Relocation of the manager: how to emigrate and not harm your career
In 2022, many heads of Russian companies were thinking about moving, and someone already left the country in a hurry and faced problems. Managing Partner of Odgers Berndtson Russia Roman Tyshkovsky and Senior Project Manager of Odgers Berndtson Russia Olga Ponomareva offer some tips to help avoid mistakes
Don’t make a decision based on emotions
In the spring of 2022, many professionals, including managers, left Russia. According to various sources, these are tens of thousands of people, most of whom are IT specialists (according to estimates of the Russian Association of Electronic Communications, from 50,000 to 70,000).
It is impossible to accurately estimate the number of those who left, but even the increase in prices for air tickets from Moscow to Yerevan five times did not stop those who wanted to. All this only confirms the lack of a clear plan for the majority, and even more so a strategy for career development abroad. In addition, many did not have time to calculate the risks like the refusal of international payment systems to service cards issued in Russia. Not everyone remembers about the taxes for 2022, which you will have to pay if you become a tax non-resident. Many have left, but continue to earn income in Russia: after 183 days out of the country, they will be required to pay additional income tax at the rate of 30%, which may be an unpleasant surprise.
In May, many of those who left began to return. If you are uncomfortable being in Russia right now (it contradicts your values or personal security), take your time with the decision. Take a vacation for two or three weeks and treat the trip as an unscheduled vacation. You need to prepare for emigration, the decision should be conscious and very rational ― like buying real estate.
Prepare the team before you leave
A top manager is primarily a manager who interacts with the team and stakeholders. If you decide to leave, prepare your colleagues. Try to complete the projects and offer a competent candidate instead of yourself.
Given the difficult situation, the unexpected departure of the head puts the team at risk, leaving one-on-one with difficulties. In this case, relations with subordinates, shareholders and partners will inevitably be spoiled.
Some top managers left and abandoned their teams, did not prepare them for changes. Such departures have a traumatic effect on employees as a whole: trauma happens to a person, but it also happens to a team, and the abrupt departure of a manager is a team injury. Having decided to leave, try to minimize such stress.
Don’t accept the first offer
Fearing that there may not be a second chance and striving to preserve an international career, professionals are often ready to underestimate their value in the labor market and agree to less favorable conditions than they had in Russia. On the one hand, a manager can benefit from relocation if his cost turns out to be higher in Europe and the USA than in the Russian labor market. On the other hand, there is a certain “emotional” discount on candidates from Russia today. As soon as the information noise decreases, it will become clear where the ideological reasons were and where they were not. In the USA, where business processes are more rational and neutral, this effect is likely to go away quickly, somewhere (for example, in the more politicized UK) it will last longer.
On the other hand, in a number of countries, such as Kazakhstan or Latin America, which are not so much involved in the conflict between Russia and the West, Russian managers can receive an offer not only without a discount, but also with a significant increase.
It is worth agreeing to a smaller reward if:
you are applying for a job in a company with a strong global brand; moving to another country ― this is the beginning of a new career; the first job ― this is the most difficult stage, but then you will be able to build on previous experience and move forward step by step;
you have been looking for a job for a long time and cannot find it, or you consider the position as temporary for yourself.
Companies that have been fighting for talented candidates for years, for example in the IT field, see how these candidates line up for vacancies. Employers now have the opportunity to choose and manage negotiations in their favor.
New opportunities have opened up, in particular, for those countries that have been striving to develop the IT industry for a long time. The Government of Uzbekistan has already stated that since the beginning of the year, about 3,000 foreign IT specialists have moved to the country under the unified resettlement program. Visitors are helped with visas, housing search, registration, and tax benefits.
Back in 2015, in order to stimulate the development of the industry, Armenia reduced the income tax rate for IT specialists to 10% and exempted IT companies from paying income tax.
Today, having found themselves in another country, many people estimate new expenses, taxes and understand that the decision was hasty at least from a financial point of view. The IT hubs that Russians consider as a long-term option for relocation include London, Berlin and Israel with its repatriation program. Countries such as Armenia and Georgia are perceived by most IT specialists as a transit station. However, moving to permanent residence may not be easy. For example, the cost of living in London will be much higher than in Russia, and it is likely that candidates will have a difficult period of adaptation at least for several years after moving.
Don’t confuse strategies
There are two strategies for finding a job abroad.
The first is to prepare in advance. A reasonable approach is to form a plan for at least two or three months before moving. During this time, you can collect a package of documents for relocation, negotiate with several companies without haste, get at least two offers and choose from them. The problem may be ignorance of the specifics of the market and the inability (especially for non-IT managers) to use standard job search techniques, for example, to get to know and establish contact with someone by talking about work.
Be prepared for the fact that you will have to look for a job in Israel, the USA or Portugal in different ways. Create a profile on LinkedIn and talk in advance with those who have already moved to the country you are interested in and found a job there. Watch webinars on this topic ― in a situation of uncertainty, people are willing to share their experience. Surely there are many communities and channels where vacancies are posted, recommendations on the specifics of business communications in a particular country.
The second strategy of job search abroad is on―site search. This approach makes it possible to dive into the context faster and make potential connections in a new country. Among the minuses: you go all in, risking everything and at the same time changing the country, work, climate and your environment. There is a risk that there will not be enough strength or money to cope with the uncertainty.
The mistake is to confuse the two strategies. Assess the risks at the very beginning. If you have a family, children and do not have large savings, it is logical to prepare in advance. If you are willing to take risks (this is often typical for managers with low indicators of “security” and “traditionalism” according to the Hogan Assessment ® method), you can choose the second strategy, it will be easier this way.
Don’t burn bridges
In addition to the financial difficulties that top managers may face, the so-called “cancellation culture” may also become a problem. Moving to another country without a second citizenship, the candidate risks being in a situation where they will not want to work with him or will not open a new account for him. Therefore, those who have decided to move and expect to find work in Western companies may face difficulties in the coming months. Consider the possibilities for a return.
Study forecasts
Perhaps we are only at the start of global changes. The IMF and other expert institutions are lowering forecasts for global economic growth in 2022. Accelerating inflation and the energy crisis may lead to a global recession, new migration flows, the strengthening of right-wing political forces and a revision of the rules of the game in international relations.
The prospect of becoming an emigrant in a country that is going through a crisis is clearly not the best option. Therefore, in addition to the cost of living, rules of residence, conditions for obtaining a residence permit, prices for schools and real estate, as well as the tax system, it is worth studying different macroeconomic forecasts, as well as history. How did this or that country behave in moments of economic turmoil? Perhaps this approach will save you from having to leave your home again and turn into a professional nomad of the XXI century.
Any geopolitical crisis or armed conflict ends sooner or later. We are going through a period of global transformation, and it is at such moments that new business segments are formed and new opportunities open up. It is difficult to plan today, but the strength of a manager is precisely to be able to turn on the “fog lights” and see further than others.
