be exceptional to get hired abroad, but you actually just need to be strategically positioned. And I also think that companies are not avoiding international candidates because they just don't like foreigners. They're just avoiding uncertainty and the extra paperwork and legroom. But there are ways to get around this and to convince an employer that you are the best fit for the job. So I hope that in today's episode, you can gain a little bit of insights into some strategies for you to get a job offer abroad. So without further ado, we'll go ahead and get started with today's episode. One thing that I think is really important to keep in mind whenever you're looking for a job offer abroad is that you have two main goals. Your main goal is to look qualified, so you wanna make sure that the employer feels like you are the best qualified for the job. And your second highest priority is to make sure the employer feels like hiring you internationally will be easy. Because the biggest hurdle that we have to jump through is that a lot of employers realize, "Well, why would I want to prioritize an international hire whenever I have a ton of perfectly good candidates in the country that we're already in? They're already living here." So that's your, your goal. You're-- You have two goals really, to make sure that the employer, hiring manager feels like you're really qualified for the job, and that hiring you internationally will be easy. So international hiring is about your qualifications, but it's also about the risk for the employer, logistics, timing, visa simplicity or how they might think it's complex trust that you actually will move there, familiarity with you and the culture abroad that you're moving to, and just proving that you're serious. So all these things you'll have to consider and make sure that you get across to your employer or potential employer as you are being interviewed So let's talk a little bit about why getting a job offer abroad feels so hard. I think that employers abroad are usually thinking, "Will this person actually move? Do we need to sponsor them? Will this be complicated? Will they leave quickly? Do they understand our culture and work style? Why hire internationally whenever I can hire locally?" So I think that it's important to reframe that you have this idea that I'm not qualified as an American moving abroad. That's not true. A lot of times it's some of these other questions we just talked about. But I do think that it often means that, this might feel administratively annoying, so I think we need to focus on making sure that is a hurdle that we can jump through and that we know the answer to this as we are talking to an employer, that we can ease some of their hesitations around, whether it feels complicated, the visa process, will they actually move, do they understand the culture why would I hire this international person whenever I can hire locally? So I think that's why getting a job offer abroad feels so hard. But it is not impossible. Tons of people move abroad and get a job offer abroad all the time. You just have to find your foot in the door and have to find that employer that's willing to take a slight risk on you and to hire you instead of somebody else. So let's take a little bit of time to talk about the strategies for getting a job offer abroad. So in here we'll be talking about some detailed tactical advice in terms of how to get that job offer abroad. So strategy number one would be to lead with your visa simplicity. A lot of times in your job application, it might ask if you will need currently or in the future if you will need sponsorship for a visa. So that might be a question that they ask. And if the answer is yes, then you should be honest that you do need visa sponsorship. But if they don't ask it, I would not lead with that in any of your interviews. I would hold off until a later point. But sometimes they will ask that in the application itself. Maybe sometimes they won't, especially if it's a smaller company. But they a lot of times will ask that. And in your first interview, normally it's with not the hiring manager, but someone in HR. It might be with the hiring manager though. I would not lead with you needing sponsorship. I would let them fall in love with you first, and then talk about the visa later once they are in love with you and feel like you're really the best fit, because you want to get your foot in the door and feel like... Because you want to have that hiring manager fall in love with you, and for the HR person that will be helping you along the process, for them to think that it's really easy. So you don't want to lead with that at all. But whenever the question does come up with the hiring manager or with the person in HR, you want to make sure you lead with visa simplicity, because companies fear sponsorship. They don't want to deal with the sponsorship. I think that, even companies that are willing to sponsor typically avoid candidates who sound like they need extensive help and visa sponsorship and just dealing with that process, because why would they want to hire you whenever there's a candidate that has just as good of an experience as you do? They'd rather go for the easier route. But again, it doesn't mean that it's impossible. I just would not lead with the visa. And when that question of visa sponsorship gets brought up, if you know that you're going to be sponsoring your own visa or getting a visa set up for yourself regardless, then definitely lead with that saying, "I'm eligible for the digital nomad visa, and I plan to relocate in September," or, "I already qualify for working rights under my ancestry, and I'm getting that process sorted now," or, I can legally work in the UK through the Youth Mobility Scheme," if that's something that you qualify for. Let's say, for instance, you have the ability to get a Canadian visa, and then once you get the Canadian visa, you're going to do the Youth Mobility Scheme. This is not available for Americans, but it is for the countries that are in the Commonwealth countries. So if you do already qualify for having visa sponsorship, then definitely lead with that and make that really, really clear across your resume, on your LinkedIn, in your cover letter. Like make sure that is clearly communicated that you are taking care of your legal process, you can legally work in that country, and they don't have to be worried about sponsoring you. But if you do know that you need sponsorship from the company, like in the UK if you need a skilled worker visa or in other countries across Europe if you need to have a, like general work visa, it's pretty similar across most countries what the process looks like where a company sponsors you, and then they basically pay for your visa sponsorship Work visas across Europe are pretty similar in that normally you need to have a company that says, "Yes, government, we are willing to sponsor this person. We will pay for their salary, and they're not going to end up on benefits or living on a park bench. We're going to be taking care of them." That's kind of what I think of being sponsored on a visa. So anyways, if you can take care of your own visa, make that really clear, like we just said, and then if you do need visa sponsorship from the company, I again would not bring that up in the very beginning with the hiring manager. But whenever it does come up, then make it really clear that you know the process, and it will be smooth. Like try to ease their concerns, making it sound like, you're really serious, you're really organized, that the visa process is not very complicated. Just kind of make it sound like it's not that big of a deal. Like don't worry. Make it sound like it's an easier process than what they might think that it will be because a lot of times a hiring manager, they won't know what the process really looks like. They might just hear visa and think complicated, whereas the HR person probably will have a very in-depth understanding of the visa process. Strategy number two that might be helpful to get a job offer abroad is to use the already moving technique. this is going to be one of the most effective psychological shifts for those that you are interviewing with because employers are a lot more likely to hire a candidate who already has a flight booked, are already temporarily in the country where they can meet you in person, where you are already relocating regardless, where you have an address there, where you have a local phone number. I think that this just removes the fear that you're just casually exploring, that you'll back out, that the logistics will be really messy. using an international eSIM or a local number could be a creative way to just help have that image with the employer that you do have a local phone number that you can add to your resume or CV is what some countries call it. You could also say that you are going to be staying for one to three months abroad while you're job searching. You could put it that you are relocating to Lisbon in October at the top of your resume or in your cover letter. I would just make it really clear that you are moving abroad, that you are going to be there, and especially if you're able to go there temporarily. So I think that in your interviews and in your cover letter and in, on your CV and on your LinkedIn, if you make it really clear that you are already moving there and put that, across all of your, quote unquote content but anything that you're able to put that on to make it sound like you are already moving, I think that is a very important psychological shift for the hiring manager. And let's say that you don't get a job offer by October or whenever you say that you're going to, you can shift that date pretty easily, and it doesn't really matter. You're going to have new companies that are looking at you, new companies that, are gonna be looking to hire you, and they won't know that three months ago you had said that you're moving in October. Like, I don't think that's a really big deal. But I do think that telling people when you're planning on moving, and you can always change your mind later. It's not a lie. It's not something that- untruthful, but to give that date to say that this is my goal, or you could even, you don't have to say in October, you could say I'm moving in the autumn. To just make it really clear in a psychological shift for the hiring manager that you are already moving, that you are taking steps forward to do that. Because I think that people hire people who already seem halfway there. They aren't looking for somebody that's a maybe, or I'm exploring it, or I visited one time and I'd really like to move there. Like, no, you wanna make it sound like you're really serious, like this is what you're already doing, that you already have an idea of the neighborhood that you're moving to, that you've already been looking into accommodation, that you already have a phone number, that you are, taking active steps, and that you are already moving there, if that makes sense. So I think that is a really important strategy and this will really help in getting over one of the hurdles of a hiring manager thinking they're in a completely different country, a completely different continent, and they want me to hire them, like I want them to start in a month, and like this just is not a good fit. So you want them to have those stressful thoughts eased and have them convinced and thinking that you're already ready to move there pretty much immediately. Strategy number three is to be thoughtful about the companies that you're applying to. So A lot of international applicants might be competing in overcrowded pools. you might want to focus on mid-size startups. You might want to look at international companies, English-speaking teams, companies that are already hiring foreign employees. You might want to look at job boards other than LinkedIn. I think LinkedIn is one of the best places, but sometimes there are other job boards that are specifically for creative people, or specifically for tech, or specifically for remote work. So it might be worth your time to apply for some of those jobs on different job boards. Sometimes there are even job boards that list out companies that can provide sponsorship, and they're prioritized that way. So you might wanna look at other job boards besides LinkedIn where you can be in a smaller pool of candidates looking for the job. A company that has already hired one foreigner is psychologically much more open to hiring another. So that would be a good strategy for looking at companies that might be more willing to hire you. Strategy number four is the bridge job strategy. This is, I feel like, under-discussed and is something that I really do believe in. I think that it's not the most ideal, and it's not the dream that everyone thinks about immediately. So instead of trying to get your dream international job from the get-go, you might want to consider getting any legal foothold abroad first. This depends on where you're moving to and how competitive it is. So for example, London is typically quite competitive, whereas if you're moving to, let's say Lisbon or maybe Munich, then it might not be as competitive, and you might be able to have a job offer and get your dream international job a lot faster This is a strategy that I took whenever I moved abroad. I took the bridge job strategy, and I had a temporary visa, and I actually took an internship style role. I actually took two of them. I took one in Brighton, England, and then I did another one in London, and that second company in London is the one that hired me. I think the first one probably would have hired me too, but I did not wanna work there, and I also really wanted to be in London. So I was able to get my foot in the door and prove myself as an intern recently graduating from college, and then I was able to get a full-time job after that. So I am example number one that is totally possible to do, and that's my strategy and what I ended up doing. But some other examples of kind of a bridge job is to take contract work. You could do contract work for somebody as a freelancer or just as a contract for a company that's in Munich, Germany, or Amsterdam, for example, and you could put that on your resume. You could say that the work is in Amsterdam. You could even go visit where it feels like it's true. You don't have to physically completely relocate to put on your resume that you did work in Amsterdam, for example. So contract work, that might be a really good foot in the door that would help convince an employer that you are serious about moving there and that you are already, having work experience there. So contract work would be a really good example, and you don't have to tell them that you didn't live there full-time. You can say, like, I was doing this work in Amsterdam, and here's my job experience there." you can be careful with how you word it, and I don't want this to sound like I'm trying to be deceptive, but you can angle it to where, they feel confident that you will actually move there and you have had experience in working in the culture and that it just helps avoid that hurdle of they're not serious or they don't understand the culture. So I think that it's helping get over one of those hurdles. So one example would be contract work or a bridge job strategy. Another one might be, like, customer support in that country. You could potentially teach English. You could be in hospitality, for instance. Maybe some freelance work. I think that would be a really strong one. Maybe helping, in a temp role. Maybe it's an internship style role. But I think all these are examples of kind of not having your dream job, but to just get some work experience in that country and city. Because once you're physically there, networking will become easier if you're able to be there in person. Interviews will become easier, and you'll be able to have face time with your employer. Employers will trust you more. You'll become less theoretical and more real. That it's real that you're there, and once you are there in person, it's so much easier to get a job offer. You also have to remember your first job abroad is not your forever career move. It's just your entry point. It's just your foot in the door. Sometimes we have to humble ourselves to these opportunities so that we can get our foot in the door and actually make our dreams come true. That was me. I had to swallow a big pill. I was not happy about doing an internship whenever I first graduated. I did not wanna tell people that. I called it contract work and that's what I still tell people because it was a contract work. It was a contracted opportunity. You could say it's an internship. You could call it contract work. You could get a freelance client and just do some work for somebody so that you have some experience, and it just helps you have a foot in the door, in that country. Strategy number five is networking, and specifically networking before or while you're applying. I think, you want to potentially follow hiring managers on LinkedIn. You wanna comment on posts. You want to attend virtual events if you can. You wanna join expat communities. Join industry groups in the country that you want to move to. Networking can be very powerful. Two of my first opportunities, like the two internships that I had, or contract work, whatever you wanna call them, I got both of those opportunities through networking. It was because I said I really wanna move to London that I was able to get the opportunities. One was from I was talking to somebody in a massage clinic office that was just in the waiting room, and I was just chit-chatting with her, telling her that I really wanted to move to London, and she was like, "Oh, my husband's really good friend owns a company in London. I could connect you if you want." And that was one of the job opportunities that I got that led to my full-time job. Another one was through my university. I was just talking to so many different people, and it was through somebody in one of my networks that I just had a phone call with somebody, and that led to another phone call with somebody. That led to another phone call. That led me to an opportunity in Brighton. So it was through networking that I actually got one of my opportunities. So I think, networking could be really powerful or in these groups just to see who has an opportunity for you because somebody might look at your profile and say, "Oh my gosh, you'd be such a good fit for my friend that's hiring this job right now, and like I'll help you get a foot in the door." So I think that networking could be really powerful. And one strategy that I found really, really interesting about networking was I had a friend that was looking for a job in London, and he found it really difficult. And I think that whenever you apply, I've had people that have applied for jobs that I've posted, and it really stands out to me whenever someone reaches out to the hiring manager and says like, "This is an opportunity I'm really excited about", and just connects on a personal level. I think that reaching out to them on LinkedIn or if you can find their email, it'd be really helpful. So to reach out to the hiring manager or to reach out to people on the team even before you apply. That's what my friend's strategy was, that before he hit apply on a job, he would reach out to somebody that was on the team, say, "Hey, I'm interested in this job. I'm really considering it." And he would reach out to like multiple people 'cause a lot of people won't respond. But also people will see it and some people will be open to getting on a quick 15-minute call, and you just say like, "This is a job I'm really interested in. Would you, tell me about it?" And they might be able to refer you, and referrals are also really powerful. And those people on teams are incentivized to refer you because they get a little bonus if you end up getting the job. So I think that might also be a really strong strategy to network and have that conversation. Just ask them to have a 10, 15-minute conversation about the job. Ask if they have a referral program, and then that person is incentivized to refer you, and so that you can get an interview and kind of get your foot in the door that way. So people want to help. A lot of people are open to helping and want to be that person that helps somebody, especially if they are a person that moved abroad as well like you, they want to help. So I think that networking is also a really strong strategy for getting a job offer abroad. Strategy six is to target countries with labor shortages. A lot of people might choose countries based on emotions, and that's totally fine, but a lot of countries hire based on their labor needs. So some countries might aggressively need engineers or nurses or teachers or skilled trades or tech workers or accountants or healthcare workers. So instead of having the angle of where do I want to live, maybe you ask, where is my background usually really valuable? So that might be a really smart international strategy in looking at countries to target to be able to get a job offer abroad. Strategy seven is to create an international resume. Different countries might expect different formats. For instance, the US, they wanna keep it really tight with your CV length, whereas in the UK they want you to include multiple pages of all of your work experience. So that's just one example of different countries just have different formats. Some countries have like a specific template that everyone uses. Other countries might, like I said, have different CV length or include photos or never include photos, or have a personal summary, or have cover letter expectations that differ from one to the other, or just have tone differences in the way that they communicate in their cover letter. So I think that American resumes typically sound really self-promotional and very hyper corporate and very achievement heavy, which is not bad. It's a strong thing. But maybe some European cultures prefer a collaboration angle and being practical and showing humility. So you might want to create different country specific versions of your resume. I don't think that you need to kill yourself over this, but even like if you're applying in the UK, if they spell the word program, they spell it like we spell program in the US, but they add an extra M-E at the end. So it's just also like little spelling things. Or I used to have my GPA on my CV, which I've completely taken off now, but someone told me one time they don't use GPA in the UK. They call it like, whatever it's called, like first honors or like they call it different things. So I think it's just being thoughtful about your resume and honestly throw it in ChatGPT, throw it in Claude and say, "Hey Claude, hey ChatGPT, is there any way that I can change my resume to tailor it to this specific country? Does this country have different requirements for having a photo or to like, is there any way that I can change it and adapt it for the spelling or anything to make it more international?" Strategy eight is to use small companies to your advantage. So this might be a little bit counterintuitive because I think it just really depends on the hiring manager for big companies versus smaller companies. But I would not discount smaller companies. I think some people say big companies sponsor visas, and yes, that is true. But smaller companies can move faster, have less bureaucracy, might hire based on personality fit less than, what you just look like on paper. They might be more flexible. I think it also really depends on the job. If you're an American and you're looking for a job in Europe, maybe they are expanding into US markets, or maybe they need an English-speaking person because they're looking to expand their sales into the US or into the UK where they need an English-speaking person. Or maybe they just want knowledge on the American market. I mean, I think it just depends. But smaller companies might be totally open to hiring you, and I would not discount them by any means. I also think multinational companies are a great option whenever you're looking for a job because they probably have other people that are international workers. They probably have sponsored people before, so they will understand the process. English-speaking companies would be a strong one. I also think a lot of times if you work in the US, if you find a job that has an international office in the city that you want to move to, I think that's also a great strategy to just start building a network in that city abroad, and maybe even ask them if you can do a short trip or short stint in that office for a few weeks or a month or a couple months, like maybe even just one week, where you can network with some people in that office in person and to let them know that you are really looking to move to that country and city, and just start networking and building, And just start networking with the people in that office. I think that's a really smart strategy. I think that it could be a small company that hires you. My first two companies that I worked for, they were really, really small companies. The company I work for now is a midsize company. It doesn't have to be a massive company that will be willing to hire you. But it just really depends on the company and on the hiring manager. And I think that you just have to find a hiring manager that falls in love with you and thinks that you're a really good fit, and, where you make the visa process sound really simple and don't bring it up until you really need to. And I think that it's absolutely possible to get a job offer abroad. But anyways, I think using different sized companies and being thoughtful about the company maybe they even have a role where it would be helpful to have US knowledge of the culture and of the language and, all that I think might be helpful too.... strategy nine is to build proof of international seriousness. As we said earlier in the episode, employers want signals that you're not going to disappear and that you are really serious about moving or living in that country, city, and not just for six months or not just for a year. But if they're going to be investing in you, they want to feel like you are going to be there for a long time if they're going to be sponsoring your visa and investing time and resources into hiring you. Some examples of proof of international seriousness could be learning the language, visiting previously. If you could even say, I typically visit a couple times a year," or, once a quarter, or, I've been there multiple times and maybe it's understanding the work culture, maybe it's having local connections there, maybe it's joining communities, maybe it's understanding salary norms, maybe it's just knowing the visa pathways really strongly to where you have confidence that it's an easy process and it's no big deal. So I think that just Proving your international seriousness will help a hiring manager have that psychological shift that they need Where you stop sounding like, "I had a romantic eat, pray, love fantasy," and more like, "I've thoughtfully planned this transition, and this is something that I'm very serious about, and I am moving in fall of this year," or whatever it looks like for you. But I think just proving that you are really serious and laying that concern from the hiring manager to rest that you are very serious, you will be there, and so that they don't have to worry about that. Strategy number 10 is where your home country experience adds knowledge or adds value to the job. So for example, US workers can be extremely attractive internationally because they have native English speaking abilities. They are familiar with the US market, their ability to overlap with US clients. So you might be able to help position yourself to say, "I can help your company communicate with US customers. I understand the American consumer behavior. I can bridge the US and European markets." This would be especially helpful in like SaaS companies, so in software companies, in marketing, in sales, in customer success, in content, partnerships. There would be other instances where this might be really helpful, but your English speaking ability and the fact that you're from the United States might be a really big bonus depending on the job that you're applying for. But that might be another strategy to make sure that you're really playing off of that angle whenever you're looking for jobs that might be a good fit. So those are the 10 main strategies for getting a job offer abroad, and there are a couple other sections I think would be really valuable to talk through quickly before we close out this episode. And that is that I want to provide motivation, but also a reality check. So I don't think that- If you apply to five jobs, I can say anybody can do it and just apply to five jobs and they're gonna hire you and it's easy. Like I'm not gonna say that it's easy. It does take persistence. Rejection is super normal. Expect to be rejected. Expect that you're going to apply to more than five jobs. You need to be, really pushing for it. This is something that you really want. But it's absolutely possible. I think the process can feel challenging at times. Silence from potential employers, it does hurt at times. It's frustrating. But international hiring has a lot of potential. Like you can definitely get a job abroad if you are working really hard and if you know that you fit the eligibility requirements for the visa that you're looking for. Maybe you have to be thoughtful about where you move to. Certain places might have more job opportunities than others. They might be less competitive than others. So I'd say it's definitely possible. Getting hired abroad is less about convincing companies that you're extraordinary. While it is really important to convince them that you're extraordinary, that you are the best fit, it's also about helping them believe that hiring you will be simple and that you are there for the long run, that this is not something just a random spur of the moment thing, that you are really serious about this. Not coming off in a desperate way, but coming off in a very confident way. I also want to leave you with a couple things. I know somebody that recently moved to Munich, Germany. He did not apply to many jobs. He probably applied to less than 10 jobs, and he just found an employer where the timing was right, and they really liked him. They were willing to sponsor his visa, and it wasn't like a high-profile job. He didn't have crazy work experience. He was a graphic designer and they were willing to hire him. They wanted to hire him for his work experience. He had worked in fashion before, and it was a fashion company, and he was just a good graphic designer, had a good portfolio, and they were willing to hire him. He wasn't special really in any way. I'm not special in any way really, but they were willing to hire him, and Munich was a less competitive job market, and it was just a good opportunity that came up where the hiring manager liked him and was willing to go through the process. So it worked out well for him, and he didn't have to do anything crazy. But in London, for instance, it is more competitive, and if I were relocating to London, like I said, at the time of my life, I had recently graduated, and for me, it still was okay to do an internship after I graduated. Even though I did not like it, it was my foot in the door, and from there, I was able to network and prove myself, and I got sponsorship after that. I also think that sometimes there's just a different foot in the door for you. If you're later on in your career, and this is something that you want, it's definitely possible in multiple countries, not just London. I know I'm in London, but there are many places across Europe that would be willing to hire people internationally. There are a lot of countries across Europe and a lot of cities that would be willing to hire you. Some potential international hiring hubs might be like the Netherlands, Ireland, Portugal, Poland, Estonia, Germany, Prague, Malta. I mean, there are a ton. If I were really serious about getting a job offer abroad, and this is just one extra little bonus. This is just me, and I think this is a little bit crazy, but if I really, really wanted to move abroad, and I had started, applying, and I had found it a bit difficult, like I think that you can start off a little bit easier and just start applying and feeling it out and just seeing the reactions, seeing the conversations you have with hiring managers. Just see what they say and ask for feedback whenever they stop interviewing you. If I were really wanting to get a job in a difficult market, and this was something that I really, really wanted to do, I would, first of all, make sure that my LinkedIn, my cover letter, my CV/resume was as good as it possibly could be. And this is what I did whenever I really wanted to get a job in London and get job sponsorship. I had already had another opportunity. I was already living in London, so I think that helped me. But whenever I got the job offer, I had been applying to jobs for a while. I think I applied to, like, 200 jobs in the span of maybe six months, and I didn't get a job offer in that time. And I said, "I'm going to apply to 100 jobs a week until I get a job offer in my hands. I'm not gonna stop until I have the job offer." And it was a full-time job for sure. I was super anxious, and I don't think that it's healthy to go that hard. But this is what I did, and I ended up getting three job offers at the end. Maybe it was even four. But I got to choose the job that I wanted, and all of them were providing sponsorship for a visa. But if I were you and I was living in another country, I would go hard on your applications. If you just test the waters for a little bit and see what the feel is and see if you're getting interviews and what the feedback is from hiring managers, and you get a feel of the market And if you do that and you still haven't gotten a job offer in a few months, then I would consider having a short period of time where you say, "I'm gonna put all my energy into this. I'm gonna make this my top priority. I'm gonna do this over the weekends. I'm gonna do this after work in the evenings. Like, I'm not gonna go out and do the things that I would normally do to have fun, but I'm gonna make this my number one priority." And apply to as many jobs as you can that are relevant to you. Send the message to the hiring manager. Send the message to the person on the team. Really go hard at applying to jobs that you feel like are relevant. Send the cover letter. Like, do the most that you can, and probably leverage AI to do this as well. Like, there probably is a way that you could use AI to make it easier on yourself. But spend time just really going hard and start having interviews, and once you start feeling like- few weeks down the road, if you tell hiring managers and you're getting to, like, later stages of interviews, tell them, "I'm happy to go in person", and try to line up a few interviews in person to where you can be there in person, meet the hiring manager, like have that face time with them, because they're gonna be more likely to hire you if they like your energy in person rather than just over a video call. But try to line up as many interviews as you can in maybe a week, or maybe you're able to swing it for a month. Like, take PTO, go there in person, like really give it your all, really give it your full effort. That's what I would do if I were really determined. Like, yes, networking as much as you can. Like, yes, use some of these other strategies that I mentioned, and I think that all these are really helpful. But if I was, already looking for a really long time... i'm specifically thinking of London whenever I talk about this because I know that there are a lot of people that listen to the podcast that want to move to London, and I love London, but London is competitive, and we talked about that a little bit in the previous episode. But this is what I would do. Like, I would just give it a few months where you're really giving it your all. It's not gonna take, too many months of going really hard, But I do think that you're increasing your chances if you do that, if you really push hard and not just apply to like a couple jobs, but you apply to many, and you spread a wide net, even if you, haven't looked into the company too much. But anyways, that's combining a couple of the strategies that I've used in the past where I was looking for a job and, like I said, I did the internship first. That was my foot in the door. I used one of these strategies. I've used a lot of these strategies actually while I looked for jobs in London, and if I were really, really wanting to move to London, that's probably what I would do, is I would apply like a crazy person and network as much as I could in my home country, and then I would try to do all the interviews in bulk that I could so that you tell them, "Hey, I'm actually gonna be in London" or "I'm actually gonna be in Munich, Germany, during this specific week," or maybe it's like a whole month, and you tell them, "This is when I'm gonna be there. I would love to meet you in person and interview for this job in person, and that way we can meet up." So I would do that. I would, really, really push for that, and I think that's what I would do if I were in my current work experience now and living in the US, never having lived in London. That's probably what I would do. And in the meantime, I would probably try working for a company that was In the city that I was living in, but also had an international office in London, and also tried to network internally and try to, get on projects with the London team. I would probably try to gain experience in working in that market and try to build a business case to move myself, through that company to London. But yeah. Anyways, I think I've explained enough of this. But I think that a lot of these strategies will help you, and that all of them build on each other. I think that they're all helpful to think about and all kind of helpful to use in unison. So while they are different strategies, I think that combining them makes a really powerful case to help you actually get to your city abroad that you really want to move to. So strategy number one, we'll go through them again really quickly, list them out. So the first one was leading with visa simplicity. Make it sound like the visa process is really easy, and don't mention it at the very beginning, but make it sound like whenever it's brought up, that you are very experienced and that it's not actually a really complicated process. Using the already moving technique, it's going to help you have that psychological shift with the hiring manager where they don't feel worried that you're just gonna live there for a couple months and be tired and leave, or that you're not actually gonna move there. It helps to create a bit of confidence with the hiring manager that you will actually be there when they need you. Stop applying through massive job boards only and consider other job boards that might be helpful in getting hired. The bridge job strategy to look for opportunities to be able to get your foot in the door. It doesn't have to be your forever career move, but it's just an opportunity to get your foot in the door to be able to live there or to have that contract work on your resume where you have had work in that country and city abroad. Network before you apply or during application process. Like, reach out to the hiring manager, send them a message. It doesn't have to be long. You don't have to think about it that much. But just take the time to network with random people that you meet. Go to networking events. Reach out to the hiring manager on LinkedIn. Reach out to people on the team to see if they can refer you. Another strategy is targeting countries with labor shortages. Target countries and cities where you know that your skills in, being a tech worker is going to be valuable. The next strategy is to create an international resume. Make sure that your resume is aligned with the country that you want to move to. Different countries have different expectations on the resume, or they call it a CV sometimes. So make sure that you have that international angle. Use different companies to your advantage, like smaller companies or mid-size companies, international companies with international offices everywhere where they're probably going to have international people working for them. English-speaking companies. Like, be thoughtful about the companies that you're applying to. Build proof of international seriousness. Find ways that employers won't have the signal that you're going to disappear, but do things like learning the language or making sure you understand the salary norms, making sure you understand the work culture. Maybe the fact that you visit once a quarter adds, confidence to them or that you have already, looked at different neighborhoods. So build that proof of international seriousness that you are ingrained and understand the culture and all that. And then the 10th one is that your home country can add value depending on the job that you're looking for. So sell yourself in your interview saying that, "I can help this company in this role because I've already had experience in this, and I'm an American who understands consumer behavior or understands, I can bridge the US and European market together." That was a super, super quick basically summary of the episode. But I want you to leave this episode feeling encouraged, feeling like this is possible for you, feeling like you have some strategies under your belt to help you to actually get that job offer abroad and not just know the next steps that you need to do or what's important to prioritize. But I do hope that this was a helpful episode for you, and maybe you are trying to consider countries that are going to be the best fit for you in this international move and what would be the best fit for you. And something that might help you, a tool that I've created is a quiz that you can take. It takes less than two minutes, so it's just helping you find which European city should you move to that fits you and your vibe and what you're looking for. So you can take the quiz at jordangiberson.com/quiz, or there's also a link to the quiz that you can easily click on in the podcast description. So anyways, I hope that you found this episode helpful and encouraging and that you have these tactical strategies to help in getting that job offer abroad. And that is it for me for today's episode. I will see you here again next week, same time, same place. I'll catch you then.