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Frequently Asked Questions

EDITOR’S NOTE: With the recent release of the The BIG Guide to Living and Working Overseas, Fourth Edition Revised, in September 2007, the Tables of Content found in The BIG Guide Book and The BIG Guide Online are almost exactly the same. The online edition will gradually change as new or modified chapters are released.

Frequently Asked Questions For The BIG Guide

What is The BIG Guide to Living and Working Overseas?

The BIG Guide has been referred to as “the bible” on how to build international work experience. It contains more than 1,800 pages divided into 41 chapters. The BIG Guide includes 600 pages of job search how-to chapters, profiles of more than 2,200 organizations that hire personnel for overseas work and more than 1,100 web sites and other resources organized in 62 topical bibliographies.  You can’t find better or more information anywhere on this subject.

How is the book divided?

The BIG Guide is divided into five major sections, which between them have 41 chapters of information.  The sections are progressive building blocks toward an international career:

PART 1:  YOUR INTERNATIONAL IQ
Learn about the international skills employers are looking for.

PART 2:  GAINING INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Learn how to gain the skills required for work abroad.

PART 3:  THE INTERNATIONAL JOB SEARCH PROCESS
This part outlines the unique aspects of looking for international work such as the international resume and interview.

PART 4:  THE PROFESSIONS
This section has information about the most high volume professions describing the unique aspect in each. 

PART 5: DIRECTORY OF INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYERS
Young professionals look for international work with information about non-governmental organizations in the US and Canada, private sector firms working internationally in the US and Canada, government departments and international organizations including the UN. There are more than 2,100 employers in this section but there are thousands more to be discovered once you review and learn about the types of organizations that hire internationally experienced employees.

What is in the Table of Contents?

Check out the Table of Contents.

How is the book indexed?

The BIG Guide has six different indices by:  subject, title, cities in the US and Canada, countries and regions of the world and finally, job categories and by organizations.

Why purchase The BIG Guide?

Check out the Ten Reasons to Purchase The BIG Guide.

Is The BIG Guide primarily for those in the US or for Canadians?

The Big Guide has been geared to everyone in North America and is often valuable to those outside North America seeking to learn the approach used here for find international work.  Of the 1,800 pages (including additional 700 pages in the CD-ROM) in The BIG Guide, 75% are directly applicable to the US. The BIG Guide is larger than any other comparable US international career book. The BIG Guide also offers detailed and unique advice unavailable in most other US-based guides. So, if you are looking for unparalleled expertise in this subject, The BIG Guide is your first-choice companion and professional coach.

Can The BIG Guide be used by Job Seekers outside of North America?

The BIG Guide methods are universally applicable to all international job searches. Inside these pages you will find unique international career “how-to” advice that is unavailable anywhere else in the world. You can learn about North American job-hunting practices and their widespread use in the international marketplace.

Is the book available in French?

Currently, The BIG Guide is not available in French, although it is our long-term goal to add more French material. The BIG Guide Online has many features to help French readers, however. There are a series of over 20 Quick Guides available in French that summarize the main strategies found within the book. The BIG Guide uses the Fr icon to indicate which of the 470 organization Web sites (out of a total of 2,200 organizations) that have a French section. The same icon is used to indicate which of the 98 resources (out of 830) that are also available in French. Moreover, when an organization’s only language of operation is French, its profile is written in French. There are 112 such profiles.

What is on the CD ROM that comes with The BIG Guide?

The CD ROM is an appendix to The BIG Guide book. It contains an extra 700 pages of valuable information. It also has more than 3,000 hot links and helps you with your searches. All the information in the book and CD ROM is available in The BIG Guide Online.

How much is The BIG Guide?

The BIG Guide retails for $59.95 and is most easily acquired in the US by going to amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. In Canada, visit amazon.ca and chapters.indigo.ca. NOTE: These sites often have discounted pricing for the book from 10% to 33%. Discounts may vary daily.

When was the current edition last updated, and when will the new edition be available?

The Fourth Edition Revised was released in September 2007. The next edition will not be available until approximately January 2010.

Frequently Asked Questions About Working Overseas

What is the biggest myth about working abroad?

The BIG Guide shows students how to conduct a job-search by sector (and not by country) since 85% of college grads who find professional work abroad do so with American organizations (i.e. private sector firms, NGOs, government departments and some international organizations). The BIG Guide therefore organizes its advice and employer contact information by sector. This is the most  effective strategy for helping students find international work.

How can I find information on overseas jobs specific to my profession?

PART 4: THE PROFESSIONS, provides information on finding international work in professions such as law, engineering, health, teaching, international develpoment and freelancing. Even if your profession isn’t discussed in PART 4, these chapters provide excellent templates for understanding the specific aspects of your field of work. The largest chapters are the career directories in PART 5: DIRECTORY OF INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYERS, which list thousands of governmental, non-governmental and private sector organizations. We have indexed these organization profiles according to job categories so you can search them accordingly.

How can I find information on teaching abroad?

The BIG Guide devotes an entire chapter (Chapter 29) to teaching abroad (including teaching English abroad), with information about different types of teaching positions, job search strategies, the hiring process, recruiting agencies and how to create an effective cover letter and resume. Relevant resources (books, organizations and Web sites) are listed at the end of the chapter.

How easy is it to teach English abroad?

A billion people in the world want to learn English. This simple fact makes it easy to find positions as an English teacher almost anywhere in the world where the host country language is not English. The BIG Guide provides you with advice about how to use teaching English as a stepping stone to other careers.

What is the most important thing to know about international careers?

It is almost impossible to decide to go international at the time of your graduation unless you have previous international experience. International careers are built step by step over time, starting with your first years in college. You need to gain international experience while in school (on campus and by going abroad). The BIG Guide shows you how to do this.

What is the most effective short term strategy to impress international  recruiters?

The BIG Guide teaches you how to professionally describe your international experiences in a manner that demonstrates your knowledge of the cross cultural work environment.  We also help you describe the key aspects of your own culture so you can demonstrate to employers that you have a benchmark from which to explain yourself to others. Demonstrating competencies within this skill range is a very effective way to impress international employers.

How does an international CV differ from a domestic CV?

Since international recruiters base their recruitment much more on personality (your professional personality) than domestic recruiters, the international resume will be longer and contain a lot more analytical analysis of your professional and cross cultural skills.

What are the technological skills required in the new global economy?

The nature of international work today is that employers expect you to be able to work with global teams and partners. Given the nature of the global economy many of your work place team members will be located in other countries or you will be purchasing services from companies located around the world. This is the new reality even if your job is located in the North America and you are not working in an international office.

From a technical point of view, many employers expect that you should know how to organize teams by working online and collaborate with teams working on projects while working across time zones. Many will also wonder if you can:

  • access computers remotely through software like “gotomypc.com”?
  • run an on-line meeting and share computer screens amongst team members using software like “gotomeeting.com”? 
  • create a project space on the internet to share files with online work spaces such as “google space”?
  • coordinate team schedules, use Skype for free international phone calls, transfer large files over the internet with software like “yousendit.com.”

International employers also expect you to be able to be up and running with any number of other cultures regardless if you have previous experience with these cultures.

  • Can you work on a team with members with multiple cultures?
  • Are you familiar with transitioning across cultures? Can you describe the process?
  • Do you have the listening and observing skills that would allow you to be up and running quickly with team members from countries where you have no experience?

Many of the above qualities are those being sought by employers in the new world economy for their potential employees.

What is the easiest way to get started?

Building international experience in school is easy. Your college campus is the ideal environment to make contacts with other internationally minded students, take international courses, and socialize with international friends.  One of your first objectives will be to organize a trip abroad. Ideally, go abroad for at least a four month stay to get immersed in the culture. Go abroad to study, volunteer or even backpack. Seize any opportunity that would take you on your first international and cross-cultural travel experience. Your first experience need not be career enhancing --it is the cross cultural experience that is the most important aspect of your learning objective.

Is language learning important to an international career?

Almost every international person has a second or third language. For Americans, it is often easier and more important to learn Spanish because the increasing influence of Spanish in the US and because of the relative prevalence of this language in the Americas.  Learning a Chinese dialect or Hindi is also advantageous given the exponential growth that is taking place in China and India and given how these two countries will dominate economic growth trends on a work scale over the next 20 years. While there are no specific languages which are important (learn the language of the culture which most attracts you), the concept of an international person is someone who has language skills and who has been exposed deeply to another culture. Your knowledge of one specific language is not as important as the cultural training you received while learning the language.