According to a survey by global HR platform Pebl, international opportunity could be a differentiator in attracting early-career talent.
The survey found that 53% of the 1,022 U.S.-based Gen Z knowledge workers asked said they would choose to work for “the world’s best employer over America’s best” when salary, title, benefits and location were equal. Among respondents in data sciences, 66% chose the global employer, the highest share among the functions included in the report.
Fifty-nine percent of respondents said a lack of opportunities to work abroad could affect whether they accepted a job offer, while 64% said they were extremely or very interested in temporary work abroad.
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The realities of working abroad
It’s important to keep in mind that the vendor-sponsored survey measures respondents’ impressions of employer readiness, not the actual availability of global-career programs.
BCG found that international movement among highly skilled workers fell 8.5% year over year through August 2025. However, this doesn’t suggest that these opportunities have dried up, as BCG also estimated that 2.4 million highly skilled workers moved internationally during the prior 12 months.
Only 19% gave U.S. employers an A for preparing young professionals for global careers, while 15% named corporate America as the best source of international exposure, trailing universities and study-abroad programs, “travel / digital nomad / freelance opportunities” and military or government experience, 16%.
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Costs, skills and balancing global mobility
Though Gen Z may want mobility, Mercer has identified high costs as a continuing barrier to employee relocation, and KPMG’s mobility benchmarking found that demonstrating program ROI is a top challenge for corporate mobility leaders. Gen Z respondents also realize that global mobility doesn’t come cheap. Cost of living and financial concerns were respondents’ most-cited barriers to global work, at 59%. Foreign-language skills followed at 43%, family or personal commitments at 42% and visa or work-authorization requirements at 40%.
The report also found that Gen Z respondents believe human capabilities, not AI skills, drive long-term growth. Eleven percent ranked AI skills first, compared with 28% who chose professional networks and 26% who chose leadership or management experience. Pebl said communication, relationship-building and adaptability were among top capabilities respondents expected to matter most over the next decade.
Four in 10 respondents said they see their careers spanning two or three countries. Their preferred destinations are U.K., Western Europe and Canada. And get this: 5% of Gen Z respondents, concentrated in construction and hospitality, said they’d want work experience in outer space. It’s a small number, but perhaps it’s a sign of how far this generation is willing to stretch the definition of a workplace.
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