Working abroad

I work in the regional office in Dubai and I am the sales and marketing director for DHL Exel Supply chain for the Middle East. I cover the region of the GCC and Arabian peninsular. That also includes communicating with my colleagues in Africa and Asia. Dubai is the port where east meets west, making it a strategic location for logistics.

The job offer that I had was great. It fitted really with where I wanted to take my career. But there was a personal aspect involved as well, because I wanted to be closer to my girlfriend. She had been in Yemen and I thought reducing the distance a little bit would make things easier and it really has. No day is ever the same and for someone who gets bored quite quickly like me, this is the right job.

I would say that working abroad is the most personally enriching thing you can do. The interesting thing about the Middle East is the intricacies between the different countries. Saudi-Arabia is not like the Oman and the Oman is not like the United Arab Emirates. It is something that is extremely fascinating for someone who is interested in cultures and people and the different geographies that we're operating.

I think I've developed a relationship with the Middle East to the extent that I call it home now. I have very close friends from Saudi Arabia, from Oman and from the United Arab Emirates which made me develop quite a close bond with it.

Deutsche Post DHL looks after its people very well. I think they are very good at putting the right people in the right areas. But there is also a responsibility on the individual. You have to decide where you want to grow, where you want to live, where you want to have a career and then take steps to make that happen.

Deutsche Post DHL offers you opportunities to grow within yourself and the environments that they put you in, not just geographically but also from a business point of view. You learn very quickly and you tend to meet people of a very good calibre whom you can learn from. It’s an atmosphere of growth and an environment where you can really make the best of yourself.

I come from India originally. That is where I was born and brought up. I always wanted to work and live in different parts of the world. I work with Deutsche Post Inhouse Consulting division. It is an internal consulting that works with the top management of all Deutsche Post business units. We operate out of three offices. Here in US in Plantation, then in Germany in Bonn and in Singapore.

We work with whatever is on the minds of the top management where they feel they need some consulting support and where they could benefit from our analysis and our insights into the industry.

I find this job very exciting because I move from one challenge to another all two to three months. All of them really require a lot of intellectual strength. They also require you to understand what the management needs, understand what my customers need and what my shareholders need. That is what makes it very exciting.

Coming from India means coming from a very different society. It’s really crowded there with people everywhere. When you come here the fist feeling that hits you is: there is space. There are less people and there is much more space available. It really took me some time to get used to it.

I really appreciate the amount of respect for every single individual and how open and well-organized everything is here. I have friends here and I have become very fond of this place. It is very different from where I come from. I'm not sure if I'll stay here forever but right now my relationships here are very strong.

DHL really values international perspective. I think it is one of the key values we look for at the time of hiring. It’s a very international business. We move goods from one country to another so you need to understand what kind of differences could exist in different countries and regions. What challenges could you have in another country and in another business and how can you be open to that?

I work here in the US but I could also do my job from Bonn or Singapore. That possibility makes it very international. We are present in 200 countries, so if you’re moving from one place to another, you could easily communicate with the local DHL. And if there is a place where you fit, you can move there while staying at the same company. People who like new challenges would really enjoy working abroad.

My job involves meeting people from different cultures, different countries and different backgrounds. I develop business for the fashion industry, which is dynamic and that´s why it’s very challenging. It involves a lot of communication with my own team and the customers as well in order to develop business for my company.

Normally everybody thinks that it’s a very boring industry but this is not the case. It’s very interesting and I like it here in Singapore. It’s an easy and nice place to settle down and it’s close to my home country.

I met my husband at DHL. He was the one who got a job in Singapore first. That’s when I started to look for a suitable position and I followed him. I like it here, and with the kind of hectic travel schedules we have, it’s good that we work in the same organisation.

The quality of life is good and the city is clean. The language is not a problem so communicating and getting things is no issue. Food is not a problem either and Singapore is close to home. So I can go to India whenever I miss it. Everything is easily available and the infrastructure is developed. Also all the fashion brands are here.

DHL is an international company. I have spent five years here and this is my third role and third location as well. We have offices everywhere so wherever we want to go and whatever we want to do there will be enough opportunities for us to pursue.

Since my job involves travelling to other countries, I work with many different people. This means that I interact with people at different levels. For example I might work with a sales executive or a sales manager as far as the country managers. The culture that the organisation puts in together with the sales tools we use, ensures that everybody works towards the same goals.