February 11, 2021
Today’s globalizing world has inspired increasing international experiences and has opened doors to new/advanced opportunities in an interconnected global community. As global businesses transition to operate and develop internationally, the demand for international talents swiftly increases across the world, resulting in an unprecedented level of high workforce mobility.
On account of the rising population looking to develop careers internationally, Alariss Global hosted a recent Career Q&A Webinar, with panelists Josephina Durini Wollak (aka Josie), Ferran Sostres, and Christine Gosioco, who talked about the main skill sets required and provide a guide on essential factors of consideration when seeking for a career abroad. In this article, we are here to share the conversation that uncovers the important aspects of seeking jobs abroad, adaptation, and language acquisition.
Josefina says, “I tried to find balance and be flexible with my working environments. I have adapted to new environments’ mindset since a younger age and got comfortable with moving around. I also found myself liking to be immersed in diverse cultural environments.”
Christine says, “My career aspirations were motivated by the environment that I grew up in. After graduating, I’d like to use my development economics studies to help developing countries, such as the Philippines and Saudi Arabia. The rich-poor gap was so big, and it motivated me to follow this path.”
Ferran says, “I just wanted to keep moving and keep connecting with an international network. It naturally became a mindset for me.”
Josefina says, “I prioritized location over the internship, so I would choose a place in the world that I want to live in and look for a job there. I wanted to spend a summer in Rio in college, so I worked for an internship there. Also, as my senior thesis inspired me, I decided to work in Rome, and it has been incredible.”
Christine says, “My mindset changed during my academic years. In freshman year, I found an internship on Facebook and was interested in the job mission of hiking across the country to raise funds for cancer. Later on, I engaged in the undergraduate business curriculum and developed business interests. Along with wanting to study abroad, I decided to work in Turkey. This experience shaped my further consulting career goals. So I would first look for what interests me, then go on to discover what it has to offer, and finally, the journey will lead me to find the right career.”
Ferran says, “I think any internship that offers transferable skills for future jobs is good. My advice is to take on any opportunities and keep an open mind. My entrepreneurial interests surfaced in college, and I spent half a year on an internship and half a year abroad in London. There I learned about many new skills and used those to reach out to companies and ask for employment opportunities. Network expansion is very important as well. My advice is to be open to opportunities as any skills learned can be used later and learn how to sell yourself!”
Josefina says, “Being able to speak another language has been very helpful to me. Knowing another language is also beneficial to exercise/train your brain, which goes beyond using translation. This way, you can also gain transferable skills!”
Christine says, “Technically, in the globalizing world, language can be less of a barrier as technology develops for translation. Being able to connect with people in their own languages is always a plus and more impressive. It makes the connection more personal, and the cross-cultural communication will be more fluid without translation.”
Ferran says, “Knowing another language is always beneficial, as well as knowing the language of your target location. However, in tech communities, there are some jobs abroad you can communicate with people in English.”
Without a doubt, the three young professionals’ successful international careers were inspired by their international background major driving forces. Their open-mindedness constitutes the so-called “global mindset,” a learnable skill and valuable asset needed in the future of work. Their adventurous spirits and desire to be part of this interconnected world is shared by numerous young professionals of any cultural experiences.
At Alariss Global, we facilitate the process for international talents to match with top emerging companies; and by sharing these three young professionals’ journeys, we hope to inspire and help you through your journey onto launching an international career.
