The last few decades has seen more and more people taking up a corporate expatriate posting, with all of the benefits and challenges an expatriation can bring.
Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.communicaid.com
After 25 years of expatriation, experiencing very different cultures such as Japan, United States or Russia, I think I fit very well with the definition of an enthusiastic expatriate in this interesting article published by Communicaid : I feel comfortable almost anywhere.
I consider myself a successful “serial” expatriate and I think the following characteristics are very important :
1-Curiosity with a thirst for experiencing “otherness”
2 Humility with willingness to learn different ways of thinking
3-A strong family with high resilience and an adventurous spirit
4- Deep knowledge about who you are, your strengths, weaknesses
5-Creativity and flexible attitude toward new challenges
6- Not afraid to step out of your comfort zone
7-Future oriented mindset
If expatriation is an addiction then by definition it means you can’t stop moving even if it would be reasonable to settle down. Sometimes this is called the “Three Year Syndrome”: some expats, get bored, after 3 years, especially if they have no other job than being an expat partner and did not blend with the local culture by establishing a network of local friends.
There is another reason why some expats move so often: with the globalization and the development of virtual teams, with some exceptions, there is no need to have long term expats once the knowledge transfer has been done. There is also more and more people who work abroad who are not sent by big multinational companies but hired locally. The problem is then to find ways to keep a job until you can retire. Most of the time those people are forced to move to other countries where they can transfer their unique skills.
What type of expat are you ?
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Tagged: career coaching, expat, Global Executives
I haven`t had the opportunity to be a serial expat but would do it if I could! Check mark at serial mover for sure.