There has always been something romantic and exciting about working overseas and it can also be a fantastic opportunity to travel and see the world with the added bonus of getting paid for it. Opportunities for working overseas include business trips, training and also to be relocated overseas for a special assignment that may last on average two to three years.

Many people I talk with have a strong desire to work overseas and for some - a lack of overseas opportunities can be a motivating factor for leaving their current company. Therefore, for those who do aspire to work overseas, what are the important things to consider?

Although gaishi companies tend to have many office locations around the world it is very rare for them to hire someone in Japan for an immediate overseas position. Therefore if you want to live and work abroad your best bet may be to get a job in a gaishi company and then after proving your competency for a year or two, apply for or request an overseas assignment. Many Japanese companies also have overseas offices and may be more likely to hire someone especially for an particular overseas assignment.

As with any job you are applying for, ensuring you have proper skills and experience to do the job are very important. Of course language competency is vitally important to working overseas and so you may want to consider some additional language study to ensure you can operate on a business level in the overseas environment of your choosing

The great cities of the world like London, New York and Paris have always been priority destinations for those wishing to work overseas, but there are also many (perhaps more) overseas opportunites in emerging economies such as China.
Although working in developing countries such as China may not appeal to some people, depending on the country there can also be a variety of other benefits to living there including having a swimming pool, tennis court and gym in your apartment complex as well as a maid, driver and nanny to take care of you and your family.

As with anything in life there are stepping stones and although your dream is to be assigned to work in San Francisco, it may be a good building block to try for an overseas job in a less glamorous place where no-one else wants to go. After having proved yourself and gained a few years of experience in working overseas it will be much easier to get that dream position of yours.

Since beginning my recruiting career in Tokyo in 2001 I’ve been fascinated by one BIG question: Why are some people extremely successful in growing their careers in “gaishi” companies in Japan while others, with the apparently the same basic level of talent, continually struggle?

One of the primary missions of gaishido.com is to explore this question and provide you, my regular (I hope!) readers with fresh, fun and useable ideas on how you can learn to easily and naturally go down the road of success and avoid the painful road of failure.

This blog is built on Web 2.0 principles, with input by YOU encouraged. Go ahead, make some comments on the posts, the videos, and the podcast audios. This is a two-way conversation, not my soap-box. I’m also very open to articles from guest experts as well as user-generated videos and audios.

At this stage, it is still the seed of an idea, but my intention is to make this site grow to become the leading source of information on how and why bilingual professionals in Japan can maximize their potential for success and become leaders in international corporations in Japan and beyond.

You’ve probably already figured it out, but gaishido is a play on words of the ancient Japanese concept of “bushido”, known in English as the “Way of the Warrior”. Bushido consists of 7 principles, as does the conceptual spirit of gaishido: Vision, Strategy, Tactics, Communication, Knowledge, Energy, and Creativity. The importance of mastering these concepts is fundamental to the “Way of Success for Gaishi Company Leaders” and each of these will be explored in a way that helps you develop that mastery.

If the path to success is what you choose, I invite you to join myself and all the readers of Gaishido.com along on the journey.

Here’s a true recruiting story….A candidate came to my attention via one of my colleagues on a Tuesday. I saw his resume and knew immediately that he was a perfect candidate for one of my clients. He looked great “on paper” and I was really excited to meet him to see how he was in person as there’s never a sure match between the resume and the actual person.

I asked him to come see me as quickly as possible and fortunately he was available the next day. We met on Wednesday, and he exceeded my expectations. He was truly excellent with strong qualifications, a track record of achievement, a positive results-oriented attitude, and he was seeking a challenging new position. Perfect.

Fortunately, he was interested in the specific company I am recruiting for and agreed to be put forward to them. Within 15 minutes of sending over the resume, the CEO called me and said “I want to meet him. Tomorrow.” Unfortunately he wasn’t available on Thursday, but he was on Friday.

On Friday, the candidate met the CEO and three others at the company. The CEO called in the afternoon and said “We want to hire him.”

At first I thought to myself “Great!”, but then the concerns started rolling in…is everything moving too fast? Isn’t this like asking someone to marry you after the first date? What his he going to think about all this? (To be continued…..)Here’s a true recruiting story….A candidate came to my attention via one of my colleagues on a Tuesday. I saw his resume and knew immediately that he was a perfect candidate for one of my clients. He looked great “on paper” and I was really excited to meet him to see how he was in person as there’s never a sure match between the resume and the actual person.

I asked him to come see me as quickly as possible and fortunately he was available the next day. We met on Wednesday, and he exceeded my expectations. He was truly excellent with strong qualifications, a track record of achievement, a positive results-oriented attitude, and he was seeking a challenging new position. Perfect.

Fortunately, he was interested in the specific company I am recruiting for and agreed to be put forward to them. Within 15 minutes of sending over the resume, the CEO called me and said “I want to meet him. Tomorrow.” Unfortunately he wasn’t available on Thursday, but he was on Friday.

On Friday, the candidate met the CEO and three others at the company. The CEO called in the afternoon and said “We want to hire him.”

At first I thought to myself “Great!”, but then the concerns started rolling in…is everything moving too fast? Isn’t this like asking someone to marry you after the first date? What his he going to think about all this? (To be continued…..)

“It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste time.” –Henry Ford

One of the best things I did 20 years ago was invest in a time management system by Frankin Quest. As a naturally unorganized person who is easily distracted and interested in a lot of things, I realized I needed something to keep me focused, on time, and as organized as possible.

As mentioned in my PowerUp Principles eBook, I HIGHLY recommend that everyone find a system that works for them and give it a try. There are lots of different systems out there and they all have their own approach to time management, but the best ones align you with your short and long-term goals rather than simply being a way to manage time and track tasks.

I’m currently using Simpleology, which I absolutely love and recommend, but it is web-based and you may prefer to have something analog that you can carry around with you (Franklin is good for that). Simpleology doesn’t have a built-in calendar so I actually schedule my activities in Outlook. What Simpleology does is really help me with how I choose to spend my time and what I focus on, which is the most important element of time management.

A Harvard Business Review article (Bruch & Ghoshal 2/02) reports that 90% of managers squander their time in all sorts of ineffective activities. Can you imagine if you could dramatically reduce your time-wasting activities and get more done in less time? Well, if you’re not using a system, maybe it’s time to go and try one…