My friend George asked me if I thought he could get a job in Mongolia and, even though I don’t know anything about the jobs market in Mongolia I instantly replied: “of course you can.”
Before explaining why I am so confident in my answer I would like to introduce George Pop, a Romanian friend of mine who recently started a company called French Revolution. He makes just one thing – éclairs – the best éclairs in Romania, each one of which is the result of the best ingredients in Europe and George’s perfectionism.
What makes me so sure that George could get a job in Mongolia?
First of all George himself. He’s friendly, charming, interesting and handsome – and these “first impressions” matter a lot when asking for a job. Secondly, he’s an expert in one of the most specialised parts of the communication/advertising industry – namely branding – and I’ve only ever met one person who works in that domain. That tells me that these skills are rare and my assumption is that there would be at least one company in Mongolia who would appreciate these skills, probably an ad agency or multinational.
The main reason I’m confident that George could get hired in Ulan Bator is that it’s an emerging capitalist economy which is booming due to its spectacular mineral wealth. The Daily Telegraph described it as the “Kuwait of Central Asia.” They need people like George.
Not so long ago Mongolia was an impoverished satellite of the Soviet Union and the majority of the population were nomadic herdsmen – which is exactly what George wants to see once he gets established – but since adopting capitalism the remote nation is booming. According to that same Daily Telegraph article: “Much of the elite is savvy, Ivy League-educated and understands international business culture…Mongolia desperately needs foreign investment and know-how.”
Assuming there are opportunities for skilled communicators like George, as well as people to work in their emerging tourism industry (he’d be a great barman at this awesome desert hotel) two big questions remain:
The first question is, would you really want to live in there? The newspaper article I quoted above says: “If there was a competition to find the ugliest city on Earth, then the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator would be the leading contender for the title. The combination of grim, Soviet-style concrete high-rises, rambling slum-shanties and towering coal-fired power plants belching out smoke over the city reeks of the depression and decay that was a legacy of decades of communist rule.”
The answer to this question is easy: despite its ugly modern development Mongolia is still a vast grassland with a population of just over two million – and well worth exploring. Having a base in the capital city, with the possibility of exploring Mongolia, is a beautiful idea.
The second question is harder to answer: how would George go about getting a job in Ulan Bator? There may well be plenty of opportunities but how does one turn this into actual job offers? I can understand that this challenge can seem intimidating, scary and impossible. Where would one start? What about the language, work permits and all the other worries?
I don’t have a specific answer to this question, and those fears, but I can offer some general advice: assume there are jobs, be determined and have confidence in yourself.
For me this challenge would be relatively easy as I have successfully looked for work in Austria, Bosnia, Romania and Tibet. But I do realise that most people don’t have this experience and lack the confidence to go to the other side of the world and look for a job.
Two things helped me to get jobs abroad: my driving determination to get hired and my disregard for work permits; “in the unlikely event that they they catch me,” I figured, “they might expel me and I don’t really mind that.”
Experience has shown me that it would be possible for me – and for George, and probably for you too – to get a job anywhere in the world. I might not be able to get a good job but any job will suffice if you’re looking to make a base in a particular country. The real question is: where do you want to go?
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You might also like to see this article: Introduction to Working Abroad.
Photo of Desert Lotus Hotel in Mongolia. Thanks for the picture to photo.sf.co.ua.
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NO JOBS in Mongolia – Mongolia is in Economic Crisis, most expats have left the country
Thanks for this comment John. Do you have a personal experience to share? In my experience there are always jobs, even in an economic crisis. If a big company lays off thousands of workers they invariably need new people to still do the work. In fact, that’s a good time to get into a company as they’re often desperate for people and if you can make a difference, if you can save them from bankruptcy, which you maybe could with good marketing skills, they would be forever in your debt.
Oops, forgot to mention that they didn’t end up raising the minimum wage last year.
I’m employed in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Getting a job is not so straight forward, but can be done with some determination. If someone was completely stumped, I would suggest getting a job with a local English language school, and job hunt for a more preferable job in your free time (it’s a pretty good strategy for most of Asia, actually). However, most companies would offer a smaller salary if you’re hired locally than if you were recruited from abroad.
There are some challenges, however. For one most companies can only hire a limited number of employees because of foreign workforce quotas. It varies depending on the industry. At an NGO, for example, you can have only one foreign employee for every 20 Mongolian employees. I think there are some exceptions for temp. interns.
Some stray thoughts:
The labor ministry has submitted a bill to the government that would reduce that quota to an even smaller percentage.
It’s also expensive to hire foreign workers. The company must pay double the minimum wage (about $200) on top of your salary every month and pay all at once for the year or however long your contract is. So they’re taking some risk when hiring you.
Last year they nearly doubled minimum wage, which would likely make it impossible for some companies to hire
The visa process is overly complicated and you should have your company handle it for you. It’s common for people to use tourist visas and cross the border each month, but this is time consuming and expensive.
Thanks a lot for this information Terrence as it gives my rather general article some specific detail that makes it really useful. What is the reason for this quota by the Ministry of Labour? Is it to keep out unqualified immigrants?
If there is any other detail you could add about the labour market in Mongolia, for example do multinationals hire expats?, it would be extremely useful. Really appreciate it.
Of course he will get a job! He needs to go to big hotels (assuming they exist), with the CV in his hand and ask for work!
Excellent point, but the biggest challenge is to get up and go (confidence, courage and bravado are required). Go for it George. We can write you a petition saying how great your eclair-making-and-brand-building skills are.