Navigating your career move across borders

Moving countries is terrifying. Moving countries and having to navigate a new job and a new workplace with a very different culture can be very terrifying. As someone who embarked on this adventure, alone a couple of years back from India to the United Kingdom with very little mental preparation, I can say that the experience was (cliched as it may sound) in equal parts - hard and rewarding.

I'm penning down a few thoughts here to offer guidance to anyone who is planning to move.

1.???? Pay attention to how you communicate - I know now that over 80% of all communication is intangible - i.e. not actual words, but actions, behavior and patterns learned through unconscious biases. And this communication is learned purely through experience and living. That said, there is still that 20% that one can have control over and even get better at. Err on the side of communicating more (both verbal and written) - clearly, explaining your intent and being specific about what you are looking for. We tend to assume, especially adding in all those unconscious bias patterns learned over years in a different cultural setting. What I learned though is words and phrases can evoke different meanings in different settings even while one is still working for the same organization.

2.???? Invest in relationships - Actively invest time and effort in honing new relationships - both at work and in your personal life, especially if are moving alone. It's important to have friends and people that you can trust and be yourself at your workplace - they could be your sounding board and could also help you navigate or make sense of the cultural difference better. Some ways to do this are - a) if you have an opportunity to meet a colleague in person as opposed to on a video call, then do that; b) look for any communities or groups with people who share a similar cultural background as you and join those; c) browse through your LinkedIn network and see if there are any folks from any earlier part of your life in the city and reach out to them and d) at work, go out of your way to volunteer for events or even work tasks (outside of your direct role) as this will give you an opportunity to meet more people and find a few that you like hanging out with.

3.???? Have curious, open mindset - Trying to be intentionally curious, asking open minded questions with a genuine want to know is definitely helpful. Doing this also helps one understand the 'why' behind some things are done a certain way, while you might have been used to a different way of doing the same things earlier. While it's good to assume positive intent, doing this also helps you build credibility in the new set-up and not be seen as someone who can be taken for granted. Devoting the first 60 days at the new work-place to just absorb and learn will provide you with a rock-solid base to be super effective in your role in the future

4.???? Be kind to yourself - I can't underline this more. Unless one is superhuman it is going to be quite impossible to expect the same level of work success you were enjoying in your home country, from the first moment you start on the role in the new country. A significant part of your energy is going to get consumed into all the life admin work that you will have to deal with at that start as you start settling into a new country. I hadn't realized how much though - so I want to tell you to take it easy. A couple of things that will help though - 1) reach out for help in case you know someone who has gone through this before as opposed to wanting to do it all on your own and 2) communicate openly and freely with your boss and colleagues to impress upon them your situation and all that you are dealing with. So even in case you aren't able to hit the ground running at work, they will know why and more probably than not will not form any of kind of a bad impression about you.

5.???? Be patient - The hardest virtue, but the most useful. You will be successful in the new role and (more probably) even more than your previous career outings because you are probably going to be one of the few that has the lived-in knowledge of cross-cultural awareness, appreciation for different ways of thinking and acting and understanding of the importance of cultural and institutional differences. However, it's key to remember to be patient, as it's going to take a bit of time for you to get into a 'state of flow' and for your new diverse peer group to truly understand the value you bring to the table.

In summary, let me also add this. Moving internationally can be exciting for all sorts of reasons: adventure, personal growth, new professional opportunities. It can also come with a lot of challenges, which we don’t always fully anticipate. It can be hard to uproot from a familiar work environment, friends, and neighborhoods and resettle somewhere new, all while trying to establish new workplace relationships and get used to new ways of thinking and behaving. However, doing this helps one build extremely valuable higher order skills such as flexibility, adaptability, cross-cultural awareness, appreciation for different ways of thinking, understanding of the importance of cultural and institutional differences, and creating an open and curious mindset. And this unique combination of skills makes you stand out from the crowd and is going to make you attractive for high-level executive roles and long-term career success.

In case you found this useful and want to chat more, feel free to DM me on LinkedIn or send me an email on [email protected].

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