Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
Relocation reasons and red lines brief
Moving countries for a job is hard to undo, and people who move only because an offer arrived often find the reasons they did not write down were the ones that mattered. A one-page brief of why you want to go, what you hope to gain in career terms, and the three things you will not trade away gives every later decision a test to pass.
First tasks
- Write down in ten minutes every reason you want to work abroad
- Group the reasons into career, money, lifestyle and family
- Name three red lines you will not compromise on for any offer
- Share the brief with your partner or closest adviser and note their reaction
Scored shortlist of target countries
Demand for your skills, how easy the visa is, salary after tax and cost of living, language, and distance from home all vary enormously between countries. Scoring four to six candidates against the same criteria stops a single glamorous city from winning by default and points your search effort where it can actually succeed.
First tasks
- List every country you would seriously consider working in
- Check each country's published shortage or skilled occupation list for your role
- Score each country on demand, visa access, pay, language and family
- Pick two or three primary targets and one fallback
Visa route map for each target country
Every country offers several routes to work, such as employer-sponsored permits, points-based visas, intra-company transfers, graduate routes, youth mobility schemes and regional agreements, and each has its own salary floors, processing times and family rules.
First tasks
- Find and bookmark the official immigration site for each target country
- List the work routes you may qualify for with their main eligibility tests
- Note processing times, fees and dependant rules with today's date
- Write down the questions to put to an immigration adviser
