Careers Workshop

CAReeRS WORkSh O P

The international Workplace

With the advent of new technologies and flexible working practices, more and more people are working internationally. In this article, Irina Astigeevich, Amazon Web Services Sales Leader for Europe, Middle East and Asia, shares her personal experiences of working across different countries and cultures.

the labour market has rapidly changed over the last couple of decades, adapting to global trends such as mobility, devices and big data. Nowadays, almost every company embraces the “modern work place” concept, which suggests that employees can be effective doing their job remotely using mobile devices and applications, if arranged right and supported through the respective work culture. The adoption of the modern work place principle is happening across many industries and professions – medicine, IT, art and others. The possibility of working remotely became a catalyst for another phenomenon – the international work place. Millions of doctors, musicians, scientists, artists, managers, engineers, journalists and sales people now work remotely and collaborate with their teammates and colleagues from other countries on a daily basis, without seeing each other in person. Many jobs can now be performed by people who never go to company offices and may not even be company employees – they may be freelancers or employed on a part-time contract to deliver a particular project.

The job opportunities on the international market are now tremendous and richer than ever before. One can now do jobs never dreamt of before, escaping the limits of geography, gender, time zone, race, physical capacity and others. One can only imagine how diverse working groups can now be. In my previous role, whilst living in the UK, I was responsible for company business in 12 European countries – Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and

Switzerland, whilst also collaborating closely with my colleagues in the US and Asia almost every single day. This mix of international cultures is so exciting and interesting; however, the cultural differences, not to mention other diversity characteristics, can create a lot of confusion, misunderstanding and, sometimes, even challenges in expectations.

The BBC once published a funny article on the interpretation of what British people say. Brits may say a proposal is “very brave” or “very interesting”, meaning that it is absurd or ridiculous: non-British people may understand that their proposal is ambitious and worth exploring further.

People from different backgrounds can interpret the same statement or action, or lack of one, very differently. If our working environment is so diverse, how can we possibly ensure great cultural fit to a working group we want to be successful, and how can we make sure we avoid any risks or misunderstandings? The answer is simple – we cannot. The truth is that, while experience helps and things usually improve over time, we cannot truly predict how a message might land or calculate how others might react, given the diversity of our workforce.

In order to be successful and stay true to yourself in the international market, there are a few key principles I highly recommend:

1. DOn’t PRetenD. Some workplaces may create pressure to act or look a certain way. While adopting particular business etiquette is indeed a requirement of many business environments, remember – your personality matters. Do not pretend to be someone you are not. Bring your authentic self, just do it respectfully. Another part of this principle is don’t pretend to know something you don’t. The culture of professional markets is rapidly moving from “know it all” to “learn it all”. It is usually OK not to know something, especially at the beginning, if you are willing to learn and demonstrate improvement over time.

2. COMMuniCAte tO PeOPLe WhAt iS

iMPORtAnt FOR YOu AnD WhY. Let people know if it is important for you to have an agenda before a meeting to prepare yourself, or that you want to take brief written notes of your conversations to have a chance to follow up better. Tell people that you prefer not to work at particular hours so people don’t expect a response from you at that time, or that you have an open and easy demeanour and like to make jokes to lighten the mood. Help people to understand who you are.

3. DOn’t ASSuMe – ASk queStiOnS. In the sales world, there is the belief that assumption is the worst enemy of the seller. The example above about language interpretation can give you some indications why. Ask for feedback on your interactions – something that does not come naturally in every culture. This might be difficult, especially for British people. Let me give you an example. Imagine yourself at a restaurant. You were served overcooked pasta and the dessert was tasteless. When the waitress asks you “how was it?”, you answer “good thank you”, right? Asking and giving feedback comes more naturally in some cultures and less so in others. You might not always get open and direct feedback, but keep asking. Especially in the international market, asking for feedback is a great opportunity to get valuable insight in the vast majority of situations.

4. be CuRiOuS. Natural curiosity can build bridges. Ask people about their experiences and to share their knowledge.

5. be ReSPeCtFuL of other people’s diverse backgrounds and habits.

6. buiLD A netWORk OF PeOPLe that you can ask for advice. Keep these connections even if you leave the company or work environment you met them at.

7. DeLiveR – ALWAYS – On YOuR PROMiSeS.

This principle alone, and the reputation it builds for you, can help you win over a lot of difficult and uncertain situations.

8. AnD enJOY. In the international work place, just like everywhere, you cannot be truly successful if you do not enjoy what you do.

Irina Astigeevich is a current parent at The Perse. In this article she shares her personal recommendations based on her experience working in international markets whilst holding leadership positions at Amazon Web Services and Microsoft over the last decade.