Suffice it to say, you too will probably find a move to another country “challenging,” to say the least. And I’m not talking about the logistics of visas, determining what to take, what to sell, and what to leave behind. I’m not even talking about the obvious missing of friends and family and making new friends and professional relationships.

I guess I want to talk about the “little” things that might not even occur to you, that can add up and take their toll, if you’re not careful and don’t have good stress management tools at your disposal. Often I find these things crop up when one makes assumptions (usually of the cultural communications type) – and we all know how the saying goes about making assumptions! (or maybe I shouldn’t assUME that, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to explain any further here…!)

You might want to try to imagine how it feels to be a skilled communicator, and yet have to explain yourself several different ways and many different times over the course of a conversation, and still not be sure whether your message was really understood.

If you are a very organised individual or are used to working in a very process-oriented environment, you might be surprised if meetings don’t start on time, or are re-scheduled several times.

If you are a woman, you might find it difficult the first time a man refuses to shake your hand or find it awkward to wait to see if he extends his first, or find yourself ignored in a meeting you called.

The differences could be subtle or overt, sytemic or conscious. You might not even realise until afterwards why a certain situation felt strange. Particularly in an era where, for example, products/services/people cross borders relatively easily, it might be easy to think that – on the surface at least – things seem relatively homogeneous.  And let’s face it, these differences and misunderstandings could happen ANYWHERE – even in your own home or the place where you’ve worked your whole life.

But chances are they will happen more often when you’re living abroad.  The beauty of this is that you will have a chance to reflect on your own values and assumptions and analyse their importance and relevance in your new life. How you deal with them will be subject to your interpretation and experience and outlook on life – if you’re the type who can chalk anything up to an “experience” and see the positive side, chances are you will adapt nicely to your new home.  If, on the other hand, you find such experiences discomfiting even at home, you might want to think about the additional effect this might have when very little seems otherwise supportive or familiar.

The details to be investigated will differ in each case, of course, but there are several important points which should always be verified. Firstly, although the would-be employer may have specified either a monthly or an annual salary, how much of this will you actually receive: what deductions will apply, what is the rate of income tax? Secondly, if the salary is to be paid in the local currency, what has been the exchange rate against the Pound over the last twelve months, and how easy is it to transfer money from the country where you will work to UK? Most people, of course, find that even though they are overseas, they still have various bills and subscriptions to pay back home, and so transferring of funds (at a fair rate of exchange, and with reasonable bank charges) is a must. Thirdly, when will you receive your first salary and what (if anything) will the employer do to assist you during the first month or so before this happens?

Good employers will of course answer promptly and helpfully any queries you have. They will often allocate a suitable staff-member (with a good command of English) to act as a guide and mentor for you, in the weeks prior to travel and during the settling-in period. If the answers you receive from the employer are either very slow, very sketchy or unsatisfactory in content, you should seriously consider walking away. Moving abroad is a big step, and you should not take the risk of hitching your wagon to an institution unless it can demonstrate that it is professional and trustworthy.

The issues dealt with here relate only to salary. In my next post I will deal with other aspects of a job offer from an overseas HE institution.

The details to be investigated will differ in each case, of course, but there are several important points which should always be verified. Firstly, although the would-be employer may have specified either a monthly or an annual salary, how much of this will you actually receive: what deductions will apply, what is the rate of income tax? Secondly, if the salary is to be paid in the local currency, what has been the exchange rate against the Pound over the last twelve months, and how easy is it to transfer money from the country where you will work to UK? Most people, of course, find that even though they are overseas, they still have various bills and subscriptions to pay back home, and so transferring of funds (at a fair rate of exchange, and with reasonable bank charges) is a must. Thirdly, when will you receive your first salary and what (if anything) will the employer do to assist you during the first month or so before this happens?

Good employers will of course answer promptly and helpfully any queries you have. They will often allocate a suitable staff-member (with a good command of English) to act as a guide and mentor for you, in the weeks prior to travel and during the settling-in period. If the answers you receive from the employer are either very slow, very sketchy or unsatisfactory in content, you should seriously consider walking away. Moving abroad is a big step, and you should not take the risk of hitching your wagon to an institution unless it can demonstrate that it is professional and trustworthy.

The first bit of advice I would give to anyone thinking of taking up an academic post in another country is that it is often unwise to go through a third party such as an agency. I suppose that one possible exception to this rule might arise if you find yourself in the fortunate position of having been ‘head-hunted’ for some senior role, such as Deputy Vice Chancellor, Supreme Being in Charge of Research Strategy or something of that nature. However, this rarely happens to most of us relatively ordinary mortals, and even it does, it usually only takes place in mid to late career. For most people, the way to secure a new job is to spot a vacancy and apply for it. But my candid advice is to think twice (and then usually forget it) if you see a post advertised by a company acting on behalf of an anonymous client. You know the sort of thing: “My client is a prestigious higher education institution in the Middle East, looking to expand by….”

Even if we charitably assume that the institution whose identity is hidden in such an advertisement is indeed “prestigious” and on the point of exciting, well-funded expansion, the reality may well be that the agency or company acting on behalf of the ‘client’ will effectively take a cut of the salary eventually paid to the successful candidate. Often an institution – say in the Middle East – will budget a certain amount for the salary for a given position. However, it will be the agency that makes an offer to the candidate, often pitching this at no more than 80% of the budget. You are much better advised to be directly employed by a university or college. In that way you negotiate your own salary without the interference of a middle man. Furthermore you avoid getting entrapped by an institution which for whatever reason (lack of confidence? laziness?) is unwilling or unable to entrust its own Human Resources Department with the task of doing the hiring.

There are two lessons to be learned from this. The first is that if you are thinking of working outside UK for the first time, it cannot be a spur of the moment decision. Instead, you need to do a bit of research about the country or countries you might consider working in, and if possible contact by email some expatriates who already work there. The second is that you need to talk it through with your nearest and dearest to see if they are enthused or alarmed by the possibility of transferring their lives to an overseas setting. Only after you have completed steps one and two should you begin to think about the practical issues – such as whether to sell or rent out your UK house.

During my career to this point I have worked in universities and colleges in Korea, Fiji, Thailand, Singapore and Oman – as well as in two British universities. Over the next few months I will be blogging on various topics related to working abroad in higher education. I will certainly be glad to receive any comments or questions as we go along, and though I cannot promise to answer every single one, I will do the best that I can.