Pursuing an International Career: Global Mobility Made Real at Hilti

Written by Hilti's employer brand team, in collaboration with Olivia Bush 

For many organizations, “global mobility” might show up on a careers page as a vague perk — an enticing draw for top talent — but oftentimes the opportunity has no real structure or direction. At Hilti, global mobility is intentional and strategic, for both the company and the employee. It’s a pathway to growth, personal and professional.

For Olivia Bush, a global assignment was her dream and would fulfill her desire to live and work abroad, expand her perspective, build resilience, and become a stronger, more well-rounded leader.

Getting Started at Hilti 

Olivia was introduced to Hilti in Tulsa, Oklahoma as a graduate student intern, focused on project management and HR. Going into it, she saw the opportunity as “low stakes”— a three-month trial with a company she didn’t really know much about at the time.

During orientation, she was introduced to a panel of Hilti employees, who shared stories of interesting careers: moving across the U.S., cross-functional growth, and even global mobility. That glimpse into the breadth of opportunity within the company sparked something in her.

“This just really piqued my interest during week one. Like, this is super cool that all of these people have had such interesting careers with the company. This is what I want to do too,” she remembers thinking.

When her internship ended, a well-timed opening allowed her to transition into a full-time role. The next six years were spent building her career in the U.S., while she continued voicing her ambition for international work. That persistence eventually paid off, opening the door to her first global move.

A Global Journey Begins

Olivia launched her international career in Liechtenstein, where Hilti is headquartered. She recalls the excitement (and the nerves!) of leaving home to immerse herself in a new culture and workplace, but she was confident in the fact that global assignments at Hilti are designed as career accelerators. They’re structured opportunities to stretch, learn, and bring new perspectives back to the business.

“What helps is knowing that Hilti takes care of so much — shipping household goods, arranging immigration paperwork, and helping you get settled. That support means you can focus on what really matters,” Olivia says.

Olivia with her husband and dog, who relocated internationally with her. 

Those early days were filled with both challenges and opportunities. The experience pushed her to adapt quickly, ask questions openly, and rely on the support of colleagues who understood the steep learning curve.

Learning Through Immersion 

What surprised Olivia most wasn’t just the subject matter she’d need to master to inform her work abroad, but the way cultural differences shaped every interaction. After years in the same role, her learning curve had flattened. She was confident, but she had an itch to be stretched.

Living and working in a different culture forced her to confront the limits of her “default view.” Practices she once assumed were universal turned out to be deeply contextual, and what felt normal in America could unfold in completely different ways in Europe.

She learned to let go of the idea that there was one right way of doing things and instead embraced the richness that comes from varied perspectives. For Olivia, those experiences lent themselves to so much more than just her professional skills. They helped to reshape her worldview, teaching her to find new value in approaches she had never considered before.

Immersion in new markets builds cultural intelligence, one of the most transferable leadership skills in a global company. For Hilti, the investment in global careers just makes sense.

From Europe to Asia: A Station in Singapore

After her time in Liechtenstein, Olivia’s next move was to Singapore, an opportunity that came with a whole new set of adjustments. The move required her to really lean into a new way of working. Suddenly, she was navigating not just a different country, but an intricate web of cultural dynamics across Asia.

“It was challenging, figuring out how to persuade someone in Vietnam about something,” she reflected. “I couldn’t quite detect what they were thinking. The way they spoke to me wasn’t the way they’d speak to someone local.”

So how do you bridge that gap?

For Olivia, the answer was simple: immerse yourself fully.

“I’ve really tried to throw myself into it,” she said. “When I go to India, I eat with my hands like my colleagues do. In Vietnam, if they serve snails or jellyfish, I eat it. I think you build street cred that way. My strategy has been to be pleasant, be persistent, and when I can, be physically present with the team.”

That willingness to meet people where they are has been essential to Olivia’s success in Asia, but it’s also allowed her to grow exponentially in her career and as an enriched individual.

Global mobility at Hilti is supported by real infrastructure so employees can focus on relationships and impact.

Advice for Building a Global Career

Olivia’s advice for anyone considering an international assignment is simple: “Go for it!”

She encourages asking all the practical questions up front — about the move, family considerations, even pets — so you feel confident before making the leap.

Beyond the logistics, she stresses that the experience is well worth it:

“You’re going to be gone two or three years and probably end up right back where you started. But you’ll have had this amazing, rich experience you just can’t get any other way.”

Olivia insists: the unknown shouldn’t hold people back. The reward far outweighs the risk.

Olivia on a business trip to India. 

Global mobility at Hilti isn’t a detour. It’s a purpose-built path to grow careers, broaden perspectives, and nurture company leaders. Olivia’s trajectory is just a single example of the growth that comes from a global career made real at Hilti.