The Gentle Lapping of Ocean Waves Does Wonders to Inspire Productivity.
The job market in Costa Rica has been quite dynamic recently. While layoffs continue, new job opportunities continue to emerge as companies look to capitalize on the country’s talented workforce. For any recent victims of downsizing or those looking for a more secure job, more help is on its way at the ExpoEmpleo that begins today at the Ramada Plaza Herradura hotel in San Jose.
The job fair kicked off at 10 a.m. this morning and will continue until 6 p.m., following this same schedule on Saturday and Sunday as well. About 50 companies including Cinta Azul, Skyes, Proctor & Gamble, SUR, KFC, Purdy Motors, TACA, EPA and Bank of America will be present looking to fill an estimated 2,500 positions.
The event organizer, Empleo.net, suggested that job applicants take the opportunity to speak with company representatives and let them get to know more about what you can offer, rather than just running around dropping your resume off at every stand. The organizer predicted that more than half of the job applicants attracted by the job fair will be below the age of 25 and a quarter between the ages of 25 and 29, many of them recent college graduates that joined the workforce at a very inopportune moment in the history of the world.
For applicants searching for jobs in Costa Rica online, beware that employment websites have noted an average 30% increase in visitors in the past three months and a 15% reduction in vacant positions, a clear result of the economic recession. Job sites both in English and Spanish have noticed the effects including Costa Rica Jobs, elempleo.com, empleos.net and tecoloco.com. Empleos.net noted a daily increase of 7,000 visits compared with last year, whereas the number of job offers decreased from 1,150 to 968 on average. So what does one do when the economy is against you?
In the United States, where the layoffs are in the millions, there is the growing trend of turning an unfortunate job loss into an life changing opportunity. People are switching careers, going back to school and rethinking their lives in general. “Did I really need that third car?” “Is this all there is to life?” Attendance at bartender school is at an all-time high, suggesting that some have decided to drink away their woes. Others are taking advantage of low interest loan offers to start their own business. The positive result of the crisis can be seen in these trends. People are stopping to reflect on their lives and careers and beginning to reconsider the path they were on. “Obligatory vacation,” a euphemistic look at unemployment, can really be seen as just that. Why not take that vacation to Costa Rica you’ve always been dreaming about? Or pursue your dreams of actually relocating to the country.
The benefit of restarting your life abroad in a developing country is that there are always needs to be met. Your native fluency in English may be the key to a job teaching English (a TEFL certificate can be obtained online in less than three months for a round 0). Did you attend college in the states? That makes you one of the 10% most educated people in the WORLD. Your skills may likely have a higher demand abroad, and your daily perspective on your job may be years ahead of what has been achieved to date in poorer nations like Nicaragua, Costa Rica or Panama.
So if you were even considering a job abroad, I dare you to make that vision a reality and take this economic “down time” to explore the world, new languages, new perspectives, new career paths and new beautiful countries and cultures. From the Peace Corps, to volunteering, backpacking, teaching or your own start up, the opportunities just keep expanding when you look beyond your current borders.
