Finding an international job in brussels: Getting started |
Brussels is a truly international city. In fact, it's really several cities in one. It's the capital of Belgium, the capital of the European Union, a major international trade hub, and it's also a 'domestic' city of Belgium, with its own status as a city.
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Many international careers start in Brussels, because of its unique character. It's a very good place to start, too, because in addition to the international organizations and European Union, Brussels is pretty much packed with multinational corporations. If you want to get exposure to every possible sense of the words 'international career', Brussels is the place to do it.
A lot of young people start as interns, sometimes working for their own national government, a corporation or the EU, in Brussels. That's excellent training for a future international career. They get a lot of exposure to the true meaning of such a career, first hand, and most importantly, they get this exposure early in their working lives, when the can benefit most from it.
The huge range of international jobs creates a unique career environment. This really can be networking on a global scale, and that is in fact how many people manage their international careers. The difficulty is learning how to network and find your way around the careers circuits.
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This is where working in Brussels comes in.
For the sheer number of people involved in international careers per square kilometre, Brussels is probably the most densely populated city on Earth. The multiple roles of the city have naturally created this mix of people. It's a matter of opinion whether the city could possibly get any more cosmopolitan.
This almost solid mass of people, governments, and business, involved in international trade and politics on all levels, provides one more vital ingredient of an international career: vast opportunities. It's not correct to say that like government jobs, all international careers are interchangeable in the same industries or sectors, but it does greatly increase the number of jobs and career moves available.
International careers do have a lot of common elements. A person working in a job for the French trade interests can easily switch to doing a similar, or higher, job of the same kind for another nation. A person with good industry experience in Belgium can definitely move quite easily among all the other European businesses or governments in that industry.
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It is in fact quite possible to work for every country in Europe without setting foot outside Brussels, or ever setting foot in that country. This effect is known by the locals as The European Ghetto, a frenetic, hectic way of work and life which the Belgians aren't too sure they necessarily want to describe as their own. It does, however, describe the incredible mix of people and roles in international jobs in Brussels.
With a little effort, and just by applying for jobs in the same building in Brussels, you could find yourself working for practically any country on the planet. That's courtesy of the EU effect, and the presence of so many big multinationals. Anybody who wants to do business in Europe finds Brussels convenient, and that's just about everybody.
You can see how 'international' you can get, just by living in Brussels. Starting out on your international career, you need to learn your way around, and understand the career paths and goals. You may well even be able to invent your career path and goals.
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So come along and have a look at International Careers in Brussels with us.
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