An unexpected source for tips to becoming a global citizen – the Girl Scouts web site. Here, they pass along valuable tips from Janeen Uzzell, CEO of the National Society of Black Engineers, and someone who has worked and lived abroad.
3. Look for roles at multinational companies.
“There’s a lot of infrastructure in place if you take a formal position abroad,” Janeen points out. Through her prior roles at General Electric, for instance, she’s worked worked in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ghana, and Saudi Arabia.
“You can also do it on your own and figure it out as you go,” she adds. “It’s just a more difficult route.”
4. Understand that working abroad means living abroad.
“I lived in Ghana and I led teams across Sub-Saharan Africa. It’s very different—everything from hitting the light switch and wondering if the lights will go on to living in an adjudicated society where poverty is the norm,” she says.
5. Accept that these experiences will change you.
Source: How to Become a Global Citizen | Girl Scouts
Becoming a global citizen can take a variety of paths:
- Studying world history
- Studying foreign languages
- Studying abroad via high school foreign exchange or college study abroad; or doing a graduate degree abroad
- Doing an internship abroad
- Working for a multi-national company and potentially taking an assignment abroad
- Seeking out and taking a position in another country
The list from Uzzell, above, is a good summary of suggestions. On my Coldstreams blog I have been writing a lot about population demographics and globalization topics. Whether you think you will work abroad – or not work abroad – it is a near certainty you will be working side-by-side with immigrants, managing immigrants, or being managed by an immigrant.
Being aware of cross-cultural issues is important in a globalized world – even if you do not work abroad yourself. You will be working in multi-cultural teams and being familiar with different organizational and management structures is important.