Looking for work abroad, because in Italy...
Out of Italy in order to find work In these cases you need to understand “what” pushed you to the edge. In most cases it’s not just the country, the job or your family situation, but a combination of all three factors. This was the case with Umberto, an engineer of more than thirty-five who left for England.
Umberto is an engineer that has always worked in the IT consultancy sector which has been a good sector to work in for years and is all the more popular nowadays. It’s a shame that there was little interest for his skills from large consultancy firms or small niche companies or even within his own company, as he was approaching 50.
It’s fair to say probably that his family situation was evolving and once his elderly mother died (elderly parents seem to keep male and females tied to Italy!) Umberto took off: both literally and metaphorically.
Umberto went to England to look for work.
He actually went to England to look for it. He didn’t look for it from here. This is a key factor. It’s not so easy to look for a job, and it’s even harder to do so by correspondence, even if we’re talking email! You need to get a suitcase, a PC, a room for rent and enough money to survive for a few months. If someone calls you, you can hardly postpone your meeting for a few days or weeks until you find the best deal with Easyjet or Ryanair!!!
He spoke English thanks to his schooling and because he had later been on language courses. Have you ever tried to go the UK and find yourself as the only Italian amongst a working group of Scots? Do you think they will welcome you in because you’re so special and wait for you to learn English??? Ask yourself frankly if you think you’re so special or whether you should actually brush up your English and study a bit before leaving!
He was very up-to-date with what was happening in his industry because he read, studied and acquired certifications that were recognised in his sector. This can perhaps be done over time, in advance. But you also need to do it at your own expense and not expect there to be an immediate gain. You can't wait for months if you are unemployed before getting a certification, e.g. in Project Management, which is now recognised even in Italy and is the bare minimum in England! Especially if you are a manager and got a payoff of hundreds of thousand of euro….
Now Umberto works for internationally renowned companies between London and New York and he keeps getting calls from Head Hunters in England.
