Expats in Zurich

Finding a job in Zurich

2009-05-09T11:20:00.001+01:00

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

An ebook for expats moving to Switzerland

2009-03-28T10:54:00.001Z

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.

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

2008-11-23T10:19:00.000Z

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.

What kind of results do my expatriate clients achieve through my coaching?

2008-07-24T14:14:00.012+01:00

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.

The Top 10 Expat Tips

2008-06-23T21:04:00.000+01:00

"The German Way" published "The Top 10 Expat Tips" which are quite good, although I cannot understand why they are in the reverse order... Although they were published originally for expats in Germany, they are certainly useful for expats in Zurich too!

Interactive dialogue with the readers

2008-05-21T11:54:00.000+01:00

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!

Newsletter and blog for expats in Switzerland

2008-05-05T12:11:00.000+01:00

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

What is a "portable business"?

2008-04-17T16:35:00.002+01:00

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

Glocals

2008-03-26T10:14:00.001Z

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, 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

2008-03-01T14:27:00.000Z

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

2008-02-20T11:51:00.003Z

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

Zurich is "The best place in the world to work"

2008-02-14T12:17:00.001Z

This article about Zurich as the best place in the world for expatriates is a bit old (10 April 2006) but it remains interesting. You can find the original article by Matthew Allen on swissinfo.ch here.

"Zurich is the "best place in the world to work"

Zurich is the best city in the world for expatriates to work, according to two recent polls which hail the city's infrastructure and banking services.

Geneva ranks second in the annual Mercer Human Resource Consulting study, while the Greater Zurich Area was runner-up in the best European business location competition, of Foreign Direct Investment magazine.

Zurich achieved high marks for its stable political environment, international relations, banking and health services in the Mercer poll, which compared 51 cities in 39 categories. The city lagged behind some others for airport and recreation facilities.

Both cities improved their scores from the same survey in 2005 and retained the same positions, as did Swiss capital Bern which tied with Sydney for ninth place.

Foreign Direct Investment rated Zurich as the best business location among 89 European rivals thanks particularly to its IT and telecommunications infrastructure.

A separate City of the Future survey by the same magazine hailed Zurich as the best place in Switzerland for transportation and quality of life, among other categories.

Exceptional

"This does not surprise me because the quality of life and infrastructure in Zurich are exceptional by any country's standards," said Robert Baldwin, spokesman for Network Relocation, a company that helps expatriates settle in Switzerland.

"The international schooling system is great, getting to work on public transport is stress-free and anyone can feel safe walking around late at night.

"There is no such thing as a rough area in the city. No matter what building you live in, people take pride in it so you don't see the decay evident in other cities around the world."

Pia Niskanen of the British/Swiss Chamber of Commerce echoed Baldwin, saying the only gripe some British workers have about Zurich is the language barrier.

Close to nature

"Zurich is a small city making it easy to access facilities. It is also close to nature and our British members love the mountains being so nearby," she said.

"Our members rate Zurich and Geneva on pretty much the same level. The other Swiss cities lag behind a bit in terms of what they can offer expatriate business people."

Baldwin said one possible reason why Zurich outstripped Geneva as best place for expatriates to work was a cultural one.

"There is a strong Germanic influence in Zurich that you do not find in Geneva. There is a great deal of precision in Zurich which can feel a bit regimented, but it is an awful lot easier to know where you stand," he said.

"There is a big cultural difference in Geneva where they enjoy a bit of Gallic flair. That can also be wonderful, but it does not always fit into the business model.""

swissinfo, Matthew Allen in Zurich

CONTEXT

Canton Zurich has a population of 1.2 million, approximately one-sixth of the total population of Switzerland, while the city itself has around 360,000 inhabitants.

Much of the local population speaks at least one other language than German.

Around 3.7 million people – half the Swiss population – live and work within one hour's drive of Zurich's city centre.

85 of the 100 biggest Swiss companies are headquartered in the Zurich area.

KEY FACTS

Mercer Human Resource Consulting Worldwide Quality of Living survey 2006 (top 10 cities):

Zurich score 108.2

Geneva 108.1

Vancouver 107.7

Vienna 107.5

Auckland 107.3

Dusseldorf 107.2

Frankfurt 107

Munich 106.8

Bern 106.5

Sydney 106.5

Lowest ranked: Baghdad 14.5

Glocals

2008-01-18T19:47:00.000Z

Glocals in "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, or to announce an event that you organize, because it focuses mostly on "offline" activities. For more information, please click here.

Information about the Zurich area

2008-01-02T17:31:00.000Z

The Greater Zurich Area website provides not only valuable information for expats. You can also order some publications, like the Zurich magazine and the Zurich video clip on CD - for free!

For French-speaking expats in Zurich

2007-12-12T16:37:00.000Z

The website of Zurich Accueil provides valuable information for French-speaking people considering an expat assignment in Zurich. It also helps them prepare for the relocation there. Click here.

Books for expats in Zurich

2007-11-30T11:26:00.000Z

I added recently a few books about Zurich and Switzerland, which are particularly useful for expats arriving in Zurich. Each book that is presented has a direct link to www.amazon.com. 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.

Discussion groups for expats in ZH (Yahoogroups)

2007-11-19T17:38:00.000Z

There is a specific Yahoogroup for expats in Zurich. I copy below the description from the main page. If you want to subscribe, just click here:

Click to join Expats-in-Zurich
"Welcome!!!
This is a discussion list and resource center for expats living in & around the canton of Zurich. It is a good place to discuss how we find life here and what Zurich has to offer, plus a great place to meet other expats who share your interests. We are an active group and our members organize many spontaneous events, such as hikes, river rafting, bowling nights, TGIFs at a local pub, German language "practice" groups, book exchanges and a lot more!"

This is another discussion group that focusses specifically on those expats who moved to Geneva with their family:

Click to join Families-in-Zurich

Cool Restaurants in Zurich

2007-11-19T17:07:00.000Z

Here is a book that can surely be very useful to expats in Zurich. Please feel free to add some comments about it below! It is a part of a series of "Cool Restaurants" guides for big cities around the world.

Expats in Zurich

Finding a job in Zurich

An ebook for expats moving to Switzerland

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

What kind of results do my expatriate clients achieve through my coaching?

The Top 10 Expat Tips

Interactive dialogue with the readers

Newsletter and blog for expats in Switzerland

What is a "portable business"?

Glocals

New and original expat survey

Survey about the relocation issues of expatriate families

Zurich is "The best place in the world to work"

"Zurich is the "best place in the world to work"

Exceptional

Close to nature

CONTEXT

KEY FACTS

LINKS

Glocals

Information about the Zurich area

For French-speaking expats in Zurich

Books for expats in Zurich

Discussion groups for expats in ZH (Yahoogroups)

There is a specific Yahoogroup for expats in Zurich. I copy below the description from the main page. If you want to subscribe, just click here:

Cool Restaurants in Zurich