How to Work in Someone Else's Country

by Ruth Stark, Bill Bicknell (Foreword)

Working abroad offers adventure, friendship with people of other cultures, intimate familiarity with exciting places, and opportunities to make real differences in communities. It also presents countless challenges, ranging from packing and staying safe and healthy to balancing project objectives with on-the-ground realities, working with local officials, and forging respectful and productive relationships. These challenges and many more are tackled in How to Work in Someone Else's Country . Drawing on thirty years of experience as an international consultant in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific, Ruth Stark provides guidance for anybody preparing to work in a foreign country.

This easy-to-read guide is enlivened by real-life examples drawn from the author's journals and stories shared by colleagues. Slim enough to fit in a carry-on, this book is sure to come in handy wherever your work takes you.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2011

Reviews

[lara phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more intended for people working as consultants rather than going for a long term gig (like Peace Corps or 3 year academic jobs abroad), but the advice is solid. Doesn't cover finding international jobs, but does cover some of the protocol issues if you have to meet cabinet ministers or other VIPs in the course of your assignment. The "what to pack" advice is pretty close to what I came up with in my book, so it must be correct. :-)

[Teshnee · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a book written as a guide, it was an easy read, not too long, not too short, which makes it perfect for someone who is travelling and looking for something quick and interesting to read. I particularly enjoyed the stories from the field. I thought this gave the book a personal feel in addition to it being a source of information.

Although I am in the finance field and do not currently travel for work purposes, I found many tips in this book to be rather useful in respect of my own field and have begun to apply them within my working environment. The author tackles everything that is vital to know, from the preparation required before embarking, to settling into a new and possibly challenging environment with different cultures and traditions, working with difficult people, establishing lasting professional relationships, safety tips and ensuring one's personal wellbeing.

This book would be a wonderful and most useful tool for anyone looking to work overseas, in particular, third world countries. With globalisation ever advancing, the advice and tips given in the book are gems for any working professional, regardless of the field of work.

I would highly recommend it!

[Anna]

Read this, fittingly, while waiting in lines at airports on international work trips and thought it had some great tips.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclosure: I received this book for free in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
Further Disclosure: I'm employed at the same NGO as the author (though I didn't realize it until after I had finished)

Ruth D. Stark set out with the intent to help prepare her daughter for international work but has written a book that is useful for anyone in a temporary assignment. While there is specific information and advice concerning working internationally, when it comes to working in an unfamiliar and temporary setting, Stark's reminders to listen, understand the environment, and involve the regular stakeholders are just as applicable in a domestic locale.

As to the international advice, Stark writes from the perspective of an American travelling abroad, primarily to second and third world assignments, but the major points are still applicable for any traveler as long as one does not get bogged down in the details. Research, preparation, and flexibility are key to a successful assignment regardless of the point of origin or destination.

Stark does reiterate a few points from chapter to chapter. In straight reading of the complete work, it does annoy. But I suspect the intent is for this book to be a handy reference where you refresh your memory by examining a single chapter in preparation for a particular event. In that case, then I think the repetition serves the reader well.

I'm not sure Stark ever got the book done in time for her daughter. If I'm correct, her daughter provides a number of anecdotes for this first edition. But it should certainly provide helpful advice for people new to both international work and any other kind of temporary assignment.

[Brie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclosure: I received this book for free in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

I was happily surprised at how readable this book is since most books that are a bit "self-help" in nature can be dry and boring. It was also very helpful in the information it contained.

Stark draws from her experience on working aboard and the book is very helpful for people who may find themselves sent overseas to work. It covers everything from how to prepare to move overseas to work, to adjusting to the new surroundings, to working with overseas colleagues, to trouble shooting if you are finding it hard to fit into the work situation there. It even tells you what questions to ask before you start packing to move and ways to keep safe in the country you will be working in.

It is definitely a book for someone who had never worked in another country and wanted to go with at least some idea of what to do and not to do.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a good guide: concise, readable, and correct in my experience.
I found it useful and appreciated nearly all of the prescriptive recommendations. That said, also I found it overly cautious and surprisingly more limited in scope than one might assume. The book is painfully antiseptic. It's abundantly clear that the author is a NGO consultant, with a very specific role in the development behemoth, paid not to have an opinion; the tone left me thinking that she would only contest female genital mutilation if local ministers acquiesced in unison.

There's an apt Iraqi saying about the risks of "getting between an onion and its skin." But the corollary is "if I don't do it, no one will" and that goes entirely unacknowledged. The title, even, carries some serious assumptions about participation in government. International workers from prosperous nations have more freedom to express dissent, to question norms, and to jumpstart changes.

[Clivemichael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light and easy read, some obvious (to me) suggestions/advice and a number of excellent take aways.