15 Lessons Learned from Running an Expat Coaching Business in Switzerland The Early Days I co-founded GlobalPeopleTransitions with a cherished partner. According to Moneyhouse (and the trade registrar) we were founded on 17 May 2010. I was still working at PwC at the time, and my partner had full business responsibility, while I was mainly learning the ropes of coaching. Global People Transitions was a blog even before we incorporated. I still remember how clumsy and corporate my writing style was, and that probably nobody (not even my mother) would have wanted to read my tips for international assignments.    This is what our company’s letterbox logo looked like at the time. I had already wanted to be self-employed at […]

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 […]

Embarking on an expatriate journey is often portrayed as an exciting adventure, offering new experiences, cultures, and opportunities for personal growth. However, beneath the surface of this exhilarating chapter in your life lies a lesser-explored aspect – the risk of expatriate burnout and trauma. When moving to the land of cheese and chocolate, many of us had an idea of a dream country, and I used to remember my favorite childhood cartoon series, “Heidi,” as a mental reference. During the transition phase, I soon realized that there was another reality about Switzerland.  The real Switzerland is not all cheese and chocolate This is a reality you might not be familiar with when listening to touristy advertisements, and it’s probably not […]

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 […]