Applying for jobs after Erasmus

The struggle is real

I often find myself sad after every Erasmus experience which comes to an end, many questions stroll throw my mind about what my next step should be like, professionally speaking. I spent so much time to build an amazing CV, but now that I have accomplished it I still have a big dilemma in my head. Erasmus is a great program in which you learn how to gain confidence and experience so you think you can do whatever you set your mind. But as soon as Erasmus is over and speaking from my own experience, I was depressed many times and I didn't know what to do with my life. In all the Erasmus countries I went I always felt attached to that place; and for many reasons, whenever the time came to return home I felt like I didn't belong in Romania anymore.

Now is a completely different case, I finished my Erasmus once and for all and my second master as well so now I cannot get into summer jobs or seasonal jobs like I used to do almost every summer, now it is time to use my skills and the education I fought so hard to get and to accomplish, all my internships I did and all the struggle I have been through. Even though my two areas of studies are completely different from each other I need to find a balance and combine the both of them in order to find the perfect job, only the location is not quite settled yet.

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For example, in my home country, Romania, getting a job can be a real struggle; it doesn't matter if we are in the European Union or so because it doesn't do a difference for us students or freshly graduates. If I go to an interview in Romania is either they will tell me that I have an amazing CV but no experience or either I am overqualified, which is my case... and sincerely, how can I get a job if you don't give me the opportunity? Plus Romania is a country in which I would never work, I know this for sure; it has a bad economy and low salaries and no job opportunities at all, except if you relocate in the capital or other major city.

In Turkey, where I am currently, the situation is not so different, but just with another aspects, for example: if you do not speak well Turkish, it is almost impossible to get a job and if you do so, it is also hard to obtain a working residence permit because it is not like in Romania or many other countries where they may hire you like ''black market '', without contract or anything because is on their best interest not to pay taxes on you. In Turkey it does not work like this, contract is contract and they all obey to the rules so in my case, my Turkish is wack and I do not own a working permit.

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So what are the options left for me?

Since I know, I have always been attracted to Arabic countries; it is the feeling that you belong somewhere, I don't know, it is hard to explain with words. Maybe it is because my first experience abroad was in Egypt so I learned how to live among Muslim people and their religion and customs. It is not an easy world to be in but once you learn the ropes, adjust is a glorious path. For my nearest future, I have very few options in my mind regarding the professional area with my subjects being tourism and business administration with internships in real estate and international relations office (I already told you they are so different from each other). I am thinking to either try my luck somewhere in the Emirates or maybe the surroundings such as Qatar, Kuwait or my last chance and option must be the States, USA.

Applying online

Now that I am a free agent, I have started to search online for potential jobs which will satisfy my demands, and I have come across some nice websites which have a variety of jobs posts with a good system in which you can upload your CV and get pretty easy job interviews through Skype. I applied many times like this and I had plenty of interviews so far, but any of them have really convinced me to leave everything and go. The best thing about jobs in the Emirates, for example, is the fact that all your needs are included, you get a flight ticket, the visa fee and paperwork, the medical expences and a great salary and accomodation. At least, this is what they say they will provide you.

Skype interviews

During the skype interviews, they are not so much stressful as one could think. First, they will notice of course how is your level of English and how is your accent because once, I had a woman interviewing me, and Muhammet as well, and she said that his English was bad, which is totally not the case; his level of English is pretty good but I guess she didn't feel his accent or something, so be careful about that. After that, they usually go to your CV and they will ask about your job experiences and what did you do there. The most important question would be: "why do you think you are suitable for this position? ", so basically, just play a bit with them and tell them a story on how you are the best on what you do and Voilà! The job can be yours so easy!

I will share with you, guys, 2 of my favorite websites in which I constantly apply for jobs.

• Naukrigulf
• Bayt

I found the first website about 2 or 3 years ago and they say it's the biggest platform for jobs in the Emirates, indeed, the jobs are posted by country and city and by areas of work. I found it pretty nice organized with the possibility to upload your own CV, build your own profile, choose the categories in which you want to apply for and get also notifications by email on future job openings or other opportunities. I have a profile there and I think tha the response back is sometimes pretty fast but other times is like they did not see my CV or i don't know... Once you upload your CV into the platform is pretty easy to apply to jobs, you just need to find the right suitable job for you and press "apply", but there is a catch: it is either you can apply and it is easy like that, but some companies redirect you to their own page and then in order to apply you must create an account there also, I totally hate when this happens. But overall, I go to this site whenever I want to search something. So I gave it a 5 star recommendation!

I have discovered the second website recently, they both have almost the same platform but a bit different somehow. Strategy is the same: you upload your CV or you can create then your profile, and what I noticed was that after you create your base you can upload it into the date base for someone who is specialized with creating CV 's, so they can analyze it and give you a feedback on what you need to add or remove, which I think is a plus from the other site. Someone told me recently that the key to have a great CV or job interview is not to write all the studies and things you did because it may become a bit overwhelming so they will not hire you if they feel below you. I do not know if is a good tip but I will try it in the future.

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As for some tips, I think I will just say what everybody else tells you: be yourself and speak out loud what motivates you and what new can you bring to the table. Of course, some of the best assets are some of the key words that I always use in my CV or interviews, such as:

• Hard worker.
• Great asset.
• Highly motivated.
• Work under pressure.
• Sociable.
• Punctual.
• Positive and optimistic.

Just add one of this words to your CV and it will make a difference.

So guys, I wish everybody to find their dream job and if you have also some tips or websites I can use too, please, add them in the comments below; I will really appreciate it or any type of recommendation that can make a difference. Maybe someone will also use my websites and I will be thankful if I could help.

Finding job is never easy but we, as Erasmus vets, have a plus which can offer us a great job and opportunities. Always make sure that they are 100% safe and make a lot of research before, especially if they are outside your country; it is very important to find great and safe jobs.

So good luck to everybody!

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