global mobility specialists as assignee

To Better Recruit Talents, How About Being the Assignee, For a Change

Most foreign recruits may think his job assignment is temporary and in most cases, it is. However, it can can also be a stepping stone for a more grounded future — even if it’s not in apparent in their current job placement.

Recruiting great talents is only half the job done for many global mobility specialists. The job entails making the assignee think beyond the position he was chosen to occupy; nothing is temporary, even in a short-term assignment. All roads lead to career advancement. It’s an important point to make for your assignees.

After all, a move brings with it a considerable compensation package, travel opportunities, working in a U.S.-based company, an opportunity to learn more on the job. These will whet your assignee’s appetite, but there’s more to it.

Are we thinking from the perspective of the hired expat? Yes, but what if as the recruiter, the opportunity is also about and for you? Given the nature of your job, which is recruiting foreign talents, you might also want to consider a foreign post as an opportunity–for yourself.

You tell yourself that your job is to recruit talent, and not be one of them. In a sense, you are happier in the position of being the catalyst but never the client. But you might want to consider that perspective as well. Foreign assignments, if only for a few months, can also advance your career — and not just your assignee’s — in a way that you might not have thought of.

Here are four ways how an international expatriate assignment can boost your career:

1.

It will prepare you for global leadership.

International diversity has become a regular aspect for all corporations, especially the huge profitable ones. Markets are expanding well beyond the normal national borders, and sharing of knowledge and experience has become vital in innovation and business continuity. It would help your company, for example, expand into China or Southeast Asia and find great talents there.  Immersing in their culture gives you a first-hand understanding of an entire country’s national zeitgeist and how they do business.

This will help your company build key relationships as well as form an atmosphere of trust that can assist in strategic decision-making. According to FIDI, the number of foreign-born CEOs in top British companies has increased to 40 percent in the past 10 years. These leaders have a greater understanding of how various regions in the world work, and are in a better position to open doors and establish the company’s strong presence in those places.

Given your own exposure to global business, you should stop thinking of yourself as a specialist and start acting as a global mobility leader. The next time your CEO wants to open a new office in a foreign country, he just might call on you — and the things he might consult you on do not necessarily have to do with just recruitment and talent development.

2.

It will show future recruiters and employers that you have shown courage, resilience, and flexibility.

According to Relocate Magazine, these are the buzzwords of the future. In a business landscape that has been described as volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, your ability to adjust in a totally different environment while achieving your corporate objectives will get you noticed.

3.

You will gain opportunities to develop new skills that are urgently needed in this new normal.

As a global mobility specialist, you would have learned project management and team building as you rose up the ranks. As a global mobility leader possibly stationed in another country, you would be able to access new avenues of learning such as languages and translation and cross-cultural communications.

4.

Your global network will widen even further.

While you already have foreign embassies and partner institutions like California Corporate Housing on speed dial, an expatriate assignment will allow you to establish closer global ties on ground level. You would get to know local businessmen who can make your interactions with their governments easier. You might might meet millennial expats or digital nomads who are doing their bit to save the planet — in time, they might sign up with you once you’ve done your own expatriate stint and are recruiting them as assignees.