Success Tips for Expat & International Careers

Expat Networking: Effective Networkers Have Clear Goals

In order to make the right choices regarding where, when and with whom you network, it is best to have specific professional objectives. When you have clear goals, decisions about where to invest your time and energy networking is much easier - and optimizes your chances for building mutually beneficial relationships that will help you achieve those goals.

Let's take for example an expat professional who wants a job in advertising.  They find out about an upcoming advertising conference. They believe that this would be a great networking opportunity and so they go online to find out how to register. When they discover 250 advertising agencies will have booths at the event they think: "Fantastic - I am sure to meet lots of industry people and make some good contacts."

The day of the conference arrives. This expat has their business cards in hand and are dressed in  their smartest suit.  They arrive early and pick up the conference program to see what the first day holds in store for them. The conference program lists 50 different sessions that will take place over 3 days.  It also provides a list of the agencies exhibiting at the event.

Unsure of which sessions would be best to attend, they decide to start at the exhibition hall. They begin to walk down the aisles looking at the booths... so many agencies... many people are crowding around certain booths so they assume that these places might be a good place to start.  After waiting for 10 minutes to speak to someone at a booth, they tell the company representative that they want to find out more about more about this particular agency and ask if they are hiring.  The representative gives them a company brochure and tells them that the openings are listed on the website.  The day continues on... many different companies...many of the same answers.

Next Issue of Personal Branding Magazine is Out - with a Special Gift for Expats!

Personal Branding Magazine Volume 2, Issue 3 was released February 1st!  This issue focuses on the first step of the personal branding process - brand discovery.  It features interviews with Marshall Goldsmith, author, What Got You Here Won't Get You There,  Tim Sanders, author of Saving the World at Work, John Assaraf, co-star of The Secret, and Gurbaksh Chahal of Fox's The Secret Millionaire.  There are also articles on using the Internet to discover yourself, letting work find you, and of course more tips for discovering your personal brand.

According to publisher Dan Schawbel, "Many people rush into personal branding, without first taking precious time to discover who they are and what they want to do for the rest of their lives.  In this issue, we expose how to unlock your true potential, unearth your passion, acquire the necessary skills and how to set achievable goals." 

There is also something of particular interest in this issue for expats and those interested in expat careers!  As a way of supporting expatriate career success in 2009, I am giving away 50 personal branding assessments (each a 97 USD value) to the first 50 expats that respond to the ad I have placed in the magazine. You must respond using the email address indicated and provide the information requested in the ad - I will not be responding to inquiries about the assessment any other way.

Now the cost of the annual subscription to the magazine is 12.95 USD - which means you get a magazine choc full o' good information about how to build your personal brand 4 times a year. This is definitely good value for money. But by subscribing now, you not only get all that great information, but you also get access to a personal branding assessment valued at 97 USD (if you are quick enough to be one of the first 50 expats to request it).  And if that isn't enough to convince you, half of the proceeds of The Personal Branding Magazine go to the American Cancer Society, so you'll also be supporting a good cause (particularly near and dear to my heart, as I am a survivor).

If you wait I cannot guarantee there will be assessments left...

So what is stopping you?  If you have not yet done something to help improve your professional life in 2009 - here's your chance!

YOUR EXPAT SUCCESS TIP: Subscribe to the Personal Branding Magazine. Be one of the first 50 expats to respond to the ad Career By Choice has placed in the magazine giving away free personal branding assessments to the first 50 expats who request it. Use the personal branding assessment to get clear on your unique value so that you can powerfully communicate it to those who need what you offer most. Take action on what you've learned to accelerate your career success!