This article was designed to aid those putting together a resume for working abroad. 

When applying for work abroad, make sure that you customise your resume to the given job, ensuring specific skills and regional experience is addressed properly. The recruiter may not see the link between your attributes and their job, so provide connections in the resume and also it will be benefitial to include a personal statement to galvanise any important points.

First impressions is very important, especially when looking at working abroad. Overseas recruiters will use this document as a symbol of your presentation and conduct, so make sure that the document is flawless and is attractive to look. Don’t go over-board though- simplicity and conciseness are the keys here.

If at all possible a resume should be less than two pages long. Recruiters spend seconds scanning through resumes so make sure that the information you provide is concise and that it will stand out to your employer abroad. Anything that is an important attribute to you should be put in bold or underlined.

Make sure not to leave blank spots on your job application as this will lead to questioning and ultimately concern from the overseas employer. Many countries in the Far-East, like Singapore, will certainly require this information when you’re applying for your visa anyhow, so it’s best to get it all down at the beginning.

Selling yourself to an overseas employer or recruitment consultant will be a lot easier if you quantify past achievement. E.g. I saved the company15% in annual operating costs works better than ‘Made cost savings for the department’. If you don’t know the exact figure then estimate.

You can find more destination-specific career information by visiting Working Expat, or visiting our Hong Kong, Dubai or Shanghai sites.