S2 Ep 5 - Tom Miskin

Bianca: Welcome to the Expert Equation, a podcast where we explore the human side of working abroad.

Julian: We're your hosts. I'm Julian Johns.

Bianca: And I'm Bianca Cenan. And we're both experts and inclusion professionals. Through our work with Candidate Aid and Culture Flow, we've helped hundreds of internationals navigate global careers.

Bianca: In each episode, we speak with internationals and the companies who hire them to uncover the real stories, struggles, and strategies behind building a life and career across borders.

Bianca: Our guest is Tom Miskin. Thank you so much for joining us. We will hear about your journey today about moving abroad, what it taught you, and what culture and identity shaped your career abroad.

Julian: If you're an international professional or someone working in HR, this episode is for you.

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Bianca: Tom, welcome. Thank you for coming on to the show. I think we're going to start off briefly by asking you, who are you? What do you do? How long have you been in Norway? And maybe what triggered the movement of...

Bill: Lots of questions. I'm Tom Miskin. I work in partnerships at a company called Oslo and Co, which is a business development international profiling company to the city of Oslo. I've lived in Oslo for 17 years, which is crazy. I moved here in 2009, had several sub-careers before the job I have now, so we can talk a bit about that perhaps. I now live here with my partner and two young children.

Julian: And what was the inspiration for thinking, Norway is the place to live in?

Tom: Well, my story is maybe a little bit different. My grandmother was Norwegian. She moved to the UK when she was 17 or 18 to be an au pair, which I don't think would happen too much now, but in the 1950s, it did. She lived in the UK for the rest of her life, but she had a cabin in Norway, so we used to come here for summer holidays. When I finished university, I didn't really have too much of a plan, but I liked skiing, so I thought I'd try skiing in Norway. I got a job in Hafjell.

Tom: Worked there for six months, skied every single day, had a great time, met lots of fantastic people, and never really looked back.

Bianca: That's one of the more free-form ways of coming into Norway.

Tom: Yeah, I was 22. I'd worked a little bit in England, been to university there. I was kind of taking a gap year, I guess, after university. I told my parents I was going to work out what I was going to do, but I didn't really. But I met a lot of people, and it was enough to make me want to stay.

Tom: I had a little stint back in London after Hafjell and then moved here permanently in January 2009.

Bianca: I'm very curious, how was the job search when you moved here? Was it easy to find a job?

Tom: I did, yeah. I guess I had no responsibilities. I was very young and naive. I moved here, knew some people I'd met in Hafjell, and one of them introduced me to a school where I could potentially teach some English. So I started doing that and ended up being an English teacher in a barnskole for five years. It wasn't what I wanted to do as a career, but I was happy, met loads of interesting people, and learned Norwegian, which was a huge assistance when applying for jobs later on.

Tom: I remember moving in January, and in February, they had the annual ski day. I did a lot of downhill skiing, but I'd never been cross-country skiing. I borrowed some skis from a teacher, and the whole school laughed at me because I couldn't do it. But those small things were a good way of learning how Norwegians live.

Bianca: Networking has always been the theme of the podcast, how people get jobs here. It seems to be who you know is the way of getting in the door.

Bill: Yeah, I didn't really have a specific path. Studying political science doesn't directly lead you into a specific job, especially in Norway, and you don't speak Norwegian. I knew I didn't want to be a teacher forever.

Tom: I went from learning Norwegian from speaking to kids at school to going to Voksenopplæring to get some form of certification. I was going to start the process of taking a pedagogisk education. I failed the test the first time, but then got a job offer at my next job, so everything worked out.

Bianca: Nice. I'm curious if you have a defining moment in your career abroad.

Bill: It's probably more than just one. But in terms of where I am now, it's definitely a moment when I was working in my previous job at the British Embassy in Oslo. I was a political project manager there for five or six years, got a lot of responsibility, and took part in amazing projects that helped define how I got the job at Oslo and Co.

Bianca: That's fantastic that you managed to get a job within your area of expertise.

Tom: I was quite patient. I didn't remember applying for loads of jobs, but this one came up. I knew the embassy was organized in a way that I would get a lot of opportunities and work on projects, which opened a lot of doors.

Bianca: It strikes me that when you talked about your first five years, the expat community here at that time, or you being British, how much of a community was there?

Tom: I guess it was something to do with my age, lack of family, mortgage, I was pretty free. I liked going out on weekends, loved football. I made a lot of friends through that, playing football as well. I never actively wanted to be part of an expat network. I met some of them at pubs watching football, but I didn't hang out with them as a group.

Julian: That makes an interesting distinction for most of our guests. They come here at an age where if they do mix with other Norwegians, those Norwegians have an established family. I think I would struggle now. Especially with a young family, you're just a lot less social in that respect.

Bill: It's hard to make those friendships concrete because everyone's busy. But back when I was 22, people went to work, and there was all the time in the world. Moving here at the age I did made it easy for me.

Bianca: It's nice to hear that your story is one of success. Not all stories have to be as great as yours, but it's nice to hear that there is a reason for that.

Tom: I remember when I nailed Norwegian, it helped in social settings. If I was going to a party or a wedding, it was nice knowing they didn't have to speak English because of me.

Bianca: You've worked for companies that hire non-Norwegians. What advice would you give to companies hiring internationals?

Tom: The obvious advice is to have an excellent onboarding package. Make people feel included, and don't expect everyone to speak Norwegian from day one. Give them the opportunity to learn Norwegian properly. You're employing them for their competencies and skills, not just their language.

Tom: I think there are still far too many companies that require Norwegian even though the working language is English. It's important to understand the language, but if you look at countries we're competing with, they have a more liberal viewpoint.

Julian: There's a nice stat that shows Norwegians are the most productive in Europe because they embrace a trust-based environment. If you're a 23-year-old moving here, it could be hard in terms of integration. You need to be active in finding activities outside of work.

Bianca: I experienced that when I moved to Norway. I was the youngest in the office, moved here alone, and didn't know what to do after work. It was a shock.

Bianca It's definitely a challenge. I think we can move to a quick-fire round.

Julian: Quick-fire round, yeah. We will have short questions for you.

Bianca: What is the best thing about working abroad?

Tom: Work-life balance.

Bianca: Awkward cultural moment you experienced?

Tom: I still can't really accept makrel i tomat and knekkebrød for lunch.

Bianca: What's one local tradition that you love here?

Tom: I love the cross-country skiing, quick lunch.

Bianca: Remote office or hybrid?

Bill: Hybrid, definitely.

Julian: Coffee or tea and how do you take it?

Tom: Black coffee. So Norwegian.

Bianca: Last question, what's your superpower?

Tom: I'm very good at talking to all sorts of people.

Bianca: What advice would you give to someone just starting their expat journey?

Tom: Don't hang out with too many expats. Get out of your comfort zone. Respect the local culture. Norwegians are pretty open and happy to help. Patience is important, but not everyone has the luxury of time. It takes roughly five years to feel settled.

Bianca: I have a follow-up question. Many expats find it difficult to meet Norwegians. Do you have any advice on where to meet them?

Tom: It depends on your company, if you have children, etc. Join activities, throw yourself into them. It's not easy, but you have to try.

Bianca: When you move abroad, you have to be an extrovert and find your group.

Bianca: What does belonging mean to you now that you've been living in a different country?

Tom: It's a sense of comfort and security. I have a Norwegian passport, but I still see myself as British. Belonging is feeling natural and integrated.

Bianca: Based on a discussion with another guest, do you feel like you belong?

Tom: I definitely belong here. I love going back to Sheffield to visit, but I would find it hard to move back there now.

Julian: Tell us more about your current role at Oslo and Co.

Tom: We're in a lucky position. We have a new mandate from the City of Oslo. We're creating a business development agency. We're working on various projects, including updating the Oslo brand strategy. It's about creating a common Oslo narrative.

Tom: Oslo Innovation Week was my entrance into Oslo Business Region, now Oslo & Co. My role has changed, and I'm leading partnerships for the whole company. We're reliant on working with the entire ecosystem.

Bianca: Thank you so much for joining. It's been a pleasure.

Bianca: Thank you very much. It was nice to hear a different perspective. Moving to a new country and experiencing a new life is refreshing.

Bianca: Thank you. It was Tom sharing our story of building a career in life across borders.

Bianca: We hope his experience reminded you that you're not alone and that navigating life abroad is much about community, but also about courage.

Julian: If you're an international professional looking for support or a company wanting to improve how you hire and support global talent, you'll find links to Candidate Aid and Culture Flow in the show notes.

Bianca: Don't forget to subscribe and share this with someone working in HR or living an international experience.

Julian: This is the Expert Equation powered by Candidate Aid and Culture Flow. See you next time.