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.