About 13.5% of the total U.S. population consist of people who were born abroad and brought with them the skills, languages, and histories of their ancestors. Almost three-quarter of adoptive citizens work in offices or other qualified positions in sales, service, management, business, science, and arts.

Needless to say, you don’t need to be American-born to succeed, and this is an essential truth to remember. Indeed, the United States of America is a nation entirely built on the skills and qualities of a non-native population.

Most families have their roots in Europe, Asian, South America and Africa. In other words, what we call the American dream is nothing more than the ability to build a successful career when you start from scratch – what better way of starting from scratch than coming from a different culture?

But our international talent often suffers from low self-esteem issues, constantly doubting that they’ve got what it takes to succeed in the U.S. This article is to help you find your inner strength to boost your career.

Start small and grow big on your own

It’s not uncommon to develop negative feelings as a result of the high pressures that some teams have to endure in offices. But, you might simply prefer working in solitude, especially if you’re not familiar with the competitive mindsets within American teams. If this is the case, you can start as a freelancer to grow your client base at your own pace. If you are naturally introverted, the absence of a team, can be beneficial for your career path.

Of course, it means that you are in charge of every business interaction, from marketing to billing. But it also means that you can define your brand freely and explore your talent professionally. Successful independent careers tend to be creative, as a photographer or a blogger, but you’ll find that IT and science skills are in high demand too.

Be confident about your communication

It doesn’t matter how well you speak English. When someone asks you to repeat your sentence, you immediately feel like a fool. A lot of adoptive citizens feel embarrassed of their accents they meet people. Some might even wish they sounded American – but there is a vast variety of accents in the U.S., which means that yours is one of many. Ultimately, it’s a matter of boosting your confidence, which you can do with AJ Hoge English lessons to speak like a native. If you sound confident and you know the language, nobody is going to question your communication skills.

Understand what you can bring

International talent is valuable to companies. Your professional skills, your language understanding, and your cultural background make you an essential asset for an ambitious business. You can help them approach a new market. You bring new insight, helping them to deliver better products and services. Finally, you can teach them what it is to be adaptable. You are not afraid of changes – moving abroad is the living proof – and you can be instrumental in modernizing the company’s approach.

In conclusion, don’t feel like you can’t do as well as any native because you were born in a different country. Integrating your skills, your talent and your culture is precisely what the global world needs to evolve, and it’s the key to your success.