Leading Women with International Careers - Jill Von Berg Viewpoint careers advice blog

Leading Women with International Careers - Jill Von Berg This is the first feature from our upcoming series “Leading Women with International Careers”. In this interview Jill Von Berg, CIO at Calix, based in San Francisco, USA, shares her experience of moving internationally and describes how being globally mobile has benefited her career. Jill is also a mentor for the TechWomen programme. What was your route to the USA? I actually came twice to the USA. The first time was just a few years after I had graduated from college. I had an engineering degree and I was working on aircraft engine design at Rolls Royce in the UK and was given the opportunity to work at GE Aircraft Engines in Cincinnati, Ohio. I jumped at the chance and spent much of the next decade designing military aircraft engine systems. In the early 90’s I was recruited by ABB Power in Switzerland and it was there that I transitioned my field from engineering technologies to information technologies. That switch in career brought me to Silicon Valley, and I was smitten by the dot.com fever. I returned to the USA to join Hewlett Packard in Palo Alto and have worked in the San Francisco Bay Area ever since. What’s your role now? My current role is Vice President and CIO at Calix, a global provider of broadband communications access systems and software. As a member of the executive team, I set the strategic direction for Calix enterprise IT and am responsible for all aspects of corporate IT development, delivery and support. Tell us about your involvement in TechWomen Ive always made myself available to talk about careers in technology; Id love to see everyone with an aptitude for maths or science follow a career in technology, but especially young women. That women are still a minority group in almost every STEM field seems such a waste of great talent! TechWomen is a U.S. Department of State initiative with the mission to empower, connect, and support the next generation of women leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. TechWomen brings emerging women leaders in STEM from Africa and the Middle East together with their professional counterparts in the U.S. for a mentorship and exchange program. Last year I had the privilege to be a professional mentor for an emerging leader from Nigeria and earlier this year I was part of a state department delegation to Rwanda, touring and speaking at technology institutions and start-ups, focused on inspiring and empowering young women. How has moving internationally impacted your career? Moving internationally has greatly impacted my career and I would say has even defined the way I measure a career. Picture a mountain; you can choose to scale up one side or spiral round and round to go up. Had I stayed in one country, my career would have been a single, vertical climb. Instead, I’ve made a series of international moves, most often lateral, like a spiral through my career. It makes the journey longer, but you see and experience so much more, and in the end you are a more rounded person with a much broader view of the world. It’s not the easiest path, but can be the most rewarding. I remember when I left GE; I had been considered a rising star, a technology manager whose opinion was respected. I was a great communicator; I felt comfortable and in command. Moving to another country took me out of that comfort zone; suddenly I was an unknown entity, I was really starting again in many ways. My new role was a lateral move, but I had to re-establish my reputation and gain the confidence of new customers and colleagues. My influencing abilities were dampened as I struggled to communicate in a new language. It was a humbling experience, but it taught me new skills and made me a wiser person. It took me about a year to get back in gear, and once more move up and across the corporate ladder. I learnt a lot from these experiences, they were invaluable for my personal growth. You’ve worked in a number of different countries, what were the highlights? Each country has its highlights and looking back I inevitably associate vivid cultural experiences with memories of business events, especially from when I was living in Zurich and travelling throughout Europe. I remember speaking at a Java conference in Paris, and later at the speakers’ dinner there was a fortune teller reading palms, I had to translate what the future would hold using my High School French! I will also always remember how the sun never set after a midsummer conference on patents in Norway or the mountains of parmesan cheese at a technology roadmaps meeting in Milan! One of the most exciting times in my early career in the US was managing the GE component certification for the F14 flight test. Making sure every part was analysed and verified, then liaising between the aircraft manufacturer in Long Island, NY and the US Navy in Washington DC; it tested every skill I had. The final reward of course being the successful first flight! Now I’m settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, and every day brings new highlights, I love the energy here, no wonder it’s the center of innovation! What did you do to prepare for your relocations? My preparation has improved in many ways with each move. Preparation for my first transatlantic move comprised of little more than packing a suitcase and flying to Cincinnati. I’ve been much more diligent about subsequent moves. I first visited the region, staying long enough to get the sense of how it would be to live there, researching housing, cost of living and company culture. I’ve wanted to make sure the moves were right for me. What were the main challenges you faced when relocating? For someone like me who thrives on communication, not understanding a local dialect or feeling tongue-tied in another language is always a challenge. Then there is the steep learning curve for life’s really basic needs like paying bills, finding a doctor, filling taxes or in the case of my first trans-Atlantic move, driving on the other side of the road. Small challenges that can make you feel temporarily useless! Some places are, of course less challenging than others; it was easier for me coming back to the USA, where there was no language barrier and as a nation of immigrants felt exceptionally welcoming. Relocating to another country can be exciting, but at some point almost everyone misses home and that’s probably a good time to seek out the local ex-pat community. You can find ex-pats in just about every country and while they can be a great source of knowledge and support, I’d also recommend doing everything you can to be a part of the local community too. I think you can get more out of an international experience when you are able to immerse yourself and live as if the new location is home. Settling in is easier when you are prepared to adapt to the local culture. Just be ready to listen, observe and react accordingly. Learning a local language really helps of course. Do you have any advice for anyone thinking about mobilising their own career? If you are at the beginning of your career and do want to travel with your role, give consideration to your field of specialisation; some skills and certifications simply transfer more easily than others. I have been lucky, in IT or Engineering there is an international language of programming and technology. With careers in law or accountancy for example, there may be some necessity (depending on the region) to study again for local professional qualifications. An international career is so rewarding, so fulfilling, I would tell anyone who is considering it to go for it, you can’t be too young or too old to make an international move! If you’re exploring the possibility of making an international career move, read my recent article ‘Move yourself’ for further advice and guidance. Stay tuned to hear more influential women from organisations such as Carlsberg, Lego, SAB Miller and MTR, share their experiences of moving internationally in order to enhance their careers. //