Did you go to a party last night and ask Karen, the other Expat Spouse across from you, how she managed her transition to Switzerland? And did Karen say: “Just reinvent yourself!”.

This is a dreadful sentence to tell any newbie in a new place. 

This sentence is advice you often hear when you lose your work or are still looking for a new job in Switzerland. 

You are a New York, London, Frankfurt, or Mumbai professional. You have a career stamped on yourself. Telling you to reinvent yourself is like saying, “Why don’t you just run a marathon after recovering from COVID-19.” People make it sound so simple; it makes you feel guilty and shameful because it seems to them it’s something that you can or should do.

Not only is reinventing yourself a considerable challenge (on top of the extra obstacles you will face in a new and less well-known environment), but doing so often means letting go of your dreams. And accepting that is a big challenge in itself when you are sacrificing your goals so that your partner can follow theirs.

At parties, you say, “I’m a Senior Consultant / Director / Lawyer / Doctor / Scientist.” Then, you talk about the pleasure of long-distance travel in times of terrorism, or you mention that your partner is away too often and that the kids know the nanny better than their parents, or you explain that you never go to the city because you feel that childcare is too expensive. You rather stay at home than trust your kids to another person.

Your professional reputation has fueled your ego, and you did everything to improve it. You attended courses, webinars, conferences, and networking events and read everything you could about the topic while commuting to work. Not to mention that you routinely ensured that your social media profiles reflected your success only, and you confirmed your name was published at least once a year.

Then out of the blue (or even because you were following a long-term idea), your spouse gets a job offer in Basel, Switzerland, or your job is outsourced to Pune, India. After the initial excitement or shock, you start to consider what a career change means for you right now. You can consult blogs and books on the matter. From one day to the next, you worry about your branding as a professional. And you might even notice that you don’t know what you want.

Finding out what you want is difficult, so I recommend you work with a career coach to develop a vision of your next role and a long-term career vision. What I found even more challenging, though, is to let go of my old career. 

I had acquired a status in HR, and in my new role, I felt like a beginner again. In our cultural context here in Switzerland, we say, “Schuster bleib bei Deinen Leisten!” (Cobbler, stick to your last!). We are encouraged to change our chosen career paths.

Let’s hang with the cobbler analogy for a while. I might not have told you yet that my grandpa was a shoe repairer in post-war Germany, and my grandma ran a shoe shop for the longest time, so I have a particular fondness for shoes, and the smell of leather and glue always brings me back to their workshop.

We know well that a shoe we have worn for a while is comfortable. New shoes often feel too tight or too big for us to fill. Imagine getting out of your patent leather shoes and into hiking boots. That would be comparable to the change you are going through.

It would help if you broke your new career boot in. You might know already consciously that the hiking boot is more practical, fits better to your personality, and has more value on icy mountain grounds, but you still feel the burden of a heavier shoe.

It would be best to throw your old patent leather shoe into the mental “Altkleidercontainer” (the recycling bank for old clothes and shoes). Here are seven ideas on how you can do that.

• Advantaging: Write down all the advantages of the hiking boot. Think of every aspect of your new career and how it looks and feels. Run meticulous research. Interview industry experts and speak to friends who work in this area.

• Wearing: Work in your hiking boot at least one or two days a week by volunteering or finding a cause in this profession worth supporting. Get a consulting project before you commit full-time.

• Pretending: Pretend you are already experienced in walking with the hiking boot, attend seminars and networking events wearing a badge with your new role, and have business cards printed.

• Updating: Update all your biographies, social media profiles, and websites and show that you are wearing the boot already. Mention your new role and functional title. Be the career you want to be.

• Noting: Leave post-its in your office, bathroom, and home with a visual anchor. For example, if you want to become a scientist working in the pharma industry, you could jot down a company logo that you find attractive or a picture of you with security glasses.

• Spacing: Develop a space that signifies “productive work” in your new career. It could be an office or an area on your kitchen table. This area is reserved for work in your new job only.

• Storytelling: Write down your ideal client’s story, someone who will depend on the results or fruits of your new labor. Who is that person, what is essential to that person, and how does this person live?

These are seven ideas for letting go of your old career and reinventing yourself. There you have it. Do let us know how you are handling it, and if you need help progressing, you can always email me.

The HireMeExpress program is now closed for sale. We would still love to have you as a reader and Club Member here

https://globalpeopletransitions.com/become-a-reader-of-the-global-people-club-sandwich/

GUEST POST BY NABEHA LATIF

Instagram has seen dramatic development in recent years, from roughly a million clients in 2010 to more than one billion. One could contend that Instagram is an online media network like no other. Rather than words, the stage is constructed on the whole around sharing pictures and recordings. This visual contort is the reason Instagram is the social stalwart it is today — “Instagramming” is authoritatively an action word now.

Assuming you are keen on getting an Instagram account or just made one but are not sure how to utilize it, you are in the right place – Here, we will cover every one of the fundamentals, so you can see why Instagram is the top online media stage for commitment today.

To assist you with the beginning, we will stroll through the basics with your Instagram account.

Why Instagram?

Instagram is an online media stage that underlines photograph and video sharing through its portable application. You can take, alter, and distribute visual content for your followers and build a lasting relationship. With roughly two billion monthly active users, Instagram belongs to the most popular social networks worldwide.

It’s hard to remember a time before Instagram. “Do it for the ‘gram” has turned into a typical saying, which implies, basically, “Accomplish something so we can snap a photo and post it to Instagram.”

72% of users report making purchase decisions based on something they saw on Instagram. It makes Instagram a must-have for brands/businesses for building brand image via visuals. Also, it’s an amazing stage for staying connected to the target audience. Remember the trends are changing so quickly nowadays that if you have to keep an eye on social media in real time! (or hire a social media marketer to do it for you!)

Before you get started, connect with your social media and networking purpose again. Remember what you would like to achieve with social media and being connected with more people, grow a following or an audience, and what your one-sentence mission statement is. If you are in one of our programs or work with Angie Weinberger as a coach you probably already know that you need to make a few strategic decisions before you start. You should have clarity on your personal brand, your three labels, your main mission statement, your color scheme, and discussion themes, and decide about your filter already. You don’t just randomly add photos to Instagram, you do this with a purpose and mission in mind.

How To Get Started

To get on Instagram, you should simply download the Instagram application on your phone and get started on your new account by tapping “Join” Instagram is designed to be used via your smartphone only. You can access the platform via a desktop, but you won’t be able to upload content. You can decide to join through Facebook, email, or telephone number. Then, you have to pick a username (short, witty, and relatable to your brand)  and password. After that, you’re ready to get started! 

Once you are done setting up the profile, follow the steps below:

1. Download the application via App Store (iPhone) or Google Play Store (Android).

1. To sign up, click “Sign in with Facebook” if you wish to link the two together, or fill in the usual details such as phone number or email, name, username, and secret key. Then, at that point, click “Join.”

1. On Android, click “Join With Email or Phone Number.” On an iPhone, select “Make New Account.”

1. Enter your email address and phone number, then click “Next.” You can also join Facebook to reduce the time and effort to log in.

1. Whenever you’ve finished setting up your username and password, you will be told to complete your profile information. When you have, tap “Done.”

1. Remember your Short bio is crucial to reflect your brand’s personality. It should include a brief self-description, contact information, emojis, hashtags, and more. 

Bad  Example: 

A Coach, Author, and Keynote Speaker.

Good example:

Redefining success ✨

💡 Successful but stuck? I got you covered.

Global Mobility Lecturer * Author * Keynote Speaker

 🛋️ #HireMeExpress #RockMeRetreat 👩🏻‍💻

👩🏻‍🏫 #CareerStrategist

The Basics

At its core, Instagram is a friendly and casual platform, with most of the talking done through the visual content being posted. Each time you open the application, you’ll see the fundamental feed of ongoing posts from the accounts (people) you follow. A menu bar is available everywhere in the application at the base.

The Instagram menu bar, or the hub, has five buttons at the lower part of the application screen. Each has a unique function and will be the easiest way to navigate the platform. This is what each button does, from left to right:

• Home Button (Little House): Your fundamental feed where you can look through photographs and recordings posted by the people you follow.

• Explore (Magnifying Glass): The magnifying glass symbol takes you to the Explore page, where you can look at and peruse content from accounts you don’t follow yet may find interesting.

• Upload (The “+” sign): Select the photo (or video) you wish to post from your device’s library or tap the camera icon to take a new image with your smartphone camera. This is where you get creative and share engaging content!

• Activity/Notifications (The heart sign): The heart symbol takes you to a page that showcases likes and comments on your posts.

• Profile (Your own picture!): Clicking your own image takes you to your account wherein you can see your posts, edit your profile settings as well as view your posts insights. Posts insights are crucial in understanding the type of posts which are attracting relevant audience.   

How To Post

To share a photograph or video on Instagram, tap the “+” button on the bottom middle of the screen, where you can choose photographs or recordings from your phone’s camera app to post. Instagram permits you to choose up to 10 photographs and recordings to post immediately.

• Decide your Instagram Theme. Decide a theme that you want to follow – which helps in giving your brand a familiar look. You can decide to apply a filter for each post, which, contingent upon who you ask, is vital for the Instagram experience. Filters make it simple to alter shots with various visual preset overlays. 

• Add Suitable Captions. Captions are dependably a smart thought. You can utilize words, emoticons, or hash tags. Very much like in remarks, you can likewise “tag” followers and friends by putting “@” before their username. Remember, you can alter inscriptions whenever — or erase them if it becomes necessary later on.

• Consider Tagging Contacts. Instagram permits you to “tag” somebody in your photographs. When you label somebody, they’ll get a notification in their news feed. Feel free to tag brands/businesses as they will love the promotion done. However, It’s best to ask permission prior to adding tags of people you don’t know. 
• Add Your Location. Location labels let others know where your photograph was taken. Tapping on an area label carries you to its related  area feed, where you can examine other public posts.
• Post to other Social Accounts. Instagram likewise enables you to simultaneously publish a post to other social records. You can cross-post to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr by connecting accounts.

Explore These Great Features

As you would expect, Instagram carries out new highlights consistently. From a new substance to a continually growing arrangement of inventive devices, Instagram offers a lot of chances for self-articulation and inventiveness. Here are the best-in-class Instagram highlights.

• Instagram (IG) Stories

Many individuals use Instagram solely to make and survey Stories, which are adjustable posts that remain on your feed for 24 hours. These posts, which could be a blend of photographs and short-structure recordings, are introduced in a slideshow design and available through the highest point of the home feed.

• Instagram (IG) Live

Instagram Live is an element that lets you “Livestream” — as such, broadcast live video from your gadget to any individual who needs to watch. Viewers can send you messages and hearts while you stream, making this an extraordinary method for conversing live with audience and doing Q&A sessions in real time!

• IGTV

IGTV is Instagram’s committed video stage, allowing clients to transfer recordings as long as 15 minutes long (or an hour in the event that you utilize the work area variant). IGTV has its own application for iPhone and Android, yet you can likewise find it inside the customary Instagram application.

• Instagram Shopping

Given Instagram’s ubiquity, it’s nothing unexpected that brands are doing all they can to transform Instagram users into clients. As indicated by Instagram, a great many individuals shop on Instagram consistently.

• Instagram Reels

Worked as an adversary to TikTok, Instagram Reels allows you to record and transfer brief recordings as long as 15 seconds in length. When you record a video, you can alter it and add music, text, and enhancements.

Different followers can like or remark on your Reels recordings, which can be a pleasant method for getting more followers.

I know it can be overwhelming in the start so I always recommend to set attainable short term goals and work towards them. Don’t expect to go viral overnight, but stay consistent with postings. Use the right hashtags and engage! You can also run ad campaigns to attract relevant audience but your content needs to be compelling enough that it stands out and keep your audience engaged. 

Request:

Please follow Angie Weinberger on Instagram. You find her as angie_weinberger.

About the Author

Nabeha Latif is a Digital Media/Branding Consultant specializing in leveraging online marketing channels to achieve desired goals. Since her majors in digital marketing, she has collaborated with names like UN, Ali Baba Inc, Uber, UNESCO, UNDP, etc., to name just a few. She is also actively involved in providing business development services related to marketing. Drop her an email at nabehalatif21@gmail.com for any queries

Facebook has changed considerably since we initially logged in in 2008. Back then, Facebook was still called “The Facebook.” Facebook has advanced dangerously fast since then, and it’ll continue to adapt and improve at a quick speed however long it exists. Multiple updates and new features are rolling out regularly, but the core concept and workings have not changed essentially. It’s a place where you can connect and network. Being an expat, you can find like minded people and even make friends via Facebook groups.

It is now going to turn into a metaverse wherein we can interact in virtual worlds focused on social connections. Metaverse is however still in its introductory phase so we will see if it will be able to replace Facebook in the near future. 

What is Facebook
Facebook is a social media network that interfaces individuals through an online platform. By sharing content like messages, status, posts, images, videos, and outside joins like blog entries, Facebook clients can contribute thoughts and discuss with others who share something similar or various interests. As well as sharing their thoughts, clients can draw in with the content others share on Facebook by responding to it with a like, a laugh, anger, surprise, and care reaction. Facebook is a great tool to gather feedback on your product/service and also to promote special offers to your target audience.

Organizations can utilize their Facebook Pages to stay in contact with their customers, target new ones, and offer direct customer support. To completely comprehend Facebook and how it functions, you’ll need to get comfortable with common terms utilized on the platform. Here is a rundown of key Facebook terms and what they mean.

What is Facebook Business
A Facebook Business or Facebook Page is open to all public accounts from Facebook that brands can set up based on their own theme and branding. It may also be used as a social page for Public Figures, artists, and people alike. These pages or Business accounts allow users to share contact information, post updates, share content, promote events and releases, and stay linked with their audience.
These pages can easily be integrated with profiles and Facebook shops to offer a broader package for businesses.

Create a Business Page

Before you can sign up for your Facebook Business Page, you have to log into your own Facebook account. You don’t need to worry: the data from your personal account won’t become public on your business page.

This is a relevant question because business pages often have more than one-page manager. The moderators are individuals with each their own individual Facebook accounts. Your personal account works like the way to give you access to your new business page. If you have partners assisting you with your business page, their own accounts will have equal access to the business as an admin account.

Along these lines, in case you’re not currently logged into your own account, log in now; otherwise, click on Sign Up to get started.

Setup Your Personal Account

To sign up for a Facebook account, follow these three easy steps.

• Visit Facebook’s website.
• On the homepage, enter your

1. First name
2. Last name
3. Mobile number or email
4. New password
5. Birthday
6. Gender.

Click Sign Up.

After you’ve signed up for a Facebook account, you can adjust your privacy settings to control who can see your profile and information. Follow these four simple steps to change your privacy settings.

1. Click the arrow (downward-pointing blue triangle) on the top right corner of any Facebook page.
2. Click Settings.
3. Select Privacy from the sidebar.
4. Set who is allowed to see your posts and how people can contact you.

Set Up a Business Page

To create a page for your business, follow these steps.

Visit the Facebook website and Open your Facebook profile.

Basic Setup:

1. At the top of the homepage, select Create and choose Page.
2. Name your page, and make sure to spell your business name out correctly.
3. Add a category to describe your pages, such as a marketing agency or restaurant.
4. Enter business information, such as address and contact information; the more detailed, the better!
5. Select Continue.

Page Setup:

1. You can add a profile photo to your page, then add a photo or business logo and click next.
2. You can add a cover photo to your page. Similarly, add a cover or banner and click next.
3. You may skip either of the pictures if you desire.
4. Select Next to go to your new page when you have completed the steps.

Extra Setup:

1. Link your website.
2. Add a bio or about section for your business.
3. Add as many helpful images as possible (menus for restaurants).
4. Connect to Whatsapp Business (if any).
5. Connect to Instagram Account (if any).
6. Vanity URL (create a username in settings).
7. Add business details (working hours, location, holiday timings, etc.).

Now Post! Ready, Set, Post!

The primary motivation behind Facebook is to help friends and family interface with one another. You can stay on top of your contacts’ minds by refreshing your status once in a while. To share a Facebook status, go to the text box at the highest point of your news feed page or on your profile page.

Types of posts:

1. Feeling/Activity/Update
2. Check In
3. Tag Friends/Followers
4. Tag Event
5. Ask for Recommendations
6. Poll
7. Support Nonprofit
8. Answer a Question
9. Lists
10. Facebook Stories

Open and Facilitate a Group

The Groups page on Facebook will show you which groups you oversee and those you are a member of. Likewise, you can find groups to join depending on Facebook’s ideas and a huge load of different factors.

To get to the Groups page, tap the Home button, and afterward, on the left sidebar, you’ll see the Explore segment, where you can click Groups.

Facebook Groups address an organic chance to contact many individuals keen on particular themes, yet without paying for ads. Joining and presenting on a pertinent Group as your Facebook Page helps individuals interested in your posts navigate your business page rather than your own profile. 

This feature gives Facebook a major advantage over Linkedin and is a great way of building community.

Page Insights

The more data you have about your audience, the more targeted your content becomes and the better you can fulfill their necessities.

Facebook Page Insights makes it simple to assemble information regarding how your fans communicate with your Page and the content you share. To get to Page Insights, click Insights in the Manage Page menu.

Insights give you data about your Page’s general execution, remembering a few information for audience demographics and engagement. You can see measurements on your posts so you can see the number of individuals you’re coming to.

You’ll likewise perceive the number of remarks and responses are acquired from explicit posts-information that assists you with arranging future content.

Connect and Like Other Pages

Since Facebook is, all things considered, a social media platform-based organization, it’s really smart to involve your Page to construct a community for your business.

One method for building a community is to associate with other pages pertinent to your business (but not competitors).

For instance, assuming that you run a shop in a famous shopping region or shopping center, you could interface with different shops in your area. For example, consider this an internet-based adaptation of your neighborhood business improvement affiliation or office of trade.

Assuming you have a virtual business, you could associate with different companies in your industry that could offer extra benefits for your customers without contending with your offerings.

Look Into These Useful Features

1. Events:
   The Events page on Facebook will show you any forthcoming occasions popular with your Facebook friends or have been set up by the groups you take part in. Likewise, you can observe events dependent on their date, area, and class.
2. Marketplace:
   Facebook competes with Netflix in the streaming business; they also rival eBay in the commercial industry. With Facebook Marketplace, you can peruse for a wide range of items, join groups to trade items with individuals in your space or who share comparative interests, search for items sold from various shops, shop by category, and sell your own items.
3. Pinned Posts:
   Is there important data you need all guests to your Page to see? An advancement you don’t want them to miss? A top-performing piece of content you need to flaunt? Put it in a pinned post.

A pinned post sits at the highest point of your Facebook Business Page, right under your cover picture. It’s an incredible spot to put something eye-catching that will attract your guests and make them want to stay close by.

About the Author 

Nabeha Latif is a Digital Media/Branding Consultant specializing in leveraging online marketing channels to achieve desired goals. Since her majors in digital marketing, she has collaborated with names like UN, Ali Baba Inc, Uber, UNESCO, UNDP, etc., to name just a few. She is also actively involved in providing business development services related to marketing.

Guest post by Lucie Koch

I have been in Zürich for a few weeks now and I am starting to adjust to Swiss city life. I am amazed every day by how cosmopolitan Zürich is with all the languages heard in the tram. It’s wonderful.

In my last blog post, I wrote about how entry into professional life was one kind of culture shock. I have started to adapt to the professional and Swiss cultural frame. Working for Global People Transitions is a very interesting experience, especially since I get to be involved in very diverse tasks, from administrative paperwork to exciting business development projects. I am discovering how many gearwheels must be activated and maintained for the business machine to work properly.

While I expected to have to adjust to the professional culture, I wasn’t quite prepared for the general culture shock that I experienced in Switzerland. As a child who grew up in France with parents from the cantons of Zurich and Luzern, and many family ties in Switzerland, I have been exposed to Swiss culture throughout my upbringing. I spent a few holidays in Switzerland when I was younger and identified quite strongly as Swiss. But then this month, I found myself suddenly confronted with cultural and structural enigmas: What is the deal with these expensive trash bags? Why do people eat so early? I also found myself confused about how to greet new people properly – do I offer a handshake? Should I do the ‘bise’ (kiss)? – which resulted in some awkward moments of hesitation and embarrassed smiles. It turns out, I might be more French than I thought.

These experiences made me think about the topic of mixed cultural identities, especially in the case of expatriation and specifically about the children of expatriates who grow up abroad.

Indeed, when you grow up in a country as a foreigner, especially in an area of low cultural diversity as it is the case for the French countryside where I grew up, the Swiss identity makes one stand out, especially for children. You don’t understand the other kids’ popular culture references and you speak another language with your family. The scarcity of Swiss items like cervela, landjäger, and swiss chips or mayonnaise turn them into ‘precious’ objects for the expat parents and to expat children, they appear as relics of Swiss-ness that you get to share once every other month in a kind of family tradition.

In the end, as a ‘born-expat’, one gets a reflected image of the parent’s culture. Indeed, a born-expat’s understanding of the ‘culture-of-origin’ is imagined (through the information absorbed from the media, short stays in the country or from the family’s opinions and stories) and not experienced. Therefore, young expats born abroad have an incomplete picture of a culture with which they strongly identify. The resulting culture shock, when the born-expat realizes how different reality is, can be very difficult, especially since it touches the perception of one’s own identity.

Children of expatriates are a very interesting focus of study when it comes to intercultural competence and how culture affects one’s identity and life. We are quite aware of how being an expatriate family is complicated logistically, emotionally and mentally on all members during the first years of immigration or how tricky it can be to raise children in a country in which we are not completely familiar with the education system. It is, however, important to consider that expat-children may face identity struggles when they grow up and to actively address the issues of identity and nationality during the upbringing.

Have you experienced any issues related to identity as an expat? Do you know a good way to address the question of identity with expat children?

I hope you enjoyed the read, I’ll write again next month.

Until then, have a great day!

Lucie

Lucie Koch was an intern at Global People Transitions GmbH in Zurich, Switzerland. She graduated with an Intercultural Management Master study, which led her to study in Dijon, France, a city she was already familiar with and in unfamiliar Finland (for one semester). Previously, she studied one year at Durham University (UK) as part of a Bachelor Erasmus Mobility program. She was born in 1994 to a Swiss expat couple in France. She grew up in the French countryside, around horses. She’s a self-confessed introvert, fascinated by different languages, cultures, science (especially astronomy and biology) and philosophy. She also likes to spend time drawing, painting or in cinemas.