
HOW TO OVERCOME THE CULTURAL BARRIER WHEN APPLYING ABROAD?
Differences between the Expat and the Expat Partner
HERE ARE MY TOP 3 TIPS REGARDING CULTURAL BARRIERS AT THE WORKPLACE. YOU WILL FIND MORE INFORMATION IN MY COMPREHENSIVE EXPAT PARTNER CAREER GUIDE WHICH YOU WILL FIND HERE:
Want some good vibes in your mail?
TIP 1: MAKE YOURSELF VISIBLE
No matter where you are going you will most likely do not know many people and hardly anyone will know you. Try to make yourself as much visible as possible by signing up to as many job portals and networking events as possible. Put yourself out there and try a different version of presenting yourself and your skills to get a feeling how your own culture differs from your host culture and how to adopt.
TIP 2: MAKE THE MOST OUT OF YOUR INTERNATIONALITY
The fact that you are coming from a specific country adds a new skill to your CV. You are fluent in that language and have a deep understanding of the culture and communication tactics as it’s your home country. Some Expat Partners don’t stress where they are coming from, but there is a particular strength in owning it and put it as a skill on your CV.
TIP 3: GET A FEELING FOR THE FOREIGN JOB MARKET
Nothing is as devastating as applying for hours and hours just to not hear back at all. Gather some information on the internet about the labor market situation and some industry insights. Most of all, try to speak with people that are actually working in the area you want to apply for and learn how they did it. In some cultures, networking is more important than others. Also, have a piece of knowledge about how hard it is for locals to land a job will give you some peace of mind to start with!
Overcoming the cultural barrier is a HUGE topic, and there are many different approaches to tackle it. If you want to find out more about this, check out my career guide for Expat Partners to prepare yourself for that great adventure of living and working abroad.
Thanks for sharing the love and stopping by

Share this article with a friend and share the love:
You also might like:

The 4 types of Female Expats
How differently do women approach the concept of a career abroad? What traits can be assigned to the various international CVs? I spoke with 30 female breadwinners who have made it abroad and identified 4 types that have emerged time and again. In this article, I discuss each type and show what you can learn from them.

How to answer the question “What do you do?”
If you struggle to answer this question in an authentic and short way this blog post is perfect for you. Learn about how to start prepping your introduction.

Mum guilt – How much time should I spend with my child to be a good mum?
You know this nagging feeling when you are spending time apart from your baby? The feeling of guilt that might come over you when you invest in a babysitter just to do something for yourself? The often painful decision to leave your child to daycare to go back to work. In this article, I want to introduce you to the concept behind called mum guilt. You will learn that it is universal and you will learn how changing your approach on HOW you spend time with your kid can make all the difference.

Don’t turn your hobby into a profession
Often it sounds very obvious when you are thinking about how you could go on professionally: Why not simply turn your hobby into a profession? In this blog post, you’ll learn about the importance of passion in choosing a career and why losing the magic of a hobby can end badly.

How to use the new LinkedIn Career Break feature
Everything you need to know about LinkedIn’s new Career Break feature. My personal assessment of the function and a step-by-step guide with further information on the topic of re-entry.

How to cope with rejections while job hunting
Dealing with rejections creates a downward spiral of negative self talk. Here are my 5 tips to stop this process and focus on what you can control.
3 Responses
Hi Kate!
Very useful post, as always!
May I ask where did you find the statistics about that 20% jobless expat partners?
I also write on a blog (in spanish) about living abroad and I was searching that kind of data. Unfortunately I couldn’t find it. It would be very interesting if you could provide me some source.
Thank you and schöne Grüße! 😉
Absolutely! I just sent you an email with some sources. Hope that helps. <3 Greetings from Chicago
Wow Kate! Your mail was really useful!! Thank you very much!! 😊