monster.com
More Job Q&As, March 2000

Some people have a brief international stint in their careers, while others, like Mayra Rodriguez Valladares, 33, have an entire career that's international. A first-generation Mexican-American, Valladares received her Bachelor's degree in Russian and Soviet studies from Harvard in 1988. She later received a dual degree from the University of Pennsylvania -- a Master's in international studies and an MBA from the Wharton School. Work and studies have taken her to Argentina, Israel, the Soviet Union, Poland and across the rest of Europe. She has been a foreign exchange trader/analyst at New York's Federal Reserve Bank, and worked in London as a vice president and senior Russian equity analyst for BT Alex and now as an independent consultant running MRV Associates.

Monster.com: What made you decide to embark on an international career?

Mayra Rodriguez Valladares: I was brought up bicultural. My family's from Mexico; I was born in the States, but I'm first generation and was brought up speaking mostly Spanish. I would have to say I chose an international career because I was brought up knowing there were other countries outside the US. That sounds like a basic explanation, but that's really what it was. Growing up along the Mexican border, I always knew Mexico was there. And then Mexico was obviously the gateway to the rest of Latin America.

Mc: Did you plan to get involved in international business?

MRV: I had been destined to go work in the foreign service or state department, or something like that. But when the Soviet Union started changing and eventually fell, I thought, 'Well, there are other skills I have and other stuff I could be doing."
Mc: What insights have you gained by working with other cultures?

MRV: I've often been more surprised at how similar people are rather than how different they are, in terms of their working cultures. There are differences, but at the end of the day, because of the US's economic power, a lot of companies elsewhere have similar working practices, like long hours, intensity and focusing on the bottom line.

Mc: What about in Russia?

MRV: Russia is still incredibly different. You realize how things like corruption and bribery are critical in how business is done there. We have to figure out how not to deal with it or to politely turn down business because of our requirements.

Mc: Is there one place you've loved living the most?

MRV: London, because it was easier to live there than, Buenos Aries or Russia, for example. It has incredible culture, be it alternative rock groups or classical music, and London was a great springboard to the rest of Europe and the Middle East.
It was also shocking to realize how different the Brits are from Americans. When I went to Buenos Aires, I knew it was going to be different. The same with Russia or Israel. But I gave it no thought to London. I figured I was going there for professional reasons, not because I was a big Anglophile. But when I got there, I realized these people were quite different. Their sense of humor is very cutting and all that, but they are also much more detached than the typical American.

Mc: What were some of your most difficult experiences, working abroad?

MRV: Trips to oil companies in the middle of Siberia in minus 40-degree weather are harsh. And coming home or to the hotel after a long day of talking to contacts in Russian, eating a lot because they force-feed you, drinking a lot because they drink, and you want to take a nice warm shower but out comes freezing cold water with rust. That was the day when I sat there in the middle of the bathtub thinking, "Why didn't I do Latin American studies? What's wrong with Rio?" The physical harshness just really hit me all of a sudden.

Mc: What advice do you have for someone planning to work abroad?

MRV: Do some reading beforehand, but not so much that you hamper yourself. Be open, and go with a pack of numbers, if you can. Get contacts before you go and just cold-call people. You just have to be gutsy. You're the minority there, you're the foreigner, and you're the one that has to make the effort.