Moving to a new city or country for work can be tempting or sometimes may seem like the only option. But think things through before packing!
Don't only move for money?
- I've known executives who have moved to a country they were not interested in and away from family only to quit after a few months.
It's going to be different.
- Your new home is going to be different even if you move from one US city to another. And don't try and pretend it's the same. You can't go riding on your horse in Tokyo (very easily) but you can in LA (more easily).
Don't forget your spouse.
- You may be doing the same work even for the same company if you were transferred. But your spouse may be unemployed and at home wrestling with plumbers and cable guys. Statistically overseas assignments fail more often because the spouse is unhappy than the employee.
Don't cut all your roots
- Consider renting your home rather than selling it so you can still keep a foot in your home real estate market. Keep up with friends and family. Go back on visits. Then if you want to go back after a few years you still have ties to the community.
David Couper is a career coach and writer who for the last twenty years has worked in Europe, Asia, and in the USA with major organizations including the BBC, Fuji Television, Mattel, Sony, and Warner Bros.
He has successfully coached individuals at all levels including CEOs of major companies wanting a new challenge, frustrated souls wanting to make their dream come true, and front-line employees laid off and desperate to get a job.
David has published seven books. His works on interpersonal skills, counseling in the workplace, and management issues (published by Connaught, Gower, HRD Press, Longman, Macmillan/Pearson Publishing, Oxford University Press) have been translated into Swedish, Polish, and Danish, and published in the UK and the USA.
David has a degree in Communication, a postgraduate qualification in education, is certified in a number of training technologies, and has a Masters in Psychology. He is a member of the American Society of Training and Development, Society of Human Resources Professional, Writers Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television.
He has dual US/UK citizenship and speaks French and Japanese.
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