Success Tips for Expat & International Careers

Ask the Expat & International Career Coach: How Do I Build a Career Abroad When I Don't Speak Another Language?

This is the next post in my "ASK THE EXPAT & INTERNATIONAL CAREER COACH" blog series. 

Today's question is very common one I get when speaking to people considering building a career overseas. Some are overseas already but feel predominantly held back professionally because of their lack of language skills. 

 

"HOW DO I BUILD A CAREER ABROAD WHEN I DON'T SPEAK ANOTHER LANGUAGE?" 

Only speaking your native language obviously significantly limits the number of job opportunities available to you in other countries where your mother tongue is not spoken.  

This not only has an impact on your chances of building a professional life but also being able to enjoy living in that country from a lifestyle perspective. Of course many expats take language classes before or after they've arrived in their new home to develop a functional fluency which does allow for engagement but not immersion into their new home culture. If that approach works for you and your native language is the one you are looking to depend on professionally, you still have options. 

 

The first and obvious option is to find other countries where your language is spoken. When I ask people how many countries speak their language, very few can give me an accurate number. People are generally surprised to find out how many countries from which they have to choose. 

 

Celebrating 100 Years of International Women's Day with the 100 Voices in Business Project - 100 Voices from Women Around the World

My colleague Krishna De is one of the top thought leaders in digital marketing and social media.  Krishna is a great source of information on anything related to those subjects (as well as many others), but is also someone who regularly gives back to her community. True to form Krishna conceived of the idea to mark the 100th birthday of International Women's Day by soliciting words of wisdom in 140 characters (a tweet) from women around the world on topics related to leadership, networking, productivity, work-life balance and professional development. The 100 Voices of Business Project culminated in a compilation of the top 100 tweets of wisdom in the presentation you see above.  I was honored to be asked to participate and to be selected as one of the contributors.

The presentation is packed with great thoughts and ideas that will certainly help you in all of the areas addressed. Take your time and read through it.  Feel free to share with others. If you share via twitter, be sure to use the hashtag: #100voicesbiz

 

EXPAT CAREER SUCCESS TIP: I invite you to review this presentation and pick 3 nuggets of wisdom from one of the categories for which you feel you need some inspiration or guidance. The categories again are: leadership, networking, productivity, work-life balance and professional development.  Apply one of these nuggets each day for 2 weeks.  See what sort of shifts happen after those two weeks are over. Fell free to come back and share what you learned.