Expat qualities

Perfect Expat

What qualities make the perfect expatriate? While this may appear to be a broad question with many varied answers- one man is attempting to find out.

Rudolph Young, human resources director at the High Colleges of Technology in the UAE, has recently published a report looking at exactly what qualities combine to create the ultimate expatriate.

Within the report Young highlights the five main personality traits as being: extroversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability.

Young feels that a combination of these qualities is vital to prospering as an expat. To complete his report he examined a number of expats in their jobs and also measured his findings against the criteria he holds when assessing new expats for employment.

Some other main points he highlights include: how effective people are at working in intercultural situations, stress-management ability, personal hardiness -ability to cope with negative events in a resilient and resourceful manner, and emotional intelligence -the ability to gauge an appropriate and constructive emotional response.

Young continues to stress that not having at least some of these qualities can lead to strong repercussions for the working expat such as unemployment, delayed career development, damaged relationships, and interruptions in their children's education.