A lot gets written about the importance for young people in business to work or live abroad for a period of time. Years ago, an international assignment was very unusual and not often a good career move due to the uncertainty of what job might be available when you returned to the U.S. Companies often had trouble reintegrating an expatriate or recognizing the increased value of their employee. This was especially true in large firms with rigid job categories and inflexible pay scales. Fortunately this is changing.

Nowadays many of the young professional I advise are looking forward to and planning on an international assignment. This is very possible in the consulting field but also workable in many businesses. The timing can vary but it is often in your late twenties or early thirties after you have made several moves and/or promotions in the domestic business. I always strongly urge these “clients” of mine to push internally to get an international assignment. The young people I know used to lean to Western Europe but now the focus is on Australia or Asia.

Why is this international experience so important? I wrote earlier in my blogs about developing  “an International frame of mind”. This is much easier for many young people outside the U.S. Other countries study English for years and young people long to visit and be educated in our country. We are still a very U.S. centric focused country. But this is changing. And it better change as we are truly a global marketplace.

I was personally fortunate to spend a lot of my earlier years with Donn Corporation working with our businesses outside the U.S. I was often in both Canada and Europe six times in year and every few years in Asia. Many of the experiences I write about in The Business Zoo relate directly to these international involvements and the great people I was fortunate to get to know. Here are a couple examples and stories from the book.

Dining with Europeans. These are some of the most sophisticated people in the world. They have made the art of dining  an essential and integral aspect of both business and life. Much can be learned by mastering their skills.

Learning the nuance of language and words. From Donn’s European Controllers I learned that the word Yes means different things depending on your country and its culture. To the French, Yes meant I heard you and I will consider (not always do) what you said. To the Germans, it meant Yes, I will follow it in great detail and they would then ask a dozen questions to clarify what i meant. The Asian countries bring their own unique cultures to this.

So if you work for an organization where you can get International work, go for it. If you work for an organization that does not have the kind of International involvements that you want , find another organization!