Does what works in the USA work where you are?

With so much online advice and content being generated in the English language in the USA, and with great respect to those reading this in North America, we can be forgiven for allowing ourselves to think that the world has become one homogenous culture when it comes to business and the world of work.

Of course, English has become an international language and is a key part of communicating across boundaries and across cultures. But this does not mean that all other aspects of communication are exactly the same. Nor are the protocols that might need to be observed in different situations and at different times.

It’s subtle but when using English there may be a temptation to adopt a different approach – almost being one person when operating in English and another when using your Mother or a different tongue.

So when reading articles online, especially on LinkedIn (strong US presence) or via quality US sites such as Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review, do allow for cultural bias.

At the Global Careers Fair we’re keen to recognise this and promote a more open attitude to how to approach the world of work and employment.

We’d love to hear your stories, whether they are examples of where cross cultural communication has ended in a different, difficult, funny or surprising outcome, or indeed where it has gone really well.

We’d be happy to curate them and help present them in the best way possible via this blog; we’ll even publish them anonymously for you if you prefer (though we’d love to give you full credit if you will allow us). Send your thoughts via email to me, Frank Hutton, via fhutton@terrafirmaassociates.com

I look forward to hearing from you.