Dubai: They might be at the receiving end of jokes in their home countries for awkward social experiences, but in the job market, third culture kids seem to have an edge.
According to tckworld.com, the website of Dr Ruth Hill Useem, who first coined the term ‘Third Culture Kids’, children of expatriates are four times more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree compared to non-third culture kids. Forty per cent of them also went on to earn advanced degrees, compared to the general average of five per cent.
According to Taqleed Syed, a human resources specialist in Dubai, certain attributes and experiences could work in favour of an applicant.
- Vineet Pabreja | general manager of a marketing agency
She said: “My basis for recruitment is the job requirement based on the position we are looking to fill. But while I say that, it is true that I would prefer people who are more tolerant and adaptable. Tolerance, adaptability and flexibility are expectations from any employee, in general, and in many ways a third culture kid is very close to these expectations.”
Being multilingual can also work in one’s favour when your CV is vying for attention in a sea of other applications. A 2011 survey conducted by Denizen magazine, a publication for third culture kids, found that 85 per cent spoke two or more languages.
With the level of global migration growing rapidly, according to reports by the United Nations, the number of third-culture kids, too, seems to be increasing.
Even countries that are famously insular like Japan are considering how to integrate them into the workforce. According to the Japan Times, in 2011, the number of these children grew to 780,000. In 2014, the newspaper quoted Yasuo Ichimura, managing director of the Japan Foreign Trade Commission, as saying, “Aren’t those who actually experienced living overseas better candidates for globalisation than those who have never left Japan?”
Dubai-based general manager of a marketing agency, Vineet Pabreja, agreed.
“If you are in a communications-based job, being exposed to a variety of ethnicities, religions and cultures make your experiences and insights much broader. A freshman applying for a marketing job who only grew up in... [one city] would naturally come with lesser insights into various communities. It’s not their fault but it is just a practical consideration,” he said.
