Around the World in 8 Hours: What it Means to Work Internationally
I wake up in Croatia, then visit Kuala Lumpur during my morning coffee and make a jump to China afterwards. In the afternoon, I talk to Russia and, before shutting off my laptop to leave the office, I take some time to meet with colleagues in Canada.
No, I am not teleporting. I just work at Infobip.
I never liked saying that we’re a global company. Usually, when you hear the term “global company”, it means that your only link to that globalism is the name of your employer, which you share with people employed in other countries. The end of your email address might be the same, but not much else. You might meet some of your colleagues eventually, but you’ll most likely never work with them closely.
For me, what we actually are is an international company. But, what’s the difference? The answer to that question lies in how we’re connected. In Infobip, we’re all truly interconnected, usually working in the same team as colleagues from our global offices. We actually communicate on a daily basis. So, every day, I am basically interacting with the entire world.
This means working on projects together. It also means shaping new practices and developing company standards. However, the core of that international teamwork is actually bringing together what makes us unique and using that mix to create new, innovative ideas through interaction. That’s what international means to us.
Yes, you get to travel, but we also utilize high-end communication technologies to bridge that gap between continents and create seamless communications for our teams.
What are the benefits of working in an international team? You are tasked with working in different time zones, with different cultures and practices all around the world. Be it introducing something new or adapting a current system, you need to consider multiple factors, specific to each region. That makes you grow, from a professional and personal standpoint. It broadens your horizons. You learn. You are enriched with new experiences, perspectives and friendships.
Ok, how about the challenges? Well, it becomes more difficult and time consuming to coordinate things, to factor in all the variables and manage work across all those time zones. Sometimes you think you’ve found a great solution, but then you figure out it’s completely useless for certain regions. Then you start from scratch. New challenges arise on a daily basis. However, after you manage all this, the feeling you get is amazing. You know you’ve made an impact in your organization on a global scale.
The world is changing. Your ability to work with different cultures and manage working on an international level has become one of the essential skills all employers want. Only by stepping out of your comfort zone and reaching out to the world can you master that skill.
The first step is to find the right environment which will empower you to do exactly that. Oh, wait. You’re already on our website, and we can offer exactly that. So, welcome to step one, click “Apply Now” to take it to step two.
