In what ways does your own personality influence (the success of) your long stay abroad?

What you don't always realize as an expat or emigrant in-high-pressure-pre-departure-times is that, in addition to all your material possessions, there is something else that always goes with you in the “moving boxes”: your own personality (and that of any family members).

Some focal points:

Not only your skills, competencies, nice character traits and useful skills go with you, but also your quirks, awkwardnesses and ingrained patterns move with you to your new home.
If you had a full agenda in your (original) home country, it will probably also be full in your new country of residence after a period of settling down
if you found it difficult to make new social connections, this will probably not be very different after emigration (although other circumstances may cause you to become more open, for example).
Many expats and emigrants realize after a while that their lives have not changed all that much, apart from the different location, adjustments and expectations that may or may not have come true.
In between the busy selection, packing and unpacking of all your material goods, take some time to think about what you want to take with you from your lifestyle or personal habits and unpack later, or what you would rather leave behind. In other words: what is desirable and feasible to change in your lifestyle?

Moving & Living Abroad

Emigration and moving abroad

Living Abroad & Insurances

What skills and competencies do you need when spending a long time abroad?

The ideal emigrant

The ideal expat or emigrant...there is obviously no such thing. The competencies of a doctor who is the only non-African working in a small hospital in Eastern Kenya are obviously different from those of a start-up entrepreneur who wants to set up a joint venture in the booming Chinese market.

A list can be compiled of skills and competencies it is nice to have as an expat or emigrant:

being authentic; staying true to yourself with an open mind towards others and other cultures, awareness of one's own strengths and shortcomings.
being involved; taking responsibility, being loyal, stimulating the involvement of others.
be able to communicate; intercultural communication skills: be open to other cultures without prejudice.
being creative; thinking in terms of solutions, coming up with ideas.
flexible, willing to adapt; 1) adapt to daily life and general living conditions in other culture 2) adapt to other forms of interaction with people from the host culture 3) adapt to other working conditions.
empathy; being able to empathize with others, putting oneself aside at appropriate times, dealing with differences, pushing one's own traditions and opinions into the background.
integrity; being honest, showing respect for others, acting in accordance with generally accepted norms and values of new home and work environment, being discreet.
be willing and able to learn; be open to new things and experiences.
to have courage; to dare to take risks, to have charisma.
be able to network; build up new contacts, take time for meetings or when arranging things, take social initiative.
to be environmentally aware.
be able to make balanced judgments; be able to put things into perspective, choose different points of view, stimulate interaction.
being able to plan and organize.
be stress resistant; able to deal with setbacks, handle disappointments, put things in perspective and set priorities.
be result-oriented; have perseverance, be flexible, be able to see the long term.
can cooperate; be able to work in a team, stop being impatient.
have self-confidence.

Research shows that the "critical success factors" for many expats and emigrants are concentrated around:

local language skills.
belief in own competences.
interpersonal skills.
sociability.
degree of extroversion.
flexibility.
emotional stability.
friendliness.

Previous international (work) experience is not a predictor of successful (work) performance in a new long stay abroad; especially in expats who have moved repeatedly, a degree of "adjustment fatigue" may also occur.

Quotes

"I had no foreign experience whatsoever. In order to advance with my employer, a multinational corporation, I noticed that foreign experience-unless it was pronounced-was a requirement. Through this employer I wanted to work abroad on my languages, cultural insight, management skills. Get a broader view. With the intention of returning to the Netherlands after a few years."
USA expat

"The most important skill, besides your online work abilities, that a global nomad needs to have is to be able to refocus. Every airport brings a new home and every seaport new faces and friends, and every town new workspace. You are in constant movement and constant adjusting."
Global nomad worker

If you have plans to do business abroad, consider new competencies, or deeper levels of the above competencies:

the ability to communicate in the business language of your new country of residence.
entrepreneurial competencies: identifying and seizing opportunities, anticipating, developing a vision, strategic thinking, administrative skills, persistence.
analysis; making connections, complex analyses.
creativity; innovating, solution-oriented.
customer orientation; service orientation, stimulating others to optimize services.
leadership; coordinating, stimulating, motivating, connecting.
persuading; predominance, conflict management, negotiating, weighing interests.
acting professionally; professionalism, showing initiative, excelling.

In addition to the extent to which you possess the above competencies and skills, the following factors, among others, also influence how successful you will be as an emigrant:

how did you deal with moving earlier in life; did it go relatively easy for you or was it accompanied by many (mental) bumps?
have you ever changed jobs and how did that make you feel?
have you had setbacks in your life and how did you deal with them?
do you generally like change, or do you always avoid it?
to what extent did you know the country, language and culture beforehand?
to what extent have you prepared yourself sufficiently for practical and emotional matters?
to what extent does your partner and/or children have a shared desire to leave?
to what extent can your partner also find a job ("dual career")?

A survey among 270 multinationals showed that the dual career desire in particular was an obstacle to the continuation of the posting of an employee abroad.