Global Employees: Moving Abroad (I)

The time has come for you to be involved in an International Project. You already received an offer letter from a VIIC (Very Important International Company) and the doubts come to you every night you stay in your bed at home. Should I accept? What do I need to take in account? The following article give some brief about some facts that you should consider before go for the final decision. It is an open discussion so I do not pretend to consider all options but to open the dialog for all of you interested in leaving your country and move to an IAS (International Assignment). Please, feel free to include your comments in this section.

The First Contact… Someone has contacted you and is offering a tempting salary and an attractive package to move to a country far, far away. The offer is saying something like: “Dear Sir or Madam….We are seeking applicants for a Position for our client XXXX Name. This is a staff position based in YYYYY . The candidate will be on a tax free salary ….. Along with a comprehensive benefits package per month +Transport + Location allowance and additional benefits as schooling, housing, End of service, education assistance + medical etc”

Your first step is to validate who is contacting you. Who is this person and how does he or she know you are looking for an IAS position? Which Company is he/she working for? Is this the right person to offer you as a candidate? You should investigate a bit all these items before take the decision to answer some of the question (for sure) he/she will ask.

Second movement: Find out about the end customer. Most of the companies use an external recruitment company to fill in their vacancy positions. You should ask yourself questions like Is this a serious company? Who is working inside? Do I have a colleague or someone who can describe me how they are? How they use to work? Are they globally recognized? How much people earn in this company? Are there any fellows already leaving there? How are their lives?  Some investigation will start giving you an idea on where are you going to spend your next working period (In case you decide to go for it).

Still interested? Ok. Now let’s analyze the Salary and the Package. Bear in mind that once you sign-off it will be really hard to change your conditions so you should ask for the following (I am assuming that the Job description is clearly described in the offer letter):

-         Salary. How much per month? How much per year? How many payments will I receive? To avoid future surprises your salary must be deeply detailed.

-         Work Schedule. What is the schedule that will be expected for me to work?

-         Tax free!! May be you do not have to pay the Government in the country you are going to be moved to but…what about yours? It could be that your country Government will expect from you some money to let you ear thousands of dollars abroad J Be sure by asking your local authorities about this item or ask for a layer.

-         Benefits. I like this one. Ask the person who is offering what is the benefit and do not be conformist with a poor description. Always ask for the whole details.

-         Transport, House, School…for sure you will have all of them but bear in mind that it is not the same to live in a village than in an accommodation block. Be sure to take a look at you future house (of course I am referring to a virtual one)

What Else?

It is really a must to understand also the following topics: What will be my probation period? Will my future company pay the return back travel in case I decide (or they decide) not to continue with the contract agreement in the future? Annual holidays…will they be paid including the travels?  Is the company expecting a minim period? Also remember that a staff position is not the same as an unlimited contract….

Well….the discussion is open for all of you.