Megan Fitzgerald, expat career and personal branding coach at Career By Choice, has great tips for how to “internationalize” your professional bio. Megan has lived and worked in more than 40 countries and helps expatriates build personal brands to support their careers and success abroad.
An internationalized bio is a powerful tool that will help you build a personal brand to support you in realizing your goal of living and working overseas.
In an increasingly competitive and global marketplace, even if you’re not looking for a job abroad, having a more international profile and personal brand will help you stand out and get noticed regardless of where in the world you want to work.
Here are a few tips on how to internationalize your bio:
Highlight your international experience, including volunteering, study and work overseas, and relevant international travel.
Demonstrate qualities and skills necessary to succeed abroad, including language skills, adaptability, resilience, and creative problem-solving.
Express your desire or passion for working in international settings and multicultural environments.
In addition to highlighting skills and strengths necessary to work well in other cultures, it is critical to convey your unique value in a culturally appropriate fashion. Cultural fit is an important part of evaluating a job candidate. Be sure that the values communicated through your bio are aligned with the culture in which you’d like to work.
For example, team achievement is more celebrated than individual achievement in Japan. So if you’re pursuing jobs in Tokyo, be sure that your bio reflects your team orientation (if, in fact, you have it).
You should also be sure to use the right keywords in your bio. Because up to 85 percent of employers and recruiters search online to find and research job candidates, the right keywords can increase your chances of being found and considered for work abroad. Examples of keywords include cross-cultural, global, bilingual, multilingual, fluent, and emerging markets.
Internationalizing your bio is critical to being successful in your international job search, as well as giving you a competitive edge in today’s global marketplace.