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So, your expat child (no longer a child, but a young adult, remember that) is going to university!
You probably don't even have time to read this post, but you might want to try to take a few minutes. It's a special guest blog by Tina Quick, author of a new book called The Global Nomad’s Guide to University Transition. The book is available to order at amazon.co.uk as well.
In Tina's own words:
There is no other way to say it. Children who have lived the expatriate lifestyle are different. They as people are not different, just their life experiences are. Most are clueless as to how their seemingly normal, highly mobile, cross-cultural lives, have shaped them. But one day they have an experience that wakes them up to their differences. This commonly takes place upon repatriation or transition for college or university when are suddenly surrounded mostly by those who have never ventured away from their home country or culture.
Students who have been raised outside their passport countries need to be prepared for this major life transition because theirs is a double adjustment. They must not only adjust to a new life stage with increased independence but to a new culture as well, for even their home country will be foreign to them in many respects. Things are surprisingly not as familiar as they had expected and the illusion that they know their home country well can be shattered. What results is the feeling of cultural imbalance, not fitting in, inability to connect with their peers. They feel like “fish out of water” even in their own country. They often end up feeling alone, misunderstood and isolated which commonly leads to depression.
Students who understand that it is their international experiences that make them different have an easier adjustment than those who never quite figure out why they are so “unique.” Parents, educators and counselors can prepare their students for the college/university transition by introducing them from the earliest ages to the terms global nomad and/or third culture kid (TCK) so they can embrace the concept that their life experiences have been different from those of their home-country peers.
Parents can encourage TCKs to enter their home country the same way they would a foreign one even if it means buying a guide book to their own country. Students may want to consider attending International Orientation on their university campus along with other internationals. Global nomads often find they have more in common with internationals than with their domestic peers.
Sudden independence can be overwhelming and most students need parameters to keep them on track for success. Parents can help by laying out expectations ahead of time. These might include expectations concerning academics, finances, communications and behavior. Laying the groundwork ahead of time reduces the number of unwanted surprises or disappointments.
Students heading off to university need to be taught practical life skills before leaving home. Perhaps they have been raised in countries where they have had domestic help so they did not have the opportunity to learn how to shop or cook for themselves, drive a car, do their own laundry or it wasn’t practical to have a bank account. The learning curve is steep upon hitting their university campuses. Having these practical skills under control and strategies in place before arriving will help lessen the stress of the transition.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
"Successful Living Abroad" also on You Tube!
In addition to putting the 18 segment on line video series "Successful Living Abroad" in a special section on ExpatExpert.com, it can also be viewed at my new channel at You Tube.
From either source, the content of all of my books to assist the globally, mobile expatriate family is there to be watched--for free!
Enjoy and please tell your expat friends all about it!
From either source, the content of all of my books to assist the globally, mobile expatriate family is there to be watched--for free!
Enjoy and please tell your expat friends all about it!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
"Successful Living Abroad" Live on ExpatExpert.com
My new global on-line lecture tour "Successful Living Abroad" is now live on my site at a new section called Video Lectures.
This is an 18-segment series (all in short bites that total up to one hour for the really keen if they watch every part!) is directed at the global, mobile family who moves internationally every few years.
Based on the lectures I deliver abroad (I forgot to update my bio as to how many countries I've now spoken in....too many to remember!) each segement attacks a subject I have explored in my books...all designed to inform, validate, reassure and hopefully, inspire expats to get the most out of their international experience. And oh yes, I hope you have a good laugh or two!
One funny behind-the-scene story I simply must share with everyone: The day I recorded it with my fabulous cinematographer/editor Jennifer Lee I had a terrible toothache. Jennifer is a busy freelancer and we had selected the day for shooting the previous week to fit her schedule. I knew I just couldn't cancel...so, as they say, it was on with the show.
The next day, I had to have an emergency root canal!!
So for expats everywhere who hopefully will enjoy and benefit from the series I can only say this: I hope you like the 'show'!
This is an 18-segment series (all in short bites that total up to one hour for the really keen if they watch every part!) is directed at the global, mobile family who moves internationally every few years.
Based on the lectures I deliver abroad (I forgot to update my bio as to how many countries I've now spoken in....too many to remember!) each segement attacks a subject I have explored in my books...all designed to inform, validate, reassure and hopefully, inspire expats to get the most out of their international experience. And oh yes, I hope you have a good laugh or two!
One funny behind-the-scene story I simply must share with everyone: The day I recorded it with my fabulous cinematographer/editor Jennifer Lee I had a terrible toothache. Jennifer is a busy freelancer and we had selected the day for shooting the previous week to fit her schedule. I knew I just couldn't cancel...so, as they say, it was on with the show.
The next day, I had to have an emergency root canal!!
So for expats everywhere who hopefully will enjoy and benefit from the series I can only say this: I hope you like the 'show'!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Logging off for two full weeks!
I'm logging off everything until August 13th while we drive and golf our way through Beautiful British Columbia.
I'm also extremely grateful I can do this kind of road trip (our tenth annual!) where computers, Facebook, phones, you-name-it are not part of the luggage.
Instead, time for some great 'down time' to process life while gorgeous scenery rolls by.....and not think about all the work ahead with the launch of my On-Line Video Lecture Tour on August 20th!
I'm also extremely grateful I can do this kind of road trip (our tenth annual!) where computers, Facebook, phones, you-name-it are not part of the luggage.
Instead, time for some great 'down time' to process life while gorgeous scenery rolls by.....and not think about all the work ahead with the launch of my On-Line Video Lecture Tour on August 20th!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
What to do if you can’t find a job abroad
As many accompanying spouses are now packing up and thinking about what lies ahead for them in a new overseas location, chances are extremely high they are already fretting about finding a job overseas.
I so vividly remember my own fretting over that. I was so determined to be working in my field of journalism, that even though I was seven months pregnant with our daughter in a steamy Bangkok, I waddled over to the home of the bureau chief for a major magazine and pitched myself as a stringer for his organization.
In turn, the look on the bureau chief's face clearly queried why a sweating blob of a woman was standing at his door. Luckily, he politely refrained from asking me if I needed a shower! A funny memory only in retrospect.
Many years ago, author Elizabeth Kruempelmann published "The Global Citizen: A Guide to Creating an International Life and Career". She is now an expat coach and author specializing in helping clients create fulfilling and meaningful international lives and careers.
She has re-launched herself as Global Citizen Coaching and will have a new version of her book available in the fall.
In the meantime, though, to get herself re-started as well as help expats create exciting career opportunities overseas, she has come up with with a step-by-step coaching guide, "The Global Citizen’s Get Started Workbook: 5 Steps to Starting Your Own Business Abroad.”
And of course, she has some advice to offer:
Is this you?
You are looking for a job in a foreign country. You’re facing at least one of the following obstacles, and it is starting to get tough:
o You don’t have a work permit
o Job prospects are sparse
o You want a flexible work schedule
o You are running out of money
o You don’t know where to look next
What do you do?
If you live overseas looking for a job and have not been able to get hired by a company, it may be time for a different approach.
Here is a quick and easy answer that can open up many kinds of exciting and profitable opportunities for you:
Start thinking like a business owner rather than a job hunter. Set up your own consulting or freelance business, and start to scout for clients, not a job. Send out brilliant business proposals instead of résumés. Have business meetings with potential clients instead of interviews with potential employers. Propose clever ideas for improving your client’s business. And when the time is right and your client is ready, name your price. They can accept it or reject it, but eventually you will probably end up negotiating the terms, just like you would when accepting a job offer.
Setting up your own business is not as hard as it sounds. And, it is a little-known trick to potentially getting around the work-permit issue -- at least for a one-person business in the short run. (If you want to set yourself up as a corporation with more employees than just yourself, the process becomes more complicated but can be done with the help of lawyer.) Plus, having your own business can open up worldwide opportunities, as well as multiple streams of income, which can lead to quick income as well as a flexible lifestyle.
Setting up your own business is a perfect solution for expat professionals looking for ways to use their professional skills locally, on a full or part-time basis, and can be a particularly fitting solution for expat mothers who want flexibility to care for the family while still enjoying professional fulfillment.
Thinking like a business owner can help you create your own exciting and profitable opportunity abroad in at least three ways:
1. Get Your Foot in the Door to a Company
By setting yourself up as a consultant or freelancer, you may also be able to sell yourself to a company. Instead of hiring you as a full-time employee, a company can hire you on a contract basis, which may be an advantage for both of you. In the future, you could be considered for a long-term position if one becomes available.
Additionally, in many countries the company might be able to avoid paying expensive social security and other taxes by hiring you as a consultant. This is a good negotiating point when you are trying to convince a company to hire you as a consultant.
2. Create a Portable Career
If you move from country to country every few months to every few years, you may desire a portable job and career that you can take with you wherever you go. You can do lots of interesting work from a laptop, including writing, website development, graphic design, software design, content development, research, translation work, business consulting and many other Internet-related jobs.
3. Be Inspired by other Expat Entrepreneurs
Find out how other people are living and working overseas. If you hear ideas that strike your fancy, make contact with the folks and ask them for advice. One middle-aged American couple buys and restores old farmhouses and rents them out to tourists. Another American living abroad gives seminars and workshops in photography and art. And one woman who lives abroad permanently uses her graphic skills to design newsletters for clients in the United States. These people are living where they want and the way they want. And with a little ingenuity, you can too.
I so vividly remember my own fretting over that. I was so determined to be working in my field of journalism, that even though I was seven months pregnant with our daughter in a steamy Bangkok, I waddled over to the home of the bureau chief for a major magazine and pitched myself as a stringer for his organization.
In turn, the look on the bureau chief's face clearly queried why a sweating blob of a woman was standing at his door. Luckily, he politely refrained from asking me if I needed a shower! A funny memory only in retrospect.
Many years ago, author Elizabeth Kruempelmann published "The Global Citizen: A Guide to Creating an International Life and Career". She is now an expat coach and author specializing in helping clients create fulfilling and meaningful international lives and careers.
She has re-launched herself as Global Citizen Coaching and will have a new version of her book available in the fall.
In the meantime, though, to get herself re-started as well as help expats create exciting career opportunities overseas, she has come up with with a step-by-step coaching guide, "The Global Citizen’s Get Started Workbook: 5 Steps to Starting Your Own Business Abroad.”
And of course, she has some advice to offer:
Is this you?
You are looking for a job in a foreign country. You’re facing at least one of the following obstacles, and it is starting to get tough:
o You don’t have a work permit
o Job prospects are sparse
o You want a flexible work schedule
o You are running out of money
o You don’t know where to look next
What do you do?
If you live overseas looking for a job and have not been able to get hired by a company, it may be time for a different approach.
Here is a quick and easy answer that can open up many kinds of exciting and profitable opportunities for you:
Start thinking like a business owner rather than a job hunter. Set up your own consulting or freelance business, and start to scout for clients, not a job. Send out brilliant business proposals instead of résumés. Have business meetings with potential clients instead of interviews with potential employers. Propose clever ideas for improving your client’s business. And when the time is right and your client is ready, name your price. They can accept it or reject it, but eventually you will probably end up negotiating the terms, just like you would when accepting a job offer.
Setting up your own business is not as hard as it sounds. And, it is a little-known trick to potentially getting around the work-permit issue -- at least for a one-person business in the short run. (If you want to set yourself up as a corporation with more employees than just yourself, the process becomes more complicated but can be done with the help of lawyer.) Plus, having your own business can open up worldwide opportunities, as well as multiple streams of income, which can lead to quick income as well as a flexible lifestyle.
Setting up your own business is a perfect solution for expat professionals looking for ways to use their professional skills locally, on a full or part-time basis, and can be a particularly fitting solution for expat mothers who want flexibility to care for the family while still enjoying professional fulfillment.
Thinking like a business owner can help you create your own exciting and profitable opportunity abroad in at least three ways:
1. Get Your Foot in the Door to a Company
By setting yourself up as a consultant or freelancer, you may also be able to sell yourself to a company. Instead of hiring you as a full-time employee, a company can hire you on a contract basis, which may be an advantage for both of you. In the future, you could be considered for a long-term position if one becomes available.
Additionally, in many countries the company might be able to avoid paying expensive social security and other taxes by hiring you as a consultant. This is a good negotiating point when you are trying to convince a company to hire you as a consultant.
2. Create a Portable Career
If you move from country to country every few months to every few years, you may desire a portable job and career that you can take with you wherever you go. You can do lots of interesting work from a laptop, including writing, website development, graphic design, software design, content development, research, translation work, business consulting and many other Internet-related jobs.
3. Be Inspired by other Expat Entrepreneurs
Find out how other people are living and working overseas. If you hear ideas that strike your fancy, make contact with the folks and ask them for advice. One middle-aged American couple buys and restores old farmhouses and rents them out to tourists. Another American living abroad gives seminars and workshops in photography and art. And one woman who lives abroad permanently uses her graphic skills to design newsletters for clients in the United States. These people are living where they want and the way they want. And with a little ingenuity, you can too.
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