Freight forwarding is one of the few industries where your experience genuinely travels. Air export experience in Chicago counts in Frankfurt, and an ocean background in Rotterdam can carry over to Los Angeles or Sydney. Freight forwarders everywhere need people who already know how the job works.
What makes a move go smoothly is planning it in the right order. This guide follows the move from the first time you think about going to your first month in the new role.
Before you start looking: know which of your skills employers want
Start with what you already have, because that’s what makes you competitive in a new market.
Systems experience goes with you. CargoWise, the freight forwarding software many forwarders use to run bookings, shipment files, customs entries and billing, is used across the industry. In the US roles we recruit for, it consistently comes up as one of the skills employers want most. If you use it every day, lead with it. If you’re heading to Germany, familiarity with ATLAS, the German customs system, is something employers screen for, so make it obvious if you have it.
Customs experience is in demand. Customs specialists are among the hardest people for freight forwarders to find, and we’ve placed more than 400 import, export and customs specialists. Every market has its own rules, so show employers you know them. Experience with German and EU frameworks stands out in Hamburg or Frankfurt, and US entry experience stands out in Chicago or Los Angeles. If you’re a licensed customs broker, check what the licensing rules are in the country you’re moving to. In the US, for example, brokers need a US licence. In Germany, we recruit licensed customs brokers, trade compliance managers and entry writers.
Languages give you more options. Plenty of international forwarders work in English, so you don’t need to be fluent in the local language to make a move. But a second language widens your options. Many German teams look for bilingual or internationally experienced candidates, and in US air import, fluent Spanish is often listed as a plus.
Choosing where to go: follow the freight
Freight forwarding jobs cluster around ports, airports and gateways, so the city you pick decides which roles are open to you. In Germany, for example, demand is strong across the Rhine-Ruhr, Hamburg, Frankfurt and the southern logistics hubs. An ocean specialist and an air export operator might end up looking at completely different cities in the same country.
Before you commit, find out who actually hires there. Our guides to freight forwarding jobs in Hamburg and the top freight forwarding employers in Los Angeles set out the main employers in two of the biggest markets we recruit in.
While you’re applying: how to stand out in a market that doesn’t know you
Many freight forwarding roles are never advertised. They’re filled through networks and direct approaches, and plenty of experienced forwarders in those markets don’t use job boards at all. When you’re applying from outside the market, you’re competing with people the hiring manager may already know, so your application has to do more of the work.
- Search using local job titles. The same job goes by different names in different markets: Operations Coordinator, Import or Export Coordinator, Freight Forwarder, Customs Specialist. In Germany, look out for Speditionskaufmann/-frau in job adverts. If you only search the title you use now, you’ll miss roles.
- Translate your experience for a stranger. A hiring manager in Sydney won’t know your employer’s reputation or your local market. Write “Asia to US West Coast ocean imports, with weekly file volumes” instead of “ocean freight”, and “JFK air export, DG certified” instead of “air export”.
- Lead with what transfers. Put CargoWise or other systems experience, carrier relationships and specialist cargo (dangerous goods, time critical, pharma) near the top. These are what an employer abroad can check quickly.
- Answer the obvious questions before they’re asked. Add a line under your name with your target city, right to work status and earliest start date. If a recruiter has to email you to find out, you may lose out to someone who didn’t need the email.
- Format it for the market. A US resume usually leaves out a photo and personal details like date of birth, and keeps to one or two pages. Our resume templates are set out the way US hiring managers expect.
- Explain why you’re moving. A sentence on why that city, such as a partner’s job, wanting a gateway role or wanting to work a particular trade lane, makes you look committed instead of just browsing.
- Make yourself findable. Set your LinkedIn location or job preferences to include the city you’re targeting. Recruiters searching that market will then find you.
- Be easy to interview across time zones. Offer two or three specific time slots in the employer’s local time. It’s a small thing, but it shows you’ve thought about the practical side.
Drop off your CV with us. The quickest way to get in front of freight forwarders who aren’t advertising is to drop your CV off with our team. Make sure the top of your CV covers where you want to move, your right to work and when you could start, so we can match you to the right market from the start.
Once you have an offer: what to pin down before you accept
An offer for a role in a new location is more than a salary and a start date. Before you sign, get clear answers on these:
- Your right to work. If you’re moving countries, check the official government guidance for where you’re going, and confirm with the employer who handles any sponsorship or paperwork. It decides how quickly you can actually start.
- Your notice period.Read your current contract first, because it may override the statutory default. As a guide:
- Germany: the statutory minimum is four weeks to the 15th or the end of a month.
- Netherlands: employees typically give one month.
- US: most employment is at will.
- What relocation support covers. Some employers help with relocation, especially for hard-to-fill or senior roles. If it’s offered, ask exactly what it includes, such as flights, temporary accommodation or moving your belongings, and whether you’d have to pay any of it back if you leave early.
- Your start date in writing. Agree a date that allows for your notice, your paperwork and the move itself, then get it confirmed in the offer.
- Who you’ll report to and who’s on the desk. In a new city, your manager and your team are your first network. Ask to meet or speak to them before you accept if you can.
Your first month: time your arrival
Think about when you’ll actually arrive, not just when the contract starts. Landing just before peak season means learning a new office, new customers and a new city during the busiest weeks of the year. If you have any choice over your start date, a quieter month gives you time to settle in before things get busy.
Expect the first few weeks to feel slower than you’re used to. You’ll know how to do the job, but you won’t yet know the local carriers, the customs officers or which haulier picks up on a Friday afternoon. That takes time to learn wherever you go.
Ready to make the move?
Freight Appointments recruits freight forwarders across the US, Germany, Australia and Benelux, and we’ll give you an honest view of how your experience fits each market. Drop off your CV and tell us where you want to go, or search our latest freight forwarding vacancies.
