Work exchange: companies from the USA and Portugal have open positions – 10/29/2023 – Market

Hotel chains in the United States and Portugal have vacancies open for temporary jobs for university students. The experience could help in careers after graduation.

Interviews and hiring are online, and the exchange student applies for a visa in Brazil and embarks about a year later, already hired for a position.

The entire process is intermediated by an agency, such as IE Intercâmbio, STB and EF, which charges to assist the candidate in the process. English is essential, as the vacancies are for places that receive international tourists.

Who can apply for the USA?

Undergraduate or master’s degree students. The age limit for the programs is 18 to 29 years old at the IE exchange agency. STB has programs for teenagers aged 15 to 25 years old.

You need to know how to speak English. The required level is intermediate. In addition, you need to have a temporary work visa. In the USA, this is the J1 visa.

Who can apply for Portugal?

Undergraduate, postgraduate or master’s degree students or young people up to five years after graduating. University students aged 18 to 35 are welcome.

You need to know how to speak English. The required level is intermediate. You must have a temporary work visa. In Portugal, this visa is the E8.

How much does it cost?

The highest cost is hiring the agency, which ranges from R$8,000 to R$14,500. The service package for Portugal is exclusive to IE Intercâmbio, and costs R$8,000. For the United States, it costs around R$14,500. At STB, the value is R$11,500.

Additionally, there is the consular fee, which ranges from R$800 to R$1,000. The consular cost for the United States is almost R$1,000, with US$160 consular fee, plus US$35 service fee. For Portugal, the consular fee and sending physical documents costs around R$800.

There are also costs for airline tickets and health insurance. All these expenses are the responsibility of the candidate and may vary. The candidate should only purchase the ticket when everything is in order with the employer — and not when they decide to enter the selection process.

Health insurance is generally included in the agency’s service, and varies depending on the period the candidate will spend abroad, their age, and what they want to cover. If you do not want to take out the agency’s insurance, it is also possible to quote the insurance offered by your credit card, as long as the ticket purchase is made with it.

The participant going to the USA will pay for accommodation. The estimate is that it will cost between US$300 and US$500 (R$1,500 to R$2,750) per month.

“The agencies here in Brazil have partnerships with organizations that recruit employers abroad and access to them has a cost, hence the price. The exchange agencies recruit the workers, check their eligibility (age, level of English, if they are in on-site colleges here, etc.), help choose the employer, schedule the interview and prepare the candidate for the video call or in-person interview (at a job fair in Brazil, for example). The company also helps with all the documentation, the preparation for pre-boarding and the candidate’s arrival at the destination”, explains Déborah Menezes, international education and career specialist at IE Intercâmbio.

How much will I earn?

In the United States, you can earn between US$320 and US$680 per week (around R$1,600 to R$3,400). The average is $10 to $17 per hour. The working hours are around 32 to 40 hours per week and vary depending on the employer and demand.

In Portugal, the average salary is 770 euros per month (around R$4,100), plus tips. This is equivalent to a 40-hour work week. Accommodation and food, with breakfast, lunch and dinner, are included.

How long will I work outside?

Contracts vary from 2 and a half months to 6 months, depending on the country. For the United States, the work is during the end-of-year college vacation — from December to March, between 10 and 12 weeks. For Portugal, the contracts are for six months, between April and May and then from October to November.

What and how many vacancies are open?

The areas of tourism and hospitality are those with the most open vacancies. Resorts, ski resorts, water parks and theme parks, hotels, spas, restaurants and stores hire for jobs such as general cleaning, reception, telemarketing, waiter, store attendant, cashier, kitchen assistant, warehouse control, etc.

There are around 500 to 1,000 vacancies per year. In 2023, IE Intercâmbio alone offered 800 vacancies for the United States and 50 for Portugal.

“For a young university student, international work experience in countries such as Portugal and the United States is a great asset on the CV, capable of immediately capturing the attention of potential employers. Nowadays, top recruiters look for candidates who display highly effective interpersonal skills. developed”, says Maria Laura Palermo, psychologist and exchange and immigration facilitator.

In his opinion, the exchange is a differentiator for the candidate. “When a recruiter comes across a CV that boasts international work experience, it signals that they have skills such as resilience, ability to perform under pressure, collaboration and flexibility. This difference increases the chances of receiving an invitation for a future hire”, evaluate.

Where will I work?

In the United States, in cities in Florida, such as Tampa, as well as Miami Beach, Wisconsin, Aspen, Pittsburgh and many others. The whole country usually offers vacancies.

In Portugal, the Algarve region is the one that hires the most. The Vila Galé chain is one of the contractors with 27 hotels spread across Portugal, in cities such as Beja, Évora, Elvas, Alter do Chão, Oeiras, Cascais, Sintra, Ericeira, Estoril, Lisbon, Coimbra, Serra da Estrela, Porto, Braga, Douro and Madeira.

New career direction

Those who have already been guarantee that the experience is worth it, says lawyer Iara Rocha, 23 years old. She went on exchange to the United States in the 2022/2023 season through IE Intercâmbios de Franca, in the interior of São Paulo.

Iara says that the experience helped her take a new direction in her career. “I chose to work at a ski resort called Sugarbush in Warren, Vermont, selling tickets to enter the resort. It was great, because I was able to improve my English conversation and confidence a lot,” she says.

Her level of English guaranteed her coexistence with other Americans, and she was able to practice the language more. She says that, when she did the interview, the recruiter analyzed her level of English and decided on the best position. “I had friends who were chambermaids and others who worked in the kitchen. In my sector there weren’t many exchange students, it was just me and two others, another Brazilian and an Argentinian. The rest were locals, so it was very interesting to have contact with them” , it says.

“It’s a unique experience to live and have contact with a new culture. Working in a different environment, meeting new people. As much as it’s a dream to go on exchange, the experience brings responsibility and requires you to mature. We were the ones who had to take care of washing our clothes, buying food, waking up on time so as not to miss the bus”, recalls Iara.