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USA Book News International Business Book of the Year Award 2007
Silver Medal in the first annual Axiom Business Book Awards 2008
C. Perry Yeatman was making US$25,000 per year as an account executive when she took her first job abroad. Ten years later, she was earning more than US$500,000 a year and able to recount stories like touring Bangkok with Margaret Thatcher. Stacie Nevadomski Berdan went from a vice president position at Burson-Marstellar, one of the world's leading public relations firms, to global managing director after a three-year stint in Asia.
Expat Women's Interview with Perry & Stacie
ExpatWomen: Congratulations Perry and Stacie, on the recent awards for your wonderful book, ‘Get Ahead By Going Abroad: A Woman's Guide to Fast-track Career Success'. What is it about your book that is making it stand out from the crowd at the moment?
Perry: First, it is great timing. Globalization has been on the rise for decades, but in the past 5 years or so the number of people interested in international careers has literally exploded as people realize what we have known all along – that going abroad is one of the best ways to catapult your career, helping you get further, faster. Second, it is the stylistic approach we took, providing hands-on practical advice, punctuated by and brought to life through compelling stories from real women. What we have heard from readers is that this mix of insight and practical advice delivered in an easy-to-read and entertaining format is a winning combination.
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ExpatWomen: Your book is full of quotes from the 40 female executives that you interviewed in-depth. How long did it take you to interview these women? How did you find both them and the 200 women that you surveyed online? |
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Perry: One of the many benefits of having worked abroad ourselves is having extensive networks of like-minded women. What began as a few phone calls and emails turned into a low-key viral campaign of women responding and then reaching out to find others around the world. In this natural way of women wanting to help other women, we were able to reach literally hundreds of other women who had also worked overseas from all geographic regions – not just the U.S. – who could participate in our online survey.
Stacie: Quantitative and qualitative research were critical to validating the book's premise so readers could follow a pattern of success in more than just Perry and my careers. We included a variety of professionals to ensure a mixture of industries, nationalities, levels and organizations to prove our theory that international experience fast-tracks a career. Although it was a time-consuming process – it took several months of intense interviews and call-backs during the writing process – the rich conversations I had with the 40 women helped crystallize the concepts, guided the tips and checklists and provided the anecdotal flavor that readers enjoy so much. The six women profiled in-depth spent significant amount of time providing thoughtful guidance, interesting stories and reading the manuscript prior to publication.
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ExpatWomen: Can you please share with us a few of the key themes of the women interviewed and/or surveyed? Were there any messages that surprised you, or that you did not expect? |
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Perry & Stacie: The big a-ha revealed was the overwhelming agreement that innate feminine style makes a difference and that women have what it takes to be successful in foreign markets – be she an American in China, a Brit in Brazil or a Russian in South Africa. Survey results indicated the vast majority of women agreed on a few key facts:
• 85% agreed that going overseas accelerated their careers.
• 78% agreed it had a significant impact on compensation.
• 71% agreed they were given increased responsibility earlier in their careers because of their international experience.
• 53% agreed that an international experience is one of the best ways to break through the glass ceiling.
There is no time like NOW to be a woman in an international assignment!
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ExpatWomen: What do you consider to be your top tips for securing an overseas assignment? |
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Perry & Stacie: In Chapter Three, Landing an International Assignment, we list “10 Ways to Increase Your Chances of Going Global”, but if we had to pick just a few they would be:
• Perform your current duties with excellence.
• Do your research, matching your skills with company needs in various markets.
• Tell as many people as possible about your desire to go abroad, and
• Be willing to go where the company needs you.
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ExpatWomen: Once on an assignment, what would be your top tips for making an assignment as successful as possible? |
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Stacie: Making the most of the assignment is the focus of about half the book and so narrowing it down to top tips can be difficult! With that in mind, here are my top 5:
• Figure out the cultural norms in social and business environments.
• Challenge yourself and don't be afraid to fail – or ask for help.
• Network like crazy in your new town, while maintaining contacts in HQs and even
identifying a mentor who is well placed to help you.
• Draw on your feminine management style, and
• Have fun!
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ExpatWomen: What's next for two successful women like yourselves – more books, more foreign assignments, perhaps an appearance on Oprah? |
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Perry: Oprah would be great of course! I have been in touch with her producers but so far no luck, which is understandable given our book is not the type she would typically feature. Oprah aside, the benefits Stacie and I accrued by working overseas have enabled each of us to pursue the careers of our choice. I have chosen a big corporate job at Kraft Foods, while concurrently promoting this book and starting work on a new book project. I am sure I will end up living abroad again at some point. But for now, I am quite happy where I am and just hoping others will follow our lead and get ahead by going abroad! |
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Stacie: The beauty of the fast-tracking international experience is the number of doors it opens. I reached a financial stability at an early stage in my career that would not have occurred had I not gone overseas when I did. And so while Perry still enjoys corporate life at the top, I have capitalized on my success to reinvent myself as lecturer and consultant on international careers, advising corporations on the ins and outs of working abroad, as well as universities on the value of incorporating the international experience into higher education. I am also working on my next book, which I hope to have hit the shelves next year. As for another foreign assignment or life abroad again – absolutely! |
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ExpatWomen: Thank you very much Perry and Stacie. Your insights are honesty are much appreciated and we wish you both ongoing incredible success in the years to come. |
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To learn more about Perry, Stacie and/or their book, please visit:
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April 2008 |
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