Expat Women November Home Page

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

Success Story
Nathalie Brotchi
Net Expat
In 2000, Nathalie joined Net Expat as a partner. Today Nathalie manages a team of 300 HR consultants around the globe and ensures a smooth delivery of Net Expat services together with the Operations Team. She is also participating regularly at international conferences as an expert on Dual Career issues.
Read more…

Business Idea
RNG International Educational Consultants
Rebecca Grappo
Rebecca Grappo is a professional educator who has successfully combined her advocacy and teaching experience with her need to develop a portable career abroad. After living, working and teaching overseas, Rebecca started her business in 2006 in Oman...
Read more…

Writers & Publishers
The Wealthy Author
Debbie Jenkins
Debbie Jenkins is a British expat living in Spain, famous for publishing a book that made £30,000 in one day. Debbie talks to us about her newest book, which walks us through everything we need to know to become wealthy authors...
Read more…

Best iPod Applications?
Top 10 iPod Applications For Travelers And Expats
Sarah Novak
We all know that having the right tools is critical for success in any endeavor. Sarah shares with us how to leverage up-and-coming iPod technology to smooth out those rough points in your overseas adventures…
Read more…

Expat Confession
My Job Was A Mistake
Expat Women Girlfriend
I am a professional who is currently a trailing spouse. I finally found a job and had started doing something that I felt would be meaningful to me and beneficial for my career path. However, my job is not all that I had dreamed it would...
Read more…

Didn't Go Your Way?
How Do You Deal With Disappointment?
Margie Warrell
Life doesn't always go to plan. Sometimes things don't work out as we want. Sometimes people let us down. Sometimes our hopes, dreams and expectations crash to the ground with a thud...
Read more…

Not A Member Yet?
Just a reminder that our blog is separate from our main site, so if you are only subscribed to our blog, you will not automatically receive our ExpatWomen.com monthly newsletters.

To receive our newsletters and to go in the running to win our monthly prize of a complete set of Explorer Publishing's Mini-Guides, please sign up today to our main site, ExpatWomen.com.

Thank you very much and we wish you a sensational November! Andrea

10 Of The Best Social Media Tools For Entrepreneurs

Hi Everyone, We came across this good article today on Mashable that we wanted to share, that talked about 10 of the best social media tools for entrepreneurs.

In brief, their top ten were:

1. Google Apps for Domains
2. LinkedIn
3. Basecamp
4. Facebook
5. Twitter
6. Get Satisfaction
7. Mail Chimp
8. User Voice
9. You Tube
10. Monitter

If this interests you, enjoy the full article here. Best wishes.

Survey Participants Needed: Women With Life Lessons To Share

Hi Everyone, Stacie Berdan, a former expat and co-author of the award-winning book, Get Ahead By Going Abroad, and a former Success Story interviewee on our site, is working on another book about women and needs your help...

Stacie is currently conducting research designed to inform a book she is writing for women coming of age today. Stacie's objective is to collect information from women of all walks of life - professional leaders and stay-at-home mothers, single or married, kids or not, and women of all nationalities. She intends to use the information to showcase the various choices women have made - and the lessons they have learned - in the past two decades with the explicit intent of sharing it with the generation of women coming of age (18-30) in the form of colorful, insightful women's stories.

If you can help Stacie by completing her anonymous survey (which takes about 15-20 minutes, as I just completed it myself), please click here: Lessons From Wise Women.

In addition to the online survey, Stacie is also looking for women to share their stories in greater detail for the book; if you are interested, please email Stacie.

On behalf of Stacie, thanks for your support!

Finalists Announced: Stevie Awards - Women In Business

Hi Everyone, The finalists were announced recently for the 6th Annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, an international competition recognizing the accomplishments of outstanding women executives, business owners, and the organizations they run.

"More than 1,100 nominations were submitted this year for consideration in 54 categories by organizations in Australia, Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.A.

Among the leading contenders with multiple Finalists are The Bioengineering Group, Salem, Massachusetts; Eulogy! Public Relations, London, UK; PetRays Veterinary Telemedicine Consultants, The Woodlands, Texas; and Wipro Technologies, Bangalore, India and East Brunswick, New Jersey.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards. The Stevies are widely considered to be the world’s premier business awards.

The final results of the 6th annual competition will be announced at an awards dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on Friday, November 13. Tickets for the event are now on sale and can be purchased at www.stevieawards.com/women."

Click here to see the list of finalists. Get inspired. Maybe enter your own business next year!

Scholarships Available To The Families In Global Transition (FIGT) Conference 2010

Hi Everyone, If you are a student or a self-sponsored non-profit representative, you are invited to apply for a full or partial David C. Pollock Scholarship to the upcoming 2010 Families in Global Transition (FIGT) Conference in Houston, Texas, March 4-10.

The deadline for applications is 15 December 2009. Please click here for more information. The FIGT conference is always a wonderful chance to learn and network with others in this arena. Good luck to any Expat Women member who applies for the scholarships! Andrea

Inspiring Your Success Abroad: Talks In The Netherlands

Photo: Stephanie Ward and Andrea Martins

Hi Everyone, My apologies for not writing for so long. It's funny - sometimes you have to travel half way around the world, just to find time to do things that you have not found time to do at home. Anyway...

A big thanks to everyone who attended my Inspiring Your Success Abroad: A Presentation For Expatriate Women talk yesterday at Expatica's 'I Am Not A Tourist Fair' in Amsterdam. And a very special welcome and thank you to all of our new members that signed up at our Expat Women stand yesterday!

If you are in The Netherlands and would like to hear my Inspiring Your Success Abroad presentation, please come along this Thursday night, 29th October, to the EPWN Amsterdam meeting (click here for details) or the Connecting Women meeting in The Hague next Monday night, 2 November. Thanks for your support! Andrea

Baby Survives Fall Under Train In Pram

Hi Everyone, This is not expat-related, but I had to share it anyway. They say Oprah wants the first interview with the mother, so Oprah/her team must be fascinated by it as well...

Baby Survives Fall Under Train In Pram

Have you seen the YouTube videos (here's one of them, on a news site today in Australia) about the baby in Melbourne, Australia, whose pram accidentally rolled onto the train tracks (when the mother was doing something normal like adjusting her trousers)? The baby's pram was hit by the oncoming train (which carried the baby under the train for 30 metres), but the baby boy survived and apparently only received a small bump on the head. Astonishing!

I am sure the mother is counting her blessings. Thank goodness the baby is okay. Not sure the mother will recover for a while, but I hope she does soon, so she can enjoy every day she's been given as a second-chance with her son.

Andrea




ps. Here is another news site's version:
Baby In Tram Hit By Train, Then Goes Home
.

Congratulations Angela Draskovic & The Zoë Alliance

Hello Everyone, Recently I saw in a Silver Lining Limited newsletter that Angela Draskovic won an entrepreneurial award for the Zoë Alliance. I wrote to Angela to ask if she was an expat or had spent any significant time abroad as an expat, so we could interview her as a Success Story for our site. Unfortunately she's not nor has she ever been an expat, but I wanted to give her/the Zoë Alliance a quick congratulatory shout-out here anyway...

Zoë Alliance

"ZOË is the Greek word for abundant and flourishing LIFE. ZOË Alliance Inc. is a social enterprise established with one aim – to Empower People for Life. Specifically ZOË Alliance helps people and companies transform impoverished villages with their regular purchases.

We believe that people in developing nations are no different than we are in that they desire dignity, the opportunity to work, provide for their families, and invest in their communities. They are different in that they face significant challenges socially, economically, geographically, and politically that make it impossible for them to break the cycle of poverty without strategic and respectful support and intervention.

We stretch each dollar spent on gifts 3 ways to:

1. Purchase a gift or source a product that tells the story of hope;
2. Create jobs with dignity in villages; and
3. Donate funds toward a school or village project.

Our model harnesses the power of the over $849.7 billion dollars we spend and donate each year and turns it into a new way to approach international development. A respectful, market driven, and sustainable way to alleviate poverty that gives much more than a donation."

Congratulations Angela and the Zoë Alliance. Thanks for helping to redirect our spending power - and in turn - helping to make our world a better place.

English Language Jobs In Europe

Hi Everyone, I was reminded tonight of a website that might be useful to any of you seeking English-language jobs in Europe: EnglishLanguageJobs.com.

We already had their link on our Jobs and Careers page, but thought we would give it a quick shout-out anyway... and if anyone has used this site, please do share your experiences.

Many thanks - enjoy your day/evening! Andrea

Expat Expo, Lucerne, Switzerland, Sunday November 15

Hi Everyone, The Expat Expo group, who held last weekend their expo in Geneva, are hosting their next expo in Lucerne (for the first time), at the Museum of Transport, Lidostrasse 5, on Sunday November 15, 11am-5pm.

They will have 85 exhibitors, so if you are in/near Lucerne, you might like to drop in and take a look.

Living in Belgium? Visit Expatica's 'I Am Not A Tourist Fair', Brussels, October 18

Hi Everyone, If you are in/around/moving to Belgium, you might like to rearrange this weekend's plans to be at the Espace53 (Autoworld Museum), Cinquantenaire, Brussels, this coming Sunday, October 18, between 11am and 6pm...

"The "i am not a tourist" Fair [in Brussels] will have a range of valuable resources from previous European fairs, but with extra attention given to lifestyle and community related resources for the experienced expat. Those of you who already have your bearings in Belgium can therefore enjoy as many of the features as the newcomers, including food, entertainment and networking fixtures. A number of artists and photographers, Belgian and international, will also be exhibiting their work.

So even if you have lived in Belgium for some time already, do come to our fair to discover what's going on in the rest of the expat community and learn more about your adopted country. Our fair is all about enriching your life abroad, whether you are new to the expat lifestyle or an experienced hand!"

Download your free ticket(s) here.

Reminder: I Am Not A Tourist Fair, October 25, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Hi Everyone, A reminder that if you are living in (or considering living in) The Netherlands, Expatica's sixth annual I Am Not A Tourist Fair is the place for you to be on October 25.

I am actually going to be at the Fair this year, so mark your calendars and come and say 'hi' to me at our Expat Women stand. Andrea :-)

"Don’t miss the “i am not a tourist” Fair on Sunday, 25 October. It’s all an expat needs to make the most of life in the Netherlands.Whether you have lived here for 10 days or 10 years, make sure you keep Sunday the 25 October free on your calendars for this once-a-year opportunity.

“i am not a tourist” 2009 will be an interactive extravaganza of experts and companies specialising in expatriate life, workshops, networking, and entertainment.We’ve invited 90 exhibitors to offer you a helping hand. Have a chat with a recruitment agent, get a word of advice on house hunting, compare universities for your master’s degree, join a group or club and mix with thousands of other internationals.

Get invaluable information about surviving abroad, attend seminars on meditation, landing that perfect job or pubic speaking, and enjoy superb entertainment and networking opportunities.

The programme includes workshops on whiskey tasting, salsa, improv comedy, and chocolate and sushi making as well as on-stage performances by standup comedians and salsa dancers. Bring the family along, as we have a dedicated kids corner!

Tickets are FREE when ordered online at: www.expatica.com/iamnotatourist."

Reminder: 12th Annual Talent Mgt Summit, Chicago, US, October 26-28, 2009

Hi Everyone, A reminder that if your job is HR/talent management/ recruitment, do not forget to check out the annual (US) Talent Management Summit is coming up in two weeks 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

Best And Worst Cell Phones For Radiation

Hi Everyone, Almost every expat I know uses a cell phone, so here's an interesting article from the Environmental Working Group which spells out which are the best and worst, in terms of radiation.

It also includes a link where you can see the full list of cell phones and their ratings, plus the ability to search for your particular phone in the search box down the right of the page. Andrea

Looking For An Expat Woman In Eastern Europe For A French TV Documentary

Hi Everyone, Marie Laure Pelosse is a French journalist and director working in Paris with the producer Murielle Levy on a documentary series (10 movies of 26 minutes each) for the French TV channel called 'Voyage'. They have already made eight of these films and they are currently searching for the last person to be part of the series...

"The series is about people who live outside their native land and particularly (but not exclusively) about people who have decided to achieve a personal project in one of these fields: ecology, sustainable development, fair trade and so on.

We follow each of these ten persons (French and foreigners) by slipping into their footsteps and focusing the camera on what they see, what they do and where they live, to discover their far-off horizons.

We would like to find a woman (ideally, other than French) living in an East-European country or in Croatia, Ukraine, Armenia... if possible a woman who has planned to stay in this country for a long time.

If you can help us, please email myself (before Sunday) or Murielle, as soon as possible. Many thanks, Marie Laure."
+33 (0) 1 43 47 30 53, +33 (0) 6 87 23 58 62."

Would Your Company Like To Participate In The Global Relocation Trends Survey?

Hi Everyone, If you are in the global mobility industry, you would probably already be aware of this very well-respected survey. If your company does not already participate, here is their chance...

"Woodridge, Ill., Oct. 7, 2009 - Brookfield Global Relocation Services today invited companies worldwide to participate in its acclaimed annual "Global Relocation Trends Survey."

Now in its 15th year, the survey has become the definitive study of companies' global employee-relocation practices, mobility policies and trends. The survey's longevity and deep reservoir of data enable Brookfield Global Relocation Services to compare each year's results with historical averages, which help gauge the relative importance of annual variations. Brookfield Global Relocation Services will release the results of the annual survey, along with its analysis, in early 2010. The questionnaire for the upcoming survey is available here. All participants will receive a complimentary copy of the survey results.

...Brookfield Global Relocation Services is a leading, full-service outsourcing partner of end-to-end employee relocation, assignment management and mobility consulting services for multinational organizations worldwide. The company serves corporations throughout the world and manages more than $2 billion in relocation-related transactions."

Research Participants Needed: International Assignment Management In Asia (Western Females)

Hi Everyone, Researcher Scott A. Wilson (GPHR, SPHR, PhD Candidate) is looking for some willing research participants please...

"Welcome to the launch point for a study into trends in the management of international assignments. This link provides access to the web page introduction to the study, delivers the informed consent process, and offers instructions for participation.

The title of the study is, International Assignment Management in Asia: A Study of the Relation between Social Support Mechanisms and Assignment Success among Western Females.

The objective of this study is to measure the affect of social support mechanisms on the success of Western females on Asian expatriate assignments. At the request of a participant upon completion of the research, a copy of the study’s executive summary will be sent forward to reveal the findings; however, participants are considered volunteers.

Your participation will involve the completion of 70 survey questions accessed through the link located at the bottom of this page. Survey completion time will take approximately 20 minutes.

...participation in the study is voluntary; you may discontinue study participation at any time for any reason should you feel uncomfortable with or fail to understand a question.

To gain access to the survey, please click on the following link:
https://survey.careermapping.com/CCAI/Wilson/2009IAM.htm [and then click "Next" at the very bottom of the page]"

Thank you!

WIN Conference kicks off in Prague, Czech Republic, October 8-10

Hi Everyone, If you are in or around Prague, you can still make it to the WIN Conference today, if you high-tail it down to the venue:

Hilton Prague Hotel
Pobrežní 1, 18600 Prague 8, Czech Republic
Tel: +420 224 841 111 +420 224 841 111

The main part of the conference starts on Thursday morning, October 8. Here is the WIN Conference agenda for this year. The WIN team are always lovely and I'm pretty sure they would love to welcome any latecomers.

Here are some of the confirmed attendees:

Alison Smale, Executive Editor, International Herald Tribune.
Lyly Rojas, Humanitarian, University Professor, Consultant, Speaker, Writer.
Umran Beba, SEE Region President, PepsiCo.
Sally Khallash Bengtsen, Futurist, Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies.
George Kohlrieser, Professor, IMD.
Elin Hurvenes, Founder and Chairman, Professional Boards Forum.
Bridget van Kralingen, GM, Global Business Services Northeast Europe, IBM.
Nigel Nicholson, Professor, London Business School.
Lorella Zanardo, Founder and General Manager, Sportgate.
Susanne Heis, VP and GM Imaging & Printing Group MEMA, Hewlett-Packard.
Michael Kimmel, Sociologist and Author, State University of New York.
Amany Asfour, President, Egyptian Business Women Association.
Marguerite ’Maggy’ Barankitse, Humanitarian Worker and Founder Maison Shalom, Burundi (House of Peace).
Danica Purg, President, IEDC-Bled School of Management.
Ina Praetorius, Postpatriarchal thinker.
Silvia Badgadli – Professor, SDA Bocconi School of Business.
Jane Gilson, General Manager, Microsoft Czech Republic.
Josefine van Zanten, Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion, Shell International.
Diana Baker, pianist and composer.
Hassina Sherjan, Founder and President, Boumi Company.
Angela Nelissen, Sales Director HPC, Unilever Germany.
Rebecca Shambaugh, President and CEO, Shambaugh Leadership.
Syble Solomon, Founder, LIfeWise & Money Habitudes.
Miha Pogacnik, Violinist, Entrepreneur, Founder IDRIART, Cultural Ambassador.

Go and enjoy meeting a great bunch of wonderful women, like yourself!

5 Steps To Launching An International Job Search

Hello Everyone, Here's a quick link to Susan Musich's recent Passport Career blog post entitled 5 Steps To Launching An International Job Search. Here are her main headings (aka pieces of advice):

1. Access local resources;
2. Find out the restrictions and permissions for working in the destination country;
3. Identify organizations to research for possible job leads and make contacts there;
4. Learn the business etiquette and communication culture for your new country; and
5. Create a networking resume and organize important career-related papers that may be requested.

If you are interested, please take a look at Susan's blog to see the details under each heading. Thanks.

Military Brats Research

Hello Everyone, Following on from a recent interview we did with Donna Musil, producer of the Kris Kristofferson-narrated DVD Brats: Our Journey Home...

We wanted to share with you the news that last week, researcher Codi Schale (University of Missouri, Kansas City) released her (159-page) dissertation entitled Military Brats: Predictors of Adult Relationship Attachments and is inviting any interested parties to request a copy by emailing Codi directly here. Thanks.

Reminder: Expat Eco Expo, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 17-18

Hi Everyone, Just a reminder if you are in (or moving to KL) that if you have not registered for the upcoming Expat Eco Expo '09, you can do so here today!

The event will take place on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th October 2009, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

The Expo is being run by Tri-Concepts Sdn Bhd - the group that publishes The Expat Magazine (Malaysia's leading monthly magazine for expats, that offers free subscriptions here) and numerous other publications, as well as maintains a host of websites (including ExpatKL.com, MM2H.com, and DineMalaysia.com) and memberships that cater to the needs of resident expats and promote Malaysia internationally.

If you go to the Expo, please call in and say hi at the Expat Women stand. :-)

Americans Suffering Domestic Violence Abroad: Information Sessions in Europe

Hi Everyone, If you are suffering, think you know someone who is suffering, or if you just want to volunteer to help, read on to find out more about an upcoming round of informational talks in Europe by the AODVC...

"The Americans Overseas Domestic Violence Crisis Center (AODVC), an American-based nonprofit that provides services to Americans experiencing domestic violence while residing in foreign countries, in collaboration with the Ending Violence Against Women Task Force of the Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas (FAWCO), would like to extend a warm welcome and invite you to join us for one of our 2009 informational sessions on the issues that face Americans overseas experiencing domestic violence.

These sessions will be held as the first part of a program to train volunteer outreach ambassadors; locations and dates of these meetings are as follows:
London, October 17
Amsterdam, October 20
Frankfurt, October 24
Copenhagen, October 27
Paris, October 30
Geneva, November 2

The sessions will begin at 9:30 a.m. and will end at 11:45 a.m. Networking with coffee and pastries will begin at 9am. There will be a lunch to follow until 1:00 pm, after which the volunteer ambassador training sessions will begin.

The informational session will consist of a welcome, an introduction to AODVC, a discussion of issues facing the population served, and a briefing from a representative of the local US Embassy or Consulate.

These sessions are part of our Global Campaign to Empower Americans Experiencing Domestic Violence Abroad. We are committed to giving voice to this unheard population of American overseas domestic violence survivors and are excited to embark on this informational program.
Please click here to register for the informational session. For further questions, please contact Brooke Galloway. To see this information online, click here."

**

To read our Success Story interview last year with the remarkable Paula Lucas (aka founder of the Americans Overseas Domestic Violence Crisis Centre - formerly known as the American Domestic Violence Crisis Line), please click here.

Global Workforce Symposium, Chicago, October 7-9

Hi Everyone, If you are in or around Chicago and have not already registered for Worldwide ERC's Global Workforce Symposium, their main sessions start Thursday morning, October 8, so it's not too late to change your mind...

2009 Expat Youth Scholarship Winners

Hi Everyone, You may recall that one of our Expat Women Silver Sponsors, Clements International, was running a fantastic scholarship competition for expat youth. Well, for those who are curious, recently they announced the winners (my apologies for not posting this earlier)...

"Clements International's 2009 Expat Youth Scholarship awarded $10,000 to students age 12-18 of any nationality who have spent at least two years living outside their home country. The theme, Life in a Flying House, is inspired by the idea that students who spend their childhoods moving between different countries and cultures acquire unique life experiences.

The scholarship contest asked expat students to share their experiences of living in a foreign country through an essay (500 words or more) and creative media (photographs, illustrations, paintings, or video). Three winners in each of two age categories (12-15 and 16-18) were selected by a panel of judges from the expatriate community.

Scholarship Winners:
Age 12-15
First Place ($3,000): Julia Goldsby, 12, American Expat in Germany
Second Place ($1,500): Kate Telma, 14, American Expat in Kazakhstan
Third Place ($500): Athena Pierquet, 15, American Expat in France

Age 16-18
First Place ($3,000): Yichen Zhang, 18, Chinese Expat in the U.S.
Second Place ($1,500): Bethany Turley, 17, American Expat in Belgium
Third Place ($500): Natalia Aponte, 18, Peruvian Expat in the U.S.

To view the winning entries and honorable mentions, along with other information about the scholarship, visit here. Download the official (September) press release here.

Since 1947, Clements International has specialized in the insurance needs of expatriates and their families. Visit clements.com for more information."

Congratulations to all of the winners this year!

Expat Women Site Back Up Again

Hi Everyone, After being cut off for about 12 hours, ExpatWomen.com and all our email addresses are now up and running again.

I have a backlog of things from these past few weeks to update you about (here on this blog) and will do so today... or tomorrow...

Have a great day/night! Andrea

Expat Women Website Down Temporarily

Hi Everyone, Just a quick blog post to let you know that we have been the victims of spamming/phishing/whatever you call it, whereby someone has used our site and email accounts to pretend to be from PayPal and has sent emails out to people asking for their personal information. Our website host has shut down our entire site (and all of our email addresses) until the issue can be resolved. Lovely!

Hopefully the issue can be fixed as soon as possible. So sorry for any inconvenience. Andrea.

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.

Expat Women September Home Page

Hi Everyone, We have just uploaded our Expat Women September home page and we invite you to take a look at September's features and interviews:

Success Story
Elizabeth Perelstein
School Choice International
Liz Perelstein founded School Choice International, which now has 90 consultants in 50 locations worldwide. Liz also co–founded the British International School of New York, is a member of the WPO and was a semi–finalist in the 2009 International Women of Influence Awards...
Read more…

Business Idea
Firefly Coaching
Stephanie Ward
Stephanie is an American living in the Netherlands. Her passion for helping people inspired her to start Firefly Coaching, which aims to help small business owners grow their businesses into long–term sustainable enterprises... and have a great life at the same time...
Read more…

Visa Issues?
Top Tips For Getting Your Visa
Mark Johnstone
Ever fancied a life overseas? Well, chances are that you will need a visa. Moving to a new country can be a complex as well as daunting prospect and if there is one thing that can shatter your dream move, it is failing to obtain that all-important visa...
Read more…

Travel Writers
Learn From Lonely Planet Regular...
Celeste Brash
Celeste's travel articles have appeared in Islands Magazine, Voyageur Magazine and she is a regular contributor to the column Travels with Lonely Planet. She has also co-authored over a dozen Lonely Planet books. She lives in Tahiti, French Polynesia...
Read more…

Career Plan B
How Prepared Are You if You Lost Your Job Tomorrow?
Kelly Magowan
When it comes to 21st century employment and security, there is no doubt a healthy mix of pessimism is required. No matter how great you are at what you do, external factors can make us all vulnerable...
Read more…

Expat Confession
Domestic Violence Abroad
Expat Women Girlfriend
Hi. My friend is being beaten by her husband. She belongs to my book group and the other day she burst into tears. Her husband is very stressed at work and apparently drinks a lot and then comes home and gets angry very easily...
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.

Thank you very much and enjoy your September! Andrea

Are You An Innovative Expat Women Entrepreneur?

Hi Everyone, If you are an innovative, expat women entrepreneur who might like to gain some recognition and business exposure by being featured on our site, please pitch yourself (or your friends) to us here and tell us why you/they are fabulous!

3 Things To Remember Please:

(1) Make sure that your/their business idea has not already been covered by one of our previous Business Ideas interviews;

(2) Make sure your/their business has been running for at least six months; and

(3) Do not forget to tell us your/their nationality, current location and contact details.

Many thanks, Everyone! Andrea

Americans Abroad Sought For Radio Roundtable On Healthcare Comparions

Hi Everyone, Chelsea Merz, Producer of The Takeaway, is looking for Americans abroad for a roundtable to discuss how healthcare in the United States compares to other places.

"The Takeaway is the new national morning news program that delivers the news and analysis you need to catch up, start your day, and prepare for what's ahead. Host John Hockenberry, along with the BBC World Service, The New York Times and WGBH Boston, invites listeners every morning to learn more and be part of the American conversation on-air and online..."

If you are interested, please urgently email Chelsea directly. The roundtable is for Friday 28 August 2009. Thanks.

Expat Women: Tell Us Your Stories

Hi Everyone, Now that the Summer holidays are winding down for many of you, we're sure you have plenty of stories to tell. So please help us out by submitting a story to our Stories section. This is a well-read section of our site but we always need more contributions.

If you are not sure what to submit, please jump onto our Story Guidelines page for some direction. Many, many thanks!

Expat Eco Expo Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: October 17-18

Hi Everyone, If you are living in, or thinking of living in Malaysia, mark your calendars to attend the upcoming Expat Eco Expo '09.

The big event will take place on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th October 2009, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

The Expo is being run by Tri-Concepts Sdn Bhd - the group that publishes The Expat Magazine (Malaysia's leading monthly magazine for expats, that offers free subscriptions here) and numerous other publications, as well as maintains a host of websites (including ExpatKL.com, MM2H.com, and DineMalaysia.com) and memberships that cater to the needs of resident expats and promote Malaysia internationally.

I am excited to be part of the exhibition this year! If you go to the Expo, please call in and say hi at the Expat Women stand. Thanks. :-)

Leman Expat Fair - Switzerland

Hi Everyone, The Léman Expat Fair is coming up on September 27. If you are in Switzerland in the Geneva/Montreux area, you may like to take part. Here are some official words for Expat Women members from Mrs Jos van Megchelen:

"Don’t miss the 3rd edition of the Léman Expat Fair in Morges. 100 exhibitors – businesses, services, schools, organizations, clubs, etc. - will be available to help you integrate fast and easy in the Geneva-Montreux area. Also a lot of information is present for the English speakers already here for a longer period of time.

Free admission, Free parking and Fun for the kids. Enhance your expat experience and visit the Léman Expat Fair on Sunday September 27 from 10am until 5pm. Thank you!"