How to maintain your career as a trailing spouse

Estimated reading time: 3:45 minutes

Moving with your partner?

Maintaining a career as a trailing partner can be tough. Not only is the trailing partner required to move to a new location, but it is not always on their terms. This means that the individual may be forced to leave all that they have ever known including their workplace, family and friends. With little support around them, it is easy for the life of a trailing partner to become complex. Here at Santa Fe Relocation, we’re taking a closer look at what can be done to maintain a career as a trailing partner, from undertaking the necessary preparation, to having a plan B.

Prepare yourself

Becoming a trailing partner is by no means easy, which is why it is important to plan. While aspects such as culture shock cannot be planned for when relocating, there are a number of things that can be done to put the trailing partner in the best position possible. One of the areas which will require a lot of work is maintaining an existing career. For many reasons, the current company for whom the trailing spouse is working for may be against the idea of allowing their employee to make the move.

It is likely that they will not have much information regarding the visa requirements and working practices in the country that the trailing spouse is moving to, and as a result, the they may need to put in a lot of work in order to convince them to support the move. Undertaking a lot of research regarding the country and its requirements in order for the trailing spouse to work there legally and proficiently is imperative, and the employee may also require some form of advocate in a senior position to support the opportunity and help the board of directors to understand how and why this will benefit their business, in order to ensure they remain flexible.

Create a plan

In regards to their career, trailing partners will need to put together an extensive plan early in the relocation process, in order to ensure it is maintained to its full capacity. The relocation process for standard global mobility moves can take a series of months to put in place, and for trailing spouses, this process could be longer as the traditional paperwork and processes may not be to hand within the company. It is likely that finalising all terms and conditions of the move is likely to take a series of months, once the move has already taken place, but this is entirely dependent on the existing company. In some cases, the company may decide that the process is too risky for the business, and therefore the trailing spouse may be required to seek new employment in their host country. However, a fresh start is not always detrimental to careers, and can often offer a number of new opportunities for personal and career-related growth.

Source Help

Trailing partners often face a number of challenges of which they may not have considered before agreeing to follow his or her partner to another part of the world due to a work assignment, and without the necessary help, they may find it challenging to adapt to such a change. Help can be obtained for a number of reasons, such as when it comes to managing tax and legalities. While this ‘help’ may not be available free-of-charge, a thousand pounds spent on reliable resources can help save millions of pounds worth of irreversible mistakes.

Keep an open mind

Flexibility is key when it comes to maintaining a career as a trailing partner. Despite being prepared to travel, things can, and do, change. In some cases, trailing partners are able to keep their current jobs but in a new location. On the other hand, some trailing partners have no choice but to change role within the same company or find a new career altogether. Trailing partners with built-in flexibility will more likely be able to pursue their current role, and even though it is up to the business whether the spouse can undertake the same role in a new location, remaining open to suggestions increases the chance of a positive result.

Even though maintaining a career as a trailing partner can be difficult, by getting the relevant help and being prepared, trailing partners can easily settle into their new lifestyle.

If you are moving abroad and would like to receive more information about how our expert team can help during the relocation process, get in touch on 0208 961 4141, today.