Most people who don’t go abroad say the same thing – “Wow, you must be so marketable”. But in reality, what is described in the comments above it true – most companies do a terrible job repatriating, you lose your network in the US (which is invaluable to getting high level jobs) and companies worry you are out of touch while spending those years out there.

I myself had to change companies when I returned to the US. I doubt I’ll consider another jaunt abroad.

When americans come home from that treatment, they often find it very difficult to re-adjust to the american landscape due to the enormous downgrade that being in a america brings ( i.e. you certainly wont be treated as god as were overseas – unless you are CEO). This significant downgrade in lifestyle has major repercussions of the employee and family. As a result, they ofter ask their boss “when are you sending me back?”

Annie here — You raise a good point. Before accepting an overseas assignment, it’s probably a good idea to take a look around the company to see what has happened to others when they returned. If going abroad didn’t help their careers, it’s unlikely to help yours either.

1- If you go with a spouse or significant other, and your relationship has some kind of crack in it, the stress of living overseas will likely split you up. I saw it happen to about 20-30% of the other couples I knew when I was there. This seems to be especially true in Asia where young women are very interested in foreign men.
2- MANY people quit their jobs when they move back to the U.S. That is because they are treated as burdens of re-integration into their old companies. Paradoxically these same people, because they have international experience, tend to be more sought after by other companies. I will say, though, that I do not think the advantage of overseas experience has nearly the dramatic effect on one’s career as this article seems to suggest.

However, repatriating after a foreign assignment may not necessarily make you a more attractive candidate in the U.S., particularly in areas such as digital or marketing management. This is because a) you lose touch with your US-network of colleagues b) many US based companies perceive themselves to be cutting edge in just about every area -from technology to mass marketing-, failing to see the relevance of experience abroad. I’d argue that creativity, innovation often arise more easily out of necessity in foreign contexts,preparing you to be a sharper, more flexible problem solver; certain technologies leapfrog ahead of the US and present opportunities to lead rather than lag the US (GSM mobile phone technology, for example). c) Paradoxically, US companies suffer from jingoism despite having the most global brands in the world; companies look askance at the value of understanding foreign cultures because the focus is on the word “foreign”, rather than “culture”.