Expats in Geneva & the Suisse romande

Finding a job in Geneva (2)

2009-05-09T12:08:00.005+02:00

Are you (or your spouse) looking for a job in Geneva? I just discovered a great website for you: www.jobsingenevacom.

An ebook for expats moving to Switzerland

2009-03-28T11:53:00.003+01:00

The Expats Fribourg website, that was created in order to assist those expatriates moving to the canton of Fribourg, publishes a great resource: the Expat-Guide. It is a free ebook that you can download here. It provides very valuable checklists for all the things to do before and after the move and a wealth of information about living in Switzerland. Although some resources are local and therefore limited to the Fribourg area, most of them are extremely useful for all expats moving to or arriving in Switzerland.

Finding a job in Geneva (01)

2008-11-26T14:26:00.003+01:00

This article is the first of a future series that presents resources for people who are looking for a job in Geneva.

If you want to find a job here either in a NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) or at the United Nations, I recommend the website Ibid Jobs. It is new and will be more developed in the future, but it already provides a wealth of interesting positions, that are easy to sort out according to various criteria.

If you find the ideal job for you in Geneva, please consider one thing. If you are new to Geneva, and its international community, if you are working for an international organization for the 1st time, and even more if you moved from abroad in order to do so, hiring a professional expat and career coach can often make a huge difference in the way you will adapt to the new job and your new life, which in turn helps you achieve professional success more quickly. If you are interested in the coaching services that I provide, please read the articles under Coaching & programs by A+B (Pascale Cotton) in the right column of this blog.

What are the next steps if you want to be coached by me?

2008-11-05T11:56:00.019+01:00

I spend a lot of time answering inquiries about my coaching services, usually with more or less the same questions. Therefore I attempt here to summarize the most usual answers that I provide to these questions.

Where have you been trained as a coach?
What is your academic and professional background?

You'll find (almost) everything on my Linkedin profile.

What kinds of clients do you coach, and in which format?

I coach specifically these target groups:

Expatriate executives or diplomats (individual coaching / group coaching / teleclass programs).
The accompanying spouses of expats or diplomats (group coaching / teleclass programs). Please note that I provide individual coaching to a trailing spouse only if he/she is an expat executive or an entrepreneur.
Multicultural teams, who can also be virtual teams at the same time.
International entrepreneurs / solopreneurs / infopreneurs - mostly in the various areas of information and knowledge transfer: coaches, trainers, writers, speakers, therapists, etc. The coaching takes place in the form of individual coaching. Teleclass programs and coaching groups will be launched in 2009.

Please note that I don't coach persons who don't belong to these categories, but I can sometimes provide a referral to another coach.

You can find information about my coaching groups and teleclass programs on every specific blog. The list of all my blogs can be found at the bottom of every blog, like this one.

Can you send names and contact information of clients and explain on which projects or in which areas you are coaching them, or which results they achieved thanks to the coaching?

Absolutely not!

First of all, I take the ethics in my profession extremely seriously. Therefore I never provide the names and contact information of my clients to anybody for whatever reason. This applies to current and past clients alike. I never talk to anybody either about the individual projects or issues that my clients deal with through my coaching, as they are alsmost always very personal or business sensitive ones. I never do any exception with these ethical principles - otherwise it wouldn't deserve to be called ethics.

Coaching is a very individual process and a coach can be a good fit for one person and not for another one, or for a person dealing with an issue in which the coach is not specialized or knowledgeable enough. On the other hand, I also choose my clients. For example, I don't accept clients whom I consider as not coachable, who deal with issues that are of a therapeutic kind, or who have unrealistic expectations. That is why I request that potentiel clients have 3 individual coaching sessions with me before we sign a coaching contract together (see below). These 3 sessions gives also the potential client the opportunity to test if they like my coaching.

In order to be "coachable", you must be able to set up your own mind as a self-sufficient human being, recognize and accept your own feelings fully, and deal accordingly. This is also another reason why I don't provide the names of my clients. I want to work only with people who don't need external advice to act and move forward.

Coaching is about finding your own solutions, not copying what other people do.

Anyway, as I only want to work with satisfied clients, any client who wants to cancel a coaching or teleclass subscription can do this anytime (see below).

In which languages does the coaching take place?

I totally trilingual French / English / German. I coach my clients mostly in English or French, but I am glad about any new client in German!

Do you provide free coaching sessions or free interviews?

Absolutely not, for many reasons:

I don't need to prove that I am a good coach, as my clients and partners confirm this everyday.
My time is very valuable and I am not interested in spending it with people who cannot afford individual coaching (they can participate in my group programs anyway) or who are not motivated enough to pay for 1, 2 or 3 individual sessions first.
I provide a lot of added value already in the first individual coaching sessions.
I am not desperate to find new individual clients. I want only very few individual clients - but only extremely motivated and competent ones. The rest of my business is focussed on the creation of group programs, e-learning and ebooks.
People who want to get acquainted with me as a coach can read all my 18 blogs and websites and subscribe to my newsletters.
If, after that, they want to experience my coaching "live", they can participate in my free teleconferences, my coaching groups or my teleclass programs.

But if I want to test your individual coaching, what can I do?

It is normal for potential clients to want to test my coaching and if they feel that I am a good fit for them.

At the same time, I select my clients and choose to work only with those who are extremely competent and highly motivated, as I want to work only with people who have the potential to achieve outstanding and long-lasting results quickly.

For all these reasons, I ask the interested persons to subscribe to one invidual coaching session, using the "Buy Now" button on the right of each blog. If both parties, the client and I, are interested in continuing to work together after this initial session, I ask the potential client to subscribe to 2 further individual sessions. At the end of the 3rd session, I'll propose a contract to the person or not, and this person will be free to sign up or not. It is a bidirectional testing process.

Another way to get acquainted with me as a coach, and as an expert in expatriation, intercultural communication and the various aspects of entrepreneurship and marketing, you have the possibility to participate in my teleclasses (for free or for a fee) and coaching groups first.

In the future, as the number of my teleclasses, coaching groups and e-learning programs will grow, I intend not to accept individual clients any more who haven't taken at least one of my group programs first.

How does the coaching take place?

The individual coaching takes place through the telephone, the Internet and an exchange of emails and electronic documents (assessments, questionnaires, ebooks, articles, and various other resources).

The client can choose between the coaching with a webcam, which is particularly useful for people who are very visual or kinesthesic (feelings oriented), and the coaching through a teleconference bridge, which allows to record all the sessions. The clients receives the recordings in MP3 quality a few hours after the session, without any additional cost. This is particularly useful for auditory people, or for clients with very challenging issues (for ex. entrepreneurs), who want to hear the sessions again in order to get all the "juice" out of the sessions.

Coaching is not about quick fixes, but a way to achieve deep and long-lasting results, even if the first positive results usually appear within the first weeks. Therefore I can accept only clients who, from the beginning, are willing to invest in at least 6 to 12 months of coaching. The coaching contract is on a subscription basis and not limited in time. The client and the coach can cancel any time though (see below).

What does the coaching cost?

I provide a few 1-hour teleclasses or "Ask the Expat Coach" teleconferences for free. They are announced on my blogs.

Group coaching and teleclass programs are usually paid on a monthly subscription basis. The fees are always announced together with the program.

The fees for the initial individual sessions can be checked by clicking on the "Buy Now" button on the right side of the relevant blog. They are higher for entrepreneur (see my Expat Entrepreneurs blog).

Individual coaching above the 3 initial sessions is paid on a subcription basis. The monthly fees can be seen by clicking once on the "Payment Plan" button on the right side of each blog.

The fees for the coaching of entrepreneurs are higher than my fees for expatriates and diplomats. It can be found on my Expat Entrepreneurs blog.

Please don't subscribe to a payment plan for individual long-term coaching before the end of the 3rd initial session and before we have agreed upon a contract together!!!

All the coaching fees are paid exclusively per credit card on Paypal, which is a totally secured, international payment system. Paypal also manages the monthly payments on a subscription basis.

Please note that different conditions apply to the coaching for corporations (coaching of expatriates and multicultural virtual teams).

Can I cancel before the end once I signed up a coaching contract, or subscribed to a group coaching or teleclass program?

Absolutely, because I want to work exclusively with extremely motivated and highly satisfied clients anyway. You can cancel your coaching subscription on PayPal anytime. Please note that if you recently paid for a month in advance, I'll provide the remaining paid sessions if you want them. Otherwise, they cannot be reimbursed.

This cancelling policy applies not only to invididual coaching subscriptions, but also to teleclass or group coaching programs.

I am eager to start individual coaching with you as soon as possible. I have read everything above. Now, what are the next steps?

If you belong to the target categories of clients that I mentioned, the next step is to subscribe to your first initial test session using the 'Buy Now" button on the relevant blog.

I also ask test clients to send, prior to the initial session, an email to me answering these questions:

What are the 3 main goals that you want to reach within the next 1 or 2 years, or the 3 key areas of your life that you are currently trying to develop or improve? If you have more than 3, please choose the 3 that would make the most difference in your life or in your business once you have reached a positive outcome.
Which steps or actions are you already undertaking in order to achieve these results?
In which areas or for which specific steps (among the above) are you stuck or do you think you need my coaching most urgently?
Once you have reached these 3 main goals or objectives, or improved these 3 areas, which difference will it make in your life or business? What will you see, how will you feel, what will you do?

Please send your résumé, links to your websites or blogs, and an electronic picture, together with your answers to these questions.

Please note that this article applies to invididual clients, not to organizations or corporations who want to hire me as a coach.

The Happy Hours of the Geneva Welcome Centre

2008-10-26T10:08:00.000+01:00

The Happy Hours of the Geneva Welcome Centre take place twice a month:

Every 1st Thursday of the month in a local bar or pub, from 6 pm on.
Every 3rd Thursday of the month in the villa "La Pastorale", right in front of the Intercontinental hotel, close to the international organizations (beginning also at 6 pm). In the summer time, the Happy Hours take place in the beautiful garden. There is often a country theme for the evening, with the possibility to order a local dish in advance. Some evenings are also focussed on musics and dancing, with a DJ or a band.

The setting is always relaxed and informal, with a warm welcome from the team of the Welcome Centre. It is a great place to go if you want to meet interesting people. Most of them work for international organizations or NGOs.

If there is a specific theme for the evening, please consult the website and register from there in order to order the local dishes. Otherwise, no registration is required. You can also bring your (international) friends!

New version of the "Know-it-all Passport" just published

2008-08-28T14:17:00.004+02:00

The new and updated version of the "Know-it-all Passport" for 2009/2010 was just released.

This is "THE" book to buy if you arrived recently in Geneva or Lausanne area. If you have been here for a long time, the book is very handy and useful, for example in order to find out many activities, shopping places, restaurants, services etc. that you didn't know. It contains a wealth of useful information in a well organized manner.

You can order it on the Knowt-it-all website or buy it for example in the Payot and Off-the-Shelf bookshops in Geneva or Lausanne.

What kinds of results do my coaching clients achieve?

2008-07-24T15:21:00.010+02:00

I have different types of clients:

expatriates, diplomats and their trailing spouse
international or mobile entrepreneurs (who are often expats wanting to become self-employed in their new country, or expat spouses).

I have helped my expatriate or diplomat clients achieve consistently the following results over the years:

prepare for and manage the physical and psychological aspects of the relocation, the transition into a new culture (culture shock) and the integration process - together with their family
become immediately efficient at work in the crucial but stressful first 100 days
master the challenges of intercultural communication and leadership
lead multicultural and remote (virtual) teams successfully
learn the new language quickly and efficiently by using their own learning styles and NLP techniques
master the hurdles of intercultural communication at work (colleagues and team) and in private
create and develop new professional and social networks, make friends quickly with local people & maintain long-distance relationships (private and professional ones)
maintain a solid personal foundation despite the stress of coping with new environments, a new lifestyle, new relationships and a foreign culture
develop a good work/life balance an, in particular, find the time to discover the new country and culture
master the different phases of culture shock and integration
plan the next steps of their international career
find a new job abroad or at home
manage the often ignored difficulties of impatriation.

My entrepreneurial clients are mostly self-employed service professionals who are creating, or have already created, their own business based on their specific expertise, in the area of information management and knowledge transfer. They are trainers, consultants, coaches, writers, speakers, etc. Although working usually from their home-office, they develop their business internationally, based on the Internet, e-marketing and the NTIC (New Technologies of Information and Communication).

I help them

make the shift from being self-employed and trading their time for money, to being successful business owners
develop their business around their own values, their vision and their mission
identify their unique expertise and specialities
define 1 or 2 specific niches in which they become the absolute experts and which bring high revenues
create and develop programs and info-products, for ex. ebooks, teleclasses or teleconferences, audio and video recordings, seminars and events, etc.
identify and apply systematically the marketing methods that are the most appropriate to sell their products and services, and fit their personality
leverage everything they do in order to develop multiple streams of income
multiply their revenues through residual (recurring) income and even through passive income
develop their business as a "portable business" that can be run from anywhere in the world
automate, delegate or delete, in order to bring their business to the next level - so that it can ultimately be run and provide revenues even without them
use strategic partnerships to develop their business
develop an international strategy in order to leverage what they do in different languages.

I strongly believe that a service business can be successful only if it is based on excellence in the following areas:

skills and expertise of the business owner
management (even a home-business requires strong management skills)
technique (Internet, organization of virtual trainings and events, use of software, etc.)
marketing (including all the new methods of marketing that are constantly being created, like social networks).

Too many service professionals make the mistake to believe that their personal skills and expertise are sufficient to become successful in areas where they don't event need to make investments, as they already own a computer, a telephone, a printer and a broadband Internet access. My coaching aims at developing fully the potential of the 3 other crucial elements: management, technique and marketing.

Last but not least, having an excellent work/life balance and sound personal foundations is also crucial for success as an entrepreneur. I also help my entrepreneur clients achieve this through my coaching.

Generally speaking, my clients also report a number of untangible and not measurable benefits as the result of the coaching: balance and fitness, concentration and focus on their goals, self-esteem, physical and mental dynamics, replacement of limiting beliefs by supporting ones, improvement of personal and business relationships and communication, just to name a few.

Geneva Lunch

2008-07-21T07:47:00.000+02:00

GenevaLunch is a free online magazine for the international community in Geneva. Its editor is Ellen Wallace, a British journalist living in the Geneva area. Written by professional journalists, GenevaLunch offers not only news, but also interviews, travel articles, community blogs, a photo album and several in-depth guides about the region.

Lake Geneva on the crest of a business wave

2008-06-11T11:55:00.002+02:00

"The Lake Geneva region is undergoing an unprecedented business boom, outperforming the Zurich region over the past ten years, says a Swiss research group."...

If you want to read the whole article, please click here.

Events with authors at the Off-the-Shelf bookshop

2008-05-24T13:43:00.000+02:00

The new Off-the-Shelf bookshop in Geneva has been organizing events with authors for some time in Geneva. You can read the program here.

Interactive dialogue with the readers

2008-05-23T12:47:00.000+02:00

For the last few months, I have been spending quite a lot of time creating this blog and writing articles. But a blog is also an interactive too. Therefore, all my readers are kindly invited to use the "comment" function on this blog, below this article, in order to express their impressions, wishes, etc. Are there in particular any specific subjects that you would like to be covered or developed?

Thanks a lot and "see" you soon on this blog!

What is a "portable business"?

2008-05-15T11:29:00.000+02:00

I published recently an article about "What is a "portable business"?" on my blog Expat & Mobile Entrepreneurs. You can read the article here...

Do you like skiing, hiking or cycling?

2008-05-05T13:58:00.000+02:00

Here are some great clubs or one-person companies in or around Geneva who organize skiing, hiking and cycling groups:

Of course, you'll have to wait until the next winter in order to register for the 2009 skiing season at the Cern Ski Club. But the three other organizations organize hiking tours from spring to automn.

Newsletter and blog for expats in Switzerland

2008-04-16T13:09:00.004+02:00

Maybe you are not aware that I also run a blog called Expats in Switzerland. You can also subscribe to the free newsletter.

Glocals

2008-03-26T11:17:00.000+01:00

Glocals is "a community of globals and locals". It started in 2006 as GenevaOnline and was so successful that the concept was extended to other big cities in Switzerland, in particular Zurich. It is the perfect place to look at if you want to find new activities for the next week-end in and around Geneva, or to announce an event that you organize, because it focuses mostly on "offline" activities - i.e. in the real world. For more information, please click here.

New and original expat survey

2008-03-01T15:33:00.001+01:00

I invite all my expatriate readers to participate in the survey that is mentioned below. The article is written by Kate Goggin, writer and editor, whose website is here.

Participate in our survey: At Home Abroad: How Design and Architecture Influence Overseas Living in association with the Interchange Institute.

Do you live overseas currently? Does your international home measure up to your expectations? Whether you live in a castle, a cottage, a hut or a hovel, I am interested in your story - how you made a home in a faraway land and how it affects your work, your family and your life.

Take part in this exciting new survey by The Interchange Institute.

The results will help us:

Document the importance of home environments to overseas living.

Examine the relationship between housing choices and expat assignment success.

Desired participants:

Anyone who is currently living outside his/her passport country for either his/her work or education, or for a spouse's/partner's work/education is eligible.

We encourage both spouses/partners to complete the survey if possible. They will need different computers to do so, however.

Help us understand:

How you chose and settled into your home.

Whether and how your home affects your overall expatriate experience.

How the layout, design, and/or furnishings of your home affect your family’s interaction.

The survey takes about 20 minutes. To show our appreciation, we will award a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate to one participant for every 50 people who complete the entire survey.

Questions? Contact: Dr. Anne Copeland, The Interchange Institute, copeland@interchangeinstitute.org (617) 566-2227 (USA) or Kate Goggin, kate@kategoggin.com.

Photo submissions are encouraged. Please contact me for more details.

View home-related clips on international housing and antiquing in Europe.

Survey about the relocation issues of expatriate families

2008-02-20T12:40:00.005+01:00

Robin Pascoe, "the Expat Expert" who published several books about expatriates, created a survey about the relocation issues of expat families and the support that they received.

I can only encourage you to take the survey, as it will provide valuable insights from the perspective of the families.

I quote 2 paragraphs from the web page about the survey:

"There are numerous relocation surveys that examine the challenges of relocation in order to help companies and sponsoring organizations to better develop relocation policies. But, with very few exceptions, they neglect to go straight to the source—the family—for input.

Family Matters! will fill this gap by sampling only the accompanying spouse, the working partner in his/her capacity as spouse or parent, and any high school children in the family. The entire family can do this survey with lots of room provided to give us your opinions. As we are only offering one survey (instead of multiple surveys depending on where you fit in the family) do keep in mind that some questions may not apply to you. Just skip them.

In recognition of your contribution to this important exercise, after we have collected all the responses, we will be making a donation of $2.00 CDN for each survey to a very well-respected Canadian organization which helps families in Africa called The Stephen Lewis Foundation which can be found at www.stephenlewisfoundation.org."

at any time to do the survey

Expat Programs Limited in Vaud Schools

2008-02-19T14:04:00.000+01:00

The Tribune de Genève published recently an article about specific schooling systems for the children of expatriates in the Canton de Vaud. It states that "The canton’s education department has no plans to provide special programs tailored to the needs of Anglophones in the Lake Geneva region." Due to the development of multinational companies in the region, the private schools, who provide tradionally schooling that corresponds to the needs of expatriates, are full. They cannot expand further due to the shortage of land in the region. On the other hand, the public school system cannot provide specific programs for expat children in English, due to the lack of bilingual teachers, and because their number doesn't reach the critical mass. It could create problems for multinational companies considering relocating to the Canton de Vaud, if their managers cannot find an appropriate school system for their children.

Expat interview: Nicole in Lausanne

2008-01-28T17:50:00.000+01:00

Nicole, an expat and secretary in Lausanne, is interviewed on the "Expat Interviews" website. You can read the interview here.

For expat entrepreneurs in Switzerland (in or near Geneva)

2008-01-15T12:30:00.000+01:00

If you are an expatriate entrepreneur in Switzerland (in Geneva or the Suisse romande), or are interested in creating your own business in this country, I published some interesting information in my blog "Expat & mobile entrepreneurs".

Geneva: a town for writers?

2008-01-02T15:33:00.000+01:00

Geneva has a long tradition of welcoming writers, like Lord Byron and many others. It seems that there are also many writers among the English-speaking expat community in Geneva. For example, the Geneva Writers' Group has more that 100 members from 26 countries. It also organizes conferences. One of their committee members, Alistair Scott, was interviewed on the Tribune de Genève (in English!). For French-speaking people who would rather participate in a writing group or other activities around writing in French, the Ville de Genève provides an impressive list of resources.

Geneva and Switzerland in the news

2007-12-11T21:53:00.000+01:00

I just added a new feature in the right column of this blog: Geneva and Lausanne in the news. It displays automatically a few lines from relevant articles, that you can then read by clicking on the link. As most of them are in French, it is a great opportunity to improve your language skills if you are a new expat!

Theatre in English in and around Geneva

2007-12-10T15:29:00.000+01:00

One of the wonderful things in Geneva is that there are so many opportunities for expats that you keep discovering new ones.

I just discovered the website of Theatre in English. Here is how the administrators present it:

"This is your guide to shows by the two English-speaking amateur theatre groups in Geneva, Switzerland/Voici votre guide des spectacles donnés par et pour les anglophones dans la région de Genève - pièces de théâtre, comédies musicales, operettes.

The Geneva English Drama Society (GEDS) provides a diverse theatre programme with a wide variety of styles and periods. A typical season includes 3-4 full stage productions and 20 fortnightly staged playreadings, plus workshops and social events.

The Geneva Amateur Operatic Society(GAOS ) offers you a traditional British pantomime each winter, its Spring production is an operetta or musical comedy, while the type of show produced in the Summer varies from year to year. In the Autumn The Really Youthful Group performs a musical show entirely organised by its young members."

Christmas decoration, advent calendars, presents etc.

2007-11-30T11:34:00.001+01:00

If you spend the Christmas holidays in a foreign country, maybe you miss the special atmosphere and the Christmas decorations back home - or you don't know how to send the right Christmas presents conveniently to your friends and relatives. I just received the Christmas catalogue of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and I find it is the perfect resource, not only for American expats! You can find advent calendars representing for ex. the Museum, a popup book presenting the holiday season in New York, wonderful Christmas ornaments and cards, jewellery and all kinds of presents for adults and children. You can have the catalogue sent to you, or you can click on the title in order to be redirected to the website.

Books about Geneva and Switzerland

2007-11-29T20:41:00.001+01:00

I added recently a few books about Geneva and Switzerland, which are particularly useful for expats arriving in Geneva. Each book that is presented has a direct link to www.amazon.com, except the "Know-it-all Passport", which has its own link above. Please have a look at the column on the right side of this blog! Some of them could even be the perfect present for your expat friends.

Are you an expat in Geneva AND an entrepreneur?

2007-10-25T15:14:00.000+02:00

A new Meetup event is being created in Geneva: the Geneva Entrepeneur Meetup group. Please find below a description of the group from the Meetup website. As I plan to attend the first meeting next week, on Tuesday 30 October, I'll write more about it afterwards. If you wish to come, please click on the title or on the button on the right of this blog (downwards). There is also another Meetup specifically for high-tech entrepreneurs (biotech, Internet, electronics & telecommunications, etc.) and their partners (business angels, venture capitalists), which I attend as much as I can. It is called the Geneva Open Coffee Meetup Group. It is really amazing to notice how many bright people from the whole world are attracted to Geneva, or want to stay here after a short-term expat assignment, and have a high potential and great ideas in order to create their own business here.

"MEETUP, STARTUP.
Networking for people who are involved in a startup, running a business or looking to invest in one. Chill, chat. Expand your environment.
WHO ?
To those who are starting up, running or looking to invest, or would like to be in the future. Corporates with skills welcome.
FIELDS
No rules, the variety is great to get discussions going.
FEEL
Friendly. Laid-back. Conversational. Unstructured. Enjoyable. Open to those with ideas to share.
ORG
Monthly"