This week, Alina Verbenchuk, founder of Verbetcetera , will speak on our social networks .
Alina studied at NSU, St. Petersburg State University, as well as at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She worked and lived in 7 countries. He runs new product launches for content creators in the London office of YouTube, and assists with career issues in tech developers, product managers, designers and other professionals.
We share with you the transcript of the broadcast and the recording.
My name is Alina, and today I will talk about such a wonderful topic as an international career in IT.
I titled the topic “You can't stay to go”, and I hope that after this webinar you will have more ideas on how to place commas in your case. I would like to talk about key issues in a career abroad with an eye to IT, what conditions exist, what questions you should ask before thinking about moving. The topic is discussed a lot on the forums, a lot of questions about different countries were on the announcement page. Therefore, I would like to talk today about what will be important to you when you move. Everything that I will tell you today is based on my experience: I have lived in different countries, studied at different universities and worked in different companies.
I also founded the Verbetcetera project , which helps people find a career globally, around the world, regardless of background, education and origin. I worked for Google, also did coding courses for non-technical candidates. I originally had a non-technical education, I got skills through bootcamps, learned to code, and so on. I am currently working on product launches for the YouTube product team. From my previous experience - I also worked in Google advertising products, did career conferences and graduate recruitment projects - that is, I know firsthand the career issues of guys, both young professionals and experienced ones.
I have lived in China, Poland, Great Britain, Ireland and the USA; in some of these countries I studied, in some I worked. Actually, based on this, today I will talk about how to ask questions about your career from the angle of moving - do you need to move. First, we will talk about the motivation for moving abroad, about the important issues for making a decision at your current point. Then we'll talk about the types of companies to relocate and the application process; We will not go deeply - we will not disclose questions about resumes, interviews today, we will only cover the main steps in the process. Let's talk a little about questions about different countries - what you should pay attention to when you think about which country to go to. Let's talk about salaries - I would like to consider this issue in detail today, because what will make up your income,a lot of interesting things. And career advancement in a new place - that is, you received the coveted offer, you received an offer to move, and what, in fact, will happen to you?
Small disclaimer. I read the questions and thought that for some reason many people start thinking from the end - in which country they pay more, in which country the conditions are better. You need to start with yourself: what is your position now, in what situation you are. It is also important to think about the country, but you need to start with your needs. Your story will be very different even from the stories of your friends and classmates who may have moved or, conversely, did not. Each has its own story, this is an important point. Don't compare yourself to other people - compare yourself only to yourself and to the skills, education and conditions that you have.
Why is it important? Let's start with the fact that the motivations of people to move abroad are very different, in terms of career. I have listed some of the questions people usually come to consult with; they say - I want to move, and they tell a list of motivational moments. It consists of something like the following. They feel that it will be better in another company, that they are underestimated in the company, that conflicts are insoluble; they are dissatisfied with the level of their colleagues, it seems to them that they have no one to learn from - this is one of the most frequent moments; they are unhappy with their manager, who does not value them. In general, it seems to them that working in a new place will bring them happiness. However, in 99% of cases, changing jobs does not solve your problems, but only repackages them and sometimes adds new ones (especially if you move to a new country). Therefore, if you believethat you need to move or change jobs for a reason on this list - think twice. Dig again; perhaps in the current place you can change something, talk to someone differently, perhaps think about raising.
But there are other aspects as well. Perhaps your motivation consists of other points: for example, you want to work on a certain product that is made only by a certain team in a certain country. Let's say Netflix is only made in California, and you want to go there because you love Netflix madly. Or you like the tasks that a specific company offers, or career growth, prospects: for example, you know that in a new company you will grow into a leader. Or you work for a corporation, but want a startup so that you have more autonomy, your own team, and so on. Or you can learn something in a new place; many technical guys go for certain skills, and business guys go, for example, to learn how to build fast-growing companies. This is also a normal motivation.
If you want to move to a new city or country, you also need to be careful here, following the same logic. If you think that some aspect of life will be much better in another country, I would recommend that you study this issue, because, most likely, your idea is illusory. Perhaps this particular aspect will be better, but several other aspects will be added that will annoy you no less, or even more. Some of the most common complaints from people who move are about taxes and health care; there may be other aspects of life that in a familiar country a person did not like very much, but suited him.
And the last one is if you want to grow in salary, but in the current market you are no longer offered, and you know that this is your ceiling. An important point: along with how your salary grows when you move abroad, so will your living costs. You need to keep this in mind, and we will talk about how to calculate expenses.
So, you have answered the question for yourself: do you want to work abroad for one reason or another. For example, you want to gain international experience, you are interested in a specific product and team, you believe that you will learn a lot, grow into a leader, or simply discover a new market for yourself. Start by asking yourself questions. Here are the important questions to decide: Who are you at the moment? What is your current experience? Are you a junior specialist with less than 3 years of experience, are you a specialist with some experience (middle, 3-7-10 years), or are you really an experienced specialist (senior, 7-10+ years) and a leader? There are also levels higher than senior, but, conditionally, senior already has a lot of experience and you have something to carry with you. This is important because most likely if you are a junior and you are moving to a certain company and you need sponsorship for an internship, for examplethen there will be fewer opportunities for this than experienced specialists. Experienced specialists and middlemen in certain specialties will be transported more easily than Juns. The younger you are, the longer you may have to wait. But maybe some companies have relocation campaigns. It is better to look at the companies that will accurately, reliably transport you - more often than not, this is more of a company, a corporation, we will talk about this later.we'll talk about this later.we'll talk about this later.
Your skills. I recently spoke at a webinar, and there they discussed what skills are "transferable" - that is, they can be applied in different companies. Technical skills, programming skills are just the most "transferable" ones. If you are a lawyer, sales manager or PR specialist, then competencies are no longer so easy to transport abroad, because they are tied to the local market. If you are a specialist in the CIS markets, then your experience in Europe will be less relevant. But, for example, databases or machine learning will definitely be relevant everywhere. You are in a plus if there is "transferability", but absence is not an absolute blocker. When I moved, I had no technical skills and was a junior with no formal work experience, but nevertheless I got a job at one of the largest tech companies in the world.
The third is your education. Do you have an exchange study, and do you have a second education in your plans. This is important because education is one of the easiest and smoothest ways to move. If you move as a student, then you move at a relatively young age (most often), it is easier for you to integrate into the environment, because when you study, there is the same learning environment, a group, people with a similar background who have just moved and are integrating into Wednesday. And, accordingly, it will be easier for you to integrate. Therefore, education is an option, you can get a master's degree or PhD there, if you already have your first education, or you can go to a bachelor's degree, if this is relevant for you. Studying on an exchange is also great, especially if it is a specific country; let's say you studied in England and move to England to work,and it will be easier for local companies to accept you at the screening. They will know the university, for them some London University of Something will be more understandable than even Moscow State University.
Your interests and long-term plans - we will talk about this at the end, but I want to outline something. You have moved, your dream has come true, great - but who do you want to be next? Do you want to grow into a leader, or do you want to grow into a specialist?
The penultimate point is the so-called people dependent on you when you move, your family, or the so-called dependents. Family means your spouse, children, possibly someone else from the family whom you carry with you. This is important because different visas have different travel conditions. You can move with the condition that you will be tied to work with a certain company, but your dependent - husband or wife - will be able to work in any company. This is great because it doesn't limit them. But the situation may be the opposite - you move, and your dependent will not be able to work on a visa in this country. And then it will be harder for two, three people both financially and in terms of integration.
The last point is your age and nationality. You do not have to report this anywhere - to HR, or to anyone else; it is not a blocking factor when moving. But you need to keep in mind that for certain countries there may be different views on obtaining visas. If you have an EU passport, that's great, the whole EU is open to you; if you do not have a second passport and need sponsorship, then this adds extra effort to resolving the issue of a work permit.
There are three types of companies to consider. The first is IT giants and corporations that can easily sponsor visas. The relocation process will be relatively smooth, there will be good compensation in most cases (relative to the market), the relocation process for such companies is well established. If they want to transport a specialist, they transport him, they have debugged all HR processes to make visas, confirmations, so that you come and start working without problems. The downsides are a complicated interview process and high competition for positions. Since they transport well, many people want to get to them - especially FAANG companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google). There are certain processes to go through and your interview will not be easy. In addition, in a large company, you will have slow growth - there are a lot of people, processes can be slowed down.If you are more of a startup entrepreneur by nature, you may be bored. The third disadvantage is attachment to the employer in terms of the visa; if you are moving with a sponsor, he can set you different conditions. For example, you may be prohibited from doing some of your projects or moving without losing your status. So, in Ireland, if you work for a company for two years, then you have the right to stay in the country and change your employer. And in the UK, you immediately lose your status, and you need to immediately, within a month, find a new sponsor in order to be eligible to stay in the country.you may be prohibited from doing some of your projects or moving without losing your status. So, in Ireland, if you work for a company for two years, then you have the right to stay in the country and change your employer. And in the UK, you immediately lose your status, and you need to immediately, within a month, find a new sponsor in order to be eligible to stay in the country.you may be prohibited from doing some of your projects or moving without losing your status. So, in Ireland, if you work for a company for two years, then you have the right to stay in the country and change your employer. And in the UK, you immediately lose your status, and you need to immediately, within a month, find a new sponsor in order to be eligible to stay in the country.
The next type of companies are mature startups (that is, already full-fledged companies - they may have, for example, a D or E series) and other medium-sized companies that are growing rapidly. What is good about them: most likely, there is also the possibility of sponsorship, and if the company develops rapidly, rapid growth as a specialist is possible. In addition, fast-growing companies can provide compensation packages, options - after some time, if the company makes a good IPO, you can sell shares at a high price, and in this one job (five years, let's say) you will provide yourself for years in advance. Of course, you still have to get into such a company, there is some competition. On the downside, if the company still has a startup culture and it is actively growing, then the work culture and workload can be unpredictable. Such as in a corporation - so that at 18.00 to close the computer and leave, and not think about anything until the morning - probably, it may not be. You will need to constantly be in touch, work hard, perhaps on weekends. In addition, in such companies there is some degree of uncertainty compared to corporations; from companies that are growing rapidly, it is not clear what to expect. There may be different situations, some HR processes may not be worked out or may not play such a big role for the candidate. That is, you need to be careful and, if possible, communicate with people who already work there and know what is meant by working in this company.in such companies there is some degree of uncertainty compared to corporations; from companies that are growing rapidly, it is not clear what to expect. There may be different situations, some HR processes may not be worked out or may not play such a big role for the candidate. That is, you need to be careful and, if possible, communicate with people who already work there and know what is meant by working in this company.in such companies there is some degree of uncertainty compared to corporations; from companies that are growing rapidly, it is not clear what to expect. There may be different situations, some HR processes may not be worked out or may not play such a big role for the candidate. That is, you need to be careful and, if possible, communicate with people who already work there and know what is meant by working in this company.
Finally, early stage startups. This is the most risky type of company to move to, in my opinion, and I would not recommend moving to such a startup. With startups in the pre-seed or seed stage, nothing is clear yet. Leaving a high-paying job in Moscow for them, for example, is not worth it in most cases. It's one thing if you stay in the country and don't move, don't take your family with you and don't rebuild your whole life, and it's another thing if you do all this, and after six months or a year the startup runs out of money, or there is no product / market fit, and things somehow go wrong. From the pros - if you are confident in the idea and founders of the startup, if you are ready to take risks, if you are confident that you can grow very well, and you are called to a C-level position - and you always wanted to be a CTO, for example,and no one else is ready to offer you such a position now - then, perhaps, it is worth starting to work with such a company. Maybe start from a distance, with some other conditions; then, perhaps, you will move to them. Your fast growth is guaranteed, a very steep learning curve. If the startup takes off and you stay with it, then the same advantages come out as with the previous type of company: that is, your share in the company will be very expensive. But not all startups work that way. In addition, early startups have a very low probability of sponsorship: it is unlikely that such a company will be able to sponsor your visa. If they promise a visa, ask the conditions again, or 2-3-5 times, and do not make plans until you are sure that there will be visa sponsorship. Different countries have different requirements for companies to sponsor visas: revenue,the number of people in the state, other criteria. Therefore, if a startup promises to sponsor a visa, it is not a fact that it will be able to do so. Be neat.
I'll tell you about the main stages of job search. The main idea is that you should spend an average of 6 months on your job search. Maybe it will be faster, maybe not. It just seems like 6 months is a long time; not really. After making a decision, when you understand that your motivation is correct, you are on the right track, and you want to move to a certain company (or a company of a certain rank or type - you will have a list), it will take a very long time for you to prepare. Many good specialists in the Russian-speaking space, when they come to career consultants, say: but I actually never looked for a job, they always hunt me, they offer me a job. But there is a big difference; in your local market, you and your company may be known, but in the international market, most likely, no one has heard of you and your company.If you don't have a network or a brand name behind you, you have to work on your own. That is, you need to write your own resume (CV), carry out networking work - communicate with people, see who can recommend you somewhere, and start sending out your resume. I am a supporter of entering it through the network, and not through the company's website (ie cold), because the percentage of “cold” responses is very small. Your best bet is to look for people who already work for the company and can recommend you.cold), because the percentage of “cold” responses is very small. Your best bet is to look for people who already work for the company and can recommend you.cold), because the percentage of “cold” responses is very small. Your best bet is to look for people who already work for the company and can recommend you.
So, you write a CV, draw up a motivation letter if needed (most IT companies don't require them now), also create LinkedIn - don't forget about that. As a case study, I was just found from Google via LinkedIn, I myself did not apply. A person went to my LinkedIn profile, thought that I would be suitable for a certain vacancy with the Russian language, and suggested that I apply. I tell everyone this story, and everyone immediately goes to make profiles for themselves. Don't underestimate the power of LinkedIn - this is a really important page about you.
It takes you about a month. If you are currently working full-time at your main job, then you have to allow time for finding a new job. Next, you create a so-called network, surround yourself with people who can help you further, recommend you. This also takes time and is best done in parallel. Moreover, it's great if you already have many friends, acquaintances, former colleagues who have moved; it is best if these are colleagues - they already know you in a professional setting, and when they recommend you for a position in another company, this will already be a professional recommendation. That is, a referral is considered valid if it is from a colleague who worked with you.
It takes you another month to figure out where you will apply. In addition to the network, you make a list of companies to which you will send your resume - we will talk about this list later. You are preparing for interviews. It is better to use, for example, the possibility of training with the people who work there. There are many free chats for preparing for product development interviews, and there are great services. Both can be used. I recommend starting with free, and then moving to paid ones, because, most often, on paid services, people who already work for the company conduct mock interviews for you. That is, you can very quickly understand, at a time, how they are interviewing in a certain company - what they are looking at, what they are not looking at. This will save you a lot of trying. That is, if you apply to a specific company,and you receive a refusal after an algorithmic interview, it must take some time before you can apply again - 3 months, 6 months, a year. In order to save these attempts, it is better to spend 50-100-200 dollars on paid test interviews and not waste time.
An important point: interviews are in English. If you have never participated in interviews in English, then it is better to start now. Choose a business English tutor, do mock interviews with those who can listen to you in English. Language is critical for most companies. But, of course, if you are going to work for a French company in Paris, then you will need to train the French language. For some roles, language is critical, for some it is not; for example, it is less critical for developers than for product managers, sales managers, even software project managers who need to constantly communicate with people.
So, you've prepared for your interview. You find a position, you start applying - and, most likely, you will receive responses. Or refusals, or invitations to interviews. The interview processes, especially if these are large companies, are quite long, sometimes dreary and take from two weeks to three months, and sometimes even six months (this gives an average of 6 months). I have several acquaintances who have been on Google for six months - and this is just waiting for an offer and an interview, that is, not counting getting visas and moving.
You received your offer - we talked, everything is great. You are given an offer, signing it is also a week or two; if you want to negotiate some conditions for yourself, it will turn out rather two weeks. And then - moving and going to work. Before you move, you will need to get a visa; visas in different countries are made in different ways. As an example: a visa can be made to one country in a week, to another - you can be forced to take a language test, for example. When I moved to the UK, I suddenly had to take IELTS - right here and now. I already had a start date in the contract, everything was already discussed, but the visa rules said: no, first you need to confirm the language. Although the confirmation is pretty minimal, 4 out of 9 in IELTS, they needed paper. And for the paper, you need to pass the exam and wait for the results, which delays the process for another 1-2 months.Therefore - mortgage 6 months, and this is ideal.
I had a list of questions in my presentation, which now will have to be reduced somewhat.
Think about your requirements: what's your ideal option? Let's say you want to work for an IT company of this size, in such and such a country, and that's enough for you. Or do you say: I am moving with my wife and two children, and I need a certain salary, and this is key for me - if the salary is lower, then I will not even go to the best company in the world. Or do you say: I don’t want to do routine tasks, I want to be a strategist and think at a strategic level about a product, a team, and sales. My recommendation is to sit down and honestly think about what is a dilbreaker for you, the thing that is critical for you in this conditional transaction. That is, in principle, work is a deal: you sell your time to the employer, and you need to understand what is key for you in this deal, which you cannot refuse. Take a piece of paper and identify the three most important questions,be honest with yourself.
What I noticed is that people who begin to think about moving abroad often have a somewhat illusory idea of how it is there. For example, you read a book or watch a video of a CEO, for example, from Netflix, speaking about how his company works, and you decide that everything is exactly like that. But in reality, everything may be different - it may be similar, or it may not be. What can you do? Take a scientific approach. Try to start by researching the questions - are you asking the right questions about what is important to you, and whether what is in your imaginations really exists. Form a list of hypotheses about the culture in which the conditional company operates, and then confirm or refute these hypotheses. To do this, you can talk with people who work in this company, read employee blogs;in fact, you can find a lot on the internet. You can learn more about work culture and more on the wonderful Glassdoor site - everything is much closer to reality there than in books or CEO speeches.
Then you evaluate the results on hypotheses and see what suits you and what doesn't. For example, someone says: there are big salaries in America. You are like: well, the salaries are big, but what are the costs of living there? Or the same for London, or for Singapore. You start to research; it might be worth talking to someone, reading, looking at sites. And only then confirm or refute these hypotheses for yourself.
The last one for this block. I read a lot of questions with the content “is it possible to go from a certain university and get a job in a certain company” or “is it possible to get a job in this company without higher education”. I would say that the key is your relevant experience. Not even your education: in many countries they don't look at diplomas. In Germany, for example, they look: they give out "blue cards", and they have certain requirements for education. But this is not a blocker - that is, it is not the only country and not the only condition. Maybe there is some other way if you want to go to a certain country. In many countries, there is no need to confirm a diploma, the need for specialized education. For example, you are now working as a developer, and your education is non-core. Will this be a blocker for you? Most likely there is some other way.Even if someone told you, or you read somewhere that this is a blocker, check again before confirming the hypothesis. Perhaps, if there is another way, or another country, or another company, where it is not critical.
How do you know if you are the right fit for the company? The easiest and most effective way is, again, to use a scientific approach. Let's test our hypothesis. For example, I say, I believe my experience is relevant to the TikTok company. I send my resume there or find a person who works there and ask for a recommendation. If I get a refusal - most likely, I do not fit them, or I do not fit at the moment, or I incorrectly determined the position that I would fit. This is normal, there is nothing to worry about. Try and expand your selection. As a benchmark, I always cite the example of my classmate: when we studied at the magistracy, he really wanted to get an internship abroad, but since he was a student, it was difficult (as I said, young professionals are most difficult - a special reason to transport He was absent).And he wrote 300 LinkedIn emails to directors of various venture capital funds, financial institutional investors and other guys who had at least some positions open on the sites. He ended up finding a job, he was invited to Singapore, he did a great job there, got the coolest internship of us all. And he just wiggled his brains a little and approached the search in a slightly different way. Of those people that I know, there is practically not a single one who would go “cold” into a large company - perhaps that says something; and my sample is pretty large. In general, look for people who can help you.he did a great job there, got the coolest internship of us all. And he just wiggled his brains a little and approached the search in a slightly different way. Of those people that I know, there is practically not a single one who would go “cold” into a large company - perhaps that says something; and my sample is pretty large. In general, look for people who can help you.he did a great job there, got the coolest internship of us all. And he just wiggled his brains a little and approached the search in a slightly different way. Of those people that I know, there is practically not a single one who would go “cold” into a large company - perhaps that says something; and my sample is pretty large. In general, look for people who can help you.
I will only say this about choosing a position in a company: look at your experience honestly, see if you have relevant experience for a particular position. This is a key indicator. Whatever university you have in your CV, it won't make a big difference; at most, if it is an Ivy League university, it can affect the invitation to interview - and only that. Don't give yourself blockers just because you have an irrelevant education, or don't have a cool previous work experience. Submit, and then draw conclusions. Test hypotheses and don't make decisions ahead of time.
Further on the slide, which we do not see now (the link will definitely be on the page), there is an assignment: make a list of companies that are of interest to you, starting with 10 companies. I always recommend applying to 10 companies a week, this is your benchmark. That is, every month you apply to 40 companies - based on this sample, you can draw conclusions. On the basis of 2-3 companies, normal conclusions cannot be drawn, although people often do so - they choose 1-2-3 desired vacancies, apply "cold" and wait; it usually doesn't work out, and as a result, they believe they will never find a job. Don't do this - it's an unrepresentative sample, an ineffective way of presenting it. In addition, many thousands of resumes come to companies, you are definitely not the only ones with them, they may not even answer you. Take care of your career. Even if you are a really cool specialist,try going to different places and see how other companies react to you. Look at all the options, don't be limited to 2-3 companies. You need to apply ten per week - this is the average rate of submission, as quickly as possible (although, conventionally, not all cities open 10 new vacancies per week). Try it. Sometimes you can even go to a company that is less in line with your dreams and ideas, but in the end, if you talk to them - firstly, you are training interviews, secondly, it may end up with an offer, and thirdly - the likelihood of competing offers, for which you really should talk to everyone. That is, let's say you talked to a "less interesting" company and you got an offer. But after a while, another offer comes to you - from the company that you wanted and dreamed of getting into.Then you can, in the place where you really want, try to raise your salary thanks to a competing offer. Just say, "you know, I have other offers competing with yours - let's raise my salary by 10%." I know people who, due to competing offers, raised their salaries by 20-30%. There is a cool video on YouTube from a developer who switched from Uber to Airbnb, titled "How I negotiated a 300K offer" (that is, he bargained for himself $ 300,000 in compensation per year - taking into account the basic salary, promotions, bonuses, and so on) ... In general, you can bargain. Talk to everyone.competing with yours - let me raise my salary by 10% ”. I know people who, due to competing offers, raised their salaries by 20-30%. There is a cool video on YouTube from a developer who switched from Uber to Airbnb, titled "How I negotiated a 300K offer" (that is, he bargained himself $ 300,000 in compensation per year - taking into account the basic salary, promotions, bonuses, and so on) ... In general, you can bargain. Talk to everyone.competing with yours - let me raise my salary by 10% ”. I know people who, due to competing offers, raised their salaries by 20-30%. There is a cool video on YouTube from a developer who switched from Uber to Airbnb, titled "How I negotiated a 300K offer" (that is, he bargained for himself $ 300,000 in compensation per year - taking into account the basic salary, promotions, bonuses, and so on) ... In general, you can bargain. Talk to everyone.Talk to everyone.Talk to everyone.
I would like to say a few words about visa conditions in different countries. The difficulty differs in different countries - how difficult it is to get into the country, get a visa; also - are there requirements for education and language proficiency. As I said, this is important for some countries. However, this is not the only option; perhaps you even move as someone's dependent - this can also be. In any case, it is better to read these things on a country-by-country basis. For the UK, there is a requirement for knowledge of English at a level not lower than 4 points out of 9 on IELTS, and the presence of confirmation of this test - or education in English is required (that is, education in England or the USA). There are no such requirements in Ireland. In addition, in Ireland you need to work for a visa sponsor for two years, and then you can get a job in any company without those restrictions,which are in the UK. There are also no language requirements in Poland; as far as I remember, in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic they are not there either. That is, I named six European countries where, as I know, a lot of children got jobs, but these are not the only countries. If you have a dream, pursue it: for example, if you want to work in Paris, aim for Paris, there are also startups there. In general, my summary: there are always vacancies in some specific locations that you may be interested in.In general, my summary: there are always vacancies in some specific locations that you may be interested in.In general, my summary: there are always vacancies in some specific locations that you may be interested in.
As for Asia: a lot of guys moved to Singapore, a little to Japan. As for China and other countries, it's a little harder to move there. In Southeast Asia, the guys moved to all kinds of startups a few years ago.
The only country that I would like to mention separately is the United States: this country is quite strict on the topic of visas, it is rather difficult to get there. I would not count on getting there the first time. There are several types of visas. There is a lottery opening on H1B and it is quite difficult to get into it. You cannot be sure that you will receive it. L1 can be issued after you have worked for a company with an office in the United States for 1 year: then the company can transport you to the United States. Or O1 - "talent visa": after proving that you are "talent" (that is, you have publications, conferences, etc.), you can move to the United States.
The next question is salaries and other financial issues. The site to watch for salaries is still Glassdoor, although the data there may be inaccurate. The most accurate way is to talk to people on the spot, although you can start with an approximate Glassdoor figure. For example, you google "product manager salaries in Berlin" - the salaries of a product manager in Berlin - and you see the average. The same goes for London, New York, other cities, developers, designers and other professionals. So what's important besides your basic paycheck? There are six main types of income to talk about.
The first is the base salary, the basic salary. In Western countries, it is usually written as an amount per year, before taxes, while in Russian-speaking countries, it is usually written "net salary" - what you get your hands on after taxes. For example, there is a website Levels.fyi for first-tier companies ("FAANG") - and there salaries are indicated exactly before taxes. When Russian-speaking people go there and see, for example, 120 thousand dollars a year, they often have a reaction like "ohh, is this all for me?" Actually - no: taxes, state taxes, various other taxes. The final salary may be good, but it depends on the location, on what costs you will have.
The second is an annual bonus. The standard annual bonus figure is approximately 15%; it can be more or less. You take your salary, drive it into the tax calculator (more on that later) and see how much you have left on your hands. You add 15% to your salary, this will be a bonus - it is issued in December or January (sometimes divided into two tranches).
You should also think about options or stocks. This is optional, no one is obliged to give them to you, but if it is a fast-growing IT company, then you can discuss in advance (usually it is written in the contract) the receipt of shares. Sometimes they are even more important than salary. If you have joined a rapidly growing company and received a significant number of shares, then you will be able to sell them when the company goes public. There were just a couple of IPOs recently, of which all employees in the first hundred people who joined companies turned out to be millionaires; they just worked in the company for 5-7 years (or even 2-3 years), having received their option at the beginning, and after the IPO they were provided with a comfortable life for years to come.
The next type of income is benefits. The essence of benefits depends on what exactly the company can provide you with beyond what I have already mentioned. This can be payment for food, gym, medical care, specialized education (50%, or even 100%). That is, it can be very cool, and it should also be counted as income, which may not yet be taxed. Let's say you want to learn some technology, take some additional course. There are different courses - there are 50 dollars, and there are 1000. And if a company pays such a course for 1000 dollars, this is a good bonus to the basic salary.
Fifth is a relocation bonus to support your move. For example, you are moving in with your husband and two children. To move, you also need money - for a flight, for accommodation, for the purchase of the first things in order to live in a new place. All this can be compensated by the relocation bonus.
The latter is a sign-on bonus. Let's say you have two offers, from Facebook and from Amazon, and you choose Facebook over Amazon. And Facebook pays you a bonus for choosing exactly their offer. I don’t know what exactly the amounts are, but, conventionally, there is such a practice: the company gives more money simply for the fact that in the final process you chose them. This is the reason why I say that it is worth interviewing all the available companies and then choosing which one you like best.
So, you have calculated your income. In order to understand how much money you will have on hand, you google the tax calculator for a specific country - that is, a tax calculator. In certain countries, this varies from state to state (for example, in Germany - between states), there may be differences in taxes or other conditions. The tax may be different depending on the marital status, on the number of family members; in some countries it is more profitable to get married. All this is counted in the tax calculator. You need to deduct taxes from the sum of all those items that I have listed above. There remains an even greater part - the so-called cost of living, how much you will spend on life. The site numbeo.com will help a lot here (all links will be in the presentation) - there you can roughly count,how much life will cost (for one person or for a family of a certain number of people) in a certain city in the world. The site has digitized data for most cities. A very cool site for expats, where you can roughly calculate what your relative income will be - for example, if you make $ 120,000 in San Francisco, is that a lot for San Francisco or not enough? That is, you can calculate whether you will have enough for a living, and how much money will be left, if there is.whether you will have enough to live on, and how much money will remain, if there is.whether you will have enough to live on, and how much money will remain, if there is.
It is also important to consider the issues that are stopping many people. For example, this is a matter of children's education - if you are moving with your family. Free, paid, how much it costs, availability - this also needs to be taken into account. Many people change their plans at this point, because they find that they no longer have enough salaries to provide education of the same quality. Or, for example, a spouse and spouse will not be able to work, and this will also be difficult. Next, it is important whether you want to stay in the country and, for example, buy real estate in the country, in this city where you are moving. You take the cost of real estate in big cities - London, San Francisco, New York, start counting: will I be able to afford it, and in how many years, and what the mortgage will be. You also need to think about this, if it is essential for you to live in your own home,not removable. Although this is not a priority for many people, they are comfortable renting a house and do not think about purchasing; this is an important factor.
The last slide of the presentation is about planning your career and life in a new country. That is, what will be your goal after you receive the desired offer. Let's say you settled down, everything is great - what's next? Where are you growing, where are you going, what do you want to achieve in your chosen workplace? For example, you wanted to start your project, but since you moved to a new country (say, the UK), you are tied to one employer for five years. Or you can change employers within five days, but at the same time remain employed. And with the status employed, you cannot deal with your projects - and you had a dream to make your own startup. And you will have to wait five years, because according to visa rules, you cannot do something else of your own in your current place. Maybe you want to grow into a leader - you were already a leader before moving,but you move and understand that it is difficult for you. Because you do not have a network, or you are not so good at speaking the language spoken in the new place, or the company is large, or for some other reason - that is, it is difficult for you to become a leader here. And you ask yourself - what next? You usually understand such things already on the spot, but, nevertheless, you can think about them even before making a decision: "What do I want in the future 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years?" For example, I spoke at a consultation with one girl; she says: "I want to leave for 3 months in Asia in a year and work from there, how can I achieve this?" And yet she wanted to work for an international company. I said, well, practically nothing - this plan is not very consistent with what an international company will expect from you. And she will waitthat you will give all the best, will be constantly in the office or in the access zone (then we did not yet know that we would all work from home).
The last three questions are not related to your career, but to your life - and they are important. Do you want to get another citizenship in the country? For example, Switzerland is a good country to move to, with low taxes (20%) and high salaries. The cost of living is high, but the quality of life is also high. But you can become a citizen only after 10 years, after you are approved by the settlement in which you live. This means certain requirements, exams. Or Great Britain, which gives citizenship after 6 years, and the requirements are much lower. Some countries do not grant citizenship, do not recognize second citizenship, or, for example, you need to give up your current passport. And here you need to think - do you need it or do not need it, what is this country for you? You just want to live in it and move back,Or is it a transit point for you to go further, for example, to the USA? This is also a normal scenario - you go to one country, lived there for a year, moved to the USA, where your final goal was. Then you should be aware of this to yourself - that you are not in a certain country forever; conventionally, you don’t save your pension savings in it, don’t take out mortgages - in general, you don’t settle.
The second question is the prospects for family and education. I have already mentioned several times about the education of your children - it is important how much the school and university cost, what is the availability of baby care, whether someone can help you with this. Also - what, for example, is the policy for transporting a family, whether there is a practice of family reunification in the country or not; in general, countries do not. In the United States, for example, there is a visa for family reunification. And, if you, for example, have no children, but you think about it - then it is important what the policy is in this regard, what kind of maternity leave, is it possible for a spouse / spouse / partner to work, is the legal status of marriage necessary to move. Many people change their statuses to move as a couple.
And the third question is the prospects for long-term living. That is, do you see that you want to live in this country until retirement, or spend your retirement as well. Perhaps for many this is not relevant, but for many it is a foreseeable horizon that can be planned. And you can begin to roughly count so that you have an understanding: do you have assets to retire in this country, is it important for you to have a connection with your family, with relatives, is a part of it important for you, for example, traveling home ...
This concludes the presentation. I will definitely figure out how to leave a link to the presentation itself.
As a result of this whole story, I want to say that each situation is individual. Don't compare yourself to others - they most likely have a different situation with other elements. This is important to understand: in your story, everything is different. Focus on yourself, on your current desires, on whether you have relevant experience, whether you want to grow in the company, discover new horizons, and become an international specialist. It's really cool if you have experience that you can then sell, relatively speaking, anywhere in the world. From this point of view, an international career is your most important asset. Especially do not be afraid to think about it if you are young - in the sense that you do not have much experience, you can still take risks in your career, try something new, come back if you do not like it.This will not have global consequences, but, perhaps, will only expand your experience.
That's all for me. Our Telegram @verbetcetera, email info@verbetcetera.com. Write to us, visit our website Verbetcetera.com. On Telegram, we write various posts about international careers in IT - you can read everything about us there.
Q: will a Crimean college diploma be an obstacle to employment in Europe or the USA? Is higher education preferable for employment abroad, or secondary specialized is enough? Does June have a chance of getting a job in Ireland? It is also interesting about other countries.
I'll start at the end. June has a chance to get a job - I myself was a June when I got a job, and the first country where I worked was Ireland. Higher education or secondary - higher is preferable, but as I said, this is not a blocker; there are people who came with not the highest quality education, or from no-name universities. What exactly is a college if it is a Crimean college? I don't think this is too much of an obstacle; I would still be served and watched. Unfortunately, I did not have such candidates, but this does not mean that this is a blocker. I would serve and watch. Perhaps if you do not qualify for a position, it’s not about education; more often than not, it's about relevant experience, how well your experience matches what the company is looking for.
Q: With work experience it is quite easy to leave for Holland. I would like to know about Hong Kong, how is it with IT, are there any peculiarities when looking for a job and finding a job?
I was just studying in Hong Kong, although I was trying to find a job. For personal reasons, I decided not to stay there. There is a market there, but not that big, because it is more of a financial and logistics hub, and not an IT, although there are positions there. Minus China and Hong Kong - less international hubs than the same Singapore. It is much more international than Hong Kong in terms of IT projects. I would not look at Hong Kong. Although one of my friends was doing an IT startup there for a long time, but then he moved - he wanted to live in a different place.
Q: which countries can you leave with a higher education, but without a diploma - that is, without being able to confirm your education with papers for a visa?
This is a good question, but I have no experience with it. I know that you write it in CV anyway; as I said, for some countries it is not exactly your diploma that is important, but whether the company is ready to vouch for you. If the company sponsors you and guarantees that you are a good candidate for the move, then you can often move. There are countries for which paper confirmation is critical, but these are not all countries. In the UK, if the employer is ready to hire a candidate, a diploma is not required for the migration authorities - and the employer often does not look at the diploma if there is experience.
Thank you all, have a nice evening.
