Back to Books Page



Whether you’re a graduate of Thunderbird, the spouse of a T-bird or the unemployed half of a “Thunder-couple,” Joanna Parfitt’s book A Career In Your Suitcase has something for everyone. While targeted to spouses of expatriates whose vocational options are limited by virtue of their status as “trailing spouses,” the book is teeming with good ideas for anyone caught in or contemplating career transition with a special interest in international.

Ms. Parfitt is herself an expat whose work life has been a tapestry of experience she wove together through ingenuity, creativity and often desperation. Jo moved to Dubai with her new husband the day after their wedding, and was stunned to receive a stamp on her passport that said “not permitted to take up employment.” Unwilling to settle for a life of leisure—a structure that was and still is an acceptable choice for wives who follow their husbands abroad—Jo began to build her network of contacts and projects as a writer that supported her through their years in Dubai, in Oman, then later in Norway and finally, back in England. Through a rigorous inventory of her own skills and talents, and her willingness to get out on a limb to ply her trade in an unknown territory, she built a “portable” career with ideas she generously shares in this second edition of A Career In Your Suitcase.

A Team of Experts

The challenge of this book is to discern how to best use the rich resources in each chapter. With her extensive web of contacts throughout the world, Jo has integrated tools, ideas and recommendations from the crème de la crème of career experts. She shares her pages with other authors, who contribute whole chapters based on their own areas of expertise. The book includes wisdom from career consultant Galen Tinder, the senior consultant and manager of Ricklin-Echikson Associates Inc., a firm based in Millburn, New Jersey, that specializes in the human resource needs of expatriates and which also sponsored the book.

From “Find Your Passion” in Chapter One to the wealth of resume templates and success strategies in the appendices, Jo presents us with a step-by-step model to crafting a successful international career. Perhaps the heart of the book is the Chapter “Work for Yourself,” defining the structure needed to create an entrepreneurial venture that allows one to create work that can adapt to a spouse’s career if that spouse is deployed to yet another foreign country.

The Male Perspective

There is tremendous value as well in the chapters on coping with expat transitions for all members of the family, including a special section for “Trailing Males” that is particularly pertinent for men whose T-bird wives may be deployed internationally. As one of many contributing writers to the book, Huw Francis tells his own story of following his Scottish wife Seonaid from Hong Kong, where they met and married and where both were gainfully employed, to Ankara, Turkey, after Hong Kong was converted politically back to China.

Having agreed that they would take the first job offered to either of them, Huw was met with a host of challenges in being a “new breed” of male trailing spouses when Seonaid got her teaching assignment in Turkey. He writes articulately of coping with an identity crisis, exacerbated by society’s frowning on men who opt to become “house-husbands” (to say nothing of the judgment of in-laws!). Through his story, he shares about adapting within a system that is ill-designed to support men who aren’t the primary breadwinners. His synopsis of the pitfalls of this unique agreement, and his ultimate victory as writer and book author, pave the way for all couples who choose to juggle international dual careers.

Find a goal, set a goal

The chapter “Make It Happen” begins with a quote by Anthony Robbins, author and motivational speaker: “The greatest achievers in the world all started by setting a goal.” Gail MacIndoe, business and intercultural coach, proceeds to provide us with practical information on emotional intelligence and neuro-linguistic programming, valuable tools in developing skills as a top performer. Tips on stress management, motivation and goal-setting are also covered in this chapter which is especially pertinent for those who are seeking or maintaining an international career.

Gail is founder of her own firm which helps expats who relocate to the United Kingdom. She offers a succinct format for developing a strategic plan, beginning with the creation of a mission statement, identifying what you want, setting goals and then creating a step-by-step plan to help you achieve those goals. The final step is to take action, and Gail recommends a weekly if not daily review of goals in an effort to make them real and compelling. She also wisely advises us to “celebrate each of your wins!” as we proceed, stopping to acknowledge our progress and modify our actions as needed. These are recommendations that serve anyone developing their career, whether domestically or abroad.

Resources at your fingertips

Because this book is, in a sense, “underwritten” by companies including Richklin-Echikson Associates and others, ads are juxtaposed with chapters along with sponsor logos and Web sites throughout. Don’t be put off by these commercial messages. This book is a powerful resource for anyone who finds himself or herself needing or wanting to create or expand upon an international career. Whether you are looking for employment within the host country where you’ve joined your spouse or you’re hoping to build a business that reaches across international boundaries and time zones, there are exhaustive resources within this book to help you do so.

Perhaps the most generous of all resources are the lists at the end of each chapter. Books, Web sites, resources and e-mail addresses of the guest authors are offered, and for those who take advantage of this option to network, there is a literal world open to the reader who is devoted to crafting an international career. Jo Parfitt has done us a great service in corralling these resources within one book, and her tagline, “Believe in Blue Sky,” is evident in the grace and optimism with which she shares people and ideas. Her commitment is to spare us the time and agony it may have taken her to piece together a “career in a suitcase,” and she does so with the dexterity of a premiere networker. In reading this book, you know that her greatest joy is in connecting those who have a passion for their work with each other, enriching our own contacts and abilities to accomplish our goals, no matter where we are throughout the world.


About our Reviewer
Vickie Axford Austin graduated from the first executive master’s program at Thunderbird, EMIM I, in 1993. She is founder of CHOICES Worldwide, a career coaching and business development practice based in Wheaton, IL. Vickie coaches people who are in career transition or those seeking to build their own businesses through marketing and strategic planning. A writer and frequent speaker on the topic of career development, Vickie’s mission for her practice is to “create a world in which everyone loves what they do and does what they love.” She can be reached at choices321@aol.com.