Appendix: Careers in International Business Frequently,
students ask us how they can get jobs in international business. Traveling,
meeting new people with different customs, seeing and living in places they
have only heard about-these exciting activities stir the imagination,
and students want to partake in the experience. We agree with them. Living and working overseas is exciting. Among the authors
of this book, we have spent over 50 years living and working in countries other
than our own, and it has been rewarding. However, with the possible exception
of international banking, there are few opportunities for recent graduates to
be assigned overseas even when they have the basic business skills and can speak
at least one foreign language. Why? They must first learn how their employer
does business and become skilled in some functional area of the firm, such as
marketing or finance. To rise in the firm, employees then need to acquire experience
in various functional areas, not just in one. Furthermore, some of this experience
should be international. Remember the discussion at the beginning of this chapter?
Make sure that your employer knows you are interested in acquiring international
experience. In fact, some firms screen out people who state they do not want
an overseas assignment. If you want immediate employment in international business, how can you get
it? You realize, of course, this is not the same as asking how you can get a
job working overseas. Why isn't it the same? Because there are many home-based
jobs in international business, some of which require occasional international
travel. There are also international jobs in the federal government, especially
in the Department of State and the Department of Commerce. Employment in Industry Home-Based Jobs in International Business
Most home-based jobs in international business are connected with exporting.
For example, every port city has banks with international departments that work
with export financing; far fewer banks are involved in international lending.
Here are some of the home-based jobs available in international business:
- Export companies-office personnel and sales personnel who travel periodically
to overseas markets.
- International departments of banks-staff who handle clients'
export financing.
- Steamship companies-office and sales personnel.
- International airlines-office and sales personnel.
- Marine insurance firms-office and sales personnel to service exporters.
- Container operators (own cargo containers)-office and salespeople.
- Foreign freight forwarders and customhouse brokers-agents who facilitate
export and import shipments.
Prolonged Overseas Employment
The entry-level job of staff person in an international area often leads to
prolonged overseas employment. The firm may organize the international area
as a separate company, a department for each product division, or a regional
division. Some of these jobs are essentially training positions, and some companies
might have them in all functional areas. Figure A.1 is an actual job profile
from Coca-Cola with which the firm is recruiting for both interns and trainees,
many of whom will eventually work overseas. The trainees would first be employed
in a headquarters unit responsible for a given geographical area in one of the
functional areas listed. After training, during which the trainees learn about the company and how work
in the various functional areas is done, those wishing to work overseas may
get the opportunity to do so. Although some graduates who want to go overseas may be fortunate to find employment
with the division or group in the home office that is responsible for overseas
business, others may first have to acquire the technical expertise in the domestic
operation. If you are in this second group, we recommend that after working
for the company for two to three years, you inform both the personnel department
and the head of the international group in your functional area that you are
interested in working with them. Meanwhile, you can study another foreign language
or take a course related to international business. Not only will this improve
your knowledge, but it will also demonstrate your continued interest in foreign
business to your employer. Some people have gotten into international business by first acquiring industrial
experience in the domestic operations of one company and then obtaining employment
in the international operations of another firm in the same industry. Note that
Coca-Cola prefers from two to five years of marketing, finance, or engineering
experience even for these training jobs. As you can imagine, there is considerable competition for these jobs, but there
are ways to improve your employment possibilities. Overseas Job Opportunities International Job Listings There are numerous Web sites with Internet listings for industry and government
jobs. Following are listings for both categories: - The Riley Guide (www.rileyguide.com)
has hundreds of worldwide listings for companies and governments. The Targeting
and Research section has information on Business and Employer Research and
Living and Working Overseas.
- International Career
Opportunities (University of Montana) (www.montana.edu/wwwcp/national.htm).
A huge list of international jobs comprehensive sites-a variety of fields
and a variety of international locations.
- The University of Wisconsin "Go
Global! The International Careers Web site" has links to numerous
university Web sites that list employment opportunities (http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/globalstudies/goglobal/site-lists/external-centers.htm)
from all over the world. Some will submit résumés to recruiters.
- Internships
Abroad (www.ohiou.edu/studyabroad/internships.htm) is an internship program
offered through Ohio University for internships in the United Nations, in
the U.S. Department of State, and in over 65 countries.
- U.S. Department of Commerce has various intern programs. For example, Student
Employment Opportunities (http://ohrm.doc.gov/jobs/Student/info.htm) covers
a broad range of student employment and internship opportunities.
- U.S. Department of State
(www.careers.state.gov/index.html). An extremely helpful description of Student
Employment Programs with good information on how to apply for them. The Department
of State holds oral prep sessions all across the United States and Asia to
assist candidates for the Foreign Service oral exam.
- The International Finance Corporation of the World
Bank Group (www.ifc.org). Recent graduates are hired for a two-year period
as investment analysts and are then encouraged to get a graduate degree and
become a member of the Global Transaction Team.
- Organization
of American States (www.oas.org/EN/PINFO/HR/gen_information.htm). This
program is designed for juniors, seniors, and graduate students at the university
level to allow them to work within their fields of study. They must have at
least a 3.0 GPA and command of two of the four official languages: English,
Portuguese, Spanish, and French. The program has three sessions during the
year: Fall, Winter-Spring, and Summer.
Enhancing Your Employment: Possibilities Many employers like to hire people for international business positions who
have shown they can live overseas successfully. You're probably thinking
that that's not a very helpful piece of advice. But there are ways to
acquire this experience before getting the employment you are seeking. For example,
many American universities have options that permit students to take a substantial
part of their programs overseas. An international firm that offers 6- to 12-month
overseas internships is another possibility, as is service with the Peace Corps.
AIESEC, the world's largest student-run organization, arranges internships
with foreign companies, governmental agencies, and nonprofits in approximately
85 nations. They are active at over 800 universities, so check to see if your
school has a chapter or go to one of the organization's various Web sites,
such as www.aiesec.org. Another way to enhance your employment possibilities is to enroll in an international
business graduate program. A number of universities in the United States, Canada,
and other nations have them, and a few include overseas internships in their
programs. A way to show a prospective employer that you have had experience
living overseas is to study for an MBA in a European management school such
as INSEAD (France), IMD (Switzerland), the London Business School, or IESE (Barcelona).
The tuition is as expensive as that charged by the best American schools, however.
Interestingly, some American international firms are considering graduates from
European schools for both domestic and overseas jobs. The MBA recruitment coordinator
at Sara Lee Corporation, a large consumer products multinational, says, "It
makes sense that people running our international businesses have an international
background, perspective, and focus." Career Profiles Michael D. Gradijan Michael D. Gradijan had been interested in international issues since high
school. Upon graduating with a concentration in international business from
California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo in 1993, he chose
to work for a small family-run company in the electronics industry rather than
for a large multinational. After just nine months in this company, Gradijan
was sent to Malaysia to open the company's first overseas sales and manufacturing
subsidiary. As managing director, he was responsible for all facets of the business.
Eighteen months later, after hiring and training a local management team to
take charge of the Malaysian operation, Gradijan returned to the United States.
After a few months in the home office, he "aggressively volunteered"
for a new position as Director of Asia-Pacific Markets (North) and moved to
Hong Kong. During his three years in this position, he was responsible for the
company's operations in China, Korea, the Philippines, and Japan. Gradijan's
company then appointed him as director of sales and marketing for all of the
Asia Pacific markets, and he moved to Singapore. While he was in this latter
position, Gradijan's company was purchased by a medium-sized NYSE-listed
company and his responsibilities increased further. Describing his position,
Gradijan said, The focus in Singapore was on creating a multicultural sales team that was
connected to local / regional Asian customers and to the U.S. sales force. A
lot of effort went into having our U.S. sales team feel confident with respect
to releasing control of accounts that were being transferred into Asia. A combination
of weekly conference calls, reports, modified incentives, and trips to Asia,
along with arranging to have the Asia sales team come to the U.S., brought the
teams closer in terms of focusing on the tasks and goals. I remember taking
some of our U.S. sales management team across our Asia locations for two weeks.
We put in long hours working and traveling, including 7 countries-10 cities-in
14 days. The relationships formed with our Asian management and staff during
this trip were priceless, and we reinforced these linkages through such experiences
as lunch on a riverboat in Bangkok, an 8-course exotic meal in Taipei, sushi
in Tokyo, bullet train rides to Nagano, cruising the Hong Kong Victoria harbor,
bargain shopping in Kuala Lumpur, and golfing at an Indonesian seaside resort. After serving three years in Singapore and having his company acquired by a
Fortune 500 multinational company, Gradijan and his family (his son was born
in Hong Kong, his daughter in Singapore) returned to the United States and he
began to explore new career opportunities. Currently residing in Southern California, he has launched a new company, Precision
Forming LLC, that provides sales, marketing, engineering, and design services/products
for high-end precision thermoform packaging applications. His company's
core markets are the semiconductor, telecom, and personal computer industries.
Commenting on his international experience and his new entrepreneurial venture,
Gradijan says, "To be successful, we need to align ourselves with high quality strategic
manufacturing partners with locations, technology, and cost structure that would
support our requirements in Asia. My international experience and contacts nurtured
over the past 10 years provide a strong fit for this critical task. I've
always enjoyed overcoming the challenges associated with partnering with Asian-based
companies, where patience, perseverance, and diplomacy have helped establish
long-term agreements, credibility, and relationships." Over the years, many business people, friends, and relatives have asked me,
"Why do you support outsourcing of business activities to companies overseas?"
My answer has been the same for the past 10 years, "In international or
local business, if we don't innovate, change, or ‘make a move,'
then someone else will!" That's what has kept me focused and motivated
me to always attempt to create the next opportunity, whether in business or
in my own life (such as hiking the Great Wall of China with my family). Jeremy J. Carney A native of California, Jeremy Carney earned a degree in business from California
Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, with concentrations in International
Business Management and International Economics. Upon graduation, he joined
Raytheon Company, a leading multinational in defense and aerospace systems. Jeremy joined Raytheon Technical Services Company (RTSC) because of its international
focus. Initially, he supported business development efforts related to Cooperative
Threat Reduction programs in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East, which
focused on demilitarization. Jeremy also worked to develop a commercial oil
and gas venture, which included international opportunity identification, and
subsequent new business capture efforts throughout the United States, Middle
East, Africa, and the former Soviet Union. He commented, "I was initially
attracted to Threat Reduction work because it provided a unique look at the
political and socioeconomic realities that drive disarmament. Transitioning
into what was basically a joint venture to create a commercially viable international
logistics-support company was an immense challenge, given the cultural and business
dynamics in the defense and aerospace industry. It provided an opportunity to
integrate commercial best-practices into an area that is traditionally governed
by unique rules and regulations." Jeremy's career then involved an assignment with the Vice President of
Strategy for RTSC, supporting the development and rollout of RTSC's 5-Year
Strategic Plan for domestic and international businesses. He was also responsible
for special projects for the RTSC Leadership Team, which included business model
analysis, portfolio shaping, competitive intelligence, mergers and acquisitions,
and business process development. He said, "This was a business student's
dream come true. I was able to get involved in multiple functions and in the
overall strategy development and execution for a $2 billion piece of our portfolio.
It enabled me to meet and work with top-tier executives who drive cultural evolution
and business growth daily. I experienced when-and how-the proverbial
‘rubber meets the road' and, equally important, when it does not." Jeremy's performance and exposure at RTSC led to his being selected as
one of seven participants in the first Business Development Leadership Development
Program (BDLDP), a rotation program designed to expose Raytheon's future
leaders to business development and other cross-functional assignments in multiple
business areas across the company. He commented, "The BDLDP functions
as both a career and pipeline development tool, and as a catalyst to drive cultural
change in the organization. While we focus on learning from experts and best
practices within the company, we also are charged with bridging the gaps between
different businesses in our portfolio and on challenging the status quo. We
are cultural change agents, required to drive evolution. This requires constantly
being scrutinized and held to the highest standards while simultaneously pushing
back and challenging existing thinking, processes, systems, structures, and
behaviors in a politically sensitive way." In his first rotation assignment, Jeremy worked as Manager of Business Capture
and Strategy for Raytheon's Network Centric Systems (NCS), supporting
the Director. His responsibilities included an active role in strategy development
and team review activities, and involvement in other NCS and Raytheon-wide initiatives
focused on business processes and infrastructure development. Jeremy's second rotation assignment is Regional Manager for the Middle
East and Africa, reporting to both the Regional Executive for these regions
and Raytheon International's President. Primary responsibilities focus
on supporting efforts to maintain and develop international and U.S. government
customer relationships. This requires interfacing with the Raytheon businesses,
country managers, and corporate, to drive strategy development and growth for
the company. Substantial interface with U.S. government agencies such as the
Departments of State and Defense, foreign embassies, and various international
groups and associations is required. He is also responsible for special projects
related to developing country entry strategy. He commented, "Working for
an aerospace and defense company in Washington, DC, and in the Middle East and
Africa, at this time in history and with this focus, is an incredible opportunity
to experience first-hand the political, socioeconomic and business pressures
in one of the most demanding and challenging business environments in recent
times." Jeremy added, "Since joining Raytheon, my goal has been to put myself
into the most challenging and diverse learning situations available. My intent
is to maximize my learning so that I can build the tactical, strategic and leadership
skills necessary to drive growth and eventually lead a multinational organization.
I co-ran a local restaurant while completing my university studies. It was leading
on a much smaller scale and running a large corporation is certainly more complex.
Yet, the lessons learned from my experiences in academics, front-line management,
and in my various roles at Raytheon have really enabled me to build a strong
foundation. It's all about leveraging your experiences and your vision
to drive the future." Carina Edwards Carina Edwards leads global business development and external marketing efforts
for Sapient, a business and technology consultancy headquartered in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. In this capacity, she oversees the global business development
sales strategy, training, CRM/sales force automation development, compensation
plan development, and global support help desk. In addition, she is responsible
for global public relations, analyst relations, and corporate events. Her 51-member
team spans the globe with sales and marketing people in the United States, Canada,
United Kingdom, Germany, and a business development helpdesk and CRM (corporate
relations management) application development team in India. This impressive career development began with a civilian job working for the
U.S. Navy, where she managed a system of global deployments for third-party
outpatient collection systems. That's right, she managed a ride system
for military system outpatients around the world, from her U.S. office. From
there, she moved to Veterans' Health Affairs, to manage a call and problem
management system. At every step in her career, she focused on what she loved,
the international aspects of her work, and what she knew, her decisions sciences
and management information systems background, based on her undergraduate degree
at George Mason University.
Carina Edwards joined Sapient in 2001, initially working as the marketing lead
for Sapient's public services business unit, focused on the federal government
and health care. She is currently completing her MBA at Boston College in Chestnut
Hill, Massachusetts, and takes some courses at Northeastern university. She
credits her recent international management course with helping her develop
a better understanding of the global workplace from a cultural and managerial
perspective and gain insights into global strategies.
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