NEWSFLASHES

LEX and AJUUS Magazine

Adventure and entrepreneurial wanderlust

Modern expats
More and more Dutch people are turning their backs on their own country. As emigrants but also on a temporary basis. For example, as an expat with a contract for a few years. Once the contract ends, they will see where they will go next. Specialised agencies offer assistance in this area.
 
Internationally operating companies often offer their employees the opportunity of working abroad for a period of time within the middle and higher management bracket. This usually involves a contract for several years. The job and the distance will determine whether the partner and children will also go. Depending on the location and the local conditions, the expat family will live in a so-called compound amongst other expats and be basically isolated from the native population. In many cases, such a temporary expat existence will have been a phase in the career of the man.

Knowledge and experience
It was, moreover, usual at multinationals such as Shell to stay at the same employer year after year but this has changed. Women are no longer satisfied with being on the sideline, switching careers is a normal phenomenon and not everybody wishes to wait many years until a position abroad becomes available. On the other hand, companies that have subsidiaries abroad often need someone in the short term who will take charge of those management tasks. Independently from this, there are always entrepreneurial and adventurous people who do not shy away from blazing new trails and who are horrified by the thought of having an existence that is controlled in every way in a protected environment.
It has become a lot more commonplace to look over the border than before due to globalisation. Temporary appointments in one of the Gulf states, Singapore, Hong Kong or Shanghai have lost quite some of their exotic nature let alone positions in Europe or the USA. On the other hand, more people are required who wish to work aboard as a manager for a few years. The world has, moreover, not only become a lot smaller due to globalisation but also larger. New and up-and-coming countries are presenting themselves and it is, in particular, in these countries where there is a great need for people with knowledge and experience. Specialised companies anticipate this and act as a broker between employers and employees.

Clear profile
One of these companies is LEX EXPATspecialist from Dalfsen in Overijssel. From a beautiful manor house, LEX makes the contacts between managers in search of challenges aboard and companies that require their skills. “We act as brokers between companies and expats on a global scale," explains Tineke Hulst, Managing Director. “We actively recruit people and include possible candidates in our database. We subsequently link these people with internationally operating companies who call upon us by using this database. We always ask our customers to provide profiles that are as clear as possible to ensure the best possible results can be achieved. Next, we approach them with the most extensive selection of candidates that we can. At the same time, we inform potential expats about living and working in the countries of their choice, moving, insurance issues, schools for children and a lot more. We also pay attention to the ambitions of expat partners when we broker. The probability of having a successful secondment will be considerably greater if partners also find a suitable challenge. This is why we ask both partners to send us their CVs.”

Opportunities
According to Hulst it is becoming more and more commonplace that both the husband and wife have enjoyed a high level of education, which, of course, creates additional opportunities. “This does not necessarily have to be the case. Depending on the area where they will be going, there may also be opportunities in education or development assistance.” Other options are jobs for which you require one or more foreign languages, marketing and sales, buying for Dutch companies, etc. ICT, Financial (controllers) and pro¬ject management are top of the list with regard to the positions available. “Setting up and developing business processes within ICT are some of the tasks that must take place in many countries. A quite different example is energy production in South Africa. Power is not supplied for two hours every other day and this cannot continue like this,” says Marieke Kolthof. She is now in charge of marketing and sales at LEX but she first studied in this country for some time. “Africa becomes part of your soul,” she says and both Tineke Hulst and her husband Gerrit Pierik endorse this. “We operate on a global scale but have a soft spot for Africa. And, in particular, West Africa. I prefer the ‘difficult’ countries in this region. West Africa is a lot rawer and that is something that you must want. South Africa is more developed.” Pierik tells us about a Dutch man who is working in the interior of Cameroon for a timber yard. “He’s been there six years in the
middle of nowhere. He recently acquired a satellite dish.”

Managers and higher positions
You clearly need more guts to live in Africa than to lead an ordinary existence in the Netherlands but you must also be highly adaptable and flexible and have staying power as an expat in other regions. “This way of life and the working environment are not for everybody. We, therefore, do not take any chances with our candidates,” explains Tineke Hulst.
Which type of people is LEX looking for? Marieke Kolthof: ”We are basically looking for experienced managers and higher. Having a good command of languages is required and you must be prepared to move to another country within a year with or without your family. We do not expect that a suitable candidate will emigrate definitely. On the contrary: if someone has the right skills, we will be more than happy to look for another position once the contract has ended. Having an adventurous attitude is important,” she adds. “The candidate himself or herself can indicate which areas has his or her preference: Africa, China, the Emirates, South America – everything is possible. South Africa, in particular, has a large Dutch community. About a thousand Dutch families live in Cape Town alone. They are not all expats. A large group lives there on a permanent basis. There may be employers among them who are looking for a manger but they themselves stay there too.”

Background
The demand for expats does not come from this corner that much because LEX brokers mainly for large companies such as ABN Amro, Shell, Unilever and Philips. “Dutch people are attractive because they speak several languages at a high level and are, traditionally, oriented towards what is happening outside,” says Tineke Hulst. “We are familiar with foreign cultures based on our history. We are also becoming more and more well-travelled and we are broadening our outlook on the world. We are usually not afraid to act boldly. This is an advantage if you have to assume leadership in a foreign environment.”
The people approached by LEX cannot be heaped together or it has to be due to their open and adventurous attitude. “Some go in search of exciting challenges while others do not feel this need as much. Their background usually already says a lot but a sudden reversal does sometimes happen too. There are many reasons why someone has not expanded his or her wings before. Sometimes the moment arrives when someone asks himself or herself whether this is it or whether there is something more. He or she can then either accept this or decide to turn a new leaf. The world is big enough.”

Publication date: 21 May 2008

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