v
RI - globally mobile
One way to develop new skills and expand your network is to change countries.
Currently, about 80 expatriates are posted around the world; The Word catches up with
three of these roaming Rabobankers and asked them to share their discoveries.
Adapting lifestyle
UTRECHT
DUBLI
NEW YORK
SINGAPORE
SANTIAGO
Chilean Javier Olguin left Santiago to
spend four years working on credit
in The Netherlands. He relocated to
Ireland in January 2003, where he is
currently Credit Manager. 'Leaving your
home country presents both personal
and professional challenges,' he ex-
plains. 'Everything changes in a matter
of hours: the landscape, the food, the
language, the culture, the weather. I was
facing a completely new way of work
ing, getting to grips with a new role, as
well as finding my way around a new
country and language.' Olguin found his
new colleagues to he very supportive,
offering him practical advice on how
to survive in the Netherlands.
Coming from a country with a relatively
hierarchical business culture meant that
he had to adapt to the flat structure
prevalent in Dutch organizations. 'In the
Netherlands people from all levels are
involved in discussions and are expected
to question almost everything - some-
thing which 1 was not used to doing,'
Olguin continues. 'It took a while to get
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