Is it easier to get hired – from a visa/work permit standpoint – applying to a foreign office of a US firm vs. a foreign firm? I know the latter has a lot of hurdles – visa, sponsorship, plenty of work the foreign firm needs to do so it will most likely hire local. But in the former, is it common practice to hire locally and classify you as a transfer? Or are the hurdles pretty much identical in both cases?
You are a US person looking to go abroad? I doubt that there is a difference.
I asked this question before and the answer I got was basically along the lines of…If you are a US Citizen and want to go work in London for instance, you basically need to come from a target school pedigree/work at prestigious firm in the US/have a really good connection.
Thanks for the replies. Yes I am a US citizen and wanted to gauge how easy it would be to work abroad. Say for example, GS has two associate positions open – one in New York, the other in Germany; would landing the Germany position require less hurdles because GS is headquartered in the US, I’m a US citizen and they can classify me as a transfer? Or is it equivalent to me applying for a position at Deutsche Bank, where they are headquartered in Germany and most likely to hire local?
I’m just wondering if there is any difference or if abroad is abroad in all cases…
Given your situation…if you are US based and currently not with GS, you chance is 0%. Those positions are probably more geared toward local candidates.
Your best bet is to be working for a firm that has oversea presence and work your way to oversea office.
If it helps you to network in the company, I guess… It’s not a location specific thing though…
GS was just a hypothetical example.
I guess a better way to ask the question is – is it common practice for US banks to hire US employees and send them to their foreign offices, or do they prefer to staff their foreign offices with employees from that region?
This is the standard AF answer for practically everything.
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Yep, you’re right.
There is no universal answer to this question. It depends on the company, the culture, your specific job/skill set, etc.
For a lot of senior roles, Americans get sent to foreign offices, or to build up foreign officers.
If you’re referring to junior or entry-level positions, working abroad in a location you consider desirable is probably not very likely unless you come to the table with a unique skill set and/or networking ability.
Sold answer, thanks. I’m at the junior/associate level, so if hypothetically the chance of me landing a solid front-office position at a US firm – with no connections within that firm – was say 5% (humor me), would landing a job at one of their foreign offices – again with no connections – be higher or lower than that?
Or as you mentioned, is it firm specific?
You get hired into the US home office, make connections, then you get transferred abroad. Worked for me.
If you don’t have connections in the US office first, and actually get hired abroad, you’re easily cut.
Depends. There are many positions where they need a local (language, knowledge of local market, etc). Other times they want someone who knows the US culture, to watch the locals, and report back what is really fuckin’ happening in the field.