By Ryan Duffy

People can choose to work abroad for a variety of reasons. It can be down to the best jobs being available in another country, or they may see it as achieving two goals with one action by being able to gain work experience whilst still getting the opportunity to travel another country, which would enhance both your personal and professional experience. Both are vital at this stage of your life. These following points show why working abroad can enhance your personal and professional development.

Personal Development

There are a wide number of ways you develop your personal growth by working in a foreign country. By living and working in a foreign country you will be able to gain a new perspective on your personal heritage, culture and values. The reason for this is that you will be meeting new people and essentially seeing how people live their life in a different country.

It will also allow you to become more independent and self-reliant as you will be doing a lot of things for yourself without having constant guidance and your own decision-making skills will be tested. This in turn will make you more self-confident as you will be able to show yourself that you can be your own person and make a difference your own way – which will be a very valuable skill as you get older.

To sum up, working abroad will help you gain a more sophisticated view of the world and be more diverse with how you view other cultures and lifestyles. Essentially, working abroad can change your whole outlook on life, and you will be able to gain memories, confidence and skills that will last you a lifetime.

Professional Development

Professionally, working abroad can make you significantly more desirable for companies who are looking to hire you. This is because you will stand out from other candidates who would be unable to gain the skills which can only be acquired from working internationally. For instance, in the medical profession you can gain extra skills by doing medical work experience in places such as Africa by working with facilities that aren’t as good as ones in the UK. This shows the employers you are capable of working in conditions that are tougher than the ones available in this country, which is a big tick in the box.

Additionally, you will be able to improve your leadership skills by working abroad. This is because leadership styles differ from one country to another and everybody works and learns differently; just look at ABC Refinery as a great example. If you are able to grasp some of these skills and apply them in a management role in the UK it can improve your career massively.

To conclude, as with your personal development – your professional development can be greatly enhanced when you’re working abroad. You may argue that this can also be the case if you’re working in the UK. But, by being in another country you are constantly learning different things which you wouldn’t in the UK and it will certainly leave you in a better standing should you decide to work in the UK.

Ryan Duffy is a student and freelance journalist

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