Many businesses in the financial sector today are constantly looking for ways to improve their earnings or ‘bottom line’. Moving jobs and staff overseas is a strategy that some companies use to improve cost-efficiency and cut their spending costs. Having staff on the ground working overseas and opening branches and offices in different locations across the globe provides businesses today with direct access to emerging markets.
Growing your customer base in emerging markets is vital for companies in finance with ambitions to expand internationally and have a significant global presence. As a result, you may be asked whether you would like to take the opportunity to travel abroad for a finance role. Carry on reading to learn more about what you need to know when travelling abroad for a finance role.
Research the Country’s Finance Sector
Before travelling overseas to do a finance role, why not prepare yourself for the experience by researching how the finance sector functions in the country you will be working in? Do some research online to find out information about your main competitors in the country where you’ll be working. Do finance firms in the country you will be working in have very different business practices and ways of conducting business to what you’re accustomed to?
You May Need to Research a New Employer
If you are taking a finance role with a new employer instead of being posted overseas by your current employer, do extensive research into the company, their core values, the salary package, and what you can expect when working with them overseas.
The Business Culture May Be Completely Different
You may be used to a typical 9-5 office job in a luxury state of the art spacious office where all the rooms are well ventilated. However, you should be prepared that you may need to adapt to a business culture that is entirely different when working in another nation. For example, in Japan, there is a traditional working culture of long working days and employees doing large amounts of overtime.
You May Encounter Language Barriers
You may be diving into the deep end and moving to a country for a finance role where you don’t know the language and therefore find yourself unable to communicate well with colleagues, clients, and investors at work; this is a common dilemma for those working abroad. To help you communicate effectively in your finance role abroad, you should find financial translation services to help execute your plans and to settle into your new role seamlessly.
An Opportunity to Advance Your Career
You should consider the job offer for a finance role abroad as a career move and an ideal opportunity to advance your career. Is the job role abroad a promotion? Will you have the same job role and responsibilities as you had before moving abroad? You want to ensure that the trajectory for your career progression is upwards when moving abroad for a position. If, after taking time to reflect and doing lots of research into the job offer, you believe it would be a backwards step for your career, you may want to seriously consider whether you really want to accept the job offer and move abroad. Go forwards and advance in your career through a finance role abroad, not backwards.
Remember, the Overseas’ Role May Not Be Forever
It is essential to weigh up your life goals and the experiences you want to have when pondering whether to take up a finance role abroad. Suppose the job offer is in Mexico, for example, and you are fascinated with everything related to Mexican culture and enjoy learning Spanish. In that case, you may relish the opportunity to work in Mexico for reasons outside of work, such as having contact with a new culture, new foods, meeting new people and so on.
Don’t be scared to exit your comfort zone. Your contract for your finance role abroad may be time-limited, for example, a 12-month long contract. The job may not require you to be overseas for an extended period of time, and you can always visit home on weekends or during the holidays.
Consider Your Commitments ‘Back Home’
You may be settled with a young family and therefore understandably hesitant about moving abroad for a finance role. You may not want to have to deal with all the stress of finding your kids a new school and childcare abroad. However, where there is a will, there is a way, and employees working in the financial sector with young families can successfully move abroad for a job role.
Learn as Much as Possible
If you accept the job offer, definitely try and get as much out of the experience as you can. Make sure your brain works like a sponge out there, and you learn a lot about the country’s culture, professional life, the way business is conducted, its history, and forge valuable friendships.
Make sure you use the skills and things you learn during your enriching experience of working abroad as a learning curve and a springboard for your career.