Working abroad: what’s in it for you?

Photo credit: Nick Scheerbart

If you’re anything like most people I know, you probably take the exact same route to work every single day. Because it’s familiar and because you have certainty – taking a different route could mean misestimating the time taken to travel, resulting in you being late.

What you have given up however, is the chance to discover a new road which could mean a shorter travelling time or a more scenic view.

This is human nature – there is comfort in the known. Such behaviour is also sometimes evident when Singaporeans are presented with the opportunity to work abroad. There can be a reluctance to leave their comfort zone at home.

I put this down to the fear of the unknown, or indeed, the fear of failure. To some degree, we are the victims of our own past success. The achievements we as a nation, and as individuals, have attained over the years may have contributed towards an aversion of failure, or even the risk of failure. This can be so strong that we are even prepared to forgo the joy of possible success.

Staying relevant in the future world

Facing the unknown can be daunting. Because information flow is incomplete, we may end up making wrong decisions which can result in a setback. But I’ve learnt that setbacks should not be treated as failures. Learn from these and move on ahead. Just having tried is already a rewarding experience in itself.

This is an attitude that we will have to learn to embrace in what I would call, the future world.

 The truth is, for a number of us, having to spend some time working abroad will soon become the new normal.

The truth is, for a number of us, having to spend some time working abroad will soon become the new normal. Because Singapore’s domestic market is small, businesses increasingly need to go regional or even global in order to achieve sustainable and long-term growth. And to do so, these businesses will need individuals to move with them, taking knowledge of the company to overseas markets and acquiring experiences which they can subsequently bring home to their headquarters in Singapore.

As geographical boundaries become less meaningful, businesses will look to individuals who possess a broad base of knowledge beyond the domestic markets where they are based. While some of this information can be gathered through reading widely, nothing beats first-hand experience, which allows you to broaden your contextual understanding and form your own assessments not influenced by others’ views or analyses.

In the future world, the competition we face will not just be from our fellow Singaporeans, but will also increasingly include other regional individuals who are enterprising and mobile. This makes it all the more pressing for us to upgrade ourselves in terms of gaining regional exposure.

Photo credit: 贝莉儿 NG

Why you should consider working overseas if opportunity comes your way

Over the almost 40 years I’ve been in banking, I’ve had the privilege of living and working in different cities across the world. I was born in Shanghai, raised in Hong Kong, went to university in the US, then worked in Hong Kong, San Francisco and now Singapore.