Looking for a job? Try going global

By Andrea Kay
Gannett News Service

While you're waiting for the lag time in hiring to speed up, this could be your chance to expand your career into international waters. Because some countries are having a tough time finding qualified workers.

Take Great Britain, for example, where British business services, manufacturing, transport, communications and information technology companies are looking for new talent, according to an article on expatexchange.com.

Nearly 48 percent of companies there are hiring foreigners, research shows. Most are in London.

Working in a different country, though, isn't for everyone. You need to be adaptable, emotionally stable, socially adept, tolerant, sensitive to other cultures and able to handle insecurity. It also helps to know other languages.

To see if working in another country is up your alley, you can evaluate how you'd fare. Start by taking the True Globe Hopper test.

For instance, to find out how culturally sensitive are you, answer this question from the test:

Your Chinese neighbors invite you for dinner. During dinner do you:

A. Ignore Chinese customs and behave as you always do?
B. Analyze your host attentively and copy his or her customs?
C. Observe the behavior of your hosts closely without being obvious and try to mingle this with your own customs, while making sure you don't lose your own identity?

Option C gets you the most points for being culturally sensitive.

Or, see how you answer this. You're making small talk at a reception in Helsinki with your Finnish colleagues. The next moment nobody says anything for some time. Would you:

A.Try to resume the conversation by telling a story about your previous visit to Helsinki, mentioning how much you like the Finnish climate?
B. Just acknowledge the silence as an element of Finnish conversation?
C. Say nothing and wait for them to start up the conversation again, because you've always thought the Finnish were a bit awkward because of many visits to the sauna.

Option C gains you the most points for being tolerant.

If you decide you fit the bill, make sure you're familiar with the interview process of the country you're going to. Every country and culture has its own interview etiquette. Everything from nonverbal and verbal communications to table manners and how you dress.

In Great Britain, for example, people usually don't exchange business cards at an interview. And Britons want their personal space, says an article on expatexchange.com. So avoid body contact — even patting on the back. Stay reserved. Don't get all emotional, keep your voice down and don't use a lot of hand gestures.

You could even be asked questions in some countries that would be considered taboo in the United States and might send you into a tiff. Questions about your personal life, marital status, age and how much you drink.

The job-hunting process and then the interview will be the first time you can demonstrate how culturally sensitive and tolerant you are. So find out what the norm is wherever you're headed, keeping in mind that, when in Rome do as the Romans do.

Career consultant Andrea Kay is the author of "Greener Pastures: How To Find a Job In Another Place," "Interview Strategies That Will Get You the Job You Want," and "Resumes That Will Get You the Job You Want." Her Web site is www.andreakay.com.