Back to school, and suddenly you're going nowhere--geographically, that is. That summer holiday abroad has made you realize how much of the world you haven't seen yet. The mind turns to switching majors--international finance, or watch-making, perhaps, so at least you might get a chance to see Switzerland.

Many people would like to live abroad but don't quite know how to go about it. When the world's your oyster, how do you move from harbouring the vague desire to live overseas to actually penning a change of address?

Vancouver's first Go Abroad Fair, happening this Monday and Tuesday (September 17 and 18) from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, could be just the ticket. Exhibitors are there from international study, work, and volunteer organizations, cultural programs, and adventure travel. It's all free, as are the seminars ranging from studying in Australia to humanitarian opportunities with the Canadian International Development Agency. (For details, see www.goabroadfair.ca/ .)

Jean-Marc Hachey, author of The BIG Guide to Living and Working Overseas (ISSI, fifth edition due out this month) will speak on how to land an international job. First clue: don't just wake up one day, apply for the foreign service, and expect to get hired.

"International careers are built step by step over time," Hachey tells the Straight , on the line from his Toronto base. "You just don't announce at the end of your university degree you want to go international." Before you graduate, he says, "you have to do a whole series of career-building things to internationalize your résumé."

International employers, he says, want to see proof that you're going to be able to hack it overseas, where "everything from buying tomatoes to brushing your teeth is going to be different in a culture that's different from your own." This can be intellectually stimulating, but people who work internationally must have certain traits. These include an ability to cope and adapt, good cross-cultural-communication skills, curiosity, tenacity, persistence, and independence. The most defining one, in Hachey's opinion, is that they enjoy change. "Everything you live through all day long is different," he says. "That's why it's so addictive."

Employers want to see that you've successfully lived abroad or spent time in a foreign environment. That's why Hachey says things you do now--from two months bartending in London to a semester studying in West Africa to three months backpacking through Latin America--can count for a lot.

"Everybody should consider studying abroad for one semester," he says. It's an easy way to get international exposure, and many universities have transfer-credit programs. Or, stretch a four-year degree to five and do an internship in another country. Earn your master's degree in Prague instead of Peterborough; most international ones are offered in English.

Otherwise, "The easiest way to go abroad is to teach English," Hachey says, citing Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan as big markets. That could segue into other opportunities; for example, teaching business English in Hong Kong could build business contacts for working there.

Even if you end up back in Canada, your international stint will not have been wasted. "In almost every job, you must interact with people from other cultures," Hachey points out, and the more cross-cultural skills you develop, the better. And besides, who needs an excuse to travel?