Strategies for relocating to a successful high end career

Even high-end expat professionals can have a hard time adjusting to their new positions overseas.

It’s far from easy to succeed as a high-end professional once you’ve left your home country’s comfort zone, especially if you’ve relocated to a totally unfamiliar country in which you’ve no terms of reference as regards the norms of business life. A new environment, new language, new culture, new work colleagues and a new home can make even the most confident expat lose a lot of sleep. What many expat professionals don’t realise is that studying the local business culture before you’re plunged into it’s midst can help a great deal during the inevitable adjustment period.

Google is your friend for all the info necessary, including current events at your destination, and local expat forums and blogs can also give less formal insights into the region’s culture. Taking a course in the language of your new country can be an enormous help as well as impressing your new work colleagues. As in all countries’ business environments, networking is essential to success as an expat professional. Work events are the most important, and are also where you might find colleagues who later become your good friends and supporters.

Attending events and meetups unconnected with your profession is another way to get to grips with the local expat community outside your workplace. An obvious essential is taking care of yourself healthwise, bearing in mind your high-performance career can become very stressful at times. Setting yourself up to be successful includes prioritising the meaningful connections you’ve already made, rather than rushing around attempting to make more. Building friendships can be mentally tiring whilst lasting relationships can be supportive as well as fun.

As the new guy on the expat professional block, you’ll need to resist the temptation to people-please and learn how to fight for what you want if you’re certain it’s the right way forward. Whatever your field of expertise and wherever in the world you’re now working, it’s an exciting time in both your professional and personal life.