Spokesperson Gwen Davis says you must be a U.S. citizen to apply and willing to make a two-year commitment. Your chances of being hired are greater if you are willing to take any assignment. Davis says the same hiring qualifications and certifications exist that would for a teaching job in any public school. Applications are accepted year round and if you are hired, be prepared to pack and go. Both Prichard and Miller say that in the private sector, the expatriate programs that flourished from the 1950s through the hi-tech boom of the '80s are not as common today.
Companies tend to hire nationals from Europe, Latin America or Asia.
Ezzat Parnia says telecommunications are changing the international landscape. He says a manager in Boston has to interact over the Internet with someone in San Francisco, then Hong Kong and on to Paris, and be able to resolve business problems with an understanding of all those cultures.