Help your expats, especially accompanying international partners, increase networking opportunities - which are as valuable on repatriation as they are on assignment.

Through expanding your network you create opportunities

One of the most difficult things about being an expatriate is not having any kind of established network when you arrive in your new country. Gone is the home network base often taken for granted—your friends, work colleagues, old school pals, people you knew from the gym, parents of your children’s friends and family. Suddenly you are in a new place and don't know anyone.

This is particularly challenging if you are looking for a job. It is estimated that only 30 percent of jobs come from the visible market of advertisements and recruitment firms while the remaining 70 percent are filled through the unadvertised market. The way to tap into that unadvertised market is by networking.

But if you are a newly arrived expat and don't have a network, how do you begin? In London, there are two groups which are addressing this issue; Global Networker, and FOCUS Information Services.

Global Networker

Global Networker is a networking group exclusively for accompanying international partners who are looking for work. It was established in the spring of 2003 by a group of representatives from the American, Canadian, and various European embassies, and the Diplomatic Service Families Association of the UK Foreign Office. One of the founding members is Kate Daubney, the employment and training advisor for the DSFA, who helps the partners of British diplomats looking for work on their return to London.

"Global Networker was formed with two purposes in mind originally," says Daubney. "First, to establish a group to help international partners meet others and make connections to help them find work more easily; and secondly, to provide employment information and resources via the Web."

The Global Networker website brings together employment information for London and a range of international cities. Although originally formed by diplomatic organisations, Global Networker welcomes international partners from any background and encourages participation from multinational companies as well. Future plans include expanding the on-the-ground networking groups to other countries.

Global Networker runs a series of networking meetings to bring partners together with careers and employment professionals to meet, make contacts, and share experience. Meetings focus on understanding the job search process, exploring specialist professional areas such as teaching or IT, or providing more general career development advice.

At their launch event, Building Bridges for Career Success, speakers Gwen Rhys and Joanna Parfitt provided some useful ideas on how to make the most of networking. The networking that ensued proved that the 50 people who attended were listening!

Throughout the year Global Networker provides a variety of smaller workshops with an average group of 10-15 people in each. Having a smaller number of people in each group enables participants to get to know one another better.

"One Global Networker participant said, "I attended one of the CV writing workshops at the Norwegian Embassy a few weeks back, and I just wanted to say thank you for your help. I finally found a job as a Fashion Adviser at Massimo Dutti and I'll be starting this Thursday. Though it isn't a design job, it's still a start and gets me into the fashion industry here in London. The workshop, though short, helped. I've picked up quite a lot of tips."

FOCUS Information

The other resource for networking in London is FOCUS Information Services an organisation that offers resources for expats. Their Career Development Programme (CDP) is designed to assist accompanying partners in their job search in the UK. Participants are able to access resources and information, attend career seminars and programmes as well as enrol in a Job Group. The Job Group, which runs for eight weeks, offers an opportunity to share ideas and information and network with others in similar stages of a job search.

Jessica Plumridge, a former CDP participant and now Executive Director of FOCUS, sums up the value of the group. "As an American, it helped me to find a more diverse group of people to connect with ,which improved my opportunities and gave me new possibilities for sharing contacts, leads and publications," she said.

Plumridge says that belonging to the Job Group gave her a sense of accountability in her job search."Since everyone was in a similar stage of their job search we found it easier to support one another. There were two people who provided really useful contacts for me. The support was important too. You can feel very discouraged and isolated looking for a job, but this group was there to help keep you motivated as well as share some of the cultural differences we encountered," she said.

Other former Career Development Programme participants had similar comments. One person commented, "I really think it's an invaluable tool for anyone looking to go back to work. It makes you focus and take a realistic look at what needs to get done. For those of us who need the extra push, it was great."

Another participant thought the CDP was a "very, very good programme. Not only is the quality of the information handed out excellent, but also the most impressive aspect is the support and the networking function of the Job Group itself. The fact that the programme is condensed into an eight-week period gives it a real, professional approach".

When moving to an unfamiliar country, it is easy for expatriates to stay within the safety of their own familiar cultural or corporate environment. Those who find ways to go beyond those initial support centres and expand their network even further will reap the rewards. The more people they connect with, the more quality opportunities they will uncover.

Upcoming group events

Global Networker
For more information and a calendar of events visit:
www.global-networker.com
Or contact pat@global-networker.com.

FOCUS Information Services,
13 Prince of Wales Terrace, London W8 5PG
Telephone: +44 (0)207 937 7799
www.focus-info.org for listings of FOCUS workshops and membership information

September 2004

Author Patricia Keener is a cross cultural career coach –For more information visit www.keenerinspiration.com