Candidates look for international career development to bolster CVs

Irish professionals believe that international experience is an important part of their career development, according to a survey conducted by international recruitment consultancy Robert Walters.

In an online web poll, professional candidates from 17 countries including Ireland were asked whether they thought international experience in their career development was important. Of almost 4,000 global respondents, more than half (57%) said it was vital to gain work experience in another country: 19% of respondents said they thought it was very important to gain overseas exposure, 15% thought it was quite important and only 9% of respondents thought all the job opportunities were available already in their home countries.

In Ireland the survey results were similar to the global outlook with 50% of respondents believing international experience vital to their career development having already gained experience in another country: 15% were planning to work abroad within the next year and 19% hoped to work overseas in the next five years. However compared to the 9% of global respondents who believed their country held all the opportunities they needed 16% of Irish respondents viewed international experience as unimportant. 

Louise Campbell, Managing Director at Robert Walters Ireland, commented: 'having international experience on your CV opens doors. When you work abroad, you gain exposure to different working practises and cultures, and potentially a wider range of opportunities that a domestic organisation may not be able to offer. This can prove invaluable to many of the multinationals based in Ireland who would liaise with their overseas offices and candidates with such experience will be highly valued.'