You will get comfortable outside your comfort zone
We all worry – okay, some more than others – about what our parents, colleagues, and even our culture think of us. Those things often keep us back from trying something completely new or slightly unconventional, and in turn, limit our comfort zone.
By changing everything around you – the scenery, the language, the culture and the energy you jump into the deep water and challenge your understanding of the status quo. The beauty is when you get to work in the new environment, you learn to grow a thick skin and get comfortable in the new unsteady situation. It is a great strength to show your potential employer that you know how to navigate the ship even through the uncomfortable storm.
You will see things differently and become more tolerant
Living abroad will expose you to new people, new customs and new ways of thinking. Before you know it, you will start to absorb, and it will broaden your horizons. In France (my current country), people go out a long way to be polite - they will let you get out of the metro before they get in, same with the elevator. They say good morning and good evening even if they don't know you at all.
They are also the worst in letting you know that they are dissatisfied with you or your performance – and you're left wondering. In work context, overcoming those small cultural gaps will make you more sensitive and subsequently a better manager of an international team.
Moving abroad is also an opportunity to explore your limiting beliefs and perspective on things. By being exposed to different lifestyles and different priorities, you learn to appreciate what is truly important to you.
It will boost your confidence
Leaving behind almost everything you know and getting to grips with another country is never going to be easy, but with every challenge, I have faced and overcome my confidence has slowly grown.
People say: “what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger”. You will learn to master dozens of small obstacles a day, like ordering lunch in a foreign language or explaining how you want your hair cut when the hairdresser never saw a curly head before in his life. Then there are the significant ways – you'll learn how a foreign market operates, how to multitask in different time zone, how to accept and follow strange customs, and even learn a foreign language.
These are some of the top-notch skills that contemporary employers and industries are looking for, and life abroad can engrain them into the very way you function.
It will make you come up with creative solutions
Moving abroad means leaving your security net behind, from this minute onwards you are the sole responsible for making it all work. Creativity and innovative thinking will have to go into overtime here, to thrive. But it will also teach you to plan ahead better and execute your plan. Get productive, learn to budget better, build relationships with people you can count on, create a roadmap and work hard.
Moving abroad is your opportunity to improve your problem-solving skills and figure out how to make it happen. Regarding your career, if you can thrive in that challenging environment, any potential boss will be happy to have you when you're back home.
Words like “freedom” and “home” will gain a whole new meaning
We are sometimes restrained by our sentiments associated with words like “freedom” or “home”. By actually taking the leap and challenging those concepts, you liberate yourself from the doubts of “what could have been”. This notion might be challenging at first, but it is liberating and motivating after a while. You can make your new home anywhere, and that makes you so much more flexible, adaptable and creative.
Same goes for freedom. It's not like anyone chained you to the floor before. But after having taken the plunge and face danger, uncertainty, and the chance of failure in the face, you realise you've tapped into something more than just the ability to go and do – you've drawn into your confidence to do so. Moving abroad opens up your horizons and evokes a huge appetite to take on the world and become even more successful in your career.
It will widen your global network
Living abroad is about meeting new people. Interacting, working, or just observing a different culture, makes you a whole new person. You pick up new habits, mindsets, and the tools of the trade to give yourself an edge.
Last, working abroad boosts your international network – you build relationships with people in your field, so even when you move back to your home country, you can continue to nurture these relationships from afar and incorporate them into your new job.
