Success Tips for Expat & International Careers

Expat Careers: Creativity will improve your career

Creative and innovative people stand out in both their personal and professional lives.

Creative people help organizations and businesses evolve and maintain a competitive edge. Creative people are interesting to work with and generate new learning opportunities for peers and colleagues. They are good at solving complex problems at work and in life - and often are able to find the fun in doing it.

But what does it really mean to be creative?

Often people believe because they can't paint, dance, design, or play a musical instrument that they are not creative. This preconceived notion of what a creative person is holds people back from using this powerful tool into creating a more fulfilling professional life.

The Random House unabridged dictionary defines creativity as 'the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, and relationships, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, and interpretations'.

Based on this definition, all we need to be creative is our thinking.

By letting ourselves be open to new ideas and perspectives, we can begin to develop our creativity. We can create worlds of possibility by simply not letting our routines and perceived notions of how things 'should' be done limit us.

Creativity is a skill that can be developed. And like any skill, the more you use your creativity, the stronger it becomes.

What can you do to build that creative "muscle" and enhance your creative skills today?

Expat Careers: What is Personal Branding?

According to William Arruda, the Personal Branding Guru, personal branding is a way of clarifying and communicating what makes you unique and different – and using those qualities to guide your career or business decisions. It’s about understanding your unique attributes and using them to separate yourself from your competitors or peers.

Personal branding is not about crafting an identity - its about being authentic.  It is not about  using fancy language to advertise a set of skills or experiences, or putting together a logo and a slogan that you think will sell well. It's about uncovering your values, passions, skills and strengths and then using those things to communicate the unique, compelling promise of value that you have to offer to employers or clients.

Personal branding allows your success to be based on you being 100% you, and naturally leads you to serve those who most need your unique qualities and strengths. 

What is your unique, compelling promise of value?

Is Your Career By Choice?

“To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.”

- Kofi Annan, 7^th secretary-general of the UN, 2001 Nobel Peace Prize winner

Our professional lives are a result of the choices we make.

In today's world of work, a career by choice requires:

• a clear vision of a career or business aligned with your values, strengths and lifestyle

• the ability to communicate what makes you uniquely qualified to meet the needs of the right employers or clients

• career and business development strategies proven successful in today's world of work and business

Is this you?

Are you an internationally minded professional or expat who...

• is frustrated because you can't use all of your unique talents or be yourself at your job?

• wants a career aligned with your values and lifestyle but don’t know what that is?

• is unsure of what skills and attributes make you unique and stand out amongst your peers?

• Is unclear how to communicate to employers how your unique value can satisfy their needs?

 

Are you an aspiring entrepreneur or small business owner who…

• dreams of owning your own business but doesn’t know how to make that dream a reality?

• wants a business that supports your lifestyle but doesn’t know where to start?

• is unsure what differentiating attributes will position you to meet the needs of your target market?

• is unclear how to communicate to clients how your unique value will satisfy their needs?

If any of these ring true for you, you are in the right place!

Here are some suggestions of where to go next:

• If you are interested in reading the latest blog posts on my favorite topics, look at the categories on the right and take your pick.

• If you don't want to miss out on the lastest on personal branding, career development, entrepreneurship or expat living and working, sign up for the latest blog updates by entering your email address in the box above.

• If you can't find what you are looking for, or have additional questions, please contact me for additional information.

I hope you enjoy your stay and come back soon!

Yours in Choice,

Megan Fitzgerald
Career, Business and
Personal Branding Strategist

Contact Me

If you’ve had a chance to read about how I can help you find a more satisfying career and want to know more, please contact me to set up a free consultation.  

  

Our initial conversation will help evaluate your current situation. By sharing where you are now and what you want to be different, we can discuss possibilities for moving forward.

 

If there is mutual interest in working together, the next step will be customizing a solution that will work for you.

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

 

Megan Fitzgerald
Certified Career Coach and Strategist