Hello everybody,
As you know, professional habits may differ from one country to another. In order to help newly arrived expats better understand their new professional environment in Mongolia, we warmly encourage you to share information and insights about the do's and don'ts in the workplace.
For instance, are there office manners? How do you greet your co-workers? Do you greet your management differently? Is there a dress code? Particular rules to observe? Maybe a professional body language?
On another level, what is key for a successful professional meeting? Are there any steps to follow? How do you a start a negotiation?
In other words, what are the most important things to know for a successful professional integration in Mongolia?
Thank you in advance for sharing your experience!
Julien
Business etiquette in Mongolia
Hi Julien,
My name is Gary and i am working in China, sorry to bother you in this way.
I am writing to you becasue we are looking for English tutor for our clinet in Ulaanbaatar, so might i ask if you know any English tutor there? Please let me know if that was the case and i will really appreciate your referral. Thank you!
Regards
Gary
I lived in Mongolia and I can tell some things:
1.) never lend anyone money. You won't get it back.
2.) you are not going to lend money to anyone else. Friends don't ask for money, and lenders tend to forget or have 1000 excuses why not to pay the debt today.
3.) and if you are through... you are not going to lend money to anyone.
4.) Job survival... make sure you do NOT get a single entry visa for an expat job. Some companies are going to drain your ressources before they get you an exit visa. And triple check the credibility of your employer. Otherwise you work a month and don't get paid, then your visa gets revoked and then you have to leave within 7 days. A multiple entry visa is appropriate for a long term contract, so it's possible to get healthcare in Beijing if needed... or make trip home, or to the neighbouring countries.
5.) Visa survival: don't trust anybody who promises you something because he believes something. There are some clear rules for immigration and residence, either on real or on fake conditions. If these conditions are fine you're going to stay for 3 months or a year or even 3 and the paperwork doesn't take longer than a month.
6.) accomodation survival: make clear you aren't a overpaid mining engineer... otherwise you're getting overcharged up to 1000$ a month for an appartment. real price is most likely 250 till 350$. And think where you're gonna live - in summer it's traffic jam, in winter it's HUGE TRAFFIC JAM. Walking distance to workplace beats the cheapest place to stay imo. And check appartments in the wintertime, it doesn't help when someone promises you "it's warm in the winter". The old cheap concrete buildings like in Bayangol or Bichil Horoolol aren't. It's 16°C inside during cold winter days.
7.) try to appear lessser than you are... if you are a boss you tell everyone you're a clerk, when you're the clerk you tell everyone you're a poor paid servant. Even if you have 2500$ of funding a month you "always run out of money" even for your best friends.
Back to the job and behavior: people are direct, sometimes they shout, boss to clerk to servant. It's a picking order. If you're not at the top just gulp it down and continue your work. Explanations shell be straight, no sideways... if you're the boss look for your people, they expect that and your big boss expects you're looking after your clerks. Be prepared to have 50-60 hour week including saturdays. The 5-day week isn't everywhere. And there is a good reason why three clerks need one boss. Don't accept "I have some work elsewhere" or "I have some work outside" when it's a pure inhouse job. But it is widely accepted that the lunchbreak lasts 1 hour, eventually 1 1/2. So work density is less than in western countries...
