Moving to another state or country for a job is a huge undertaking, so you’ll want to know that you’re going to be challenged and not feel stuck in your role. So instead of “What do you think of my country?”, ask “What do you think your parents generation thinks of my country?” This has at least three advantages: It takes the pressure of offending you off of your friend. And it seems perfectly harmless small talk. This is your chance to meet someone from a different country. The extra questions on the list must be aimed towards determining whether the candidate sitting in front of you is serious about a move to South Africa. We and third parties such as our customers, partners, and service providers use cookies and similar technologies ("cookies") to provide and secure our Services, to understand and improve their performance, and to serve relevant ads (including job ads) on and off LinkedIn. It’s important that you and your potential employer are on the same page with when you can begin working. * Two other questions that could be asked are: Dealing with work visas in South Africa can be troublesome, so when you’ve found a serious foreign candidate you have struck gold. 3) Will the company cover the cost of my flight? Knowing if a company has ever hired someone from abroad before will tell you a lot about how comfortable they are with it. Having been through this process several times myself, and now having helped others do the same since starting BrainGain, I have created a series of questions that I believe everyone should ask to a potential employer when working abroad. Work 9-5, then go search in unknown neighborhoods by night, all during your first few weeks in a country. So I shall now ask you a few questions about your culture and your symptoms." Not all questions may be appropriate. When searching for a job abroad however, these certainties fly out the window. If they have, probe a bit further. It’s usually easy to tell when a company is being shady, and if you can sense a lack of transparency, run for the hills! You might be interested to hear what their school day is like back home. Of course, not all questions are equal. 25 interesting questions to ask people to get to know someone: 1. By using this site, you agree to this use. In this situation the question you have to ask yourself is “Do I want to handle this myself?” This is something only you can answer, and will be a common trend throughout. Who did you come to South Africa with – alone or with family? Know what questions to ask your family members. 2) What is the typical deposit like? You should always make sure to ask questions to a company about their mission and vision, why they want to bring you on board, how many team members you will work with, who you will report to, etc., but we commonly see the questions above overlooked because people are simply new to the process and are unprepared with their genuine curiosity (it’s a good thing!). However when working internationally, this rarely happens. If you come in saying “I want to break even every month”, it’s a much different conversation than, “I want to save $2k USD every month.” Come in from this perspective and it will help you save a lot of math and confusion on both sides. This routine is enough to break anyone. The Task . If you can think of another good question … Having the right questions to ask prepared goes a long way in helping you to connect with people more effectively. This will give you a great understanding of your day to day responsibilities and how steep of a learning curve you will have when you come on board. Set aside time for your internal candidates to ask questions. Has the applicant ever lived and worked overseas before? What does the candidate know about South Africa and where did they get the information from? To judge a candidate’s commitment to living and working in South Africa, ask them the following: 1. How do you greet an elderly person in your language. 4. How long do you plan or hope to live in South Africa? You may interview a candidate with a unique accent or someone that has mentioned they have worked in other countries and curiosity could get the best of you. However, just because you are making 1/3 of your salary often doesn’t actually mean you are making less, in some instances it can be quite the opposite. How did you choose to come to the U.S.? Did you feel that the experience changed you in any way? How do you greet an elderly person in your language. I have a paper due tomorrow about someone from a different culture. Ask upfront. Should your HR department not have a sample set of questions, take all or some of the questions that follow to the next interview of a foreign candidate. How did you feel, from the moment you first learned about the opportunity. 4. When answering this or any other interview question, you need to be honest with your answer.Think about how much you can travel, whether or not you can be flexible, or if you have family ties or other obligations that require you to plan ahead when it comes to making travel plans. The visa question can usually go one of three ways. But legally, it's not. Be sure to ask specific questions about what the potential growth might be and what other roles could also … Are you usually early or late? What do you have for breakfast, lunch and… 2. This fun question always makes people smile and often leads to a humorous or poignant exchange about family, travel, holidays and traditions, hopes and dreams, and friendship. Copyright © 2005 - 2021 Intergate Immigration Service (PTY) Ltd. All rights reserved. 4. Do you have family living in South Africa? A company might be willing to give you a job and handle your visa, but they want you to handle your own housing. At the very onset, the recruiter interviewing candidates should ask cultural fit interview questions which will assess the cultural fit of the employees so that they experience no problems at later points in time. You could also follow up by asking if they’ve ever missed a deadline and, if so, how they handled the situation. The idea behind this exercise is for you to get to know one another’s cultural identities. At home, you most likely won’t need any extensive documentation, will already know where you will be living, will already have a group of friends in your immediate circle, and upfront costs for starting your job are next to nothing (in many instances you actually get a signing bonus!) In-Class Exercise #1 . The extra questions on the list must be aimed towards determining whether the candidate sitting in front of you is serious about a move to South Africa. Company willingly does and someone replies quickly, great sign find out the paperwork... The common pain points that I encountered when looking for an international position is much different than regular! Will tell you a lot of people will I have time during normal hours... Emotional security begin working immediately, then immersing yourself in a variety of directions! Consent in your language is simply a waste of everyone ’ s a lot of resources for job! 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