There is nothing like an extended stay in a foreign country to get a different perspective on world events, and there are sound career-enhancing reasons to work abroad. International experience can give you a competitive edge and may be vital to career advancement. Such experience goes far beyond mastering country-specific tax and accounting codes. That’s one message from the 2016 Global Mobility Trends Survey published by BGRS, a global human resources consulting company. The survey indicated that 61% of respondents said their company had communicated to employees that an international assignment was important to advance their careers. It’s no wonder that companies place so much emphasis on international assignments, given that 80% of the survey respondents said the main purpose of having a globally mobile workforce was to facilitate important global business initiatives. The volume of international assignments reflected their importance to the success of a firm. The 2016 survey found that 63% of firms either increased or held steady the number of international assignments given to employees relative to the prior year, and 75% of firms said they expected the number of international assignments to remain the same or to increase through 2017. On arrival in a foreign city, expatriates tend to live in a section of the city favored by other visitors from home. For security reasons, some executives also travel everywhere chauffeured by an English-speaking driver. It is possible for U.S. executives to live abroad for an extended period without soaking up much of the local culture. Doing so may increase one’s comfort level, but at the loss of some of the valuable lessons to be learned from living abroad. Overseas assignments do not come without some sacrifices. Long overseas postings can put stress on a family. The most common reason for turning down an international assignment (reported by 38% of survey respondents) involved family concerns, such as children’s education, family adjustment, partner resistance, and language. The second most common reason (18%) for refusing an assignment was concern for a spouse’s career, not unlike the same concern some employees have about a job that requires a cross-country transfer. Yet as globalization has pushed companies across more borders, CFOs with international experience have found themselves in greater demand. Some chief executives value international experience in their CFOs more highly than either mergers and acquisitions or capital-raising experience.

If going abroad for a full-immersion assignment is not possible, what are some substitutes for a global assignment that may provide some—albeit limited—global experience?