August 2002

Firstly, my apologies for the late arrival of this Inspirer. I have been on holiday in Spain, and this time, did not take my laptop with me. Utter bliss! In this edition I am going to talk about two important topics that can make a big difference.

Values
In the July edition I suggested that you all take an inspiring book along with you on holiday, so I did the same. My choice was Be Your Own Careers Consultant by Gary Pyke and Stuart Neath. Maybe it was the funky cover, but my husband had snatched it away from me before I was half way through!

It was thrilling to read that the authors, who have themselves spent many years perfecting a series of workshops that teach how to do what you love for a living, appear to share my convictions. However, they had some nuggets of wisdom to add to the pot. I am always telling my students that they must first find their values. Pyke and Neath believe this too, but remind us that our values may lurk in three different settings:

Ask for it
In my books and workshops I often talk about how important it is to ask others for feedback. It is also important to ask for what you want. Most people cannot read minds, but it never ceases to amaze me that my children do not put their dirty plates in the dishwasher however hard I try to will them to do it. They need asking.

Well, as the production of A Career in Your Suitcase 2 nears the printing process, I have been in the position of having to source myself a few quotes from my supporters. It is very unBritish of me to ask for praise, still less to accept it, but as a self-publisher, I had no-one else to ask to do the asking for me, if you get what I mean. So, one rainy July afternoon, I sent out a few samples of the book and emailed 40 or so people. I asked them to comment on the entire Career in Your Suitcase program. The workshops they have attended, the books and articles they have read, and, of course the website.

Within a matter of hours, it may have been rainy outside, but in my office there was blue sky all round. The comments I received were just tremendous. If I had never asked, I would never have received.

My friend, Donna Messer, the networking guru, is always connecting people, and many of these liaisons turn into successful associations and businesses. When she first connected me, I asked her how I could repay her, and she said all that she wanted was a testimonial. She simply wanted me to write and thank her.

Make sure that you always provide your clients or students with feedback and evaluation forms. No-one likes to have negative feedback, but without it we cannot improve. The positive feedback serves to maintain our morale and motivation.

I now maintain two files of nice things that people have said about me or my work. I have one electronic one on the computer, into which I put emails and another in my filing cabinet, into which I place the evaluation forms and thank you notes. Taking a look at them never fails to give me a boost and remind me of why I am valued. Not least, at the times when you too need to do a bit of self-promotion, it is useful to be able to lay your hands on a pile of positive quotes that you can then transfer onto your publicity material.

But before I finish writing about this topic I need to tell you about something else I asked for lately. In October, as you know, I will be a guest speaker at the Families in Global Transition conference in Indianapolis. Just before I went on holiday I decided to book my flights and was flabbergasted at how expensive it had become. Some of the conferences I speak at do not pay speakers so there was no chance of funding there. So, first I asked Susan Ginsberg of REA in the US, if she had any ideas how I could reduce the cost of my trip. Susan put me in touch with her local travel agent, Goli, and I was delighted to find that the cost could be halved if I booked from the US rather than the UK. So thank you Susan for that. Next, I asked Expatrium magazine if they would like me to represent them at this conference in exchange for underwriting my expenses. They too agreed. So now all delegates will be able to pick up a copy of this fine magazine at the conferences. Find out more at http://www.expatrium.com.

If you don't ask ­ you don't get! I am so glad I asked.

Jo Parfitt

Read all about it
I need to tell you about two books this month. The first is called Inspiring Leadership and has been written by three women who have all been involved in the BT round the world Global Challenge yacht race. Rosie Mackie and Andrea Bacon are both directors for a management training company while the third author, Jane Cranwell-Ward is a director of Henley Management College. What is so interesting about this book is that its sub-title "staying afloat in turbulant times"is more than a metaphor. For, by studying the actions, choices, skills and results of the 12 yacht skippers and their teams, they have shown what really does make a difference. Covering popular topics such as emotional intelligence, diversity and stress, this book is not only fascinating, but a must-have for anyone who wants to manage an effective team. Published by Thomson, it costs £19.99. http://www.thomsonlearning.co.uk.

The next book is Working Abroad ­ the complete guide to overseas employment. Now in its 23rd Edition and published by Kogan Page this has been updated again. Now it contains more than 40 country profiles in addition to masses of information on managing your finances, employment law, health, the move, children and dual career issues. It is a quite a tome at over 400 pages, but most valuable. It costs £12.99.

Buying books.
Anne Lovely, of Fourth Beach Company has become a good friend of mine over the years, and since I returned to England, I have discovered that she lives just 10 miles away from me. She also has a son, the same age as one of my boys. Anne runs a book mail order company and can get hold of any title for you. Unlike Amazon, she offers a wholly personal service and can even recommend titles and source obscure books for you. Anne is my bookseller of choice. So if you would like to order any of the books you see mentioned here, just contact me with your requests or orders and I will pass them onto Anne.

Archived inspirers
Did you know that all past Monthly Inspirers to read them click here

Things you say about the Monthly Inspirer
It is only appropriate in an edition about feedback, that I share with you some of the things you have been saying about this ezine:

Charlotte DeWitt, the FAWCO Representative from Stockholm and Chair of the 2003 FAWCO conference, said:"I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy reading your Monthly Inspirer. I nibble away at the weblinks that you list, and hope some day to meet all your "extended family" one way or another."

Leanne Evans, an Australian based in Athens, made a suggestion, which I have attempted to take on board: "Please can you fix the way you write websites in the newsletter so we can click direct ie take out the underlining and put the http:// first, this would make life much easier."

Alison Clements-Hunt, director of Odyssey and based in Geneva said:
"Thought the July Monthly Inspirer was absolutely excellent - talk about packed - I didn't know what to follow up on first!"

Vera Nicholas-Gervais from Canada said:
"Jo - just a quick note to say how much I enjoy the Monthly Inspirer. It's always a fun read and an amazing resource. I find myself forwarding it to clients right and left. Thanks for the wise words as we all head into wonderful summer - yeah, somehow those to-do lists have a way of losing steam these days - just what the doctor ordered."

May I introduce you to?
I thought you might like to hear about Julianne Evans, who is an expatriate herself, and has discovered that we all react differently depending on where we live in the world. Based on astrology, Julianne offers an astromapping service, where she can predict how you will fare in different parts of the world depending on when and where you were born. Her findings for me were very accurate, I must say, suggesting that I work too hard in the place I now find myself but that I would have the greatest work-life balance in the Middle East. Julianne charges about £15 for her email based service, and she can be contacted on julianneevans@hotmail.com

Mary van der Boon has become a great friend of mine, having bumped into her at a string of international conferences. A Canadian, married to a Dutchman and living in Holland, Mary has spent most of her adult life in the Far East. She is passionate about glass ceilings, sticky floors and glass borders and has written and spoken extensively about women in the global workplace. But Mary is above all an Asia expert. She knows heaps about doing business in Asia and is a respected and successful intercultural trainer, with clients all over the world. A prolific writer too, Mary and I can often be found with articles back to back in magazines such as Expatrium and Eurograduate. In September at the WIN conference in Lausanne, Mary and I are co-hosting a three hour seminar on the Essential Relocation, which will focus on creating a mobile career. You can find out about her company at http://www.globaltmc.com or you can email her at mary@globaltmc.com.

Paula Kugelman will also be joining us at WIN. She is a licensed clinical social worker who has done detailed research into stress and how each type of stress affects our health. Each type of stress affects specific organs. Her work is fascinating, and I first heard her speak at the Global Living conference in Brussels back in March this year. Contact her on pkugelman@aol.com.

Caroline Pover is "a broad" in Japan, and her book entitled Being A Broad in Japan has been a huge success for her over there. Caroline claims to be "just like me," so I am really looking forward to meeting her in the autumn when she comes over for a whirlwind speaking tour, which has been ably organised by my friend and expat PR consultant, Fiona Cowan. Caroline will be on GMTV on the 3rd or 4th October, and then at Leeds and Cardiff universities. Other speaking appearances are yet to be confirmed, but if you would like Fiona to keep you informed please contact her on Fiona_M_Cowan@hotmail.com. Caroline is extending the Broads Abroad network around the world and specialises in speaking on Japanese and women's issues. Caroline can be contacted directly at Broads@gol.com.

Find me at:

26-29 September
WIN 2002, Lausanne
1500-1800, Thursday 26th September
The Essential Relocation Workshop ­ the A-Z for women living and working internationally Mary van der Boon, Jo Parfitt and Paula Kugelman
http://www.winconference.net

2-4 October
Families in Global Transition 2002, Indianapolis
A Career in Your Suitcase workshop with Jo Parfitt
Poster Session on Getting Publishing with Jo Parfitt
http://www.tckworld.com/fgt
Early bird discount extended to 1st September

4-5 November
Corporate Relocation News, London
euroNorthAtlanticGlobal HR Congress
World Trade's Impact on Company HR Policies,
Strategic Localization and Cross-border Employee Mobility
Presented by CRNNEWS in association with The Wall Street Journal, Europe
I will not be presenting here, but will be selling copies of A Career in Your Suitcase 2 and giving out copies of Expatrium. Alain Verstandig of NetExpat (http://www.netexpat.com), will be hosting a panel on dual career issues.
I have attended and spoken at many of these conferences, which are held all over the world several times a year. They cover issues that are of burning interest to relocation service providers and HR and are an invaluable source of great networking. Discount: CRNNEWS is offering a deep-discount to corporate HR Directors and individual spouses of just £100 (100 Sterling) per person for the entire conference, or a 1-day option at only 60 Sterling. The special fees cover education classes and available speaker materials, the trade show component, and conference-related food and beverages.
Find out more at: http://www.crnnews.com/crn/crnconf.asp?cid=3

22 November
Brussels
If any of you live in Brussels, or have friends there who would like to hear me speak, the agenda for my day there on 22nd November, My thanks go to artist Beth Koestal, whose piece about her life as an expat artist can be viewed on the website, for arranging this.

New on the website
Fifty brilliant ideas
You will find this new, updated list of portable career ideas on the website at http://career-in-your-suitcase.com/resource/brilliant_ideas.htm . Go there to see the original list and then add your own ideas. Ideally they should be something that you have either done yourself or have known someone else to do, but there is nothing wrong with innovation!

Careers to Go
Beth Koestal is an artist, now based in Belgium, who has lived all over the world and found many ways of making her passion pay. Read her quirky account of how she has survived against the odds. Find this at: http://www.career-in-your-suitcase.com/careers/art.htm

High Tech Networks
Glenda Stone, the founder of the highly acclaimed Busygirl network, has recently been named Entrepreneur of the Year. I have met her many times and have attended her International Women¹s Day lunches as well as several of her monthly networking meetings. Glenda is an Australian in London and a couple of years ago she originally set up this network for women who were involved in the dot com and high tech industry. Now her success has spread to appeal to men and women in or out of high-tech. It is interesting to note that most of the high tech women¹s networks are led by female expatriates. Find out more about Glenda¹s work at http://www.busygirl.co.uk and then take a look at all the other networks at: http://www.career-in-your-suitcase.com/networks/hightech.htm

Interview Strategies
Sandra Webb is an HR professional who runs a company called Opening Doors, specialising in helping you to get that job. Find her list of the most asked interview questions on the site at: http://www.career-in-your-suitcase.com/tips/most_asked.htm

And while we are talking about interviews, you can find Ricklin-Echikson Associate's tips for informational interviewing (that¹s when you arrange a factfinding meeting with a professional and you interview them) at: http://www.career-in-your-suitcase.com/tips/info_interviews.htm . And you can find their tips for networking glitches, you know, the kind of thing you need to know when no-one seems to be returning your calls, at:. http://www.career-in-your-suitcase.com/tips/networking_glitches.htm

Free seminars
October 1st 2002, London
The Relocation and Repatriation Conference and Exhibition
Victoria Park Plaza Hotel, SW1
Assunta Mondello and Helen Elliot of The American Hour and The Expatriate Adviser (http://www.theamericanhour.com) are again hosting an expatriate conference and exhibition in London. Free seminars run throughout the day, with:
10.30 - Growing Up Around the World ­ Surviving and Thriving with Mary Langford of Southbank International School
11.45 ­ the Dual Careers Issue with Patricia Keener of Keener and Associates
1.30 - Repatriation ­ Return of the Prodigal with Sian Ellis of Training Across Culture Ltd
2.45 - Global Trends in International Assignments with Siobhan Cummings or ORC
4.00 - Improving Productivity of your Mobile Employees sponsored by Crown Relocations.
To book your place please call Helen on 0020 8661 0186 or email helen@theamericanhour.com