Gaining international work experience as an Australian is a brilliant career opportunity for anyone; or is it?! US-born Hilary Mine, the MD of Alcatel-Lucent Australasia, is a firm believer in the developmental value of international assignments based on her own expatriate experience.
However, whilst international work opportunities are great be that on secondment or going over to another country to find your own work, many Australians looking to come home or who have come home are finding it tough.
I am hearing more and more stories about Australians working for global organisations who have been laid off or are looking to return home, who are having the doors closed on them when they approach the same company they have been working for overseas in Australia.
Others who come home and secure work often find that although they have gained all these wonderful skills and experiences, for whatever reason these are not recognized when they return. As a result their career can frequently take a step back rather than forward. This often results in them leaving the company.
Hilary herself speaks of the challenges that Australians and New Zealanders face in terms of getting home and then facing the possiblity of needingt to take a lesser role to come home. She says you may need to make a sideways move, or you may even need to leave the company. If, for example, you have a regional role based overseas with Asia-Pacific responsibilities, you are not going to come home to a bigger job. Another problem Hilary says is that:
“you get typecast as, say, an expert in a particular region, and you are not seen as able to take on a different role.”
There are clearly many pros and cons with working overseas. Share your experiences and thoughts on if it is overall a productive career move – does it take your career forward or back?
6 Comments
I recently took a redundancy from an international Oil company, as a means to return home following 7 years as an expat in London and Singapore. Having outgrown the Company in Australia, I knew that redundancy would be the likely outcome upon our return, however the lure of the international posting was too atractive to ignore.
I know that I return to Australia a vastly more experienced and competent business leader than when I left, however I don’t get a sense that recruiters and prospective employers place much value in the OS experience. I haven’t yet found it to be a differentiator.
The most significant drawback of the 7 year posting is that I have very limited local contacts. This is a real issue, given that something like 85% of Senior roles are recruited through contacts.
Overall, the opportunity to work overseas can be hugely rewarding, from a financial and personal development perspective, however, if you believe it will be a positive career development, you should also consider the potential downsides and work to mitigate these.e.g. actively work to keep contacts in Australia. Source roles prior to your return, rather than wait till you return to begin the process of finding another role.
Cheers
I think the people “back home” often feel they don’t have much in common with former expats. I think many people are not interested in hearing about the experiences of those who’ve been overseas. They’d rather stick with the mainstream people than those who are different enough to risk an overseas assignment–not because of the assignment being overseas, but because of the difference in personality between the two types.
Expat21
Expat Abroad
expat21.wordpress.com
This is a really interesting and valid point that I have not read or heard about before, however it makes sense. How you relate to your former colleagues and how they relate or perhaps don’t when you return from an expat assignment is an area that perhaps deserves further exploration and attention by companies to assist with repatriation.
Part of this discussion should relate to moving overseas. When I moved, I had a lot of grief from “back home” about what a “traitor” I was, “leaving my own country behind,” and “”what was wrong with my own country, that I had to leave,” etc.
In my case, nothing at all was wrong with my country, but I had married a man from the Middle East. After trying two years in the United States, and his not being able to get a decent job (because of not speaking English well, and because of all of his education being outside the United States, and employers not really knowing what that meant) we decided to move to his country. Here, he was able to get a good job again (he was thehead of an accounting department when I met him, and he got a simmilar job when we moved back here, whereas in America the only job he could get was in a hotel cleaning rooms).
Over the years, the people who either felt I was a “traitor” leaving my own country, or “I better get back to ‘safe’ America before getting killed by terrorists overseas” have pretty well dropped out of my life. I think a LOT of expats are facing these sorts of people back home when they move overseas, and companies should definitely address this problem.
Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems expats face when they return (in my opinion) is these same sorts of people wanting them to “fit back in” and never talk about their expat experiences (which set them apart from the group), but to talk and be interested in ONLY the things wheich athat gorup views as “normal.” I think this is VERY disturbing for a lot of returning expats, and is definitely a problem that should be addressed. It is called ‘re-entry shock.”
Expat 21
Expat Abroad
expat21.wordpress.com
I have returned to Australia after working in Europe for 7 years. I left a fabulous job in the UK because I made the choice to return and settle in Australia. Looking for work now, I am very frustrated to be faced with the same challenges as when I left.
Firstly one needs to have a be all and do all skill set but still need to have a consistent field record. So if you have undertaken another role in the same industry to broaden your experience most of the time in Australia this is frowned upon.
Secondly, qualification appears to far outweigh proven ability and actual experience. If this notion keeps up, Australia will end up in a classicist and ageist society like the UK. From a broadcast job ad reading, “if you are between the ages of 18 and 30″, I understand that ’30′ is generally considered too old to be able to contribute innovative ideas.
So far I have experienced a generally arrogant and exclusive attitude from industry people here at home. Australian industry does not help it’s development by insulating ideas instead of sharing them. This rings true in the Australian work ethic of believing we should need to grovel to be recognised for hard work. This narrow minded ‘Tall Poppy Syndrome’ has not changed at all.
I think returning home is a difficult task for any expat but especially hard for Australians because of the distance we usually have to travel, and the attitudes on return. I have the impression that my overseas experience is meaningless, and certainly employers are not making any effort: no relocation assistance, no accommodations for continued language training, no attempt to use the skills I’ve gained here. In some cases even applying to jobs is difficult because recruitment methods like tests, trial days or assessment centres absolutely require you to be present. Employers seem concerned that I’m not a long term prospect whilst family and friends warn that I shouldn’t expect “special treatment” just because I’ve been abroad. Overall it means I’m not surprised the Australian media talks about a “brain drain”!
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[...] again. I do not want to give up so easily – but then I read this blog posted in 2008 http://blog.sixfigures.com.au/2008/11/13/expats-coming-home-to-australia-the-impact-on-your-career-%…. Have things moved on? Has anyone out there returned to Australia recently and can offer some [...]