I’m regularly going for business lunches in Zurich and when I started my business I could not really afford that. Nowadays, if I haven’t been to a restaurant yet, I always leave a Google review and I even give feedback on forms. The reason I am doing this is because I’m hardly ever wowed by the experience. There are a number of reasons for that and my Swiss friends will probably cancel me for saying that but one reason is the Swiss attitude and arrogance to literally everything. There are 1001 rules and regulations and it is hard to survive as a restaurant owner. So most restaurants here are owned by chains and many of them are great (such as […]

Avoiding Expatriate Failure in Global Mobility We discussed how family challenges and marital issues significantly impact the outcome of international assignments. We also saw that many companies list the Expat Spouse’s unhappiness as the primary cause of “Expatriate Failure,” highlighting the importance of the Expat Spouse and Partner career support programs.  We will discuss more extensively the kind of support you can give Dual-Career Expat Couples and why that matters. I have always advocated for Global Mobility Managers to involve Expat Spouses proactively. Sometimes I sound like a broken record, though. I reiterate what I’ve been repeating for years. The days of the passive “trailing spouse,” when they were marginally involved in any decision to move abroad, are gone. Today, […]

Are you interested in working in Switzerland? The Swiss job market offers a variety of opportunities for job seekers in industries such as finance, pharmaceuticals, and technology. However, before you start your job search, it’s important to research the industries and companies that interest you, as well as the current job market trends. We understand that researching the job market can be a daunting task, especially if you’re looking for work in a new country. That’s why we offer specific resources to help you navigate the Swiss job market with confidence. By using these resources and doing your own research, you can gain a better understanding of the Swiss job market and find the right opportunities for your skills and […]

Dr. Jens Schmidt, A German Executive in Shanghai Dr. Jens Schmidt is an expat. The company’s corporate headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, assigned him  to improve efficiency at the company’s manufacturing plant in Shangai, China. During his first 90 days he came up with a list of quality issues and he shared this list with three of his direct reports (Mr. Zhu, Mr. Cao and Mrs. Ping).  He asked them for input on how to mitigate the issues within the next 90 days and what the “low hanging fruit” were. He emailed them on Friday evening and asked them to respond by Monday morning, enough time to review over the weekend. While Dr. Jens Schmidt was sorting out his moving goods […]

I recently held a talk where I was discussing the Expat Experience in Zurich and how to enhance it. Zurich is a typical inbound hub, so many ideas in this article will also fit to places like Dubai, London, Hong Kong, or Singapore. As the most populated canton in Switzerland, Zurich is becoming home to an ever-growing population of expats.  Today’s typical expats look like this expat couple: Heidi and Govind. Heidi is a Director who works in banking and is a credit guru. She met Govind, her husband, at the London School of Economics. From there they moved to New York and later Abu Dhabi. Govind now works for a pharmaceutical company that has had them stationed in Abu […]