Preparing for the recruitment boom – Expanding your skills in lockdown

Adjusting to a new country, and even a new career certainly has its difficulties. Whether you’re looking to relocate overseas once lock down is eased, or simply looking at trying a new career path teaching online, now is the perfect time to expand your skill set. From preparing your job application, learning how to put together lesson plans and even learning the language, we’ve taken our personal experiences as expats and put together a list of great resources to help you on your way and give your CV a boost when it comes to applying for your latest position.

Learn a language

Over 60% of expats stated that the language barrier was one of their main concerns when relocating overseas. It’s proven that the “expat bubble”, in which those who have recently emigrated feel closed-off socially, can be greatly reduced by learning the local language, even to a basic level.

Learning the basics is highly advantageous as it somehow helps you build a rapport and connect with the locals. And just based from my experience, if I speak a word or two in the local language, the faces of the locals will light up upon hearing it resulting to them being more friendly towards me. 

– April Cafe, Legalisation Specialist and Expat at our Dubai branch

Not only can it help you integrate better, it will help you socially and allow you to immerse yourself more freely in the local culture of your new home! Knowing even the basics of the local language not only shows your willingness and your passion for learning, it can help your CV stand out from the crowd which will make a huge difference if the sector you are applying in in highly saturated.

Everyone learns differently of course, and the chance to practice when you’ve learned when you arrive will be a huge help. But if you want to boost your confidence in the basics before you even depart, a language course or lessons is a great way to go.

If you’d like to learn 1-to-1 with a native speaker with online lessons, iTalki is the market leader. You can browse their huge range of online tutors in any language you choose, and opt for an introductory lesson, or jump straight in! You can also get $ 10 extra lesson credit added to your account after your first lesson, exclusively with Vital Consular. Just follow this link to get started.

If an app on-the-go is more your learning style, Rocket Languages has you covered. You can learn online or via the app, with a FREE 7 day trial with Vital Consular. With interactive lessons, you’ll learn quickly and gain skills to hold simple conversations within your first few lessons. Simply choose your language to get started today:

• Korean
• Chinese
• Arabic
• Spanish
• Russian
• French
• Japanese

However you choose to learn the language, be proactive. It should be fun as well as highly valuable when getting to know the language of your destination country, and will put you in a much stronger position for your relocation to be a success.

Learn new skills in ESL

Whether you’re looking to expand on your current skills or contemplating taking a new path when restrictions are lifted, learning something new will boost your confidence in your first steps. It can be extremely nerve wracking for those who have no experience teaching, even if you opt to teach online classes. Although some companies offer excellent support and guidance, your first experiences can feel terrifying.

Assistance from others with real-life experience can be invaluable, as well as being as prepared as possible with your lesson plans as this can give you a great structure to work from.

If you’re looking to teach ESL online permanently, or fancy getting in some teaching experience for when you can make the move overseas in the future, there are some great courses with SkillShare. You can learn from the experienced ESL tutors, including topics such as:

• Classroom management
• How to construct lessons plans
• How to land your first online ESL job
• Teach ESL online to Chinese students
• How to build rapport in online classes
• Preparation for CELTA teacher training
• And lots more!

You can get 2 months free premium access to SkillShare, courtesy of Vital Consular. This is a great opportunity to get some studying in and learn new skills to get yourself prepared for your next adventure!

Hone you work & life skills

There are many other skills which would be useful to improve before you decide to relocate, and that includes those which can help you progress and strengthen your productivity as well as more personal expertise such as learning mindfulness and organisational skills.

SkillShare can help with a wide range of workshops and courses on all of these topics, including:

• Management
• Productivity
• Mindfulness
• Managing Finances
• Improving Job Applications

You can browse the range of thousands of courses on SkillShare and enjoy 2 months of premium access on a FREE trial through our exclusive links.

Mindfulness

It shouldn’t be all work at the moment, as down time and mindfulness is just as important. We’d love to introduce LSW Mind Cards to you, which can really help in difficult times such as these. You can sit and use this pack of 45 unique cards in your daily journaling, something to look through whilst you relax or pull a single card at the start of each day to help motivate you and give you a focus for the day ahead.

LSW Mind Cards are designed to help you to become more mindful of your thoughts and feelings and give you the tools needed to take back control of your happiness, focus on the present and spread positivity throughout your life.

As an exclusive for our readers, we have negotiated any FREE guided meditation with any purchase of the LSW Mind Cards. Simply add any meditation you like to your basket and use our code VITALCONSULAR to get this deducted from your total.

Need help with your documents moving overseas?

If you are relocating overseas for work purposes, you may require your documents legalising for your visa or work permit. Get in touch today to speak to our friendly team. Wherever your documents were issued and wherever they’re going to, we can help.