Even the most successful professionals can feel trapped in a ‘safe’ job; it’s why more and more are choosing to transform their careers – and lives – by working overseas.

Stability, security and a predictable career trajectory are all perceived benefits for those of us in a ‘safe job’. But there is a thin line separating these benefits from a comfort zone that, if left unchecked, can lead to career stagnation, draining confidence and restricted personal growth.

It’s a line that Xavier Gonzalez found himself walking while employed as a successful Industrial Engineer in Spain during 2016. Realising that his comfort zone was beginning to stifle his development, Xavier took the decision to relocate overseas and undertake a year-long MBA.

Fast forward to 2019 and he is now a process control specialist at Amazon, enjoying a career that constantly challenges him. Here Xavier offers the five real world benefits of breaking out of your own comfort zone:

1. Feel the Fear, Do It Anyway

Deciding to make the move in the first place represents a significant challenge; to either stay in your current position or to be bold and head down a new, more risky path. By choosing the latter, the benefit is immediate – if potentially stressful – as any comfort zone is shattered almost overnight.

“I decided the only way I could truly grow professionally was to take the ‘scarier’ path,” explains Xavier. “So I quit my safe job, packed up everything and enrolled in a full-time MBA. What I have learnt since has changed the way I look at my career – and my entire life.”

2. Embrace the ‘Shock’

Moving overseas can be a significant culture shock; new languages, new people, even new lifestyles. But by adapting and learning from each situation, that initial shock soon gives way to a longterm, often profound, transformation in how you interact and work with others.

“For instance, you learn that different cultures and backgrounds bring a diversity of thinking, which at first can seem like a roadblock to achieving agreement,” says Xavier. “But after working within many international teams now, I have discovered project ideas become richer and go far beyond expectations because of diversity, not in spite of it.”

3. Display a ‘Can Do’ Attitude

Moving out of your comfort zone also impacts on how other people – including potential recruiters – see and treat you especially in this increasingly globalised era as Xavier discovered with his new employer.

“The confidence gained through my international experience has definitely helped me to become an Amazonian because it is a very international team… by striking out and taking the ‘scary’ path, you also show potential employers that you’re eager to grow and to succeed”.

4. Leverage Every Opportunity

Moving into an unfamiliar environment demands you develop a proactive approach to overcoming new obstacles, which in turn builds resilience and increases self-confidence. In Xavier’s case, that obstacle was being able to communicate effectively in English. 

“Such barriers can seem insurmountable at first,” he explains, “but practising to improve every day means you become a great ‘climber’, able to scale any wall… and when you see yourself beginning to succeed, the happiness and self-confidence it brings makes you unstoppable.”

5. Develop a ‘Day One’ Mentality

By having the courage to break out of your comfort zone, you create a natural drive to constantly push yourself; not only are the rewards of such an approach transformative both personally and professionally – but it staves off the risk of retreating back into career stagnation.

Xavier says that his own learning curve has not plateaued because “I treat every day as ‘Day One’. I am continuously looking for new opportunities and challenges within the company; to reinvent and simplify processes and to expand my comfort zone today in order to become a better leader tomorrow.”

• To discover how to break out of your own comfort zone, contact global recruitment consultancy Tunnicliffe-Hunt here and discuss how our international opportunities can help you develop a ‘Day One’ attitude for life.

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