Social media and your online reputation are critical tools in your international job search. In 2009 I blogged about the social media revolution and featured Erik Qualman's video based on his book, Socialnomics. Then in 2011 I blogged about the fact that social media media is no longer a fad and is changing the way that we manage our careers and businesses, featuring Erik Qualman's updated version of the social media revolution video. The third video in the series was published in 2012 with updated statistics on social media worldwide which I am sharing below: I have written about the... Continue reading

For those of you with an interest in understanding how to demonstrate your ability to thrive in cross-cultural work environments and build a truly global personal brand to support your international job search, I invite you to read my latest article as the international job search expert on job-hunt.org. In the article I outline many of the skills and strengths associated with succeeding in cross-cultural environments as well as how you can demonstrate them to support building a global personal brand and your international job search. I also make suggestions on how to acquire cross-cultural experiences without having to travel... Continue reading

Many global professionals and executives or those aspiring to work abroad would describe themselves as busy. Especially those that are very career oriented. Some would say too busy to do something like work on their online reputation or start and maintain a blog. They share that they believe speaking with recruiters and asking their network if they can keep an eye out for, or know of, roles that might work for them is essentially what they need to land their next job abroad. But as I tell my clients, not having time or not believing that you can do something... Continue reading

May you have a happy holiday and a happy new year - and may there be peace on earth for all! Continue reading

There are many reasons why senior-level professionals and executives consider joining the board of an organization. Some pursue such an opportunity to improve their brand reputation. Some do it for the additional compensation. And others want to become a board member to build their network or accelerate their careers. Whatever your reasons, prior to crafting a plan to pursue a board position, there are several questions you should ask yourself to ensure that taking a seat on a board is right for you: 1) Why do you want to be on a board of directors? Some of the reasons for... Continue reading

For those of you with an interest in understanding how an international job search Is different from job search at home, I invite you to read my latest article as the international job search expert on job-hunt.org. In the article I talk about work permits, jurisdictional credentials, language skills, and cultural differences. Well worth a read for those who are considering starting an international job search and are not sure where to start. Addressing some of these issues at the start of an international job search will set you up for success. EXPAT and INTERNATIONAL CAREER SUCCESS TIP: If you... Continue reading

Releasing the results of their 2012 Executive Compensation Survey, BlueSteps, the executive career management service of the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC), announced that even though turnover in the C-suite is increasingly rapid, 65.4% of global executives, from a survey of 731 executives worldwide, believe long-term incentives do in fact motivate them to higher levels of performance. Many executives point to an increasing lack of long-term incentives as a direct contributing factor to the high turnover rate in senior-level management positions. Just under one-third (31.3%) of global executives receive stock options as part of a long-term incentives package, while... Continue reading

HSBC Bank International each year conducts an Expat Explorer Survey which addresses all aspects of expat life. This year the survey was generated from input from over 5,300 expats from nearly 100 countries - the world's largest global survey of expats. The survey reports on everything from the best places for expat earning potential (Expat Economics league table) and quality of life abroad (Expat Experience league table) to the best places to raise a family (Raising Family abroad league table) in their interactive tool: www.expatexplorer.hsbc.com generated from the survey results. The infographic below showcases some of the results as well,... Continue reading

Amy Hoak of MarketWatch in Chicago is a real estate and personal finance expert who helps people get what they need to make smart financial decisions. She recently wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal about questions to ask before taking on an overseas assignment. Specifically Amy addresses issues related to how currency fluctuations can affect your earnings, managing your money while abroad, taxes and spousal employment. She puts forward excellent questions that any aspiring expat should be asking before taking on a post overseas. I'd like to add some additional suggestions to build on what she has recommended,... Continue reading

When searching for people to feature in my expat story series, I'm always excited to learn about successful expats who support the expat community. Being an expat myself, I know the importance of having service providers who understand the unique challenges of expat life and are dedicated to help other expats overcome them. Often it is not enough to just have the training and expertise to effectively solve a problem. Being able to properly address a challenge sometimes requires first hand experience and an understanding of that particular environment and ecosystem - especially when trying to find creative and sustainable... Continue reading

I was grateful to have been invited to participate in a 30 day Vlogathon on personal branding with 29 other personal branding specialists run by Peter Sterlacci of Believe, Become, Be Your Brand. I've included the video post here as well in which I describe 2 major challenges faced by most expat and global professionals and executives working in virtual, distributed and multicultural environments - and 3 success tips for how to overcome them. For those not on my list to receive updates, please sign up on the right so that you will be notified when my book on this... Continue reading

Sarah Dunigan is the co-founder of Songa Designs, a company providing a fashionable, fair trade line of innovative accessories exclusively handmade by Rwandan artisans. Each of these designs represents a collaboration among a growing network of over 150 artisans composed of individuals and women’s cooperatives. An expat in Africa for many years who now splits her time between the U.S. and Rwanda, Sarah has graciously agreed to share her story to help inspire others who may have aspirations for building a business to support their life as well as their local communities overseas. Sarah started her career in commercial real... Continue reading

I first encountered Anastasia Ashman back in 2009 when I learned about the internationally acclaimed book she co-edited with Jennifer Gokman, Tales of an Expat Harem. Fascinated by her book and her story, I invited her to do an interview on my blog to learn more about her. You can read that interview where she chronicles her experiences as an expat and her journey to becoming a writer –Tales from an Expat Writer. Since then I've had the pleasure of connecting with Anastasia and following her "conversations" online over the years. Anastasia has consistently explored new ground in the realms... Continue reading

For those of you with an interest in learning about the realities of today's dynamic employment climate, I recommend reading my latest article on Expat Focus. In the article I talk about the global war for talent, international assigments, your online identity and the impact of culture on all aspects of your career acceleration and job search. EXPAT and INTERNATIONAL CAREER SUCCESS TIP: Read my latest article on Expat Focus. Think of one way you can shift how you are currently managing your career or job search to be better responsive to the realities of today's global employment climate. You... Continue reading

For those of you with an interest in understanding why accelerating your networking efforts is critical to a successful international job search, I invite you to read my latest article as the international job search expert on job-hunt.org. In the article I talk about marketplace differences, the hidden job market, access to opportunities, in-person networking and the impact culture has on the job search. Well worth a read for those looking to improve their international job search results. EXPAT and INTERNATIONAL CAREER SUCCESS TIP: Read my latest article of the importance of increasing your networking efforts to support a successful... Continue reading

Recently I was quoted in a Financial Times article, "US raises the bar for job-seekers". It discusses a number of factors currently impacting non U.S. citizens looking for a job in the U.S. including visas and the qualifications and skills that are in greatest demand. Although the article was written with UK financial professionals and executives in mind, much of the information is very relevant to any non U.S. citizen looking for a job in the U.S. It brings up some important information they need to be aware of: Expat and international assignments are becoming shorter and packages leaner as... Continue reading

For those of you with an interest in learning how to monitor the health of your expat career, international job search and personal brand to support your expat career goals, I recommend reading my latest article as the Expat Focus expat career columnist. In the article I talk about how your to develop your own career, job search and personal brand check-up tool EXPAT and INTERNATIONAL CAREER SUCCESS TIP: Read my latest article on the health of your career, international job search and personal brand. Develop your own checklist of questions and then see how many qusetions you can answer... Continue reading

For those of you with an interest in learning about how your online identity or reputation affects your job search, I recommend reading my latest article on your online identity on Expat Focus. In the article I talk about how your online identity impacts the hiring process in today's digital world. EXPAT and INTERNATIONAL CAREER SUCCESS TIP: Read my latest article on your online identity or reputation. Then google yourself. Do the results tell the story you'd like your target employers to read? Think of at least one way you could add to the story to help it better support... Continue reading

For those of you with an interest in learning how to improve the results of your international job search, I recommend reading my latest article as the international job search expert on job-hunt.org. I talk about how to capitalize on in-demand skills to accelerate your international job search. EXPAT and INTERNATIONAL CAREER SUCCESS TIP: Read my latest article on capitalizing on in-demand skills for international job search success. Then identify the in-demand skills for your country of choice. Think of at least one way you could leverage that knowledge to strengthen your positioning as the candidate of choice for your... Continue reading

New York, July 11, 2012 – Releasing the results of their 2012 Mid-Year Executive Outlook Survey, BlueSteps, the executive career management service of the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC), announced today that only 26% of global executives hold a positive attitude about the job market after the first six months of 2012, a 10% drop from January of this year, and a sobering 38% drop compared to July 2011. The slow recovery of the global economy, turbulence in the Eurozone, and fear of career stagnation were attributed for the lack of optimism. Furthermore, only 35% of survey respondents share... Continue reading

NEW YORK - May 10, 2012 – Releasing the results of their 2012 Focus on Latin America study, BlueSteps.com, the executive career management service of the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC), announced that, of those executives currently working in Latin America, who have also worked in other regions, 52% find advancement opportunities in Latin America to be better compared to advancement in other regions. Only 24% rated advancement in the region as less favorable. While executives in the region viewed advancement opportunities as positive, work-life integration did not receive high marks for the region, with half (50%) of executives... Continue reading

It's not a secret that your network is one of your most important tools in your job search - be it at home or abroad. Those looking to build their career or find a job locally have the ability to attend local meetings and engage with people in person to build their network to support their goals. However most people looking to build an international career or find work abroad don't have that luxury. Hence building your network online is a critical part of any international career acceleration or job search plan. This is why I am writing to share... Continue reading

As discussed in Part I of this post, with a fierce global war for talent on, recruiters are actively searching out passive candidates worldwide for international executive posts. A common assumption being that the best performers are already being successful at work – not actively looking for jobs. Here are the last 3 of the 6 questions an executive can ask themselves when evaluating a recruiter proposing an international assignment: 4) Do they know the job, organization and industry for which they are recruiting? A good recruiter may not give you information about the job right away, but can give... Continue reading

Most people interested in building an international career or business don't have the time or resources to network locally in all the markets they are targeting. Hence online networking is the primary - and for some the only - way to expand one's connections outside their local area to support their global career or business goals. Having a presence on certain networks can also help someone increase their visibility and enhance their online reputation in the right markets. This can be critical to attract opportunities in the areas of the world in which a person wants to work or do... Continue reading

With a fierce global war for talent on, recruiters are actively searching out passive candidates worldwide for international executive assignments. A common assumption being that the best performers are already being successful at work – not actively looking for jobs. But once an executive is contacted by a recruiter about their interest in pursuing an interesting opportunity overseas, how do they know if the recruiter is really in a position to make things happen? Here are six questions an executive can ask themselves when evaluating a recruiter seeking candidates an international assignment: 1) Can they build rapport and trust quickly... Continue reading