Career Development Around the World – Expats (Austria)

This episode continues our “Career Development Around the World” series led by Dr. Lakeisha Mathews. Lakeisha is joined by Elizabeth Thomas, an American career counselor working in Vienna, Austria. Elizabeth shares her personal experiences with the challenges of working, and looking for work, outside of your home country. From language barriers and work permit requirements to labor market needs and local hiring practices, it’s important to understand requirements, set expectations, and prepare for success.

Elizabeth also shares her perspective on career development work in Austria, which is often connected to career coaching and international relations. The conversation emphasizes the importance of the hidden job market around the world, the different role career can play in personal identity across cultures, and the many valuable skills that expats develop, such as problem solving and persistence.

Guest Bio

Elizabeth Thomas holds a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Career Counseling & Development from the University of Missouri – Columbia (USA). While a graduate student, Elizabeth worked in the MU Career Center, recognized as one of the most programmatically diverse centers in the country. Subsequently, Elizabeth continued helping university students in a career development context and, since moving to Vienna, Austria, in 2018, international and expatriate women. She has published and presented on a host of career development topics, most recently serving as the “Career Chat” columnist for the American Women’s Association of Vienna. Elizabeth is particularly interested in helping clients, no matter their age or stage, creatively and successfully navigate life transitions and discover how their unique talents, skills, abilities, and interests connect meaningfully to the world of work.

Resources

• Super’s Career Rainbow
• Krumboltz – Planned Happenstance
• NCDA’s Global Connections Committee
• NCDA on LinkedIn