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no one to help me ?

23 questions ... that's quite a lot actually

if responding to your questionnaire takes more that 10 minutes I don't think you'll receive a lot of responses

Julien, it's a thesis for my MBA i cannont make it shorter and decrease the quality of my work

however, i understand that people here who do not know me don't want to answer, no problem

I'm not really an expat, but more of a nomad.
I don't travel because of work.
Would you still want me to answer ? :-)

1)Ìý Ìý Are you in expatriation at the present moment? Or have you experienced expatriation before?
Now and before

2)Ìý Ìý From what to what country?
currently France to Mauritius

3)Ìý Ìý For how long?
2 years

4)Ìý Ìý For how long have you been / were you expatriated?
almost 6 years

5)Ìý Ìý Is / was your family with you?
no

6)Ìý Ìý What was the selection process for this mission?
several discussions and meetings

7)Ìý Ìý What were the criteria that you needed to fulfil?
professionalism,Ìý experienced

8)Ìý Ìý After the selection, were you trained specifically for your mission?
no

10)Ìý Ìý Were there other candidates for the same mission?
yes

11)Ìý Ìý If yes, why do you think you were eventually selected?
I already worked abroad and it is easier for me to adapt to different cultures

12)Ìý Ìý What personal qualities / personality traits do you think are important for an expatriate?
flexibility, availability, comprehension, patience

13)Ìý Ìý Which ones helped you more than others?
flexibility

14)Ìý Ìý Did you complete your mission until the end of the contract?
yes

16)Ìý Ìý If yes, when you came back to you company, were you aware of the conditions of your repatriation?
I didn't come back

17)Ìý Ìý Are you still working for the company that expatriated you?
No, I created my own business

21)Ìý Ìý Are you happy with this experience, generally speaking? What were the greatest difficulties you encountered?
Yes I am pretty happy of my current position.
The biggest difficulty is the cultural shock when I arrived

If you would put it up as multiple choice form somewhere on the web, for example on one of these "create your own survey/ poll" sites than you might have more luck. People love interactive thingies. I will copy&paste it and write a blog post about it, will post the link later. SY

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1)Ìý Ìý I'm an expat right now
2)Ìý Ìý From the United States to Germany
3)Ìý Ìý So far, 2 and a half years
4)Ìý Ìý So far, 2 and a half years
5)Ìý Ìý I have no children; my husband is with me
6)Ìý Ìý It was a standard job interview in my husband's field
7)Ìý Ìý Qualifications in his field no different than within the US
8)Ìý Ìý We took German classes after work for a couple of months to prepare
9)Ìý Ìý We really didn't have enough time to learn that much German, but it was enough to get along at first
10)Ìý Ìý I don't know
11)Ìý Ìý He was just the right person for the job
12)Ìý Ìý An open mind and sense of adventure
13)Ìý Ìý Both were helpful, mostly the open mind. If you come here expecting it to be like home and thinking about nothing but how you wish it was just like home, this is a recipe for misery.
14)Ìý Ìý Everything's been fine at his work so far.
15)Ìý Ìý -
16)Ìý Ìý He would have to find a new job in the US to repatriate.
17)Ìý Ìý We were not sent here by a company.
18)Ìý Ìý -
19)Ìý Ìý -
20)Ìý Ìý -
21)Ìý Ìý Yes, the biggest difficulty is language.
22)Ìý Ìý As an adult it's very difficult to learn a second language, especially if you didn't learn more than one language while still a child. Even worse everyone tells you you're going to be sooooo fluent just from immersion, but it doesn't really work that way.
23)Ìý Ìý -

OMG, guys, i was absent for a couple of days, and i see answers... Ìý

THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!!!!! it's really important to me, thanks thanks thanks !!!!!

Jo Ann, thanks a lot for offering to answer, it's really nice of you Ìý but my thesis is really about "official" expats, those who have expat contracts and all this stuff... but thanks a lot !

lilly

Oh well... :-)

Can you please clarify whatÌý '"official" expats, those who have expat contracts and all this stuff...' and who of us doesn't need to reply? Are, for example, interested in answers from people that moved because their partner moved? SY

hi, hospitalera !

no, spouses of expats are welcome to answer, like Heidelbergerin did, she answered for her husband Ìý

"official expats" i mean : you're working in a company that decides to expatriate you for a period of time, like 1 or 2 or 3 years or so... So you go through a selection process, then sometimes training, then you negotiate an expat package (money, housing, accompanying family, blah blah Ìý )

then, logically, you come back to the company, but it's not the case for everybody (Julien for example)

people i cannot use answers from are like Jo Ann, who just go abroad to find a job, or just travel, but without any official frame. but thanks a lot to them to offer answering Ìý

i'll try to do what you suggested about the poll. thanks a lot ! and i hope i answered your question

By the way lillyflower, would you share the result of your studies with us? it could be very interesting

1)Ìý Ìý Now and before

2)Ìý Ìý From what to what country?
Ìý Ìý Ìý From Thailand to Romania

3)Ìý Ìý For how long?
Ìý Ìý Ìý 3 years

4)Ìý Ìý For how long have you been / were you expatriated?
Ìý Ìý Ìý 8 years

5)Ìý Ìý Is / was your family with you?
Ìý Ìý Ìý no

6)Ìý Ìý What was the selection process for this mission?
Ìý Ìý Ìý I created my own business

12)Ìý Ìý What personal qualities / personality traits do you think are important for an expatriate?
Ìý Ìý Ìý Acceptance, intercultural sensitivity, Compromise, Adaptability

13)Ìý Ìý Which ones helped you more than others?
Ìý Ìý Ìý ÌýAdaptability

21)Ìý Ìý Are you happy with this experience, generally speaking?
Ìý Ìý Ìý ÌýWhat were the greatest difficulties you encountered?
Ìý Ìý Ìý ÌýYes, it's a life experience i'm absolutely grateful for.
Ìý Ìý Ìý ÌýCulture Shock

Hi! I'll try and answer, but it may not be of much use to you...

1)    Are you in expatriation at the present moment? Or have you experienced expatriation before?
a.    Now

2)    From what to what country?
From England to Spain

3)    For how long?
5 years

4)    For how long have you been / were you expatriated?
5 years

5)    Is / was your family with you?
Husband, yes

6)    What was the selection process for this mission?
None

7)    What were the criteria that you needed to fulfil?
Member of EC

8)    After the selection, were you trained specifically for your mission?
a.    For the mission
No
b.    For the country (language, cultureÂ…)
No
c.    General cross-cultural training (how to deal with cultural shockÂ…)
No
d.    Other

9)    Do/did you feel this training is/was helpful for your expatriation? Did you feel prepared?
a.    No: why
b.    Yes: how
n/a

10)    Were there other candidates for the same mission?
No

11)    If yes, why do you think you were eventually selected?
n/a
12)    What personal qualities / personality traits do you think are important for an expatriate?
adaptability

13)    Which ones helped you more than others?
adaptability

14)    Did you complete your mission until the end of the contract?
n/a
15)    If no, why?
16)    If yes, when you came back to you company, were you aware of the conditions of your repatriation?

17)    Are you still working for the company that expatriated you?
n/a

18)    If you are in expatriation now, do you want to stay with your company afterwards? Why?
n/a

19)    As for the repatriation, were the conditions discussed before signing the contract? If no, have they been discussed? When? n/a

20)    What are/were the conditions or your repatriation, if you are aware of them? n/a

21)    Are you happy with this experience, generally speaking? What were the greatest difficulties you encountered?
I love living in Spain, no regrets. Greatest difficulties have been learning the language and filling out forms.

22)    Please, explainÂ…
23)    Do you wish to add anything?