Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

Well, I can give you my personal account of what cross cultural assignments are like. I grew up as an Aramco kid. (Now called Saudi Aramco) and moved around alot. Aramco had expats all over the place, including Saudi Arabia, where I lived for some years back in the 1980s. In Saudi Arabia, we had Aramco-everything (house, American school, skating rink, commissary, car, even drapes--not too cute, but free). All bonuses for incentivizing their American and European employees to continue living and working in Saudi Arabia.

Before moving, my family and I actually participated in a week-long cultural training seminar with other families who were about to embark on the same adventure. We were shown slides of places and people, and spoken to at length about dress codes and what is considered unlawful behavior. We were taught about the difference in cultural norms, and the need to respect others in order to gain respect. We absolutely loved it and considered ourselves special. And, the company was quite unique for the time--investing lots of money to ensure that their internal clients (little ol me) would be satisfied and actually excited about moving away.

Now, these kinds of assignments aren't as necessary as they used to be. Global companies will recruit in-country for all the resons that they used to recruit in their home country: to get themselves the best possible employee at the lowest possible cost.

Now, to accept or not to accept the position is a purely personal decision. Meaning:
1--are you willing to accept, respect, and be flexible in this new culture?
2--is it clear how long the assignment will last?
3--is it clear which position you will occupy upon returning home?
4--how big is the trade-off? Will they make it worth your while in terms of salary and benefits? See https://www.jobsataramco.com/index1.html for an example of compensation and benefits that Saudi Aramco offers today.
5--how flexible will your in-country team be? all locals or other expats?
6--and, last but most importantly, is your family willing to take this step?

My family was willing to move every two years. Another family may not have been up to it. Even though this is your career, it's actually a VERY personal decision.

In choosing whether to be an Expat, you would need to assess the benefits and risks. This would vary by each specific situation, as companies treat expats differently, etc.

Possible benefits:
- if the company values international experience (or in some cases, requires international experience of top management), this could be a good career step
- excellent learning opportunity (for both you and if you have a family, for your kids)
- financially, being an Expat can be very lucrative (when I was an Expat in Korea, all my living expenses were paid, so I was able to save most of my salary).

Possible Risks:
- What Thinkmor said about "being out of sight, out of mind" is a real risk if you take an Expat assignment. It is not uncommon for people posted abroad (away from the headquarters) to risk missing out, particularly if the company doesn't value international experience.
- working abroad is very challenging and has different skill requirements, even the person who was best at their job at home may fail as an expat
- if you have a family, there is always a risk that they won't like being abroad, which will make being your being there and getting your work done all the more difficult

Some of these issues can be offset based on the Expat package being offered by the company (training provided, services to help you settle in to the new location, etc.).