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Casual Work Overseas Resources

Casual Work Overseas Resources

By  June 19, 2009

The most worthwhile sources of information are, without question, personal contacts and experienced travellers you'll meet on the road.

Backpacker hostels are universally recommended, especially out of season, and many hostel managers will be well versed in local opportunities for casual jobs. Particularly in Australia and New Zealand, employers of temporary staff often notify local hostels of upcoming and current vacancies. Bulletin boards in relevant places should be scoured and used to post your own notices. Check out university student unions, the foyers of language schools and cultural centres, English language bookshops, English churches (for example the American Church in Paris is a goldmine) and even supermarkets. Hobnobbing with the rich and powerful can be a key to job success but will not be easy to arrange without contacts.

Worthwhile research can be conducted online in advance. Here are some sites of possible interest to seekers of casual work as described above:

swap.ca - Travel CUTS operate the SWAP programme which facilitates a working holiday abroad programme for Canadians.

bunac.org - Runs a number of programmes for US students and youth including work programmes in Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

wwoofinternational.org - Global website for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) which clearly explains the system of arranging work-for-keep farm stays.

pickingjobs.com - Links to a small number of farms in Australia, England, Scotland, Ireland and France. Country-specific sites such as seasonalwork.co.nz for New Zealand may prove more fruitful (so to speak).

helpx.net - Online listing of host organic and non-organic farms, homestays, ranches, lodges, inns and hostels which invite volunteer helpers to stay with them short-term in exchange for food and accommodation.

kibbutz.org.il/volunteers/vomain.htm - Kibbutz Program Center, the official kibbutz volunteer placement office in Tel Aviv.

Several commercial websites provide free online recruitment services for travellers. Some are geared to Britons such as the admirable monthly e-bulletin on working abroad, Jobs Abroad Bulletin.

Sites also worth checking are anyworkanywhere.com, seasonworkers.com and natives.co.uk (originally for ski resort work but has branched out). A site favoured in North America is jobmonkey.com.

Related Articles:
More information about How to Find Casual Work Overseas
Top 10 Casual Jobs Overseas

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Published in Work Abroad
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Susan Griffith

Susan Griffith is the time-honored guru of the gap year. Author of numerous travel bibles includingWork Your Way Around the World and Gap Years for Grown-ups, Griffith is an expert in the areas of working and volunteering abroad. From finding work selling ice cream in Cape Town to working as a film extra in Bangkok, Griffith knows the tips and tricks to making travellers’ dreams a reality. 

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