Analyzing International Job Opportunities

Target Audience: Secondary, tertiary.

Language Proficiency: High intermediate to advanced.

Learning Focus: Research skills, reading, summarizing, writing, speaking.

Technology Needed: Web browser software and Internet connection.

Instructions:

The goal of this research study is to help provide information for individuals interested in working in a particular country.

Task: Teams of learners select a country of interest and research the current labor market to provide a set of guidelines on how best to prepare for and get a job in a country. The research teams investigate the following topics related to the employment environment.
• Economic Situation
• Market Analysis: What are the growth and declining (twilight) industries?
• Industry Analysis: What are the top companies in those industries?
• Company Employment Analysis: Are those companies hiring? What skills are in demand?
• Cultural Factors
• Process for Getting a Job

To gather relevant information, research teams access both online and more traditional print business resources, as well as conduct interviews or surveys if necessary.

Research teams complete all written documents associated with an authentic business research task, beginning with a Research Proposal and Letter of Transmittal. They then compile their data into an advisory Research Report and submit it with a second Letter of Transmittal.

Research teams also present their findings and recommendations in an oral presentation with presentation software such as PowerPoint.

Helpful Hints:

For reliable, up-to-date country and regional information on international business and culture, see:

CIA World Factbook
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/

globalEDGE
http://globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/ibrd.asp

U.S. Library of Congress: Country Studies
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html

For more on the topic of employment, see: Netting Jobs through the Web.

More on this Topic:

Career Builder
http://www.careerbuilder.com/

Job Exchange
http://www.jobexchange.com/

JobStar
http://www.jobstar.org/internet/resbanks.cfm

NY Times Job Market
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/jobs/

©1997-2005: Leslie Opp-Beckman and Kay Westerfield, University of Oregon's American English Institute in Eugene, Oregon (U.S.A.). Permission to distribute and use for educational purposes provided the authors' names are left intact. This site may not be mirrored. Links to other sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein. Last updated 25 May 2005 by lob.

CV for Leslie Opp-Beckman, leslieob@uoregon.edu
CV for Kay Westerfield, kwesterf@uoregon.edu
5212 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-5212 USA

http://aei.uoregon.edu/esp/