by Aarti Ramaswami
, 19.10.16
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Aarti Ramaswami, Associate Professor of Management at ESSEC Business School and Academic Director of the ESSEC Global MBA, shares a video on how to make the most of international work experiences to boost your career
It is generally recognized that international work experience has a high impact on the value of your profile and subsequent mobility across organizations and jobs. So, if you’re seeking to further your career within a multinational organization, what types of international experience are beneficial? In today’s global economy, there are a variety of relatively cost-effective ways for people to obtain international experience – including study abroad periods, travel, and remote teamwork with multinational teams – but do all of them have the same impact on career success?
Studying abroad
It is now possible for organizations to hire employees who are already internationalized: indeed, one form of pre-career international experience might come in the form of pursuing advanced degrees in another country. However, this may offer only limited exposure to a foreign culture. The question to ask here, then, is how can the future employee get the most out of the so-called study abroad experience?
Travelling for work
With globalization comes the need to travel for business, tie links, and foster relationships. Travelling is a great way to build your social capital and just how can be seen in the video International Experience embedded in this article. It may be that even business travel will prove useful if a person approaches it with skill development in mind.
Openness and self-efficacy: Working as an expatriate
Global organizations are increasingly relying on managers who have expatriate experience. However, useful expatriate experience reposes on two key issues that are covered in the video as is the approach that should be adopted by corporate HR and management when dealing with international mobility.
To sum up, these three key areas – studying abroad, travelling for work, an expatriation – provide graduates and employees with a host of ways to boost their careers. However, there is a hierarchy of effectiveness among these three strategies regarding the impact they have in opening the doors to a career move. Watch Prof. Aarti Ramaswami in her video International Experience to find out more.
