Going Global: 6 Steps to Start a Successful International Career
If you are a successful professional in your country, by developing an international career, you can open more doors of opportunity, and become known in your field on a larger scale. Moving overseas for your career is exciting and challenging at the same time. International careers don’t happen overnight. Usually, they happen as a career development strategy and require lots of careful planning and preparation.
Working in multicultural environments not only can boost your career, and make you an international employee, but it also helps you develop a global vision and intercultural understanding.
However, you have to take multiple points into consideration and have a clear set of reasons, that would be essential further down the line when challenges arise. Some points you might want to consider are your current and future job, if you are married, your spouse’s employment, if you have kids, their schooling, as well as the living and working conditions in your destination country. To successfully plan an international career, you should carefully consider all the pros and cons of living and working in another country unless you manage to find a remote job!
Here are some steps to keep in mind to plan a successful international career move:
There are so many possible reasons for a professional to go global and seek career opportunities abroad. Sometimes it’s because of growing internationally, sometimes it’s because of the lifestyle. Some countries are more business oriented and offer higher salaries and better working conditions, while others are more family oriented and offer a more laid-back lifestyle. Think about the type of workplace environment that suits you best – one which is fast-paced with lots of opportunities for growth or somewhere with less competition where you can be yourself and take it easy. You need to ask yourself what your reasons are to make such a move.
Have a clear set of strong WHYs. When challenges arise and things get difficult, your WHYs are what give you the energy to keep going.
To make an informed decision about your move, you need to do your HW well!
Some of the points you might want to consider are:
Legal:
Rules, regulations, and requirements for entering the country, which depend on your citizenship
The legal requirements and documentation you need to work
Life Essentials:
Cost of living
Public Transport
Friends and support network
Professional:
The top companies in your field in your destination country
The job market in your field
Average Salary
Possibility of career growth
Successful professionals usually have a strategy to grow professionally. They plan every career move very carefully. Each move should take you one step further towards your end goal.
Focus on the experience and skills you currently possess, and the skills you need to develop in order to advance your international career. By analysing the positions which would best suit your skill-set within your industry, you can put together a strategic road map for your career.
Some industries are universally relevant, and some aren’t. Sometimes by “Niching down” and developing expertise in a specific sector, you can offer a unique and indispensable profile to clients and employers. This usually is a good strategy for industries such as IT, digital marketing, and data privacy that could be applicable across the globe. This strategy however can’t be applied to all jobs in an international context. On the other hand in positions with country-specific policies such as law, regulation control or local legislation, the knowledge and skills are so unique that can’t be carried over outside of the country.
You need to think about your career development strategy based on your industry and the global market for your expertise.
Expat groups are a fantastic way of networking and meeting other fellow expats as well as open-minded locals. Especially if you don’t speak the native language yet, the expat groups can be really helpful. You can find these groups on social media such as Expats Living in Tuscany on Facebook where you ask questions and look for help. With thousands of expat and local members, these groups can help you out with literally anything, from information about schooling your kids to finding a plumber! And help you settle and not feel alone.
Some expat groups such as Internations have branches in many cities.They organise all sorts of interesting events, from wine-tasting to business networking. These events are usually on payment, but worth participating in to network personally and professionally.
To build a professional network, search for professionals that work in your field in your destination country. You can build a professional network on LinkedIn even before you get there! These people can provide you with so much inside information, and give you valuable tips that you can’t know otherwise. Perhaps some can become your future colleagues or even friends once you get there.
Learning the local language is very important, both for working and living in a new country. It’s hard to build meaningful relationships if you don’t speak their language. Learning the local language is also a form of respect. It shows the locals that you are actually interested in their culture.
If you are a native English speaker, you might be able to get by for a while, as English is the international language spoken in so many countries, at least at the business level. However, that’s not true in the case of many European countries such as Italy and Spain.
In case your native language is not English, and nor is the destination country’s language, it is advisable to at least learn English well so that you can communicate with people.
English is the international language, as it is the easiest and quickest language to learn. English grammar and structure are much more simple compared to languages like Italian, German, Persian or Mandarin.
While going global for an international career will bring exciting new experiences, connections, and cultural experiences, there will always be an adjustment period which can vary from place to place. If you’re moving within Europe, you will have less cultural shock than if you move to a country like Iran or India. Knowing as much as possible about the work and social culture before the move is the best way to prepare yourself for a new life experience and working environment.
Be open to change, as everything in life can be different! How people dress, how friends and colleagues greet each other, their loudness and hand gestures, their food and when they eat it, all can drastically change depending on where you go. Adapting can be challenging depending on how different this new culture is from your own.
It takes courage to leave everything behind to chase a vision. When you leave your house, your job, your family & friends and go to a new country where everything is different, sometimes your future looks uncertain, and you might doubt your choice. This is where your strong WHYs come in handy and give you the energy and force to overcome all the challenges ahead until you reach your goals. I’ve done the same myself, so on this, I speak from my personal experience!
By recognizing that there will be difficult moments, and embracing the change instead of resisting it, you will open yourself up to thrive in both your personal life and your international career.
