The Internet has made the almost impossible task of searching for a job overseas a thing of the past. Now you can effortlessly search for gainful employment in practically any country you wish.

For instance Ireland's economy has grown exponentially over the last few years, and with the economic expansion there has been an explosion in job opportunities. Finding jobs in Ireland is fairly easy and there are plenty of job vacancies in all sectors. Since employment rates are so high, employers are often looking outside Ireland to fill some of these vacancies.

Not only has Ireland's economy grown, but with the growth of the E.U., the economy of its other 26 members have also grown. Now searching the internet for something as specific as marketing jobs in Cardiff will quickly turn up many results.

Sounds easy?

Well remember with the ease of using the internet to search for jobs you must keep in mind that to conduct an effective job search using only the Internet is almost an unrealistic expectation. You still will need to apply, attend the interview and acquire documentation that is required to work overseas. All of which will require research on your part.

Research on potential employers is one of the most critical parts of any successful job search. Thankfully the Internet has also opened up the ability to easily conduct research on potential employers. Here are fours tips to help you along the way:

Remain Focused: Stay focused on your research goal and if you stumble across an interesting unrelated website, bookmark it and come back to it later. If not, before you know it you've lost track of what you wanted to accomplish, and have spent the last hour watching funny videos.

Develop a Research Strategy: Develop a plan before you begin looking for information by deciding in advance how much time you are willing to invest researching a particular topic. Your topic will influence where to look on the Internet, whether it's searching newsgroups, blogs or company websites. Knowing roughly where your information might be found will assist you in developing your plan.

Keep Records: As you research potential employers you mill collect a lot of information. By organizing the information you want to keep and discarding that which has little or no immediate value, you will be better prepared when it comes time to responding to emails from employers that you are interested in.

Set Realistic Goals: Goals will ensure you stay on track and should be specific, such as 'spending 2 hours a day researching employers who are looking for advertising sales agents' as opposed to the goal being 'searching for a job on the internet today'.

If you become overwhelmed with the amount of information available, there are also plenty of headhunters and executive recruiters that will assist you in matching your skills with a company that is looking to fill a vacancy.