Author: Megan Fitzgerald

With two decades of experience supporting professionals, executives and entrepreneurs in 40+ countries, Megan Fitzgerald is an expat career and personal branding coach and your guide to the world of international job search and careers.

Megan holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Brown University with a dual major in International Relations and Semiotics, as well as a Master of Arts Degree in Multimedia Communications from American University. Megan has lived and worked in the U.S., UK, France and Italy as well as having numerous short term international assignments on 4 continents.

Megan spent the first third of her career with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) designing professional and business training programs for entrepreneurs from developing and transitional countries.

Prior to starting her own portable business Career By Choice in 2005, she managed the career planning and recruiting programs at American University, and managed and evaluated global projects and programs at several international organizations.

Megan's credentials include:

Certified Personal Branding Strategist - 1 of first 100 worldwide
Certified Career Coach
Certified Executive Coach
Certified Online Identity Strategist - 1 of first 35 worldwide
Certified 360 Personal Brand Assessment Analyst

Megan has been named a top 50 personal branding consultant and featured in FORTUNE, CNNMoney.com, The Wall Street Journal Online, FOX Business, Italy Magazine, and many expat and career publications as well as books too numerous to list. She's also contributed to many online expatriate and career resources such as Expatwomen.com, About.com, Expatexplorer, Expatangels.com, Expattalents.com, Megan's Expat Career Corner on Paguro.net, and ThePersonalBrandingBlog.com.

Watch Megan's CNN interview in this short video (1:54).

Having spent years working in developing and transitional countries, Megan donates a percentage of her total income to programs around the world fighting AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Through Kiva.org she continues to support entrepreneurs in the developing world.

When not at work, you'll usually find Megan planning her next trip, enjoying her expat home in Italy, reading about growth and innovation, or having a caffè macchiato to start her day.

You can also find her here online:

Web: www.careerbychoice.com
Blog: www.careerbychoiceblog.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/expatcoachmegan
Twitter: @ExpatCoachMegan
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/meganfitzgerald
Google+: plus.google.com/+MeganFitzgerald/

Articles by Megan Fitzgerald
International Job Search Home:

International Job Search Home
In today's competitive, global marketplace, everyone should be considering new ways to keep their skills and experience up-to-date and maintain a competitive edge. There are many ways that working overseas can help you grow your career both at home and abroad.

Conducting an International Job Search:

Is International Work a Good Option for You?
One of the ways that you can land work abroad is to relocate via the company at which you are already working. But there are many things to consider before making the decision to pursue an international assignment.
How International Job Search Is Different from Local
In today's increasingly globalized world of work, international work experience is not only valued - it's expected. This is particularly true when competing for top positions in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors.
Why Personal Branding Is Critical to International Job Search Success
In today's competitive employment climate, you must be able to stand out and attract the attention of your target employers if you want to be considered for your target jobs. This is even more true for the international job seeker. Clarifying and communicating a powerful personal brand is critical for the international job seeker for several reasons:
Key to International Job Search Success: Demand for Specific Skills
More people than ever are looking to work abroad. Official statistics show 6.5 million Americans are living in over 160 countries, a million Australians are living overseas, and 6 million Brits live outside of the UK. These numbers and similar statistics are growing every year.
International Networking for Job Search Success
It is a well-known fact that networking is an essential element of any successful job search. But there are several reasons why it is even more critical for an international job search.
International Online Reputation Management
Your online reputation is the "story" someone creates about you based on what they read online. Studies show this story has a significant impact on how people perceive you professionally and on your international job search success.
Internationalize Your Bio
Having an "internationalized" professional bio is a must if you want to be seriously considered for international jobs and assignments. But in an increasingly competitive and global marketplace, even if you are not looking to work abroad, having a more international profile can help you in your job search.
Critical Skill: Cross-Cultural Confidence
There are numerous skills required to conduct a successful job search - among them are networking on and offline, as well as expressing your unique value or personal brand in a culturally relevant, compelling way to your target audience both verbally and in written form.

International Careers:

"Portable" International Careers
For those of you conducting an international job search and want to work abroad, I invite you to consider pursuing a portable career.
Demonstrating Ability to Thrive in a Cross-Cultural Work Environment
As with any job search, in an international job search it's important to communicate your relevant qualities, strengths, skills and experience in a compelling way to attract and hold the attention of your target employers. But unlike many domestic job searches, in an international job search it's also important to demonstrate the skills and strengths considered important for thriving in cross-cultural or multicultural working environments.

Meet more Job-Hunt Job Search and Career Experts.

About this author...

Megan Fitzgerald is an expat career and personal branding coach, CEO of Career By Choice, and your guide to the world of international careers. With two decades of experience supporting professionals and entrepreneurs in 40+ countries across 6 continents, Megan uses a 360°approach to help expats and international job seekers become highly visible, sought after, and land work abroad. You can read about expat careers at CareerbyChoiceBlog, and also find her on Twitter as @ExpatCoachMegan, on Facebook, and, of course, on LinkedIn.