To the world, Italy is the Bel Paese: a dream vacation destination, with its art cities, seaside, and mountains, not to mention its diverse food and wine. This is also true for many Italians who have left their country to work abroad: they return home to reconnect with family and friends in the summer or at Christmas, but spend the rest of the year fully satisfied with a job they perhaps wouldn't have here.
How many Italians are abroad?
According to the latest data from AIRE, the Registry of Italians Residing Abroad, our fellow citizens scattered around the world number over 6,1 million (3,6 million of whom are family units). The countries most populated by Italians are, historically and currently, Argentina and Brazil, but the map of favorite destinations truly excludes every corner of the planet.
When did they leave? What do they do for a living? Would they return to Italy? Here's an example.
From the old continent to the antipodes
Mattia has always had a passion for numbers. Born in 1976, after graduating from high school with a degree in mathematics, he went on to earn a Ph.D. in Madrid, where he now (and for quite a few years now, actually) holds a professorship at the University.
Serena has been a citizen of the world for over twenty years. She studied humanities at university, then moved to the United Kingdom for a master's degree in development, Hong Kong and Singapore to follow her engineer husband's travels, and finally the United States. Here, she recently launched a completely new career in interior design.
Monica graduated from high school in Italy and has been living on the other side of the world, in Brisbane, for eight years. Her boyfriend joined her almost immediately. They worked in hostels and on farms for ten months, learning the language and getting to know the country, before taking a break. Now they both have permanent contracts with a logistics company, with a great salary and various benefits.
Between nostalgia and opportunity
We all miss Italy, terribly. But the work environment—the real growth prospects, the opportunity to reinvent oneself, the contractual conditions—prevent any temptation to turn back.
Of course, all that glitters is not gold, and undoubtedly our compatriots abroad share a series of essential characteristics: flexibility, adaptability, the ability to take risks, determination, and, why not, courage. For many, however, it all started with sending a well-crafted resume. Nothing else.
The first step: don't make excuses
Some have truly found their dream job. Others have found a secure, well-paid job. In each case, expats' advice to dissatisfied, or worse, unemployed, Italians is to open up new avenues. Now. Regardless of age or career path.
There is no shortage of tools for looking for new opportunities today: from portals for carrying out temporary jobs in every corner of the world to platforms for compiling your CV in just a few minutes, such as jobseeker; from sites specializing in international offers to online communities of Italians abroad.
The key, according to our compatriots happily living abroad, is to avoid making excuses. The step from a CV to a contract can be shorter than you might think. And finding (or rediscovering) your own path is certainly a goal worth striving for.
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