# Short term work overseas



## FishmanDE (Nov 14, 2021)

Hey all,

Considering dropping everything and doing some shorter term work around Europe. I’ve never done anything like this before, but any leads or advice are welcome! 

Nick


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## Alwayzbakin (Nov 15, 2021)

Sorry I have no leads or particular advice, only strong encouragement: do it!! It likely will change your life with a new wider perspective and the wonderful sense of adventure! I’m so stoked for you!


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## cotedupy (Nov 15, 2021)

No reason not to if you fancy it.

My only advice would probably be to start in London and go from there. There is a _massive _shortage of hospitality workers in London atm, boh and foh. There always is slightly, but it's been hugely exacerbated by mindless political vandalism. You cold probably walk into any restaurant in London atm and be given a job on the spot. Which would also mean getting a short term work visa will be easy I imagine.

And despite Brexit, London kitchens are still going to be fairly diverse in terms of nationalities. You'll be able to pick up further leads in other countries if you want to move on.

Obviously also - you speak the language. I don't know what others you have, but for all but the highest echelons of Michelin dining, you'd want to speak the language I think, at least a bit.


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## Eziemniak (Dec 17, 2021)

Depending on the country it may be difficult to procure working visas.
In Spain the easiest parts (apart from Bcn and Madrid) to find jobs would be Ibiza, Malaga (summertime only). Pais Basqo probably the most interesting cuisine wise.
Some kitchens you can get away with English only, not many though.


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## Rainman890 (Dec 17, 2021)

Difficulty in getting working visas are not to be underestimated. I got a job in Germany, but the government refused to give me a visa because I didn't have an official training. If you have a cooking degree/training certification, this might help in some countries.

Of course, the way around this is to find the restaurant first, before you move, and have them help you...


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## simona (Oct 28, 2022)

cotedupy said:


> No reason not to if you fancy it.
> 
> My only advice would probably be to start in London and go from there. There is a _massive _shortage of hospitality workers in London atm, boh and foh. There always is slightly, but it's been hugely exacerbated by mindless political vandalism. You cold probably walk into any restaurant in London atm and be given a job on the spot. Which would also mean getting a short term work visa will be easy I imagine.
> 
> ...


Not just London. I work in the catering industry in Copenhagen, and there is a massive shortage of chefs - I can do a quick search and can find nearly 300 job ads for food industry workers in greater CPH - and that's just the ones being advertised, so probably 4x that many in reality.


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## stringer (Oct 28, 2022)

Luxury hotels might be something to look into. Massive shortages of culinary talent worldwide right now. They are used to helping with visas and people looking for seasonal employment. Might be easier in hotels to work in a non-English country if you only speak English too.


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## henrymeows (Nov 3, 2022)

The OP posted this thread a year ago, but for those in the future looking for overseas career experience opportunities, look into *Working Holiday Visa* or *Work and Holiday Visa*. It's basically a visa available for people age 18-30 (35 for some countries) to go overseas for "cultural exchange". Countries make agreement with each other to provide these visas where you can travel and work without sponsorship for 1 year+.

A lot of countries have agreements with each other.
US citizens can get working holiday visa for 6 countries, but only 2 of them are readily available and easy to get (Australia and New Zealand).

This visa brought me to Australia, meet my wife here, and dropped my accounting career and became a chef 

I also found that some top restaurants (Noma being one) offer stages and internship unpaid which doesn't require working visa rights, but you might struggle a bit with living cost...

Massive shortage of hospitality anywhere in the world right now. No more lockdown and borders open means great opportunity to gain international exp if you can afford it.


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