Job Hunting From Africa
Please pick me!
It matters where you are from.
Living in South Africa certainly has its disadvantages to those seeking employment abroad . It is almost as though the word "South" dissapears and you are automatically linked to refugees, which in a way we all are. For even given vacancy in South Africa, the employer could receive up to 100 resumes. I shudder to think what the statistic is for foreign companies. With technological advances, any vacancy is considered fair game, irrespective of whether you have the right to work in that country.
Where are we applying for vacancies?
The first obvious choices are English speaking countries.
United Kingdom - is overflowing with immigrants at this time, difficult to obtain work permits and extremely expensive. There are people who have successfully immigrated, however without a support system, a difficult choice.
United States - We all want to follow the American dream, however it is the AMERICAN dream, not the African one. Having said that, loads of people are winning the green card lotto every year.
Canada - With their strict entrance requirements and expensive visa fees, open for a select few. There are candidates with multiple degrees competing with you in the job market.
New Zealand - probably the easiest country to go to. The only drawback would be once again, unaffordable visa fees. You could essentially use your life savings before stepping off that plane.
Australia - Although the most similar to South Africa, we are the only ones to think so. They include mandatory English capability tests to the visa applications, even if English is the only language you know. All this at a significant cost, which will set you back once you arrive. Australia makes New Zealand visa fees look cheap.
You may be wondering about other alternatives.
I have done extensive research on other countries that may welcome immigrants.
Germany has recently received widespread media attention when they welcomed immigrants from other countries. Whether it has aided or had a detrimental affect on the economy would depend on who you spoke to. German is not a difficult language to learn, if you only need to order bread and milk. To acquire the language skills necessary to converse in a business meeting, you would need years of practice. The average person does not have the funds available to be unemployed for any period of time, so unless you are given government aid, it's not an option.
This would include Portugal who is currently looking for immigrants as well as other non English countries in Europe.
The little country of Belize is English, however if you delve a little deeper, has excessive crime and horror stories of a drug gateway to Mexico and America.
This is where Belize is.
Reaching out desperately.
There are thousands of people who try reach Europe every year, some losing their lives in the process. Trump is trying to build a wall to keep people out. I understand that refugees are a drain on any economy and it would be difficult to determine who actually needs to be protected from those taking advantage of the opportunity.
The average, employed person would not attempt such drastic measures. Personally I would never try to make a new country my home by engaging in any illegal activity.
I have watched numerous documentaries of people travelling by boat, or walking for days through a jungle, just to reach "hope". There is no simple solution for any of them, they will continue to do whatever possible and should be commended for their bravery.
Living in a country torn by war is something I would not like to ever experience and my heart goes out to those affected.
The solution.
Invest in yourself, that is the best advice I could possibly give.
If you are like me, you could be living in a third world country with a rather dubious government. The more you earn, the more you are taxed - and will receive nothing for your efforts. By investing in property or saving your money in the local bank, you are essentially having blind faith that your leaders will not destroy the exchange rate (and your net worth). The more you buy, the more you have to be stolen, making yourself a target.
Use all available funds to better yourself, learn new skills, obtain a new qualification and teach others.
Education, skills and experience are tools that can never be taken away from us regardless of what happens.
If you are serious about seeking employment elsewhere, be a candidate that stands out, an asset to any organisation, not one who feels entitled because they have "closely matched" the ad. Planning and careful research of skills required will aid your application.
