So you want to work in emerging markets?
Part I: Picking your Destination Country
We live on a beautiful planet full of exciting countries, vibrant cultures and unique experiences. However, if you haven’t extensively traveled, picking a destination for your first international work experience can be an intimidating exercise. There is a plethora of information out there, often far too much to digest easily, and the hours upon hours of potential research may seem so daunting that you don’t know where to start.
I have studied in Spain, backpacked through South America, and worked in Argentina, South Africa, and briefly in Southeast Asia. From my experiences I have become significantly more comfortable dealing with the uncertainty that comes from working in emerging markets, and I’d like to share with you some of my trusted resources and “tricks of the trade”:
- Do some serious introspection to figure out what you want from your trip: International travel is a passion for many people, often developed during the undergraduate years through a semester studying abroad, a summer backpacking trip through Europe with friends, or an “Around the world trip” during gap year (common amongst Europeans and Aussies). Having traveled and lived internationally both during and after college, I’ve found that what I enjoy and seek to get out of my foreign excursions has slowly changed over time. I still love meeting people from around the world and seeing exciting new places, but at twenty six I find myself spending less time looking for riveting nightlife and more time learning about the culture, local economy, and enjoying the cuisine of whatever locale I am exploring. Before even considering working internationally, I would recommend setting some time aside to think about what exactly you want to gain from your international experience so you make the most of your time and pick an appropriate destination.
- Create your “Location Criteria” list: While there are many countries out there wonderful for visiting, my criteria for picking a place to live and work are quite different than what I look for in a vacation destination. To understand these differences and begin thinking about which amenities or characteristics are most important to you, think about what you consider essential in your current daily life and what you do could do without. Next, think about what you are unsatisfied with about your current situation, add those attributes to your running and finally force rank the entire list. My criteria list looks something like this (but is ever-changing):
o Work opportunities in target industry/sector
o Fluency in local language
o Cost of living (especially rent, food, transportation, internet/mobile access
o Culture and beauty of city/town
o Attractiveness of nearby getaways (e.g. day trips or weekends away)
o Transportation cost to/from/within
o Size of local professional community
o Distance from home
- Create a short-list: Going straight from creating your “Location Criteria” list to internet research will be tempting, but can end up taking you down rat holes for endless hours of semi-useless browsing. Most of us are busy, so unless you have a plethora of time to burn it’s important to find ways to quickly hone in on a short-list of countries that meet your criteria. For me, this usually means two actions: a) reaching out to my well-traveled colleagues, explaining to them what I am looking for, and asking if they have suggestions, and b) selectively googling things like “top emerging market cities to work in” to read what cities are most highly recommended by major international publications. From my personal experience and extensive word-of-mouth, here are several cities that continually get highly rated:
o Buenos Aires, Argentina (yes, I’m a little biased)
o Cape Town, South Africa (ditto)
o Sao Paolo, Brazil
o Mexico City, Mexico
o Santiago, Chile
o New Delhi, India
o Bangelore, India
o Manila, Philippines
o Singapore
o Shanghai, China
o Hong Kong, China
- Find expats living in your target cities: A one hour conversation with an expat who has spent significant time living your target country is much more helpful than hours of Google research. Also, this step should be pretty easy since you’ve already reached out to your network to create your short-list and know where your friends and colleagues have international networks. Offer to take them to lunch if they live nearby, or beg for a Skype phone call if they’re still abroad. I’ve found most people very approachable and often excited to talk about their experience since expat communities tend to be pretty tight, even in some of the biggest international cities.
- Check the latest economic data: Nothing is worse than expecting to pay significantly less in your new location, only to find out that since your friend moved back home the local economy has been booming and cost of living has gone up 30%. After looking up flights, figuring out the average cost for things like accommodation, transportation around town, food (grocery store and eating out), and nightlife. These will be critical data points when choosing your destination and will be valuable inputs into your budget down the line.
Hopefully you find these suggestions helpful and please feel free to chime in with additional recommendations in the comments.
In the next post of this series I will share some thoughts on how to find a company or organization to partner with during your international venture.
