Evaldas's Story: Moving to Mongolia and getting back into big business!

It's not everyday you hear about someone moving to Mongolia but last year Think Global Recruitment assisted Evaldas in making the move from Lithuania to the country's capital, Ulaanbaatar.

Evaldas previously had spent a total of five years as Senior Manager working for EY in Kazakhstan and a further two and a half years as Audit Director at Deloitte before becoming self employed as a Financial Consultant. After working independently with small businesses for three years, Evaldas came to the realization that he missed big business and the high profile clientele.

After contacting Think Global Recruitment to explore his options working overseas and after speaking with one of our consultants, was offered the opportunity to work for EY in Mongolia. After living and working in neighboring Kazakhstan for a number of years, Evaldas was already familiar with the  Mongolian culture and fluent in Russian and therefore knew what to expect upon moving. This combined with the irresistible offer to work alongside prominent clients such as Central Bank, State Bank and leading mining companies lead to Evaldas accepting the role.

Life in Mongolia
 

Evaldas describes the move as a very positive one, stating that he ‘received great support from both EY and Think Global Recruitment’. He further characterizes Think Global Recruitment as ‘highly professional’ and decribes the transition from Lithuania to Mongolia as smooth and controlled.

Moving with his wife in December 2015, Evaldas spent only a week searching for flats before coming across the perfect apartment in the center of Ulaanbaatar, within walking distance of the office, restaurants and shops. Initially he was concerned with the timing of the move as winters in Mongolia can drop below -25 degrees Celsius. The move further coincided with the busy season for mining companies, however due to previous experience and expertise, Evaldas was already familiar with EY methodologies and the audit role so move was smooth. With the support of both EY and Think Global Recruitment, he describes feeling ‘fully supported throughout the move’. Evaldas was also surprised to discover that many native Mongolians were fluent in Russian and that there were many Lithuanian expatriates living in the city.

The Role
 

Now in his new audit role Evaldas is working with the Central Bank of Mongolia, the largest state bank and the largest mining companies in the country. He enjoys the exposure and describes being well respected within his industry. Providing advice to senior managers, he is already saving the company vast amounts of money and has already had extremely positive performance reviews. Furthermore, the role provides exciting opportunities to work within Asia and to build relationships with China and Hong Kong through work with clients.

 

Main advantages of working overseas.
 

 

Firstly Evaldas emphasizes the importance of learning and experiencing different cultures; ‘You can move from one location to another more easily and can adapt to other cultures quickly, which is a very good personal trait’. Secondly; ‘from a company perspective, multinational employers will look for international experience’.

There are many benefits to being an expatriate including higher salaries and excellent financial packages ‘My company pay for my apartment in the center of the city so my living conditions are ideal for both myself and my family’.

Additionally, ‘working in an international outward facing firm in Mongolia allows the opportunity to spread further into companies in the Asia region such as Hong Kong and China. Opportunities you would not get working in a smaller firm’. Evaldas states; ‘when I moved from Lithuania to Kazakhstan, I was working with huge international clients, however if you are working in a small market or if you are a small member of a bigger team, that you just don’t get those opportunities’.

Finally, he says that ‘moving out of your comport zone allows you to develop new friendships and relationships through meeting new business contacts.’

‘My advice would be to not be afraid and to try new things, and if you do, you shall succeed.’

Our service
 

‘The company was very professional, I wanted to move to a bigger firm and a role with either EY or Deloitte. Think Global Recruitment provided lots of options and opportunities and consultant put me in touch with EY’s Mongolian partner and we got along very well and now I am living here.’

‘I also received excellent aftercare support from one of your consultants which I really appreciated as it made the move a lot easier.’

We would like to wish Evaldas all the best in his new role.