If you have read any standard American career guidebook or scrolled through LinkedIn for more than five minutes, you’ve heard the advice: “Just invite them for a virtual coffee chat!” It sounds so easy. It’s low-stakes. It’s friendly. In many business cultures—particularly the US—it is the “Swiss Army Knife” of networking; an efficient, accepted way to break the ice and uncover opportunities. But I’m going to give you a piece of unpopular advice, specifically for those of you trying to build a professional network from scratch here in the Germanic countries, which are all considered “low context” countries in intercultural theory: Stop asking strangers for coffee chats. First, A Necessary Disclaimer (Because Culture is Complicated) Before the comments section explodes, […]

When I was working as a Global Mobility Leader at one of the Big Four consulting firms, I sometimes had a hard time explaining to my team members why they were not compensated at the same level as an HR Manager (or HR Business Partner, as they used to be called back in the day). I told them about my vision of Global Mobility Managers reporting directly to the Head of Human Resources or even the Head of Business Development. I encouraged them to learn more and gain deeper knowledge and expertise to talk to line managers about international assignments from a business perspective (not just through talent development glasses). I was frustrated about the lack of recognition and good […]