Check out offshore job guides and employment opportunities, and find out what sorts of jobs are frequently available. You must want offshore work, but you'll need to know what these jobs are like, so you know what you're trying to get into. Learn as much as you can about the details of these positions. The Internet is a very rich resource center for this information.
You can also inquire from friends and relatives who are working offshore assignments. Your desire for offshore employment must overcome your selectivity. Explore your readiness to accept even relatively unpleasant offshore job assignments.
Check your qualifications. Once you have made your "short list" of the jobs that interest you and which you firmly believe you can handle, it is time to validate your job preparation. How qualified are you? Some jobs offshore may require professional education such as in engineering and the sciences, or even vocational certification trainings such as in the geosciences. For most skilled and semi-skilled or even unskilled jobs such as cooks, kitchen helpers, painters, operators, platers, rust scrapers, stackers, tank cleaners and other "dirty hands-on" work, a high school diploma is the only requirement. Get the education, preparation and certification for the jobs of your choice.
Don't ignore your past experiences on land. These experiences may not have anything to do with offshore employment, but there are several work offshore that are typical of land work settings. Examples of these are marketing, information technology and public relations.
Pass a health exam. One of the first and foremost requirements for offshore work is sound health. You will have to pass a thorough physical screening which includes X-rays and blood tests.
Prepare your resume or curriculum vitae. Now that you have sorted out the basic requirements for an effective job search, you are ready to translate these into one solid persuasive document. There are many sites on the Internet on resume preparation that are free of charge. Get hold of one, but be sure that your final document carries a very impressive presentation of how you can be make a valuable contribution to your prospective offshore employer.
Send out your resume to prospective offshore job recruiters. You've got a very concise two-page resume with an accompanying three-paragraph cover letter. This whole document must not sleep inside your drawer or your portfolio but must land on the tables of direct-hiring employers or offshore employment services or job networks. Copies of your resume must go where they can tell your story.
Brush up on the interview process. Research the web and seek the help of friends who care about you and role play the interview process with them. Treat every interview, assuming you will have a number of them, as an event that needs utmost care and preparation. When you receive a call for interview, you are opening the way onto a potential employment. Whether it will remain a potential or convert to an actual job will depend on your handling of the interview.
