There are a lot of good reasons to work abroad. On top of getting the chance to experience new places, working internationally can increase your overall value to your company and help you take your career further. But how do you put yourself in position for an international career? Here are some steps you can take.
Learn a Second Language
If you want to work in a foreign country, knowing the native language is a huge help. It saves the need (and cost) for a translator and minimizes the chance of misunderstandings. Plus, if you’re going to live in a foreign country or spend lots of your time there, speaking the language will make daily life easier, which will help you avoid stress and stay focused on your business goals. If you want an international business job, you might consider learning another language, in addition to English. Some great choices include Spanish, Mandarin, German, French, Portuguese, Arabic, and Japanese.
Travel Regularly
Experiencing the world is essential if you want an international job. While international travel can be expensive, you should do everything you can to spend time outside of your own country. It’s a great way to gain knowledge of other cultures and discover places where you can work and be satisfied.
Volunteer for International Business Trips
If the opportunity arises to travel internationally for your business, take it, even if you’re simply going as support staff. Not only will this give you a good sense of what it’s like to work in an international setting, it will give you experience you can cite later when applying for international jobs.
Expand Your Cultural Knowledge
Working outside your home country means working within other cultures. If you want to be successful in an international business climate, you need to understand the habits and expectations of those cultures. But you don’t have to leave home to gain cultural knowledge. Plenty of books, videos, and online resources can give you insights into other cultures. You should take the time to absorb as many of them as possible.
Exercise Your Emotional Intelligence
No matter how much you learn about other cultures, working and living in another country will include moments that you didn’t expect and/or seem strange. Accepting these moments requires accepting that the habits, values, traditions, and societal norms of other countries are important to the people who live there. And that, in turn, requires you to have good emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and control your own emotions while handling interpersonal relationships with understanding and empathy. If you can do that, you’re more likely to succeed in your relationships with international colleagues.
Embrace Technology
On the internet, international borders are easily swept away, allowing individuals from all over the world to communicate. If you want an international business job, take advantage of the internationalism of the internet. Don’t hesitate to network with professionals outside your home country or (if possible) build teams within your own company that integrate employees from multiple locations around the world. The more you can reach out to others who live outside your country, the more prepared you’ll be to work internationally.
Earn an MBA Degree
Those who find the most success in international business tend to have the right combination of experience and knowledge. And when it comes to acquiring business knowledge, the Master of Business Administration is the go-to business degree. When you attend an MBA program, you can gain the insights and skills you need to excel in management and other high-level business careers, including those in international business.
The question is: do you have the time to earn a master’s in business administration? Thanks to online education, you likely do. That’s because, through the technology of online learning, you can attend a top MBA program from home or from anywhere else you have internet access. Not only that, but online MBA programs give you plenty of flexibility, allowing you to choose when in the day you attend class. It’s this level of convenience that makes earning an MBA online such a common choice for working adults. And because these adults typically come from all over the world, an online MBA can even help you make international business contacts before you graduate.
If you want an international business job, earning an MBA degree from an online university can put you a big step closer to your career goals.
Walden University is an accredited institution offering a Master of Business Administration degree program online. Expand your career options and earn your degree in a convenient, flexible format that fits your busy life.
Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.