Overseas Experience Means Success
By Hope Jordan

Join the Peace Corps to enhance your career? Think about it. With the growing number of companies going global, it's a good idea to have some international experience under your belt. Studies show workers who can make it work with other cultures are given more responsibility and advance farther in their companies—so at the very least, brush up on that high school French.

One Big Six accounting firm, with offices in 125 countries, uses overseas assignments to groom its young executives for better positions in the future. It's a win-win situation; the workers get promoted, and the firm gets employees who can handle foreign customers.

But international sales aren't just for the Fortune 500 anymore. These days, any firm with a five-year growth plan has its eye on global markets. Whether they're looking to sell or manufacture in other countries, these companies need employees they can trust to send overseas.

It isn't easy. Anywhere from 25% to 40% of overseas assignments fail, according to search firms specializing in international employment. Compared to Europeans and Asians, the US corporate culture doesn't produce internationally minded managers. That's one of the downsides of having a strong economy. In fact, most American companies are beginning to hire foreign nationals to staff their operations abroad.

But there's still a need for open-minded Americans—especially to set up new operations and, most importantly, recreate the corporate culture abroad. So how do you get yourself considered for an overseas assignment?

• Don't discriminate. If you are sensitive to people with differences in your own office, you're much more likely to be looked at when higher-ups need to choose an overseas candidate.
• Be flexible with your compensation. Because overseas assignments used to be hazardous duty, companies paid their expatriates high premiums. That's changing. Now, more firms use career development, rather than money, as an incentive.
• Family matters. If you have a spouse, talk about the potential for relocation overseas. An unhappy " trailing spouse" is the main reason these assignments fail.

If you do land a job in another country, what can you do to succeed?

• Learn about and respect the other culture. There are plenty of resources for cross-cultural training. If your company doesn't provide it, seek it out on your own.
• Adjust your behavior. Avoid using humor and avoid figures of speech.
• Copy their manners. If you're unsure about etiquette, follow the host's example.
• Practice their language, and be patient. Expect cultural setbacks. Patience goes a long way toward breaking barriers.

Hope Jordan is a business writer based in New Hampshire.