Yes, building an international career is hard, but it has become easier through technology. The “work from anywhere” culture is getting stronger than ever and more companies are adopting flexible work arrangements. Victor Murga, Sales Manager Clipboard Health, and Sean Chi, Growth Manager at VanHack, had a great talk about the perks of working remotely during VanHackCON 2022. Sometimes we just need a little push to keep working hard and focusing on our dream, right? Their talk was a good reminder of how many opportunities the world has to offer if we are willing to go for them.
VanHackCON, our annual free event, is the largest online conference for senior tech talent who want to get a job in Canada, the US, or Europe. The 2022 edition took place on the 18th and 19th of November. Keep an eye out for more free events and sign up for our platform to access international job opportunities and unique preparation.
International teams working remotely are more productive
Victor and Sean are so enthusiastic about remote work that VanHackCON participants got an extra dose of inspiration from their talk. Productivity was one of the topics they discussed. Do you think teams are more or less productive when working from different parts of the world? While there are indeed some challenges involved, Victor thinks his colleagues at Clipboard Health add more productivity to the company as a result of being culturally diverse.
He says professionals from different backgrounds more often than not are able to offer different perspectives, because of their work and life experience. Victor meetings are over a lot quicker if the team has many possible ways to look at the problem they need to solve. “Someone from Argentina or the Philippines will think of a solution that I, being from Canada, would not have. Imagine this moment of productivity multiplied by an entire company”.
International talent is not better, but diversity is
Another argument they made in favor of international remote teams is the added value of diversity itself. What it means is that skilled tech professionals from any country will be able to solve problems, create amazing products, or be relevant team players. The case for international teams is not based on one nationality being better than any other. The key is to add as many experiences and perspectives to the table. Working remotely with other talents from around the world doesn’t add “better talent” to the team, but “different talent”. More and more companies now realize the potential of incorporating different talents into their workforce.
You learn so much working with people from around the world
If companies can benefit from international workers’ experiences, the same can be said about coworkers. Victor cheerfully discussed how much he has learned from working remotely with a diverse team. “Working in a culturally diverse environment forces you to be curious and to learn how to navigate cultural differences. And when you are learning, it increases your levels of engagement and attention. I can’t even explain how much I’ve personally grown”
Skills you develop when working remotely
Maybe Victor lacked the words to describe his personal growth. On the other hand, talking about his professional development was easier. He was able to come up with a list of professional skills he acquired due to the remote and international aspects of his team:
- Responsibility
- Reliability
- Proactiveness
- Adaptability and flexibility
- Time management
- Verbal and nonverbal communication
- The ability to ask for help when you need it
- Being able to create a work environment that motivates you (especially when you are working from home)
If you are planning on working remotely those are incredible abilities to work on developing or strengthening.
Ok, there are some downsides
Victor and Sean did not shy away from discussing the downsides of remote work. Dealing with national holidays is an issue when you are managing an international team. The same can be said about different time zones. And what about office parties?
Victor says all of these concerns can be figured out and that he has not found them difficult to navigate. But when it comes to social interactions he has an important message: if you are working away from your team, you have to create opportunities to be more social. That goes for companies as well, they need to make room for social interactions. That’s surely an interesting challenge to tackle: how to take advantage of remote work without missing out on the joys of being around great people.
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