I Spy: How to Scope Out a Company Before the Interview

Not 100% transposable to Switzerland but very interesting article including all the basics about pre-interview research. 


http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2012/05/23/i-spy-how-to-scope-out-a-company-before-the-interview/

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I try to blog 3 to 4 times a month to provide Swiss career related information, news, tips or market trends to my readers.

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Sandrine van den Oudenhoven

job4U2

9 tips to work with the headhunters in Switzerland

Hunt the headhunters!

Find this article on the new job4U2 webpage! 

Job boards: How efficient they are to get me a job?

When contemplating what is to be done to find a job in Switzerland, it’s very tempting to surf on the various job boards and to apply massively online.

However, most expat spouses I meet are disappointed with the outcome. Most of the time it is highly demotivating because of the poor ratio application-answers.

At job4U2, we tend to recommend investing more time on networking and on deploying a strong personal branding and marketing than on applying on the job-boards.

But most companies subscribe to these jobboards and post jobs on a regular base on these platforms.

As an example, there are currently (beginning May 2012) close to 7000 job openings on jobup.ch, more than 18 000 open positions on stellen.ch and 25 000 on indeed.ch (where you find the same as the ones posted on jobup and on stellen).

2 weeks ago, I posted a poll on an HR Swiss expert group on LinkedIn to try to better understand the impact of job boards in the recruiting process. I share the results here below with you:

Now what should we do with these results and how to explain them?

On these job-boards you will find mainly entry-level, junior and some middle management jobs.

Example: You will find only 1 position of Supply Chain Director and 10 Supply Chain Manager positions posted on Indeed for entire Switzerland at the moment.

For someone looking for a senior management position in Supply Chain, job board may not be the best strategy.

In the case of jobs, for which a lot of positions are available on the job boards, applying online and supporting your application with a personal email to the recruiter or to the hiring manager, will maximize your chance of being noticed and really considered for the job.

If you found this blog useful, you will also like the resources I put online on the job4u2 circle on LinkedIn, a group specifically created for spouses and partners relocated to Switzerland and wishing to pursue their career in their new country.

Sandrine van den Oudenhoven

www.job4U2.ch

Copyright job4U2 2012

Expatriate spouses’ intercultural personality dimensions

I recently opened the discussion on the job4U2 Circle LinkedIn group about the qualities the accompanying partner needs to have or to develop.

The question was: “What is the quality number ONE that the accompanying partner needs to have or to develop?”

Groups members selected Open-mildness and flexibility as being the most important.


2 (33%)

Although I do not know any university studies which treats exclusively about the qualities a partner needs to have to experience a successful relocation, the study from Kim van Erp (When Worlds Collide) demonstrated the importance of expatriates’ and expatriate spouses’ intercultural personality dimensions (emotional stability, social initiative and open mindedness) as a resource for their adjustment abroad.

In her conclusion, Kim van Erp even stated that in assessing whether to send an employee to a foreign posting, companies should not just establish the expatriate’s intercultural effectiveness; they should establish the expatriate spouse’s intercultural effectiveness as well and that it seems valuable to not only coach the expatriate as a preparation for and support during the international assignment, but to coach the expatriate spouse as well!

Rm. Kim told me that she wrote her thesis while accompanying her partner during an assignment abroad ;-)

What do you think, should companies assess both the employee and the spouse?

Read more: http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/faculties/gmw/2011/k.j.p.m.van.erp/?pLanguage=en

Copyright job4U2 2012

Who is Sandrine van den Oudenhoven?

Last month, Sara Santacroce a friend of mine who is an expert in social media marketing and the Managing Owner of Simplicity, posted a blog about who she was. First I was a bit surprised but while I was reading it, I realized that it was an excellent idea as there is no other place on the social media where you can have a full picture of the person you are connecting with. Good ideas are there to be followed! So here I am…

I’m Sandrine van den Oudenhoven…

I’m Sandrine van den Oudenhoven, this name that few can pronounce and even less can write, is coming from my husband who is Dutch.

I am French, born in the south of France (Lozère) and grew up in the north of France close to the Belgian border.

I am in my late 30’s (very late 30’s actually….) and the happy and busy mother of 2 little girls of 4 and 7 years old which tend to make me good at planning and organizing ;-)

At home we speak French, Dutch and also English for business topics or when we do not want the girls to understand (a strategy which failed since we realized that the oldest one understands it all….) and German sometimes too as we are living in the Swiss city of bilingualism: Biel-Bienne.

My background…

My initial idea was to speak first of the personal and then of the professional background but these 2 are too much related to be kept apart…

My original education is in Mathematics and Engineering with a specialization in packaging technologies.

From the very first months of my career (my first job was as Project Engineer for 3M in France) I’ve been wondering how I was going to manage in a dual career couple, together with my aspiration to become a mother. Things did not get simpler as career mobility added to the equation….

I was Key Account Manager for Henkel, a very exciting job with a lot of traveling around Europe, when my boyfriend had a proposal from an international company to take a job in Lausanne. This was the first time for me to be the accompanying partner (before upgrading to trailing spouse :-) and first challenge to pursue my career development while relocating to Switzerland.

After a few acrobatic moves, a change of job and a change of boyfriend…it went direction Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to follow the one who would, a few years later, become my husband. This experience has been a real learning for me and for us as a couple! We both got our Master in “ability to cope with uncertainty” ☺ and ended up for a short time in …the Netherlands and soon after in Brussels in Belgium where I finally managed to learn a bit of Dutch.

Working then for WABCO, despite the wonderful possibilities I had been given there which kept me progressing in my career while working part-time and enjoying the first months of my first daughter, I realized the limits; the ones I set for myself when I refused to consider an opportunity in China and in Poland without thinking that there were maybe solutions for my husband’s career to be considered….

Anyway, either you’re a trailing spouse or you’re not! In 2007 I resigned from WABCO, where I was then Indirect Material Global Purchasing Director to follow my husband who was promoting …to Switzerland!

My business

By now, you have understood where I’m coming from…and where I get my energy from….. and my motivation for my business job4U2.

All along the way, not only I have been several times a trailing spouse with a career, but also I know what it is to refuse mobility opportunities. And very importantly, I met many couples who where in comparable situations and whose needs and problems were not addressed.

In 2010, I founded job4U2 in Biel-Bienne a city in canton of Berne located at the junction between French and German speaking Switzerland.

Job4U2 offers companies in Switzerland support to their international employees involved in a dual-career relationship. We support the employees’ partners to deploy his/her career project here in Switzerland.

We guide them through the cultural differences of the application process, support their personal branding and marketing and help them building their social and professional network at their new location place.

I am lucky to be passionate about my work and about the people I meet while working.

Oh and I forgot to say, I am very curious and would love to read WHO YOU ARE…so please, tell me something about you on this blog.

Join me on the new job4U2 blog!

Cheers

Sandrine

Archive April 2012 Newsletter job4U2

Page updated on 15 April 2012

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Leo Tolstoy said “Spring is the time of plans and projects” and I believe he was right!

1^st of January is probably the date on which you write down your plans and projects on your list but with the arrival of spring you finally get the necessary energy to make things happen.

Obviously, job4U2 is following the trend, with new activities such as the very recently created “job4U2 Circle” on LinkedIn and the soon coming training sessions. However, our priority this month is to offer more resources to support your plans and projects:

Our “Guide for the partner, Region Swiss midland” is now available for free on our Facebook page, which has adopted the fresh timeline layout. Have a look and do not forget to “like” it!

Professionals can also consult the “Guide for the partner, Region Swiss midland” directly on the LinkedIn page.

This month’s specific subject is about working with headhunters: you are invited to read our article “Hunt the headhunters”. Feedback is always welcome either on Facebook or also on the blog where you will find even more resources like the new blog entry on being self-employed.

You can subscribe to the monthly issue of the job4U2 newsletter by sending your request directly by mail here.

Job4U2 wish you a successful spring season!

Kind regards,

Sandrine van den Oudenhoven, job4U2

Previous: Page updated on 6 March 2012

How do I keep motivation high during my job search in Switzerland?

Last week I attended a workshop about networking specifically organized for dual career partners having freshly relocated to Switzerland.
At the end of the presentation, one of the spouses asked the speaker how to stay motivated during the job search. To provide her with a specific and complete answer and because it’s a real concern for many other job-seeking spouses, I decided to write a blog about the subject.

Here are 6 hints to consider:

1- Manage expectations: The most important is to know what to expect.

If you start your job-search having in mind that it’s a matter of 3 or 4 weeks of intensive work of sending applications, going to interviews and taking assessment tests, you may find it difficult to pursue your effort during the next months.

Assuming you are already well prepared, have a clear target, know your strengths and unique selling points, a job search in Switzerland will take you 3 to 6 months for Junior to middle management position and 6 to 12 months for executive positions.

2-   Do not compromise on your objective.

You can compromise on the means to reach you objective but not on the objective itself.

I give an example: You were a manager in the industry, had a team reporting to you, and were praised for your good results and got recognized for your strategic mindset.  Imagine you have just taken a 3 years’ break to take care of your children and have just moved to Switzerland.  Many people will tell you: “just take an easier job, 1 or 2 level below your previous job”.

Now, I am asking you: Will you be motivated to invest 4 months of hard job search work to look for such a job?

Shouldn’t you rather ask yourself what should be your next career step? What should you do to get there?

3-  Understand your internal motivation process.

Take some time to think about what you are looking forward to in your next job. Is it working in a team? Is it getting recognition from your management; is it getting a good salary, or is it something else?

Do not forget to remind yourself regularly what it is exactly what you will get and how much you value it.

4- Get involved in a secondary project, which will counter balance the down mood periods you may experience in your job search with positive ones.

It could be a voluntary job, with Compétences Bénévoles for example (www.competences-benevoles.ch) or active participation in a network (IDCN spouse comity; Internations, French or German conversation groups or professional networks existing or to be created), starting a small business etc.

5- Do a lot of what you like.

As stated in point 1, your job search is going to be a middle to long term occupation, therefore you’d better organize it in a way that it brings a lot of satisfaction. Keep some time to do what you like and to enjoy the new location: Outdoor sports (skiing, hiking) with other job-seeking partners having comparable time schedules, meeting new people, traveling around Switzerland: Why not treating yourself to a touristic visit of each town where you’re invited for an interview?

6- Get professional support to guide you though the process.

A professional career coach will not only help you preparing your application file, facilitate your networking, support you in setting a strong personal brand, we will also help you to implement the 5 previous hints shared in this blog.

 

What about you? How do you keep motivation high during your job search in Switzerland?

Sandrine van den Oudenhoven

job4U2

Copyright job4U2 2012