Expat Women October Home Page

Hi Everyone, We have just uploaded our Expat Women October home page and we invite you to take a look at our new features:

Success Story
Eve Yen
Diamond Wipes International
Eve Yen left Taiwan for the United States for her daughters' education. The next year, she started her company in a small 1,700 square foot office space. Today, Diamond Wipes produces more than one million wipes a day...
Read more…

Business Idea
Interiors By Sandra Espinet
Sandra Espinet
Sandra is an accomplished interior designer who lives in the US and Mexico. She has successfully set up several design businesses abroad and has been interviewed by Martha Stewart's Living Today...
Read more…

Expat Websites
Making Expat Websites Work For Your Business
Andrea Martins
Expatriates love the internet. It makes sense therefore that if you are in the business of servicing internationally-mobile employees and families, you need to be expat-website-savvy...
Read more…

Your Career
10 Tips For Your Career Change
Rebecca Wells
Do you feel unhappy at work but feel paralysed with fear to do anything about it? Do you wish you could find a career that truly excites and energises you from the moment you wake up in the morning...
Read more…

Expat Women Confession
Picking Up The Pieces
Expat Women Girlfriend
My husband of 22 years came home last night and told me he wants a divorce because he is in love with somebody else. I have been financially dependent on my husband for all of our expatriate years and I have no idea...
Read more…

Volunteer Travel
The Voluntary Traveler:Adventures From The Road Best Traveled
Nola Lee Kelsey
This is a book for the volunteer traveler - the traveler who either bypasses the five-star resort... or who tags it onto the end of their vacation, once they have done the hard yards at an animal shelter, conservation project, school or orphanage...
Read more…

Not A Member Yet?
If you are not an ExpatWomen.com member yet, please support us by signing up today. Our next members' newsletter should then come to your inbox next week. Plus, you could also win a complete set of Explorer Publishing's Mini-Guides.

Thank you very much and have a fabulous October! Andrea

Where Have We Been...?

Hi Everyone, My apologies for the lack of updates since moving to our 'real' apartment here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, two weeks ago. In addition to the 231 boxes to unpack and the constant stream of workmen through each day... it has taken two weeks to connect the internet at home... which for me (running a website) - is almost like being without oxygen.

Sure, in between supervising workmen in the apartment, errands and school hour limitations, I was able to go to a wireless café, but it's just not the same. Especially when I had to keep ordering drinks and pretending to drink them... just so I could use their wireless. ;-)

I now appreciate just how many questions we generate each day (such as, What's tomorrow's cinema schedule? What plane seats are left for the holidays? What should we do for my son's school project?) and then answer via Google each night. Without the internet, I found myself open-mouthed, powerless and answering... "aaahhh... I don't know" far too many times lately.

Luckily, our internet got connected tonight just before I felt the earthquake (that rocked Sumatra) here in Kuala Lumpur. It felt empowering again to be able to jump online to check that I was not going crazy and that yes, the chandelier and vase (here on our 31st floor) really were moving!

My learning for the month: Information truly does equal power. May you all have unlimited access to information, technology and power. Andrea :-)

Expat Women Bloggers: Want To Be on Mamapedia... or Listed on Technorati?

Hi Everyone, I recently read in a Technorati newsletter that Mamapedia is looking for bloggers who write on topics that are of interest to mothers, to feature on Mamapedia Voices. They launched earlier this year and are reaching an audience of almost 1 million mothers!

You can get more information by signing up here: http://bit.ly/agucO. (They ask everyone to mention that you found out about this opportunity from Technorati. If you do, please mention ExpatWomen.com too - thanks.)

By the way, I see that Technorati have a blog directory that might interest some of you to list on as well - especially the "Travel" section. You never know who might find you unless you list, right?

Thanks, best wishes and good luck! Andrea.

Expat Women Blog Directory: www.expatwomen.com/expatblog/

Repatriate Knowledge Study: Phase Two

Hi Everyone, Stacey M. Peterson at the Florida Institute of Technology is looking for respondents for the second phase of her research study...

"This study investigates how the social dynamics of an organization’s culture may affect the utilization of repatriate international knowledge.

To be eligible for this study, you must:

1. Work at an organization with repatriates (you do not need to be a repatriate)
2. Be employed at your current organization (does NOT need to be an American company) for a minimum of four months.

Participation in this study consists of answering a number of questions in an anonymous survey and will take approximately 20 minutes. Your personal information will not be recorded and, therefore, will not be connected to any of your responses. Your responses are greatly appreciated.

If you meet all the criteria and wish to participate, please complete the survey online here. If you have any questions, the researcher can be reached at sfehir@fit.edu or visit our repatriate group on LinkedIn at Repatriate Professionals for further discussions. Thanks. "

Looking For An Expat Family Who Moved To Belgium For The Woman's Job

Hi Everyone, Can anyone help a Belgian journalist looking to interview and feature in Good Gevoel ("Feeling Good") magazine, an expat husband/partner who has followed his wife (with children) to Belgium for her job.

Ideally, she would like to speak to a man who is between 35-50 years old, comes from a continent other than Europe (preferably South America, Africa or Asia) and is a "happy houseman - taking care of the household and children - not looking for a new job".

Tough criteria? Maybe. If you match her requirements or know someone who does, please contact Grete Flies as soon as possible. Thanks.

Expat Jobs: Some Industries Hiring, Some Industries Firing

Hi Everyone, Brookfield Global Relocation Services released today a supplementary report to their widely-recognised 2009 Global Relocation Trends Survey. Here are some extracts from their press release:

"Woodridge, Ill. (Sept. 14, 2009) - The ongoing economic downturn has forced many companies to dramatically scale back the number of employees they are relocating for international assignments, but has left other industries virtually unscathed, a new report exploring international mobility trends from Brookfield Global Relocation Services has found.

In fact, certain industries - among them telecommunications, oil and gas - are experiencing an uptick in their employee relocation activities due to mergers, emerging global markets and other factors, according to a recently released report, International Mobility: The Impact of the Current Economic Climate.

The report queried senior international mobility professionals responsible for international assignment strategy at a number of the world's leading companies. Combined, the mobility managers interviewed from a select group of corporations representing a worldwide employee population of more than 2.2 million employees."

**

"The report's findings pointed to four key trends currently facing multinational companies:

1. A reduction in the volume of assignments due to the recession. This is occurring in industries that have been hit especially hard by the economic downturn, including: automobile manufacturing, information technology service and the financial services sectors.
2. Changes in the volume of assignments. However, these changes are not directly caused by the recession. This trend is impacting the high technology, engineering, retail, financial and information services industries.
3. No impact so far, but companies expect a general tightening soon. These industries include pharmaceutical, food and consumer products manufacturing, and logistics sectors.
4. An increase in the number of employee relocations. This trend is primarily occurring in the telecommunications, oil and gas sectors, and with some professional services firms.

"...companies and industries that are experiencing increased relocation activity are typically involved in:

1. Moving into new international partnership arrangements;
2. A merger or acquisition Developing emerging markets;
3. Creating global tools, processes and programs;
4. Creating a cohesive culture or employer brand; and/or
5. Closing long-term global capability and skills gaps."
   

**

"Brookfield will host a complimentary webinar presentation exploring the findings of this study on Thursday, Sept. 17 (US). Participation in the webinar is free and limited to the first 100 registrants. To register, go to: http://www.brookfieldgrs.com/insights_ideas/grts/2009_GRTS_Economic_Climate_Webinar.asp"

Expatica Survey - Expat Health Concerns Abroad - Win a 100 Euro Amazon Voucher

Hi Everyone, Expatica are running a survey on their site where you could win an Amazon voucher to the value of 100 Euros.

It is primarily about expat health concerns abroad, presumably to feed results back to a health insurance company, but it is not too personal and if you are someone who likes to enter competitions, you might like to spend the 10 minutes or so completing it. I did.

Expat Women September Newsletter

Hi Everyone, If you are an Expat Women member and you did not receive our Newsletter for September 2009 in the last 24 hours, please let us know here. If you have not signed up yet, please do so.

What's in the newsletter this month?

Well, in addition to our September home page features, our newsletter includes:

• The name of our Explorer Publishing mini-guide pack winner;
• Our winning story Forming Cultural Foundation in the Formative Years; and
• As well as Lisa Velazquez's new article, Cultural Iceberg: A Metaphor For Transitioning Into A New Culture.

If you would like to contribute an article to our newsletters, feel free to send us your new, original, 1000-word, quality article for us to review, anytime.

Many thanks and enjoy your day/evening! Andrea

Have You Been Repatriated With Your Current Employer In The Last Two Years?

Hi Everyone, If you are a professional female who has been repatriated with your current employer in the last two years, please consider helping Marcia Viera, a Master of Psychology student at the University of Western Australia, who is conducting a survey which needs more female responses.

"I am currently conducting some research into the repatriation process due to the high level of adjustment problems and turnover associated with repatriation after an international assignment...

I am hoping you may help me by distributing a link to a 20 minute online survey to your subscribers, requesting their confidential participation. I am particularly contacting you due to the high number of male responses and I am hoping to improve my research by getting a greater balance of gender amongst my participants. Thank you very much."

Researcher:
Marcia Vieira
Master of Psychology Student
vieirm01@student.uwa.edu.au
Ph: +61 407 507 373

Supervisor:
Professor John Cordery
Business School
john.cordery@uwa.edu.au
Ph: +61 8 6488 2006

12th Annual Talent Management Summit, Chicago, US, October 26-28, 2009

Hi Everyone, If your job is HR/talent management/recruitment, you might like to mark your calender that the annual (US) Talent Management Summit is coming up next month in Chicago.

From October 26-28, you can join in the action at the Wyndham Lisle-Chicago Hotel, Chicago, IL. Here are some official words from the organizers:

"The largest industry gathering of talent management professionals returns to exciting Chicago! Guaranteed to invigorate and improve your talent management strategy, The 12th Annual Talent Management Summit will bring together Fortune 500 leaders to share their recession-proof talent strategies.

The war for talent has completely changed. It's more important than ever to retain and develop your current employees. The 12th Annual Talent Management Summit provides strategies to:

• Assess which leadership skills matter most;
• Develop different types of people;
• Upgrade your talent pools;
• Sharpen your talent;
• Be smarter about how to approach talent issues; and
• Prepare for the turnaround.

View the final agenda here."

Other links of interest:

Confirmed conference speakers

Pricing and discounts

Workshops

Horrible Crime In An Expat Gated Community in Spain

Hi Everyone, I just read a very disturbing story in the Telegraph UK entitled Expat Journey To The Heart Of Darkness.

The sub-title read: "The rape and murder of a child by another child in an expat gated community in Spain forced questions on neighbours that they never wanted to ask themselves."

It is about a horrible crime committed in 2004 - and the recent release of the perpetrator. The author gives her take on the effect of that crime both on her and on her community.

It is a very sad story which reiterates how 'the good life' does not always mean 'the safer life'.

This Month's Issue of Mobility Magazine

Hi Everyone, It's been a while since we've given a shout-out to Worldwide ERC's Mobility Magazine, but we see that the cover article was co-written by our September Success Story feature woman, Liz Perelstein (together with Lucy Mellors). So, here is Liz's article link, Searching for Schools in a New Country: Meeting Children’s Special Needs and here are the other features this month:

The River Is Wide… but the Revenue Stream Is Narrow
By Maggie Kiesow, CRP, GMS, and Joan Harpootlian Thomas, SCRP

Balancing Talent Management and Costs in a New Economy—New Concepts in U.S. Domestic Relocation
By Lina Paskevicius, CRP, and Crystal Abbey

Family Issues: Developing Policy Flexibility to Meet Family Needs
By Elizabeth D. Nunan, CRP, GMS, and Susan Vittorio, CRP

Tracing the Roots of Success: Evaluating the Life-long Benefits of an International Education
By Alex Bailey

Going the Distance with Online Education
By Charlie Strater, GMS

Pre-qualification of Potential Employees Based on Home Marketability Assessments
By Marian Weilert Sauvey, Esq.

Focusing in on Relocation Training—a Clear Picture for Future Success
By Michelle Sandlin, CRP

If you are interested in contributing to this well-known industry magazine which reaches 30,000 readers, here are Mobility Magazine's Author's Guidelines. If you get something included, drop us a line and we'll give you a shout-out on our blog.

Best wishes, Andrea.

Interested In Writing For Fearless Woman Magazine?

Hi Everyone, For some time now, I have been following Adrienne Graham's Empowered Career Women Blog and have mentioned her here a couple of times. Adrienne is an experienced diversity recruiter, who recently published Go Ahead, Talk To Strangers: The Modern Girl's Guide To Fearless Networking.

One of the things I like about Adrienne is her constant encouragement of women to defy stereotypes and to make their mark on the world. In true Adrienne style, she is launching a quarterly magazine in January 2010 entitled Fearless Woman Magazine... and she is looking for writers.

"We are... announcing an open call for writers. We are currently looking for new and experienced writers with the ability to resonate with our core audience. If interested please contact us... or indicate that you're interested in the message box when you sign up at the website. You may download the Writer's Guidelines at this link. For a media kit, editorial calendar or advertising information, please contact us via email." Click here to learn more.

Good luck Adrienne - and good luck to any interested writers amongst us! Andrea

Need A Smile? Check Out The JK Wedding Entrance Dance

Hi Everyone, Occasionally, we'll include a video on our blog if it grabs our attention or gives us a 'feel good' feeling. This one does...

If you are not one of the 23+ million people who have already viewed the JK Wedding Entrance Dance, take a few minutes and give yourself a smile...

Full marks to Jill and Kevin for turning their unexpected fame into a positive outcome - setting up a website and asking people to donate to an institute that helps prevent domestic violence.

Thanks to my friend Dr Angela Huntsman, an expat American in Australia, for sending it through.

Enjoy! Andrea.

Interested In Short-Term Research Work? More New Locations Added For Passport Career

Hi Everyone, Following on from our blog posts about Susan Musich's need for short-term researchers for PassportCareer, Susan has added more new locations to her list.

The current list (including new locations plus those still needing researchers) reads as follows:

Afghanistan, Albania, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, French Guiana, Georgia, Guyana, Honduras, India (New Delhi), Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Seychelles, Slovenia, South Africa (Cape Town), Sri Lanka, Suriname, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, United States (Orlando, St Louis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Phoenix, Seattle, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, San Diego, Washington DC), Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.

If you are interested in completing a short-term research project for one of the locations above, please read this previous blog post (important), then express your interest via email to Susan directly.

Many thanks... and good luck! Andrea

Note: If you live in a city in the United States which is not listed above but which has offices of Fortune 500 companies, Susan is interested to hear from you too. (Except if you live in one of the cities that she already has a researcher: Austin; Houston; Raleigh; Los Angeles; Boston; San Francisco; Dallas; New York; Miami; Chicago; Minneapolis; Washington DC; Detroit; Denver; Atlanta; Baltimore; and Columbus.) Thanks.

Working Visas For Expat Spouses In India

Hi Everyone, Kathleen Van Der Wilk of the Permits Foundation thought you might be interested in this front-page article last month from the Economic Times in India, entitled: Visa norms crush Indian job dream for expat spouses.

It echoes the cries of many expat spouses all around the world. Good luck to the Permits Foundation in trying to lobby countries like India for more user-friendly rules on expat spouse work visas!

American Overseas Domestic Violence Crisis Center - New Name

Hi Everyone, One of our home page feature articles this month is the Expat Confession: Domestic Violence Abroad. In that feature, we named The American Overseas Domestic Violence Crisis Center as a suggested resource.

Just confirming that yes, this is the new name for the American Domestic Violence Crisis Line, founded by one of our previous Success Story interviewees, Paula Lucas. Thanks.

PS. They are looking for volunteers who can attend training in Portland, Oregon, September 12-13. For more details, click here.

Expat Women Reach 5,000 Members

Hi Everyone, We are very excited to announce that we now have more than 5,000 expatriate women worldwide who are active on our membership database. (Well, this includes some men too, but mostly women.) These members come from 140 nationalities and are based in 178 countries.

THANK YOU to all of you who have helped us grow this fabulous resource since we launched in January 2007. Please keep helping us grow by sharing Expat Women with your friends, networks and local expat groups, as well as contributing Stories, Blogs, Articles & more.

THANKS so very much! Andrea.