In today’s global society, it is entirely ordinary for people to travel to other countries to seek prosperity. When people view this endeavour in a historical context, many will identify this notion of prosperity-seeking with Christopher Columbus. They recognize him as a brave adventurer who discovered a new world on a courageous journey. While this perception of history is predicated upon a myriad of inaccuracies, that notion of risking one’s life in the pursuit of glory has remained a consistent theme in many cultural artifacts since. Most people view this pursuit in a positive light and can transpose their ambitions onto courageous characters like Christopher Columbus and identify with their plight. While this latter detail may seem somewhat of triviality, an individual can identify with another person that determines so much of how our society operates. In 2019, this capacity for identification seems to be at a low-point. People have polarized views about immigrants, and this disconnect between peoples’ ability to identify with people different from themselves represents a major societal impediment.
For those who are new to a country, seeking a job can be one of the biggest challenges to overcome. A job is crucial for one’s ability to take care of themselves, but yet the criteria for getting one seems to become stricter with every passing day. This struggle is amplified exponentially for people who are new to a country. They can face several struggles and obstacles: unfamiliarity or lack of proficiency with the dominant language; restrictive job markets and lack of employment opportunities; possession of educational qualifications or certifications that are not valid in the country; employers and businesses who are hostile to hiring immigrants; and poor government support. For those who are moving to a new country, their livelihood depends on knowing what their chances will be to gain employment. As such, it is of paramount importance that those who are considering moving to a new country do a significant amount of research about how their destination country’s society and economy operates, and attempt to gain job prospects ahead of time to mitigate the possible obstacles of seeking employment. Here is some more information about the many possible challenges an individual can face when seeking a job in a new country
Not Knowing The Language
As anyone who has traveled to a country without knowing the dominant language knows, it can be a tremendous challenge to figure out how to do even the most basic things. Buying groceries, finding lodging, communicating with locals, and finding particular designations can all be significantly more difficult when one does not know how to read labels and signs, or communicate with locals. Now imagine trying to find a job without having a firm grasp on the language of the country. It can be a mighty struggle to put together a resume that has a chance at being selected, let alone having to interview in a language that is not one’s native tongue. In addition to the personal disadvantages of a lack of local language skills, employers may likely be hesitant to hire someone who cannot communicate competently in the country’s official language. This stipulation results in many people unable to get jobs until they’ve gained significant proficiency in whatever the dominant language is, regardless of their capability to perform the tasks required of the job—given that communication isn’t a primary aspect of the occupation. This is one of the most common problems facing those who go abroad for work, as access to language learning materials often varies from country to country, making it very difficult to learn new languages in certain locations. In addition to this large obstacle for workers aboard, which can result in individuals missing immigration ads that could potentially help them as they face several other challenges that they cannot even take steps to remedy.
Education Not Valid
A particularly cruel challenge that people looking for jobs in new countries face is finding out that their education is not valid in the new country. Many countries use different standards for educational and vocational certifications and will not accept accreditations from other countries. This can result in highly educated people working outside their field and, at worst, in low-paying service jobs. Governments could benefit immensely from implementing programs designed to adapt the expertise of highly educated individuals. These programs could allow these individuals to be recognized as being just as adept at that field of knowledge as those who were educated within the country and allow the country to benefit from the addition of this specialized labor into its workforce.
Restrictive Job Market
A restrictive job market will hurt anyone’s chances of finding meaningful employment, and this, unfortunately, affects those who are new to the country and are looking for work. A restrictive job market results in large numbers of people competing for the same jobs. This allows employers to unduly discriminate against large groups of people by imposing unreasonably high job requirements for their postings. These stricter criteria can be disqualifying for many job seekers, especially those who are new to a country and perhaps do not possess much relevant experience within those countries. In such cases, a candidate that has worked in the country before will likely be preferred to one that has not. A restrictive job market is a significant impediment for many people who are new to a country and are looking for work, as there is little an individual can do to improve the job market and thus decrease the strictness of job criteria.
It can be tremendously difficult for people who are new to a country to find work. They face several obstacles that make their job search harder, some of which they have little to no ability to mitigate. Those looking for work should look for permanent labor certification ads and PERM advertising for job services specifically designed for newcomers.
