Career Planning Tools
Moving abroad will most likely have a huge impact on your career. Legal barriers can make a stop to your professional development as well as language difficulties or low self-esteem after endless rejections in a foreign job market. Facing difficulties with continuing my professional career path was my Number One motivation for starting this website in the first place. I was shocked to find out, that the unemployed accompanying partner is no exception but the norm.
The employment situation
of accompanying partners /expat partners in the traditional corporate assignment setting
Why career coaching is so essential in times of new work
As a coach, I have seen a visible increase in the need to explore different career options. While some clients are finally planning to tackle going back to work after a long break, other clients are seeking a shift in their current career feeling their skills and values are not matched with their current profession. During the pandemic the buzzword “The great resignation” came up, illustrating the global need for creating a new work-life balance. In this article, I will highlight some interesting global facts around the topic of the great resignation and explore why coaching is such an essential tool for employees (and potential employees) to gain realignment with their careers.
The effect of giving yourself an A
What happens when you pretend the best case scenario already happened? Sharing a fun and compelling coaching exercise called “giving yourself an A”
Don’t turn your hobby into a profession
Often it sounds very obvious when you are thinking about how you could go on professionally: Why not simply turn your hobby into a profession? In this blog post, you’ll learn about the importance of passion in choosing a career and why losing the magic of a hobby can end badly.
How to use the new LinkedIn Career Break feature
Everything you need to know about LinkedIn’s new Career Break feature. My personal assessment of the function and a step-by-step guide with further information on the topic of re-entry.
What are your signature strengths?
Our professional life and private life are closely connected. When we are unhappy with our career we are most likely also bringing that to the kitchen table back home. In this blog post, I am introducing the concept of signature strengths, how to reveal those strengths and what they have to do with you being not really happy with your current job situation.
Stop canceling on events last minute – about the destructive effect of not being committed
We say yes to dates and events only to end up not going. We read our social media feed only to find that reading is no longer the right word – we casually notice it while our finger is already scrolling on to the next post without us noticing. What happens when we stop being committed? What is the long term effect of this habit and how can we change when the world around us it at war?
Who performs better at work? Men or women?
In literature, the question has been raised whether women are so underrepresented in international assignments only because their work performance is not equivalent to that of men. So, let’s have a look at the facts and hear what female expats working abroad are having to say about their perceived work performance compared to men.
Your path to a purposeful career
Finding your purpose. It’s become a bit of a buzzword, hasn’t it? An entire generation (and now parts of previous generations as well) are striving for a job that not only offers an attractive paycheck but is also fulfilling and singing. In other words, it has a purpose.
But what is a career led by purpose and how do I find it? I will answer these questions in this blog post.
What is your vision for 2022?
Have you manifested your goals for 2022 yet? Learn about helpful steps to visualize your goals and learn all about creating a vision board in this blog post.
Do you often question your own abilities? Watch out for the Impostor syndrome!
Do you sometimes feel out of place? Do you think others would be better suited for the task? Do you often question your own abilities? If you answered yes to these questions, it’s time to show you the concept of Impostor Syndrome. In this blog post, I’ll explain what Imposter Syndrome is, why it plays a significant role, especially in the expat community, and how you can leave it behind and rush into work or re-enter the job market with joy and confidence.
Your 5 step process to take your own career serious while living a global family life
Prioritizing yourself and your own projects is anything but a no-brainer. In this blog post, I share my 5 tips to make it happen, talk about Intensive Mothering and invite you to an intensive coaching session.
What do spouses work when moving abroad?
Learn how many expat partners are working abroad, the question of having a work permit or not and what to do when Plan A of continuing your former career does not work out.
Do you have your priorities straight?
In this blog post, I introduce a short coaching tool you can use to reflect on your priorities. This way you can prioritize what your next professional step should include and what should be put on the back burner unexpectedly.
The Protean Career
In the literature, a distinction is often made between the typical male and straight career path (alpha career) and the typical female, more volatile career path (beta career). Indeed, to this day, women face additional constraints and challenges in career planning. This article briefly describes the Protean Career – where women define their own definition of a successful career.
The complexity of being an International Career Couple
I recently had the pleasure of talking to Jannie Aasted Skov-Hansen and Paul Vanderbroeck about their new book “The International Career Couple Handbook”. Reading the title alone, you will get a good sense of what the book is all about and it is a great additional resource when planning your adventures abroad. So as it is just a perfect fit for the SharetheLove audience and I really enjoyed reading it I want to tell you more about it in this blog post. I will introduce you to the definition of International Career Couples and explain to you why this book is very helpful even when you are currently NOT in a Dual-Career relationship right now.
RETURNSHIP – THE CAREER BREAK SOLUTION?
Many women are looking for the second act in their life after caring for the children for decades. Other women are already struggling with returning to work after only a couple of years of the career paths. No matter the lengths away from the workplace, many women have two things in common: they are highly educated but lacking the network and the confidence to get back on track after a career hiatus.
EXPAT PARTNER CAREER PLANNING: HOPE & DISILLUSION
Recently I stumbled upon one of the best, recent academic papers about Dual-Career Planning in expatriation. The paper “Expatriated dual-career partners: hope and disillusionment” by Agnieszka Kierner perfectly illustrates how hope vanishes when career goals are not met during an international assignment.
Why we need to learn how to say no
If we are honest to ourselves, saying YES is far more comfortable than saying NO to someone. In this blog post, I want to introduce you to the concept of saying NO, why we need to train this as a muscle, why it is especially essential for expats, and how saying NO can improve your personal quest for happiness.
What are you aiming for in your career?
What are you striving for in your career? What was your original motivation when applying for your first job, and what has changed along the way? Naturally, we are more fulfilled and successful when we are striving for something professionally that is also aligned with who we are as a person. If you are thinking about a career change or you are unsure where to head next to now is the time to check your motivation. In this blog post, I want to introduce you to the concept of career anchors and how that simple test can be a helpful guide to you for your personal career planning.
Digital Nomads & their positive outlook on career
Learn what professions Digital Nomads do pursue and what outlook they have on their future career. I have summarized the results in an infographic you will find below. Please feel free to share!
Career Planning for Expat Partners: Insights Career Survey
In this post, I want to share with you the results of my very own survey I did with about 200 expat partners around the world. I have asked them about their job situation, work permit situation and how they are evaluating their career after moving abroad. In the following, I will share my top 5 learnings as well as an infographic with more details.
Are you still happy with your job? Is it time for a career change?
How reflective are you with your current choice of career? We tend to question our diet, our partner, friends… but how happy are we in our current job environment? If we are unhappy, is this just for the moment or does it reflect a long-term frustration?
The concept of Visualization & how it helps you to find out what you really want
Visualization is a powerful tool that can take your goal setting to the next level. It is a common technique in coaching and I found it to be very useful with my Expat clients. In this article, I introduce you to the basic concept and I will show you my favorite exercise for new Expats who are on their journey figuring out what they want to achieve during their time abroad.
Create a career vision that inspires you
Many people dream of radical career changes, but only a few follow through. A move abroad often forces us to take the leap and jump. In this blog post, I will introduce you to some career shaping techniques that I learned from fellow career coaches along my journey.
Check out the free download at the bottom of this article to work on your very own vision for your career change.
How to find your professional identity abroad
How to work abroad as the Expat Partner is THE question for many of joining our partners abroad. I share my toolkit on how to build on your career while living abroad.
