No man is a prophet in his own land, but you certainly might feel that you are even further of being a prophet outside of your own home country.
This is something I was faced with when I started looking for work after moving countries. I was well educated, I had years of professional experience, I had done big projects – and still, the nasty feeling of being somehow inferior compared to other applicants creeped upon me.
This was completely surprising to me, because I had a good enough professional esteem back home. Had I applied for work there, I would have thought of myself as a better-than-average applicant. I would have felt competent about my abilities. How is it possible, that all of that would have not moved with me into the new country?
A few years after our move, I’m in a place where I can analyze this. And after working with other internationals as a career coach and human resources expert, I’ve come to realize that many of us share this experience and there are a few reasons for it – and some good strategies to overcome it as well:
Language Barrier
This is a fairly obvious one. If you don’t speak the language very well yet, it might be an actual problem while searching for a job, depending of course on what your profession is.
The good news is: this is something that can be treated by attending a language course. But don’t wait until your language is perfect before you apply for jobs! On the contrary, I encourage to continue the job search while you learn the language. You can always write in your application that you are currently working on your skills. If the job is the right one for you, your potential employer will see this as something positive.
The other thing with the language barrier is, that sometimes we feel a little bit silly or stupid or somehow not being able to express our whole personality when we speak a foreign language.
Here I say: fake it ‘til you make it. Don’t take your language failures seriously. The skill of laughing at myself has been priceless as I have tried to get better at expressing myself in German.
Also, get to know and analyze the professional communication culture in your new country. This might help you to a) understand how the people around you tick b) see that not everything that you perceive as negative is negative.
For example, the German communication culture concentrates on speech and expressing yourself thoroughly with words at every occasion. At a meeting, everyone wants to give their take on things, and they will do it as long as no one else interrupts. As a Finn, I was used to a much more relaxed discussion rhythm and people giving others space to speak. I experienced not getting my word in or being interrupted as not being taken seriously. But it was just a cultural communication difference. After I didn’t take it personally anymore, I was able to adapt myself better and am now fairly good at getting my word in when I need to. In my own Finnish way.
Lack of Networks
I’ve written this sentence so many times but it just describes the situation so well: Nobody knows your name.
This can be a positive or a negative experience. For me, it was positive in the sense that I wanted to rediscover myself professionally and it sure helped that nobody knew who I was. But it was also negative, because I had to proof myself all over again. Since no one knew me, no one knew my personality, my strengths or my track record.
Even all the the organizations I had worked for in my home country, the projects I had done, the names I had worked with, were recognized by no one. They might have been high profile there where I came from, but meant nothing for people in the new country. It was only up to me and me only to show people what I could do.
This helped me to analyze my skills in a profound way. Since the names in my resume weren’t going to help me, I had to become aware of what I actually had learned in my positions. I wrote down every role I had had and listed the technical skills like budgeting or project management, but also the deep skills like conflict management or handling complex processes.
Also, there is a practical solution to this problem: networking. Get out there and build new networks. Don’t be afraid to ask people for hints and for help.
Break from Your Professional Role
Often when we move abroad as the partner, we leave our own job behind and in the beginning our responsibilities are more in the private area: getting settled in, taking care of things with the authorities, the apartment, the kids if you have any etc.
This is also a very exciting time. There are new things to take in, there is this sense of freedom, everything is interesting, you don’t have the responsibilities of your 9 to 5…
A break from your professional role is often a welcome breather. However, when the moment comes that you want to step into this role again, it might feel like you have lost a part of your professional identity along the way.
Networking can be an enormous support here, especially if you are able to network with people from your own field of work. Also, contact to your previous colleagues might be a good reminder of the work-you and that she/he is still in you.
We all have many parts in us that coexist and sometimes get more space, sometimes a little less.
In the end, the best asset when faced with in “international imposter syndrome”: Laugh at yourself! I don’t know about you, but I can sometimes be really stupid and silly, and that’s okay. Sometimes we excel with our wits and sometimes we just make a fool of ourselves. It’s just the ego that gets a hit, nothing serious.
To take the first step in building your professional clarity and confidence in a new country, contact me for a free consultation call!