Guest Post by Sara M.

Five Reasons why you Should Consider a Virtual Internship

I am now three months into my new job, what someone would call my first real job, and my student life seems so far behind. The truth is that less than a year has gone by since I finished writing my thesis and my student ID expired just four months ago.

Fortunately and unpredictably, 2020 was for me a rather eventful year despite what could be common assumptions. In particular, one event at the very beginning of the year marked a great part of the months that followed: in January, I happily signed my six months internship agreement at Global People Transitions. Only one condition initially made me doubtful about embarking on this challenge: working from home. Was I going to get the real work experience feeling? Was I going to be able to bond with my colleagues? Was I going to feel isolated or lonely?  

I look back and smile at this thought as, ironically, that was the very factor that made my internship possible at a time the world was shaken by the current global pandemic.

I started off my internship on April 1st when some governments had already adopted heavy restrictions for containing the spread of the virus, while others still thought there wasn’t really much to worry about…things have changed so much that perhaps that’s also why it feels so long ago.

The internship at GPT kept me busy for a great part of 2020 and, in hindsight, I can see how it brought good things and concrete perspectives in 2021 as well. I feel lucky because I know that many others out there probably share opposite feelings.

The 6 months’ experience at GPT shaped me both at a professional and at a personal level. Being trained, supervised, and coached directly by the founder and Managing Director Angie Weinberger provided me with concrete tools, useful to face the upcoming work challenges with a down-to-earth approach.

Today, I would like to share with you the seven reasons, though not the only ones, why I think that interested candidates should consider an internship at GPT:

1. You Learn an Awful Lot About Global Mobility

Angie Weinberger is a renowned professional with decades of experience as a Global Mobility Manager, Lecturer, Trainer, and Coach. Being her right hand for six months meant earning an incredible amount of knowledge in the field of Global Mobility and being able to get a first-hand experience in the buzzing Expat World.

From the most administrative and practical aspects of setting up an international assignment to the most hidden and psychological facets of family relocation and culture shock, I learned that being a Global Mobility expert means much more than getting the conversion rate right.

2. You get the international vibe

This might sound very much predictable – after all expats are international – however, not all internships in the Global Mobility sector offer you this opportunity. At Global People Transitions, I regularly and directly handled communications with many clients from different cultural, professional, and educational backgrounds, some of them living in Switzerland, and many others in more or less far away countries. But it’s more than that: you get to exchange with stakeholders and partners all over the world and have the opportunity to experience first-hand how things are done differently elsewhere.

The best aspect, however, is being part of a vibrant international team and this is not a foregone conclusion. At Global People Transitions I had the pleasure to work with a small though strong team of global professionals with considerable intercultural experience. Currently, the team counts six professionals spread across four different countries, three continents, and four different time zones. Where else do you find these perks?

3. You Expand Your Professional Network

Something an internship should definitely give you is good prospects for the future career you want to embark on. It should build that last layer of foundations that you’ve been constantly growing with dedication and hard work through your studies and potentially, previous internships.

Now, creating a professional network for yourself is one of the most fundamental steps you take early in your career. And as an intern, you are served this very opportunity on a plate. You handle communications with important partners, you participate in webinars, you set up interviews and podcast recordings with experienced professionals of various fields…you even might be invited to take part in in-person workshops with Angie’s clients!

And if this was not enough to expand your network of professional contacts, you’re given even more tools during the coaching (more about it at point 5) to help you enhance your professional presence both face-to-face and online.

4. You Boost Your Entire Skill Set

Before starting my internship at GPT I found it hard to believe I was even going to learn some basic programming and help out with graphic design. But it happened, I took the opportunity, and made the most out of it and today I know a little more than I did before this challenge.

This is to say that even if officially an “academic internship”, the experience gives you the chance to strengthen skills you already have and for which you were probably selected, but also to test abilities you didn’t even know you had in you.

What I personally feel I became stronger at are interpersonal and intercultural communication, organizational, problem-solving, research, and analytical as well as digital skills. But I also definitely improved my time management skills and became a more resourceful professional, which is one of the most important teachings I take away from working in a start-up environment.

5. You are supported by an experienced coach

While you’re working hard on all those activities and putting effort into all the tasks that are assigned to you, you’re not always aware of all the learning that happens in the background. But it’s important that you acknowledge it and that you’re able to convert it into words and facts when you face a recruiter or are discussing a promotion with your boss.

You also might have your ups and downs and obviously might find some projects more challenging to manage than others. You might be in the middle of a relocation yourself, or you might come to clash with cultural aspects of your environment that you find hard to cope with.

Among the benefits of an internship at GPT, the par excellence benefit if you ask me, is the coaching you receive from Coach Angie. Having her as a supervisor throughout the six months spent at Global People Transitions was already a blessing and an opportunity for growth that I will always be thankful for. Having her as a personal coach was an emotional and eye-opener experience that made me more aware of who I am, what I need, and how I can achieve it. I especially took to heart her charisma and down-to-earth approach.

As I anticipated, these are not the only aspects I praise with regard to my internship at GPT. In fact, the list is still long and if you’re curious to know more about it you can reach out to me personally and I’d be happy to give you more insights.

In a sentence, the experience made me ready to enter the job market with a certain awareness, strengthened competencies, and a more well-rounded profile for a junior professional like me.

About the Author

Sara Micacchioni is currently working in the customer care sector where she gets the chance to continue improving her skills as a people person in four different languages. She also works as a freelancer in digital marketing for a small start-up specializing in unbiased recruiting and diversity and inclusion projects. As a graduate in Intercultural Management, those are, in fact, topics that Sara keeps close to her heart.

In the past, she also carried out several short-term and long-term voluntary work projects in Europe and South America.

Sara lived, studied, and worked in seven European countries and speaks four foreign languages. She considers herself an interculturalist with a real passion for globetrotting. In her mission to travel the world, she has now ticked off 30 countries globally.

Connect with Sara on LinkedIn

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Academic Researcher

Academic Researcher

I’m an accidental “expat.” I didn’t think of myself as an expat since I’ve lived the closest to home for the last 11 years. Coronavirus “expatriated” me. I’ve worked in Global Mobility most of my professional life, lived abroad, and been on international assignments. I’m an expert in Global Mobility, but a virus made it hard to return to my passport country. 

I feel your pain and your stress. We are all experiencing varying levels of emotional and mental turmoil. There is no solution to the root causes of that anxiety, but we need to maintain our mental health like we do our physical. The World Health Organization, correctly anticipating that the longer the pandemic lasts, the more it would impact mental health, has spent the last couple of years publishing support and guides for people to follow. I have been following them, and they have proven helpful in centering me and giving me better control of my mental health.

1 – Take a Security Stop

Take some slow breaths, inhaling through your nose, then slowly exhaling through your mouth. Slow breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress because it signals your brain to relax your body. You can plan a whole weekend offline or go to a retreat where you can be offline for 48 hours. See what comes up without constant input.

2 – Build a Support Group

Please keep in regular contact with people close to you and talk to them. Talking to people you think can help. Please let them know how you feel and share concerns or discuss everyday things. Especially if you live alone, create a schedule where you connect with people outside your work at least once a week. If you are new in the city, a starting point can be expat groups. Another option is to join an online group around a topic of interest.

3 – Develop a Health Routine

The emphasis here is on both health and routine. That means not using alcohol and drugs to deal with fear, anxiety, boredom, and social isolation. Instead, focus on establishing consistent sleeping patterns, maintaining personal hygiene, eating regularly, having healthy food, and improving time management, including exercise, work, and personal time.  We need to get dressed in nice clothes, commute to work, and have a distance between “work” and “leisure.” Otherwise, we lose our fire and inspiration and lose touch with our inner creator. Try to get out of the home more often.

4 – Practice Self-Care

We are human and, thus, not immune to doubt and anxiety. Don’t expect too much of yourself on more challenging days. Instead, accept that you may be more productive some days than others. One way to practice self-kindness is to reduce how much you watch, read, or listen to news that makes you feel anxious or distressed, especially information from your home country. You can limit intake to fixed times in the day and listen only to trusted sources. One good way to practice self-care is to start a hobby or creative activity that you can fully immerse yourself in.

5 – Grow your Kindness Empathy

If you can help yourself and have the capacity for it, helping others can do you good. If you have that capacity, offer support to people who may need it in the expat community. We have learned to be resilient, survived previous crises, and turned our lives around in the oddest situations. 

https://globalpeopletransitions.com/back-to-school/

Video Interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv1ju5gxMLs

Global Recruiting is a challenge. Hiring your employees from other countries will give your company the chance to find a motivated and skilled workforce, particularly if your country is suffering from a shortage of skilled labor on a national scale in certain job sectors. But sourcing your workforce from another country is difficult if you have never done it before.

Here are eight tips that you should think about before you consider hiring from abroad:

1. Traditional and Online Marketing

Every country has its own set of laws that dictate how marketing and advertising are to be conducted. These set of laws are also applicable to online advertising and traditional recruitment marketing so make sure that you as a global employer follow all the laws of the country where you are sourcing and recruiting your workforce from.

Other than abiding by the country’s regulation when recruiting employees, you also need to ensure that your advertising and recruitment campaigns are non-discriminatory and follow the employment-related quota requirements required in multinational markets. Maintain clarity by mentioning the language requirements for the job postings, so nothing is lost in translation.

2. Job Applications Should Comply with the Local Laws

All written job applications have to abide by the laws of the country where you are recruiting from, which may vary from country to country. This indicates that you should be sensitive to asking certain questions that may be prohibited according to a country’s laws.

Another factor that you as a global employer should bear in mind is whether your job application complies with the law as well as whether you need to draft it in multiple languages before using it in your global recruiting process. You can hire an interpreter to help you with your recruitment process if your recruiting managers are not fluent in the same language as the job applicants.

3. Study the Compensation Packages

Ensure that the total compensation package that you are offering is enough to challenge the competition in the local market to attract the right candidates.

Make sure that the perks and benefits that your company offers other than the basic salary should also meet or exceed the candidate’s expectations in each country. You can set up a compensation baseline on a global scale.

Consider the following factors when deciding on compensation:

• The labor market demand
• Specific range of salary according to post
• Cost of living
• Exchange rates of foreign currency
• Your benefits package should be in the same range as the ones offered by local companies

4. Conduct Your Research Using Online Recruitment Software

It is important that you understand what overseas job boards can target your potential candidates in the most effective way possible. You can then streamline your recruiting process by implementing an applicant tracking software to advertise job availability to your overseas job applicants.

5. Structure Your Interview Process

You need to be careful about how you go about structuring your interview processes as it may include adjusting to the different time zones, making travel arrangements for candidates for in-person interviews as well as seeking the help of an interpreter.

You can also make use of technology such as video calling or conferencing if you want to conduct an interview if you and the applicant are not in the same location.

6. Conduct Pre-Employment Screenings

Recruiting on a global scale requires a vigilant approach to pre-employment screenings with the help of applicant tracking software which can help you navigate through the recruiting process with ease. Before attempting to screen your job applicants, make sure that you check with the local labor laws to know what measures are permitted in that country.

7. Verify the Work Permit Requirements in Your Labor Market

Make sure that you verify and abide by the work permit requirements of the country where you are recruiting your labor force from as the work permit restrictions tend to vary from country to country. These work permit restrictions can limit your employee’s mobility and as well as further hindering the employment of your employee’s spouses as not all countries issue work permits to the spouses of employees.

8. Support Global Mobility Policies and Work with Spouses

Try to meet dual-career issues for your candidate’s spouse or partner while hiring your employees in another country. Ensure that your employees are aware of the immigration requirements and global mobility policies that may or may not permit their spouses to follow them.

Ensure that your company’s mobility policies are updated and in tandem with the host country’s mobility policies to provide spouse support services for your employees.

Kelly Barcelos is a progressive digital marketing manager specializing in HR and is responsible for leading Jobsoid’s content and social media team. When Kelly is not building campaigns, she is busy creating content and preparing PR topics. She started with Jobsoid as a social media strategist and eventually took over the entire digital marketing team with her innovative approach and technical expertise.

Editor’s Note: Check out “Eight Major Barriers to Expat Spouse Employment”.

In the interview below we cover four key tips for your repatriation or your next transition.

1 – Repatriating Your Role – You own your career and your brand

• Maintain a Repatriation Plan with your Employer
• Regular “home leave” where you network with your previous colleagues and meet your sponsor and other important influencers, and key decision-makers.
• Think about alternative roles you could do with your expat experience, start your own business
• Update your CV and LinkedIn profile and add your transferable skills

2- Expect Re-Entry Shock – It’s not all milk and chocolate

• Reading the news and keeping up with the latest trends in the country before you repatriate
• Keep relationships up and return “home” regularly.
• Psychological contract: Consider what you expect and write it down as it might need alignment with your employer, your partner, and your family

3 – Plan the Logistics – The devil’s in the detail, consult the Professionals

• Negotiate a repatriation budget and clause in your assignment contract.
• Check all immigration requirements for your kids, and partners with different nationalities (Example: Language requirements)Optimize Taxes – Talk to Your Tax Expert when to go

4 – Optimizing Taxes – Talk to Your Tax Expert about when to go

• Go through all the tax and financial aspects of your repatriation carefully with an expert, especially when you are planning to retire early or when you expect a severance package.

CONTACT Angie Weinberger via LinkedIn, Email angela@globalpeopletransitions.com for participating in a free workshop series that will help you build your personal brand and sign up here.

What our Clients are Saying about Expat Coach Angie Weinberger

“Expat Coach Angie Weinberger was my navigating system in Switzerland helping me in plenty of directions: cultural adaptation, how to transform my job application to the local market, to develop writing, storytelling, and structured way of expression. She believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. I highly appreciate her approach to constructive feedback, direct flexibility to adapt to the audience’s needs,  big heart, up-to-date advice, personalized attitude, giving ideas and new viewpoints, direct to the point, and motivation to go on trying. Following her advice, I now feel much more accepted here in Switzerland and feel more confident.” AP, HR Project Manager

“The key to a good Aperol Spritz goes beyond the proportions…it just tastes better depending on the atmosphere and the people you are with. I present to you Angie – the ultimate career bartender and her Ange-a-rol Spritz also known as the HireMeExpress program. No matter what season of life you are in, Angie’s program will give you a perfect blend of what you need to get to the next level in business and life.” DK, Marketing and Event Manager,

Angie Weinberger was recommended to me as a mentor when I had a hard time finding work and lost my focus on what I actually wanted to do professionally and how to get there. I applied for the AIESEC Alumni Germany (AAG) Mentorship program and got the chance to be mentored by Angie. We had monthly sessions, discussed topics that were important to me and she brought up topics that gave me new perspectives and motivation. I always felt that she cared and she offered extra sessions if I needed them.

She is very experienced and inspiring in her way of helping people find their career path. In her coaching program #HireMeExpress, we learned methods and valuable tips and tricks on how to find new access to and increase our chances on the job market. Thanks to all that I found a new job and gained the courage to choose a new career path. I am grateful for the interesting and inspiring people I met. Most importantly, I gained confidence of my skills and goals for the job market. I strongly recommend Angie and her program as she is a pro in her field, inspiring, and caring and it is fun working with her. MH

 

I would like to strongly recommend Angie as the extraordinary coach and her “RockMe!” Coaching Program, which helped me with my job search strategy and I had learned to build a sustainable professional network in the Swiss job market.

A. A., Sales Account Manager at Oracle

While working with Angela on corporate blog writing, I was always impressed by Angela’s insightful and thorough questions to preparing a good blog post. She didn’t simply ask “why”, but she really wanted to understand the situation at hand and determine, wholeheartedly, the best way to approach it. I can image this is how she is when dealing with her own clients. She also does a fantastic job with The Powerhouse Collective in Zurich. I’m a regular attendee and have even presented once. I must say that I am impressed!

A. R. – Early Careers Coordinator at Cambridge Assessment

I felt very confused about my career before I met Angie. After talking to many people from different backgrounds, I still wasn’t sure what I was going to pursue. I thought that, because of my unconventional path, I was never going to have a successful career. Angie’s help came at a good time and she listened carefully to my problems. I felt understood and found the courage to define my own purpose. After that, I started to have some clarity on what I was going to do and the rest followed. I am thankful for Angie’s help and her great listening skills, as well as her determination to help expats who feel stuck rediscover their paths.

J. R. – Master’s Student at the University of Zurich

I had the pleasure to meet Angela few months ago. She was my career consultant at Global Career Support Program. The outcome of working with Angela strongly exceeded my pre-program expectations. Angela is a highly professional consultant providing you not only with the “technical aspects” of the job market (like country adapted CV, interview techniques etc.) but above of all she is inspiring and encourages you to take the opportunity to reconsider your life and career needs. I would highly recommend Angela as a career coach.

M. S. – Senior BPA, Finance IT and Business Partner at Novartis

I met Angie on social network when I was in mid of my graduation. She was always kind, friendly and someone who always wanted to do things differently. She was Global mobility Head at Pwc (Switzerland) at that time. Later, she left her job even when she was at peak and started her own company known as globalpeopletransitions.com. She inspired me to be an entrepreneur myself even in a country like Pakistan. She is extremely strong and optimistic even when things don’t exactly go her way. Like any other person, she panics when she fails but always have something else to look forward to. I left my job after my post graduate and she officially started mentoring me for no money! I won a mini competition that she held for female entrepreneurs to provide some initial funds and lifetime coaching.

She believes in supporting females in business especially from third world countries. Since after leaving my job, I earned more in business than I could’ve in one year of job. She is now my guide and support in everything. Whether if they are for fears regarding owning a business or life crisis, she is always there for me and her advices are actually life saving. I know that she mentor other females in business but never brags about it. What makes her unique is her ability to relate with how other person is feeling. She is not fake! Her every advise is somewhat from her personal business or job experience. She believes in sharing. She recommends people open heartily, without thinking what she will get out of it. I’ve achieved my own business, own a company known as sparkzing in Pakistan. We provide social media marketing services internationally. I am doing so well that this year I might even expand! I thank her and recommend her to be your coach,if you want to do better in career or personal life.

Nabeha Latif – Digital Marketing Manager at Global People Transitions

I worked with Angela to recruit our Marketing and Communications manager, a new departure for my international Association after 9 years of operations in Zurich. Angela also planned and organised a workshop for heads of school explaining work certificates in Switzerland with the legal expertise delivered by an external lawyer. She finds good people for the job. Angela presents beautifully, our staff training day in April 2015 was improved by her input. Her coaching skills were put to good use in-house when discussing personal and career development with more junior members of the team.

M. S. Z. – Head of Children First & School Choice Relocation Consultant

I participated in the HireMe! Program in 2016. I chose the program because it is action-driven. To invest in myself and my career in a new country was definitely worth it. The sessions and tasks made me aware of my strengths and chances. When I mapped and activated my network for example, it was much bigger than I expected. The input and feedback I received from the Global People Transitions team was personal and focussed. The team gave me the tools and self-esteem to land my first job in Switzerland!

Supply Chain Specialist at DSM

My first time meeting with Angela Weinberger was in December 2012 and she conducted a 4-month one on one career counseling. She is a career guidance counselor. She helped me regaining professional confidence, expanding networks, developing professional knowledge and information, and cultural diversity. I am writing to recommend Angela Weinberger as a career coach. She is highly experienced and qualified.

L. J. – Marketing Representative at PT Caterpillar Indonesia Branch

Thanks to my following the HireMe! program in 2014 I landed myself a job offer in the field I wanted. Angie’s coaching together with the opportunities of exchanging freely on both personal and career issues gave me the tools to reassess my capabilities and proudly communicate them. Her listening and analytical exceptional skills made the difference!

Valerie Priestley – HR Generalist at Seattle Genetics

I have known Angie from my discussion with her on various international job opportunities and speed coaching sessions, she has always been supportive and guided me to choose the best possible option.one of her striking quality is her ability to listen patiently to the issues put forth and then give her advice on it. As a person she has been very kind and sincere. I wholeheartedly recommend her and I look forward to our professional paths crossing in future.

R. R. – Sociopreneur

Angela is a true professional when working with Partner Support clients with us. She goes the extra mile and always tries to bring out the best in each person she works with. She is dedicated to helping them to achieve their chosen goals, therefore I look forward to working with her again.

J. L., Regional Advisor (APAC), Global Skills at Crown World Mobility

I had the opportunity to do my internship at Angie Weinberger’s company, Global People Transitions GmbH, and could benefit a lot from this time on both the personal and professional level. Angie is highly competent, has always been very passionate about her work and also likes to think outside the box sometimes. I recommend her to everyone who is looking for expertise in the field of Global Mobility.

M. P. – Mobility Consultant at EY