About Us

Anyone who hopes to continue working despite frequent relocations must be flexible, patient, inventive and proactive. A portable career often needs to be modified if it is to suit each location. The tools we need to be able to reinvent ourselves are available to all of us. The team here at www.career-in-your-suitcase.com have all created their own portable careers, live their dream and have seen success not only for themselves, but for the thousands they have inspired along the way.

Jo Parfitt lived abroad from 1987-97, accompanying first husband and then children too, from England to Dubai, on to Muscat and finally to Stavanger. During this time she retained her sanity and professional identity by creating a concurrent yet flexible portfolio of portable careers that ranged from journalism, though computer teaching to selling date chutney. She believes that life abroad is full of opportunities to reinvent ourselves and to find and follow our passions.

She works largely as a freelance international journalist, book author, publisher, presenter, careers consultant. Owing to the decade she spent abroad she now specialises in expatriate and career issues. She has been editor of Woman Abroad magazine and has worked extensively on the Weekly Telegraphs' Expat Living page. Her work can be seen in a range of expatriate publications. Her publishing company, Summertime Publishing, has produced two books - Forced to Fly and A Career in Your Suitcase. Her speaking engagements take her to international networking and career conferences as well as to run workshops for non-profit associations and spouse associations of corporations such as Schlumberger and the British Council.

Motivated by a desire to be a catalyst for change in others, her enthusiasm for her subject has led her to inspire and inform today's mobile community. In 1997 she repatriated to England with her family, where she now stays.

To contact Jo Parfitt:
PO Box 186 Easton on the Hill, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 3WA
Tel/Fax: +44 (0) 1780 444768
Email: joparfitt@career-in-your-suitcase.com

Nadine Taylor - Designer, England
When Nadine left college she was torn between wanting to join the RAF & “being good at art”. So she did both, enjoying a long career as a designer and by also taking a Commission into the RAF Reserves. Then in a short space of time she moved countries, twice, gave up both her careers, got married, had a baby, tried to re-establish her career, failed first and succeeded second.

It was Nadine's involvment in Women Connecting Women she believes that changed her life. Within a few months of joining the group she became the co-ordinator then, in June 2002 launched WcW as an international organisation offering inspiration, support & information to women interested in careers, business and personal development. The following year Nadine was asked to take over another business networking organisation and increase its proile and membership.

In 2005 Nadine became involved with the international campaign group Fathers 4 Justice and has recently taken over its womens branch Purple Hearts. Nadine once again combines both her career in design & her passions for writing, speaking, meeting & connecting people, and more importantly, despite everything she does, she spends more time with her little girl as they wait for the arrival for her second child this December. As she meets more people through her ‘passions’ they in turn provide business and contacts. Now Nadine runs Nadine Taylor Design which combines all her passions so she in turn can connect you and inspire people to network for business.