It is both an exciting and an anxiety-inducing proposition: your wife or husband receives a foreign assignment, and you have to move to another country.

It's exciting for many reasons: the prospect of getting to know a new culture, your spouse's professional recognition, the start of a new chapter in your lives. But there is also the gut-wrenching feeling brought on by the necessity of pulling the plug on your life as you know it and starting anew.

Gone are the days when the partners of overseas employees would let their own career grind to a halt. Times have changed. Most spouses of employees on foreign assignment now have careers of their own, and many are determined to keep building them abroad. Of course, not every accompanying spouse wants to work. Some prefer to focus on children, charity, volunteer work, or other pursuits. Yet if the assignment lasts for long, most spouses start weighing their career options. So, what can trailing spouses do to sustain their careers and make the most of their time abroad?

Practise patience

Let's get this out of the way first: expatriate spouses need patience. At the beginning you may feel overwhelmed, which is completely normal. Adjusting to a new life and a new culture can be stressful and emotionally challenging. Hopefully you'll have the chance to connect with other expatriate couples who can help ease you into your new environment.

Patience is also essential when it comes to finding career opportunities abroad. Gaining a foothold in a local job market can be hard, especially without the right guidance. Yet with a realistic plan, adequate support, and an enhanced capacity for enduring frustration, success is far from impossible.

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Look around for possibilities

Expatriate couples are well advised to research career options and available support well before the transfer. The company behind the expat assignment is a good place to start. Many firms now recognise that offering spousal career support is key to convincing couples to relocate. One of the leading causes of assignment failure is a spouse's inability to adjust and settle into the new environment. According to Matthew MacLachlan, head of intercultural and communication skills training at London-based consulting firm Communicaid, roughly 30% of assignees who cut an international assignment short cite their family's failure to settle in as the reason. This is why some companies offer cross-cultural immersion courses to expatriate couples and their children. Others go further, offering career support services, workshops, or one-on-one career counselling.

Accompanying spouses can also turn to specialised international career agencies. One example is NetExpat, which provides assessment, training, and coaching for mobile employees and their relocating partners.

Another increasingly popular option is remote and freelance work. Platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr let freelancers earn a living from anywhere, making it easier than ever for expat spouses to keep a career running independently of location - a flexible route that has only grown more mainstream as remote work has become the norm worldwide.

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Learn the language

The benefits of learning the local language cannot be overstated. Yes, English is widely spoken around the world, and not speaking the local language isn't usually an insurmountable obstacle for expatriates. Still, fluency in the local tongue offers real advantages, including career-related ones, that are hard to ignore, especially for spouses who have yet to secure employment.

Consider, too, the many other benefits of learning a new language. You'll understand what's happening around you without relying on someone else to explain it or on translated news. People are also generally more welcoming when they see you trying. Above all, speaking the local language helps you build stronger, deeper relationships, and from a career-advancement standpoint, it significantly improves the quality of your networking. Yes, it can be difficult and time-consuming (see the paragraph on patience above), but it's worth it.

Gaining a new qualification

Investing in yourself by gaining new knowledge and skills can be one of the wisest moves an expatriate spouse can make. Instead of trying to break into an unfamiliar job market, why not use the time abroad to earn a qualification that gives your career a fresh boost?

The MBA has long been considered the go-to degree for professionals who want to climb the corporate ladder, pursue a career change, or launch their own venture. MBA programmes come in a range of formats, full-time, part-time, executive, online, and blended, so candidates can choose the one that fits their needs and lifestyle. The degree is also prized for the networking opportunities it offers.

Prospective candidates can explore programme options and speak directly with admissions directors through one-to-one MBA events, such as those run by the Access MBA Tour.

The decision to relocate isn't always easy. Some accompanying spouses see the move abroad as a rough patch; others see it as an opportunity to grow and take on exciting new challenges.

Meanwhile, don't put your career growth on hold, wherever your next chapter takes you.

 

Originally published: 08 April 2020

Updated: 29 July 2026