For several years I have been living far from the place where I grow up, I have moved several times and I can tell you I have experienced this: When someone asks you “how long are you going to stay here?” you should say “3 years”.
Three years is the right time for each kind of project, whether it’s professional or personal. It’s the right amount of time to bring your projects to their accomplishment and throughout it you must necessarily create new relationships in the place where you are living now, even if temporarily.
Since I arrived in Paris the last time, the question of my new French acquaintances has been the same: How long are you going to stay? And when I said “three years”, I felt a sort of relief in people, as they wanted to be reassured they had enough time to build the relationship with me. Sure, to start a new relationship takes less time than “some years”, but perhaps the French culture has given me the opportunity to consider how important is to allot time for meeting someone and take care of her/him, whatever the type of relationship.
In the case of French people, and Parisians in particular, they can seem detached at a first sight. I have been surprised in particular circumstances (an illness, an accident), because I expected some questions by my acquaintances that would have been natural in my culture. But I discovered, thanks to the formidable communication of Geraldine at http://www.commeunefrançaise.com, French people do not ask questions for the fear of being indiscreet. It is a sign of respect, rather than a lack of attention or worse, of indifference.
Don’t be afraid to tell a lie, because it’s not. Saying that you are going to stay for 3 years means that you are available to that person for 3 years at least, wherever and in whatever condition you will be. You are just opening a space in which you can learn to communicate together, help each other, exchange messages or send a prayer, even when you’ll be no longer in the same place.
When my coach asked me how I visualized my company over 5 years, I thought the question was difficult and my answer could not be precise. But I was wrong in thinking that it was not worth to answer it. Clearly, the answer may be neither precise nor prophetic, because anything can happen in the meantime. However, if here and now a person decides to establish something, then here and now that something takes root and receives nourishment for the future.
Think big and long, both for business and relationships, but especially for the latter.
Stella
www.stellarepola.com
I’ve been living in Paris for two years now. I gave up a good position with Rolls-Royce in England to share with my wife (and cat) the chance to live and work in France. Initially I thought I would resume my IT project management career here but it proved more difficult than I thought to secure a position in the city without being fluent in French. Alongside some volunteer work and continuing attempts to learn the language, I started some person projects.
One of those projects was to continue and develop my interest in photography. I practised more specifically, studied some of the great photographers and started to read extensively about the industry. After some research and encouragement from friends, I decided to turn my hobby into a business.
My previous experience in the business world undoubtedly helped, but there was (and is) still much to learn. I’m still developing and understanding how my brand should look and how best to promote it, but I’m also enjoying the process of creating a business alongside creating photographs. It does feel necessary to simultaneously perform a few roles, as photographer, business owner, accountant and marketer, with each bringing it’s own challenges.
If you’re thinking about starting a business, the obvious advice is do your research, make a plan and work hard. You also need to be creative, not just about the product or service that you provide, but about how you promote it. If possible, stay out of debt. Some initial costs will be necessary and worthwhile. I pay for website hosting and business cards but try to keep expenses low until I have sufficient income to cover them.
Of course I hope my business will continue to grow and develop, but it’s also worth the effort just for the experience of making something good and being able to give a quality service and product to clients. I’ve certainly enjoyed the journey so far.
Best wishes with your own ideas and ventures, and if you need a better profile image for LinkedIn or your CV then get in touch!
Alastair
Many thanks to all who attended the IDCN event at SANOFI on the 29th. It was an excellent event enjoyed by all.
I ran a workshop about helping you develop goals that can help you personally and professionally. For those of you who didn't get to come along here is some guidance on how to get started. As partners of expats we are in Paris because our husbands / wives / partners have been given the opportunity to work in a different culture and broaden their skills base. Some of us jumped at the chance to live in Paris, whilst some of us may have thought long and hard about a move here.
Successful expatriations are judged on many things such as integration, career trajectory, learning the language and so on. How successful does your expatriation feel for you? As the following partner in an expatriation we are here for many reasons, including supporting your spouse, but what about your own goals?
Many expat partners have given up successful careers, we have left family and friends behind, we have our own family units to support while we are here. Is that enough? For some of us yes, but for others, such as IDCN members we are looking to develop our own careers / projects and we want to be know as individuals rather than the partner of...
Sometimes expat partners can get a little lost in the move. Your partner is out of the house all day, you have to deal with everything else! This can be tough, new places, foreign languages, new customs, the paperwork! All things that can take focus away from your needs and your goals.
So how can you refocus on your own goals?
Take some time for yourself and think about what you want from your life. Develop your personal goals and use affirmations. An affirmation is a goal written out in a short, one sentence description. It is written as a statement of FACT. When written correctly an affirmation triggers an image in your mind of your goal already accomplished.
Affirmations are tools to deliberately create your “memory” for the future by projecting the future into the present through forethought.
Goals must be:
1. Personal. Written with the word “I” in them.
2. Positive. Always describe WHAT you want in your goal, not what you don’t want. Ask yourself this question. “What would it look like if it were fixed?”
3. Present tense. Write your goals as though they are already happening. This requires using your imagination and creating your future memory, which causes the drive and energy to meet your goal.
To write your goal it must:
1. Indicate achievement. Eliminate words such as “can, will, should, want to”. Include phrases such as “I am, I do or I have”. Give your sub conscious a clear picture of the end result as though it is already accomplished.
2. Not compare to others. Comparing yourself to others is ineffective. Your measurement of growth is based upon maximising your potential and your individual performance.
3. Use action words. Use terms that describe and trigger action pictures, such as “easily, quickly, confidently, and energetically” in your goals.
4. Use emotion words. These are of critical importance. The more positive emotion you feel when picturing your accomplished goal, the faster your affirmation will work for you. To check whether you have included the emotion, ask yourself this question. ”How will achieving this goal make me feel?”
5. Have accuracy. It is important to be as specific and detailed as possible. IE. If your goal is to regularly exercise, what kind of exercise? How regularly? What time of day and for how long? A goal without detail is too vague to picture accurately.
6. Balance. Set goals and write affirmations for all areas of your life. Focusing on one/two areas does not enable you to achieve your full potential.
7. Be realistic. After you have written your goals, close your eyes and picture it. Can you imagine and experience yourself there? You need to be able to visualise experientially the image of your goal.
8. Be confidential. Share your affirmations only with those you are certain will be supportive and help you achieve them. Most of your personal affirmations need not be shared.
Give it a go. Try applying this technique to your goals. What have you got to lose? Nothing! What can you gain? A sense of purpose and something for you!
Write down your affirmations, keep them close and say them, twice a day. Invest in your goals and believe in them. If you make your goals work for you AND you work for your goals you will have success.
Give it a go. Tell me how you get on. If you would like some help, contact me on the email below. Good Luck!
James Broadbent
reachjames@me.com
When I first arrived in Paris, the question: ‘And now what?’ popped in my mind several times. I had many projects of my own that I decided to bring further while here. I started all of them, but finished none.
Some of the things I was busy with included:
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‘Find a job’ (freelance or full-time)
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Organize my activities (Taiji)
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Bring forward the projects I have started in Shanghai
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Write a book (well i did write a few articles)
After a few months I realized that I was just rushing into all of these things without having carefully planned anything...
The main reason why I did this is because I realized that my wife was working while was not ‘earning money’ and I had to do something. Today I still think in that way, but while is always good to have a deadline for this, is also important to take enough time to think it through.
If you are someone like me, this is my tip for today:
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Take some time to think about your purpose here and ask yourself what you want to do;
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You might not have a specific answer (like me)... If you do, think again
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Make a plan of what do you want to achieve while here and take a first step to realize that plan
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Revise your plan monthly or weekly to make sure that you did not fall back in ‘robot mode’
Start by setting easy goals, because living in a different environment can considerably affect your efficiency, if you plan to stay in your host country for more than one year, do not forget to insert ‘learn language’ in your TODO list!
Tommaso
www.tommibruce.com
sora.tommaso@gmail.com
I’ve recently taken part in a short seminar about job networking and I find this blog the perfect place to share the knowledge I gained there. It’s probably what everyone knows in some part but it’s good to ask yourself, from time to time, if you’re doing best you can to boost your professional contacts’ number in Paris. This short bullet lists will help you with that.
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Forget about false ideas such as: ‘I don’t want to annoy others with my job search’. Professionals like to meet new people and developing their own professional network. Plus, they may feel flattered.
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The first circle of your network is people who you actually know and who might know someone you’d like to know. This circle might include everyone. Your friends, your neighbour, your ex-colleagues, friends from university, ex-clients and suppliers, member of the same associations/ groups as you, members of your national community. Everyone has the potential to increase your network. The objective is to get professional contacts and (is possible) personal recommendation from the people of the first circle of your network.
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The second circle of your network is constituted by contacts shared by the first cycle. Those are professionals from the sector you’re interested in. They might help you to reach people who have a job for you. Try to meet them personally!
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When you finally meet the person from the second circle, remind them of your mutual acquaintance and introduce yourself very synthetically (he or she don’t have much time for you). Try elevator speech. Say who you are (your diploma, professional background, main professional skills), describe your career plan (jobs, sectors, company types) and end with your main professional achievements (interesting for your audience). Your self-presentation should not take more than 3 minutes!
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Most important rule. Don’t ask for a job. Ask for advice! In most of the cases they don’t have a job to offer and they will feel frustrated because of their inability to help you. On the other hand they will always feel happy to give you an advice and, by that, show themselves as experts. Ask them about industry, sector, market, business development, best career path etc. Ask about contacts likewise! (Prepare your list of targeted companies in advance)
After a successful meeting you will have a professional who knows your advantages and goals. You will also have practical information about your sector and its professional opportunities in Paris. And in the end you will have some further contacts to get to know.
Happy networking!
Marta @ Palecpodbudke
Paris – the European dream of many. But what really entails living in the city of light, love and dreams? Your French can barely pull you through a daily purchase at the boulangerie, you are not able to find a job, and you are not making friends by cocooning in your Haussmann apartment. So you need a back-up plan to be a Parisian. The easiest way for me, speaking from my own experience, is to volunteer and these are why I think it has benefited me in so many ways.
Why volunteer?
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- See a new culture from the inside. Joining a local volunteer and carrying out local activities and mixing with other volunteers will allow you to immerse into the local culture quickly.
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You’ll have unique opportunities. You will be able to see as much of the local culture as those who has lived in the country. You will get to do things that a professional job could not offer you.
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You’ll be giving something back. Be it a non-profit organization or an NGO, you will be doing something for the community and the city you are living in.
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Personal growth. You get to experience new roles which you never thought you will be able to handle, you get to work in an environment which was once alien to you, and you will become more independent and courageous in this new city.
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A sense of achievement. Recognition of your efforts and s good job done inspires confidence and pride. This is something one can’t achieve by sitting at home.
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Learn a host of new things. It allows you to learn interesting cultural differences, as you will meet other volunteers and organization members from all over the world.
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Meet new friends. Making friends with your fellow volunteers is a strong motive for many of those who chose to volunteer. There is always an inherent bond of togetherness that comes from being in a foreign environment. Many volunteers make lifelong friendships from discovering new things together. It is invaluable being able to meet others who are like-minded and are in the same position as you.
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Perhaps even learn a new language. Bien sur!
Sharon
- I currently volunteer for International Dual Career Network Paris, WICE and Asian Women’s Association of Paris
As my own expatriation to Paris continues my thoughts are increasingly turning to the next adventure in a new country. Moving on can be an exciting time, agreeing locations, house hunting, imagining things yet to happen and so on.
But, what about my current mission in Paris? How have I spent my time here? What have I achieved? What would I like to achieve while I am still here?
I heard an interesting story about an expat who was based in London. She was there for work & her family remained in her own country. During her 3 years in London she worked hard, as we all do, put in many evenings and spent most of her weekends travelling back to her family. What she didn’t get to do was enjoy her time in a vibrant capital city and culturally rich country. This suddenly became an issue when the next assignment was offered and accepted. At this point she thought “oh dear I need to visit some sights”. This led to a frantic few weeks trying to pack in the “major sights”. This seems such a shame that she didn’t manage to achieve a work-life balance that would allow her to really get to know the country and make the most of her expatriation. How often do you think this is the experience of expats?
This tale got me thinking about what I would like to achieve whilst in Paris in the time that I have left in this wonderful city.
Since arriving in Paris, my partner and I have made a conscious effort to not be like our colleague above, but to make the most of our time here. We have seen many sights, visited the Loire Valley and rented a villa in the South of France. The major French sporting events have been spectated and I have acted as tour guide for many of our friends. I volunteer with the IDCN and work on my own projects. So far so good!
As 2014 began I started to develop my own “bucket list” of things to do whilst in France. To put this into perspective I thought about our time left here. Maybe this is something that will help you too:
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If you assume that you might move a year from today that is 52 weeks. Your partner (and possibly you) works 5 days a week. That leaves the weekends, or 104 days.
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Take out planned holidays, Christmas, as well as regular activities you undertake, you may well have less than 50 days in which to work with your bucket list!
Suddenly that year you had has become much shorter!
So what do you want to achieve in the time you have left? See the Mona-Lisa, take a bateau mouche? Maybe you would like to visit the Alps or eat in every burger restaurant in Paris?
I made my own bucket list, and yes, we’ve started working our way through it. One of those things was to run in a road race in Paris. Paris breakfast run done!
Another thing was to visit the Pierre Lachaise cemetery, also done & we have plans to carry on working though the list. Once this is complete I will be able to feel that my time in France has been spent well and that will have built many more happy memories from our time here.
So well done me, but WHAT ABOUT YOUR BUCKET LIST? What would you like to do? What would you recommend to others? How are you going to plan to do it?
Why not give some thought to your bucket list, get out to see the sights and maybe avoid the need to run to “see the major sights” before an onward move?
Good luck & have fun with those lists!
James Broadbent
reachjames@me.com
I read this interesting article by Bernard Marr and thought you'd enjoy reading it.
Bernard is a Key Influencer on LinkedIn. He posts on diverse topics, some of which you may find interesting.
There are some simple things we can do to steer our career into the right direction and find the next dream job. As we now live in a world where we can collect and analyse data on everything, we can use that data to power our career. Here are three easy ways to do that:
1. Ensure you have what employers are looking for.
When it comes to your career, you want to make sure that you stay in touch with the latest developments, newest tools and general trends. You have to keep your skills fresh and your career current. Understanding the latest trends in your job and industry will allow you to identify the next best career moves to make as well as the top development and training opportunities for you to take. Three really good ways to keep up with trends are:
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Google Trends: A free service that allows you to map out how the worldwide search volume for your chosen key terms is changing. You can also compare a number of terms to see the relative trends.
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Elance: A site that helps to find freelancers for different jobs also analyses the global job market and provides trends on jobs by skills required with an analysis of whether demand has risen or fallen in the last quarter.
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ILO: The International Labour Organization (ILO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, publishes a lot of really useful data on labour markets and global employment trends.
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Topsy: A social media search engine that features a Twitter analytics tool. You can compare up to three subjects to understand which one is trending the most.
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Google Alerts: Set it up so you get the latest news about your industry and job directly to your inbox. You can not only check out the latest news and trends but also get alerts for job offerings as soon as they come up.
2. Find the job opportunities.
Many websites provide job offers and alerts. One I particularly like is Glassdoor. It helps you find relevant jobs but also provides a look inside the company. The site provides data and information about salaries and interviews at the company as well as reviews of what it is like to work there. Indeed allows you to set up a profile and automatically alerts you about relevant openings. Having this setup allows you to regularly read the relevant job offers and see what companies are looking for in their job specs. This way you let data and analytics do the hard work in the background, while you focus on picking the most relevant job for you.
3. Make yourself visible and interesting for a potential employer.
Employers and recruiters expect established professionals to have an online and social media presence. It is difficult to argue that you have a proven track record in your industry if no reference to yourself is found anywhere. Make sure you maintain a strong profile and social media presence.
LinkedIn is my preferred tool to do that. LinkedIn is often a first port of call for employers in their search for new talent and for individuals it is a great place to grow your network, find and interact with like-minded people and market yourself to a potential employer. Sites such as LinkedIn allow you to collect data on how your network is growing, how many of your skills have been endorsed and how many people have looked at your profile, among other things. Used well, it can provide valuable insight about how attractive you are for potential employers.
Here are some key tips to increase your attractiveness on LinkedIn:
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Ensure your profile is professional and up-to-date: First, clean up any thing that is not relevant, out of date or un-professional. Then make sure your profile includes an appropriate picture and your most relevant skills are listed and endorsed: Don’t put all your skills on the list. Pick the ones you believe employers are looking for. Then ask your network to endorse those skills. Employers and recruiters are constantly trawling profiles for the right skills mix.
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Grow your network: Send personalized invitations to key people in your industry asking to connect. Even if you haven’t yet met them personally, I find that if you make it personal and explain why you would like to connect, you often get a positive response.
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Seek recommendations: These are great ways to show potential employers that you are doing a good job.
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Engage with the community (and potential employers) : Join relevant LinkedIn groups and participate in conversations. This will show that you are actively involved in your industry and will help to boost your score on Klout, which measures influence by analysing your social media activities. Recruiters are increasingly looking at social media engagement and influence when recruiting new people.
Another great tool is blogging. You don’t have to be a trained writer or global guru to start making an impact in your industry. Many well-known bloggers are ordinary people that just started to share their thoughts and ideas. Even if you only do it two or three times a month, it gives you material to share with your network and increases your visibility significantly.
What do you think? Do these tips make sense? Have you got any others to add? Please share your views and stories…
James Broadbent
reachjames@me.com
This thought appeared in my mind some time ago. In my previous job I had a lot of experiences connected with digital media but never actually thought about knocking on the doors of Google, Facebook, Yahoo or any other new tech giant. And this market sector goes probably faster than any other.
I just read that San Francisco itself had an incredible 52% increase in tech jobs between 2007 and 2012. Amazing! Isn't it? I don't know about Paris but even if the increase in that field is not as massive as on the east side of the USA, it's probably noticeable.
I've also read this article on Mashable:
'Why Non - Tech People Should Apply for Tech Jobs' (http://mashable.com/2014/01/04/tech-jobs).
Reading it made me believe that broadening a job search in that direction really makes sense. That's why I recommend this short 'why' reasoning (plus a few tips - how to do it) to everyone who is looking for a job in Paris. And I wonder what's your opinion about that?
marta @Palecpodbudke
o you want to know more about the IDCN and its aims? Head over to this video that has been produced by Nestle, the IDCN founding company.
The video explains what we are all about and gives a great insight into the network.
Enjoy!
James.
Yes its possible to find a good job by answering announcements, visiting agencies, and finding relevant headhunters. Various studies and recruitment professionals rate the use of Personal Networking to find work very highly.
Good thing is that your network is movable, it moves with you all the time around whole globe and already now you might be thinking about your future and building your network accordingly. In general it is great practice to build your Personal network before and during any job search. You never know, people within your existing network may well be able to facilitate introductions to prospective employers. Your contacts are well placed to be able to “sell” you as you already have a relationship with them.
You are much closer to important information or source or person than you think! Your network consists of direct and indirect contacts and every time you add a new direct contact automatically you expand your network with many secondary contacts also.
What can you do right now?
Update yourself with news of your direct contacts. Time and situations constantly changes; it might be that someone can provide interesting information. By maintaining and expanding your network you will increase the probability of discovering some interesting and useful information. SMART Networking is all about getting the right job for you using networks and information in responsible and ethic ways.
What we can do right now is to organize this primary mass of information and form your database of primary personal contacts.
Lets first look around you:
Possible sources you may have. E.g:
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Address books (both electronic and manual)
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Business cards, who have you met down the years?
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Social Media contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, Viadeo and so on
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Have you lost contact with someone who may be useful to you?
What other sources you have? E.g:
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College year book,
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Directory list of your kids’ school,
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Participant list of courses/workshop you attended
Collate all these sources, maybe using a document like this:
Yes its possible to find a good job by answering announcements, visiting agencies, and finding relevant headhunters. Various studies and recruitment professionals rate the use of Personal Networking to find work very highly.
Good thing is that your network is movable, it moves with you all the time around whole globe and already now you might be thinking about your future and building your network accordingly. In general it is great practice to build your Personal network before and during any job search. You never know, people within your existing network may well be able to facilitate introductions to prospective employers. Your contacts are well placed to be able to “sell” you as you already have a relationship with them.
You are much closer to important information or source or person than you think! Your network consists of direct and indirect contacts and every time you add a new direct contact automatically you expand your network with many secondary contacts also.
What can you do right now?
Update yourself with news of your direct contacts. Time and situations constantly changes; it might be that someone can provide interesting information. By maintaining and expanding your network you will increase the probability of discovering some interesting and useful information. SMART Networking is all about getting the right job for you using networks and information in responsible and ethic ways.
What we can do right now is to organize this primary mass of information and form your database of primary personal contacts.
Lets first look around you:
Possible sources you may have. E.g:
-
Address books (both electronic and manual)
-
Business cards, who have you met down the years?
-
Social Media contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, Viadeo and so on
-
Have you lost contact with someone who may be useful to you?
What other sources you have? E.g:
-
College year book,
-
Directory list of your kids’ school,
-
Participant list of courses/workshop you attended
Collate all these sources, maybe using a document like this:
So why not focus over the next 2 weeks and note down all people you know or you are going to talk with during those days? Keep in mind also to get to know different people by diversifying. Search for opportunities to meet new people, neighborhood meetings, exhibitions, conferences, sport club, school…
Betting on chance is unreliable, so you have to keep in circulation and increase your chances of reaching the right person at the right time; the right job for you is out there!
Good luck!
Dana Mikulova.
Tel: +33 635 77 55 35
dana.mikulova@gmail.com
JOB SEARCH and Personal Marketing Strategy – Part 1
Personal marketing strategy is an important part of job searching. Searching for a job is not just applying for vacancies and waiting for the interview invitation call. The competitive labor market make the process much more complex. Having your PM Strategy including understanding sources of labor opportunities available to you will make your job search easier and help potential employers to get to know about you
Where are the vacancies/ the labor market?
One part is published, one part not. Searching the Internet, following newspapers, reading adverts, contacting headhunters, and visiting agencies –will give you access to about 30% of all sources of jobs. The rest is often not published and a bit more hidden. So get ready to dig deeper, a great place to start is either throught your specialization or personal network.
Make you networking SMART: be Specific about what you searching for. My contacts, review your adress book to get your primary contact list and start to build on it, Actualize your LinkedIn profile, keep focus and be Realistic, digging into the job market is an ongoing task, invest Time.
Following these simple steps should help you move in the right direction with your successful job search.
Dana Mikulova.
Tel: +33 635 77 55 35
dana.mikulova@gmail.com
JOB SEARCH and Personal Marketing Strategy – Part 1
Personal marketing strategy is an important part of job searching. Searching for a job is not just applying for vacancies and waiting for the interview invitation call. The competitive labor market make the process much more complex. Having your PM Strategy including understanding sources of labor opportunities available to you will make your job search easier and help potential employers to get to know about you
Where are the vacancies/ the labor market?
One part is published, one part not. Searching the Internet, following newspapers, reading adverts, contacting headhunters, and visiting agencies –will give you access to about 30% of all sources of jobs. The rest is often not published and a bit more hidden. So get ready to dig deeper, a great place to start is either throught your specialization or personal network.
Make you networking SMART: be Specific about what you searching for. My contacts, review your adress book to get your primary contact list and start to build on it, Actualize your LinkedIn profile, keep focus and be Realistic, digging into the job market is an ongoing task, invest Time.
Following these simple steps should help you move in the right direction with your successful job search.
Dana Mikulova.
Tel: +33 635 77 55 35
dana.mikulova@gmail.com
Speaking French could be a quite frustrating topic for expatriated people. Nevertheless if you want to work with French people, you should start speaking it. In fact, this language is deeply related with mental abilities, especially analytic, and these are highly considered in French professional culture.
When I arrived in Paris the first time I could already communicate in French, but very poorly. However, I had a job entailing trips to all France, so the conversations multiplied on different topics every day, as I had to talk with colleagues at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
As you can imagine it was a strenuous exercise for two reasons.
First of all because my colleagues expect me to participate in the conversations. And secondly because they constantly corrected my spoken language's mistakes, as it is common among French people.
Of course the more one is corrected, the quick one learns. However the frustration of being constantly corrected transformed the conversation in an exercise that I wished to avoid. Moreover, I had also the suspicion that my colleagues had fun doing it!
Nevertheless, later in my experience I realized that the French language is the first tool to master because the ability of having a conversation, arguing a topic, asking questions is considered much more important than any other, far more than artistic or mathematical abilities.
French school asks pupils to develop their mental capacity related to the language since kindergarten and native language requires lot of hours to be tuned. In addition, spoken French contains many idioms and several words that have the same pronunciation but very different meanings.
As a result French people need to understand clearly spoken words and the conversation context is not enough for them to understand. In conclusion, you shouldn't give it up with French language. It is not only an opportunity of communicate, it is also and more the chance of developing your mental abilities.
Stella Repola
- Serendipity for Leaders
Speaking French could be a quite frustrating topic for expatriated people. Nevertheless if you want to work with French people, you should start speaking it. In fact, this language is deeply related with mental abilities, especially analytic, and these are highly considered in French professional culture.
When I arrived in Paris the first time I could already communicate in French, but very poorly. However, I had a job entailing trips to all France, so the conversations multiplied on different topics every day, as I had to talk with colleagues at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
As you can imagine it was a strenuous exercise for two reasons.
First of all because my colleagues expect me to participate in the conversations. And secondly because they constantly corrected my spoken language's mistakes, as it is common among French people.
Of course the more one is corrected, the quick one learns. However the frustration of being constantly corrected transformed the conversation in an exercise that I wished to avoid. Moreover, I had also the suspicion that my colleagues had fun doing it!
Nevertheless, later in my experience I realized that the French language is the first tool to master because the ability of having a conversation, arguing a topic, asking questions is considered much more important than any other, far more than artistic or mathematical abilities.
French school asks pupils to develop their mental capacity related to the language since kindergarten and native language requires lot of hours to be tuned. In addition, spoken French contains many idioms and several words that have the same pronunciation but very different meanings.
As a result French people need to understand clearly spoken words and the conversation context is not enough for them to understand. In conclusion, you shouldn't give it up with French language. It is not only an opportunity of communicate, it is also and more the chance of developing your mental abilities.
Stella Repola
- Serendipity for Leaders
The International Dual Career Network [IDCN] was formed in Paris during 2012 by Nestle, L'Oreal and Axa. The aim of the IDCN is to support the spouses and partners of their expat employees in France develop networks and find employment.
The IDCN network has grown to include a further nine companies to date and over 200 expat members. This number grows around every event that is held.
A volunteer group of expats contribute their time to help and support the growth of the network. This is great in so many ways as it helps keep our brains active, we get to use our skills ( and develop some new ones!), as well as helping us connect with fellow expats in the same situation. Our volunteers also get to meet and work with corporate partners in the development of events.
If you like the idea of volunteering, keeping your skills fresh and meeting fellow expats here in Paris,get involved!
This blog is the latest development in our efforts to inform members and generate interest in the IDCN.
Our blog contributors come from across the World. Following their partner's jobs to Paris. Myself, well I'm from Manchester in the UK, my partner works for L'Oreal in a global role. Let's NOT talk about football right now!
I like a lot of expats have given up things to come to another country. I see our move as an adventure and i'm enjoying everything about living and working in Paris.
Our contributors will be blogging about their experiences. We all hope that you get involved, comment and maybe even find some of our thoughts useful!
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IDCN Paris, a potted history
Our network was established back in September 2012 and an inaugural event was noted by L'Oreal. Since then we have had events at AXA, Nestle, L'Oreal (again), Danone, Air Liquide and Saint Gobain. We are already working on our next event, to be hosted by Sanofi, in April.
The events have all focussed on developing networks,helping partners integrate into French life and give advice about our job searches. The events are designed to help & we always get overwhelmingly positive feedback.
Here are some photos of our events.
We hope that you will come to enjoy out blog. Please get involved, add your comments and give us you feedback.
Have a great day!
James.
