What They Say About Career In Your Suitcase

An interview with the author

Jo Parfitt granted an interview to Vickie Austin and shared about her writing, her activities as an international speaker and some of her upcoming projects.

NOTE: This was originally published on the alumni Web site and is being printed here with permission from the author and the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird).

VAA: Please tell us a little about the process of writing the book—how did you handle the challenge of juggling your work and family while writing a book, too?

JP: I have to say, it’s very interesting that before I was married and had children, I had lots of publishing contracts and I wrote lots of computer training books, practically a book a month. Then we lived abroad, which is where I got all my inspiration, and when I came back to England, I had children and no help and a husband who was always away. I came down to earth with a big bump, juggling kids and a house, and it was much more difficult this time around. The first edition of Career In Your Suitcase was written four and a half years ago, and it took about a year.

This time, I realized about a year ago that the book needed updating and I decided to do a second edition. It took six months just to get into the frame of mind—it was incredibly difficult to focus. When you write a book, you have to clear your mind of everything else and focus totally on the book. The difficulty, I find, is e-mail because it takes up so much of your time! That was something I didn’t have to struggle with before. So I told myself, ‘I will not log on until I’ve written an entire chapter,’ because otherwise, it’s impossible to stay focused. I eventually set myself a deadline, based on two fantastic conferences I was booked to speak at in the early autumn, which would be the perfect place to launch the revised book. On about April 1st, I said, ‘This is it, I have got to start writing today.’ Then, there was all the editing, proofing and design. I submitted copy to my editor on the 15th of July and it was sent off to the publisher on the 2nd of Sept. It took about six weeks to recover!

VAA: Thunderbird provides graduate school education in international business to women and men from all over the world. Your book is more geared toward “trailing spouses” of those who are deployed internationally—how do you think the book fits for those who are, themselves, developing international careers?

JP: The book fits for everyone, male or female, trailing spouse or not. In fact, I just met a well reputed and fully employed male Dutch trainer and author when I was away at a conference, who said he had gotten a huge amount out of the book. The reason I focused more on expat spouses is because I was one. In fact, almost all the contributors to the book have been expat spouses, with the exception of perhaps Galen Tinder. But the book is for everybody. A growing number of the people reading the book are dual career partners. I tried to cross over into both markets, but it’s also important for a book to have a niche, because it’s easier to market it that way. So I chose the perspective of the accompanying partner.

VAA: Why did you use the “team approach” for your book, inviting other experts to contribute chapters and ideas throughout?

JP: Because I don’t know everything. I do very well on the topics of finding your passion and networking, but I would not presume to call myself expert in all areas of the portable career so I asked others to share their views. I’m also very motivated by helping people--nothing has helped my career more than to be a speaker and a writer, and I wanted to help others with their careers by asking them to contribute to the book. As speaker, having a book affords me additional kudos, or status, and at the same time being a speaker gives my books more kudos… most of the people in the book are already speakers in this world, so I thought it would boost the careers of the unpublished, to have a chapter in the book. I do need to say though that Robin Pascoe is much published herself, and Huw Francis has a couple of books under his belt too. It has made such a difference in my career to have a book. I wanted to do that for other people.

Also, I’m not precious about my knowledge, not precious about any of this. Everyone should have a chance to speak out. I’m not possessive, and I feel it’s everyone’s opportunity to be successful.

The other reason is that I’m British, and I believe so strongly that we may have the same language but not the same culture… so, some of the others who contributed to the book are Canadian, Welsh and American. They have different nationalities, and most of them have lived in different areas of the world. I felt their perspectives were important.

VAA: How did you arrive at the decision to have your book sponsored by U.S.-based REA? Is that a common practice in the UK?

JP: I didn’t want anyone to accuse the book of sounding too British! The other reason is that I work for them as a career consultant. They can see what I was trying to communicate, and they are proud to be associated with the message. The book is self-published and it was a way to gain [financial] support, but it wasn’t totally underwritten by REA. It isn’t uncommon in the U.K. to have advertising in a book.

VAA: How can people buy the book—through your Web site?

JP: People can visit my Web site, www.Career-in-Your-Suitecase.com, or e-mail shop@career-in-your-suitcase.com.

VAA: What new projects are you working on now?

JP: I’ve always worn many hats and I like variety, so I continue to be a freelance journalist and speaker but I have a new string to my bow. Because I’ve done so many of my own books, I’m being asked to be a self-publishing consultant. I’m getting so much interest, and as I said, I think every speaker needs a book… I’m getting one new client every week! This, my latest career has been a bit of a revelation to me… we sometimes don’t value what’s staring us in the face. I’m an author, editor and journalist, and I understand every aspect of a book. I know about agents and editors, and I can advise people on what to do next. I advise people on how to publish electronically, self-publish or go through a [traditional] publishing company. I’m really surprised—so many people don’t know about royalties, agents, selling rights, or even the difference between an editor and a publisher. I can help them.

VAA: What advice would you have to anyone who is committed to developing an international career?

JP: I would say, ‘Manage your expectations.’ It’s been proven that the people with the most realistic expectations are the most successful. It’s also very important to do your research. Once you’ve gone abroad, there’s no going back. You’ll never be the same person again. It’s an incredible experience, being part of a global community, but once you do that, you really belong nowhere and to no one. You stop belonging to the place you call home. Make sure you really want a global lifestyle. Be aware of what it will do to your spouse and children. Everybody will be affected, totally and forever.

VAA: Is there anything else you’d like to share with the Thunderbird community?

JP: I pride myself on being a resource of information. The book is full of resources, and I want people to continue exploring. Contacting everyone on the Web site is free, and I do an electronic newsletter, “The Monthly Inspirer,” which people can subscribe to for free. I’ve done all this research, and the site is filled with the people I really recommend, all the gurus [of international career transitions]. I don’t see any harm at all in connecting people to each other.

Ingenuity, Flexibility Key to International Career
A review of A Career In Your Suitcase
By Vickie Axford Austin

NOTE: This was originally published on the alumni Web site and is being printed here with permission from the author and the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird).

Whether you’re a graduate of Thunderbird, the spouse of a T-bird or the unemployed half of a “Thunder-couple,” Joanna Parfitt’s book A Career In Your Suitcase has something for everyone. While targeted to spouses of expatriates whose vocational options are limited by virtue of their status as “trailing spouses,” the book is teeming with good ideas for anyone caught in or contemplating career transition with a special interest in international.

Ms. Parfitt is herself an expat whose work life has been a tapestry of experience she wove together through ingenuity, creativity and often desperation. Jo moved to Dubai with her new husband the day after their wedding, and was stunned to receive a stamp on her passport that said “not permitted to take up employment.” Unwilling to settle for a life of leisure—a structure that was and still is an acceptable choice for wives who follow their husbands abroad—Jo began to build her network of contacts and projects as a writer that supported her through their years in Dubai, in Oman, then later in Norway and finally, back in England. Through a rigorous inventory of her own skills and talents, and her willingness to get out on a limb to ply her trade in an unknown territory, she built a “portable” career with ideas she generously shares in this second edition of A Career In Your Suitcase.

A Team of Experts

The challenge of this book is to discern how to best use the rich resources in each chapter. With her extensive web of contacts throughout the world, Jo has integrated tools, ideas and recommendations from the crème de la crème of career experts. She shares her pages with other authors, who contribute whole chapters based on their own areas of expertise. The book includes wisdom from career consultant Galen Tinder, the senior consultant and manager of Ricklin-Echikson Associates Inc., a firm based in Millburn, New Jersey, that specializes in the human resource needs of expatriates and which also sponsored the book.

From “Find Your Passion” in Chapter One to the wealth of resume templates and success strategies in the appendices, Jo presents us with a step-by-step model to crafting a successful international career. Perhaps the heart of the book is the Chapter “Work for Yourself,” defining the structure needed to create an entrepreneurial venture that allows one to create work that can adapt to a spouse’s career if that spouse is deployed to yet another foreign country.

The Male Perspective

There is tremendous value as well in the chapters on coping with expat transitions for all members of the family, including a special section for “Trailing Males” that is particularly pertinent for men whose T-bird wives may be deployed internationally. As one of many contributing writers to the book, Huw Francis tells his own story of following his Scottish wife Seonaid from Hong Kong, where they met and married and where both were gainfully employed, to Ankara, Turkey, after Hong Kong was converted politically back to China.

Having agreed that they would take the first job offered to either of them, Huw was met with a host of challenges in being a “new breed” of male trailing spouse when Seonaid got her teaching assignment in Turkey. He writes articulately of coping with an identity crisis, exacerbated by society’s frowning on men who opt to become “house-husbands” (to say nothing of the judgment of in-laws!). Through his story, he shares about adapting within a system that is ill-designed to support men who aren’t the primary breadwinners. His synopsis of the pitfalls of this unique agreement, and his ultimate victory as writer and book author, pave the way for all couples who choose to juggle international dual careers.

Find a goal, set a goal

The chapter “Make It Happen” begins with a quote by Anthony Robbins, author and motivational speaker: “The greatest achievers in the world all started by setting a goal.” Gail MacIndoe, business and intercultural coach, proceeds to provide us with practical information on emotional intelligence and neuro-linguistic programming, valuable tools in developing skills as a top performer. Tips on stress management, motivation and goal-setting are also covered in this chapter which is especially pertinent for those who are seeking or maintaining an international career.

Gail is founder of her own firm which helps expats who relocate to the United Kingdom. She offers a succinct format for developing a strategic plan, beginning with the creation of a mission statement, identifying what you want, setting goals and then creating a step-by-step plan to help you achieve those goals. The final step is to take action, and Gail recommends a weekly if not daily review of goals in an effort to make them real and compelling. She also wisely advises us to “celebrate each of your wins!” as we proceed, stopping to acknowledge our progress and modify our actions as needed. These are recommendations that serve anyone developing their career, whether domestically or abroad.

Resources at your fingertips

Because this book is, in a sense, “underwritten” by companies including Richklin-Echikson Associates and others, ads are juxtaposed with chapters along with sponsor logos and Web sites throughout. Don’t be put off by these commercial messages. This book is a powerful resource for anyone who finds himself or herself needing or wanting to create or expand upon an international career. Whether you are looking for employment within the host country where you’ve joined your spouse or you’re hoping to build a business that reaches across international boundaries and time zones, there are exhaustive resources within this book to help you do so.

Perhaps the most generous of all resources are the lists at the end of each chapter. Books, Web sites, resources and e-mail addresses of the guest authors are offered, and for those who take advantage of this option to network, there is a literal world open to the reader who is devoted to crafting an international career. Jo Parfitt has done us a great service in corralling these resources within one book, and her tagline, “Believe in Blue Sky,” is evident in the grace and optimism with which she shares people and ideas. Her commitment is to spare us the time and agony it may have taken her to piece together a “career in a suitcase,” and she does so with the dexterity of a premiere networker. In reading this book, you know that her greatest joy is in connecting those who have a passion for their work with each other, enriching our own contacts and abilities to accomplish our goals, no matter where we are throughout the world.

[This book can be ordered through Summertime Publishing, P.O. Box 186, Easton on the Hill, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 3WA, telephone/fax +44 (0) 1780 444768, or through www.career-in-your-suitcase.com]

Vickie Axford Austin graduated from the first executive master’s program at Thunderbird, EMIM I, in 1993. She is founder of CHOICES Worldwide, a career coaching and business development practice based in Wheaton, IL. Vickie coaches people who are in career transition or those seeking to build their own businesses through marketing and strategic planning. A writer and frequent speaker on the topic of career development, Vickie’s mission for her practice is to “create a world in which everyone loves what they do and does what they love.” She can be reached at choices321@aol.com.