WALKSCAPE
Crosswave Edition“Leave the Country”: Simon Bureau on Looking Beyond One Job Market
2026-01-19
What a blunt line can tell us about job hunting
Simon Bureau has worked in Korea for decades. He led the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Korea and is associated with the consulting firm Vectis. His ties to Korea began in 1986–87 in international finance at Yukong, now part of SK Energy. That gave him a chance to see the business environment from inside a Korean company as well as from abroad.
Bureau has served on Seoul’s foreign investment advisory body and was named an honorary citizen of the city. His advice to young job seekers has the bluntness of someone who has worked on both sides of an international hiring market.
What did he mean by “Leave the Country”?
Bureau spoke on Sebasi about preparing for a job overseas. Several of the choices he describes apply just as well to a search in Korea.
The last item in the talk was the one that stayed with me.
“LTC, Leave the Country.”
The line can sound as though your only chance is somewhere else. I hear it as a change in how you think about opportunity: where you can work, who could use your experience, and how widely you are willing to look.
Decide whom you are applying to and why
Bureau returned to one idea throughout the talk.
Effort goes further when it has a target.
Sending the same résumé to dozens of companies looks like hard work. It can also be a way of putting off the harder question: what work suits you, and who needs someone to do it?
His first principle is straightforward.
“Have a targeted job search strategy.”
Before applying, be able to explain the role you are seeking, why you chose the organization and what you could do for it.
Make the employer’s question part of the application
His second point may be the hardest to hear when you are just starting out.
“Give potential employers what they need.”
Applicants often write a résumé around what they hope to do. Employers are also asking whether this person can help with a problem they already have. Bureau wants job seekers to take that question seriously.
A job can help you do something you care about. In a hiring decision, both parties are trying to understand what the other needs. Think of the résumé as a proposal: what your experience would help this particular organization accomplish.
Give a recruiter something to remember
He makes another point about being remembered.
“Be unique.”
The point is easy to see when a well-known employer receives far more applications than it can pursue. A recruiter needs a concrete reason to remember yours after moving on to the next one.
Distinctiveness can come from the overlap of your experience, languages, cultural knowledge and expertise. Time abroad can be one way to develop that combination.
Be easy to find and contact
Bureau also urged job seekers to make good use of professional networks, particularly LinkedIn.
Build a presence on professional networks.
On a network such as LinkedIn, people can see what you do and how to reach you. Contacts sometimes hear about openings before you would find them on a job board.
The principle applies to a domestic search, too. A résumé goes to the people you send it to. A professional profile makes you findable and reachable by people you have yet to meet.
What changes when you look abroad
My reading of “Leave the Country” is give yourself another market to look in. You can begin doing that while you are still at home.
A shortlist of employers in one country can be brief. A wider search can give you more choices and more room to decide what terms and work are right for you.
Seven ideas from Bureau’s talk
- Decide which roles and employers you want to target.
- Show employers how you would meet a need they have.
- Learn to present your experience and skills.
- Give people a reason to remember your particular background.
- Build a professional presence on networks such as LinkedIn.
- Adapt your answers to what you learn in the interview.
- Consider spending time outside the country.
Build a career you can take with you
My reading of Bureau’s argument comes down to one thought.
The ability to move gives you a say in where your career goes.
You can act on that advice without leaving tomorrow. Build the skills that would let you choose to leave if the right opportunity appears: language, experience, contacts and expertise.
When applicants have similar credentials, it helps to show how you would work in a different setting. Bureau’s advice stays with me because it applies beyond the next application or interview.
“Leave the Country” is a memorable way to say you can have a hand in deciding where your working life takes you.