Introduction
Before reading the unit materials, I had a strong desire to live and work in a foreign country, but now I am not sure. As it appears, to find a job abroad, one needs to be an extremely valuable specialist in the field or already be an employee of a large company that has received a foreign assignment. Expatriates do not have problems with employment, as they come to the conditions prepared for them by the company. People who plan to find a job on their own in a foreign country can meet with numerous difficulties.
Discussion
This unit provided many useful insights into the process of recruiting, selecting, and preparing expatriates for work abroad. First of all, in order to build a successful career in a foreign country, one needs to establish oneself in a multinational company while working at home. Researchers found that “89% of the MNEs’ international assignees were sourced by internal recruitment by the relevant business unit” (Waxin & Brewster, 2020, p. 2). Thus, working and living abroad as an employee of a large company is much safer and more comfortable, as the employer provides all the necessary conditions for cultural adaptation. Finding a job for an expatriate in a new country can be a challenging and stressful task, which makes the idea of self-relocation to a foreign country to work extremely unattractive.
Additionally, selection criteria for expatriate employees include self-confidence, relevant skills and knowledge, and resilience to stress. In general, employees of multinational companies who hold a certain position in their own country for a long time do not have significant difficulties in temporary work abroad. Some employees may have problems with cultural adaptation, but relevant training to develop cultural competencies should help with the adjustment process.
Conclusion
Thus, for employees of multinational companies, there are no difficulties in supporting them during the adaptation period in a new country. Thus, I would like to work in another country as an expatriate who received a foreign assignment from a company, but not as an independent applicant.
Reference
Waxin, M., & Brewster, C. (2020). The recruitment, selection and preparation of expatriates. In J. Bonache, C. Brewster, & F. J. Froese (eds.), Global mobility and the management of expatriates (pp. 31-57). Cambridge University Press.