Multinationals often have assets, offices, or factories in multiple countries, with a centralized head office from which global strategic decisions are taken. As such, working in a multinational firm can offer unparalleled opportunities to travel around the world—from London to Lagos, to rural Bangladesh. It can also mean that you can learn about the world and interact with different cultures every day, even if you work in your home country.
"What I love about working at the Adidas headquarters in Germany is that we have about 80 nationalities at our office. You can learn so much about the world just about being at work. You literally don't have to leave your office and you are basically travelling every single day." Sarah Fetterley, Project Manager, Performance Management Redesign, Adidas
With this sort of global labour force, individuals with strong inter-cultural communications skills and global competencies are in high demand. There is also a darker side to the need for individuals with global competencies: with companies increasingly moving operations to developing countries with cheaper labour and less strict regulations, large multinational corporations can face close scrutiny by environmental and human rights groups, as well as consumers. This means that those working in multinational companies need to understand the social, political, environmental and economic issues in the countries in which they operate—ideally, so that they go beyond complying with local laws toward responsible corporate citizenship.
Skills Required
Professionals working at multinational corporations often find themselves in a fast-paced, team-based, results-driven work environment. The global nature of teams at multinationals, and the scale of their operations, mean that close coordination of processes, diligent reporting, and collaboration across departments are all necessary.
In addition to a strong academic background and clear evidence of intercultural communications skills, it is important to demonstrate leadership experience, a strong set of organizational and collaboration skills, and the ability to set targets and achieve results.
Leadership and teamwork experience
Experience leading teams can signal to potential employers that you have strong organizational skills, are able to communicate ideas and coordinate activities, and persevere through challenges. Leadership experience doesn’t have to be related to the industry that you are applying to. This could include participation in any activity that shows your ability to inspire and collaborate with others to go from ideas to action.
“I was elected to be a student leader on campus, managing a two million dollar budget and thirty staff. I organized some not-for-profit events, including a meal-packing event that was a Guinness World Record event, that packaged meals for emergency relief situations. The major takeaway that I got from those experiences is that teamwork is incredibly important. None of those things I could have done by myself. They were done working with an incredible team and I’ve definitely taken that learning and added it to my work here.” Gavin Armstrong, CEO, Lucky Iron Fish (a social enterprise operating in 66 countries)
Additionally, individuals who can demonstrate any of the following credentials and skills may excel in the business functions of a multinational corporation:
- Degree in business administration, math, computing, psychology (in the context on marketing and consumer behaviour studies) or engineering (for roles requiring rigorous data analysis and work with technical teams)
- Specializations in international business, and/or coursework in subjects including cross-cultural management, global supply chain management, business law, sustainability, or country-specific business courses.
- Previous overseas experience, including including interning, working with startups, or volunteering.
- Advanced analytical skills and ability to extract insight from large data sets.
- Strong presentation and public speaking ability.
- Language skills relevant to the company’s operations.
Work Available
Competition can be fierce for internships and jobs at multinational firms. It is not uncommon for an internship position at a large firm to draw hundreds of applications.
While the numbers may seem daunting, large multinational companies make their internship and job vacancies public, and connecting with the organization through an introduction can help position you as a vetted candidate and get your CV to the top of the pile. There may also be unadvertised opportunities that are created to match the skills profile of a desirable candidate. Finally, approaching medium-sized multinational enterprises can be a way to break into international business and gain experience within a more lean organizational structure.
Kaja Tvedten Jorem made several career leaps by approaching small-medium enterprises and now works with a lot of them in her role as the Private Sector Officer at the Embassy of Norway in Tanzania.
“A lot people tend to go right for the big scale companies that you've heard about. I think there is a lot to be said for the medium scale companies that are doing a lot of outsourcing and expanding internationally. You might be able to get more of an opportunity to learn and grow than taking on a more narrow function in a big company.” Kaja Tvedten Jorem, Private Sector Officer Embassy of Norway
Monica Rucki, Google’s Strategy and Operations Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, spent seven years working on the continent in start-ups and boutique consulting firms before joining Google’s team based in London, England. According to Monica, entry points into the tech field include joining startups and digital media agencies in emerging markets, as well as combining more traditional experience in areas such as management consulting with time on the ground.
For those motivated by making an impact, multinational companies can also offer an alternative to traditional international development work.
“Being outside of the bounds of the international development space, working through a private tech company, there are a lot more opportunities to have more scalable programs in areas such as digital skills training. Last year Google trained over one million users on how to use and access the internet, and we’ll train another 2.5 million this year. Access to information transforms lives and leads to economic development.” Monica Rucki, Strategy and Operations Manager for Google, Sub-Saharan Africa
While multinational corporations require a range of technical experts specific to their industry, all companies generally require staff in the major business functions.
Specific job roles include:
- Research and development of new products and services, or adapting of existing ones to supply the local needs
- Production and operations management
- Purchasing and managing supplier networks
- Sales and marketing
- Human resource management
- Accounting and finance
- Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Add to Favorites
