While it all sounds perfect (and some days, I think it is quite close to it), I think sometimes this is life, right? You are finally settled, comfortable, and in your routine, only then faced with a decision to change it all up again. Maybe you are wondering why he cannot just come to Prague – well, the main reasons are that he would have trouble finding a good paying and growth opportunity job in comparison to London (the reality – he is an accountant). And while I love my colleagues and enjoy the work most of the time, I also know that I cannot stay in this position forever and there will come a time in which I need to move on. So hence, that time is now.

Something amazing and unexpected happened when I told my boss I was leaving. I was offered by my company to work from London. I was blown away. I didn’t think it was an option because it seemed a bit unrealistic due to the salary level differences between the two countries. However, it became a reality. It is such a helpful transition for me and entering into marriage this year – I was speechless.

I believe these things tend to happen when:

1. You are doing the job the best you can. Sure, you have days where you are not so focused or motivated or you are constantly thinking if this is the right direction, but you do what you can. You show up and you do what you say you are going to do. Imperfect progress. And of course, look for something else if you know it is not the right fit at all.
2. Kindness and humility. I am convinced these two qualities overrule anything else and always lead to more.
3. Trust and faith – I am in a phase when I am trying to not predict my life anymore or control it so much that I do not allow other amazing things to happen. To keep going and trusting that Someone is looking out for me – not in a genie sort of way, but in a very real way even if not always in my timing that I wish for.

I find myself always searching for the next thing. I am a changer. But at the same time, there is such beauty in being open to what crosses your path. My heart of hearts desire to help women and girls trapped in human trafficking – how and doing what exactly? I am not quite sure. Sometimes I want to quit my job and work for a nonprofit doing just that, but then maybe in the end, I will be more effective in this role later especially in the financial realm. I have never worked in a charity so I think my expectations are high that if I quit to do that, I hope to change the world. But I believe we can change the world in ANY role and in ANY position – especially when we let go a bit of our own controlled timeline and path.

My next adventure just started in December in London. I honestly do not know what the future holds in regards to a career, but at least for the six months I do which is all I need for now.

The modern career woman: BOLD. GRACIOUS. KIND. HUMBLE. DETERMINED. OPEN. ADVENTUREOUS. LOVING. THANKFUL. And even sometimes not so stubborn (although most of the time, she probably is) and willing to give up some of her freedom and independence for something greater – that, in the end, offers more freedom than she could ever imagine.

Cheers to London and becoming a team with a man I can call a true friend and the type of love I have waited for – I will keep you posted.

Heather Schnacke

Olivia, what is the story behind your move to China?

I started studying Chinese at St. Mary’s High School. It was the first high school in Oregon to offer Chinese program. The summer after my first year of studying we had an opportunity to come China and I was one of the seven students selected. We travelled all around China during the holiday, it was my first trip outside of the States. It was the Summer 2007, and we went to Beijing, Henan, and the southern part of China, Kunming in the Yunnan province. It was so different from anything I had known or been exposed to before. After that experience, I started thinking that this is the path that I wanted to follow. I studied Chinese and business throughout college and I completed my final six months of college in Beijing, at Beijing Language and Culture University. I moved there by myself and enrolled in an intensive language program. The classes were only taught in Chinese and I was the only American in my class, with no other native English speakers. I think I cried a lot (laugh) and I was a little bit miserable for about five months, but by the sixth month I was loving it: I have this distinctive memory of riding in a cab and passing all these incredible buildings in Beijing. The energy from the city was electrifying. I went back to Oregon, graduated and found a job at an international adoption agency. I was helping prospective parents through the first 1 to 2 years of the adoption process. I was also helping to update the organization’s website to drive more traffic and liaising with our Beijing office. While this role was a huge learning opportunity for me, I knew it wasn’t my career path. I really wanted to move back to China and pursue a career in international business.

How did you do it?

The easiest way to be back in China quickly was through a teaching job. To the surprise of my friends and family it only took me couple of weeks to get one. The whole process of getting a visa took around four months. My parents knew I wanted to move back to China. Although it was probably hard for them, they never questioned it. They knew I could do it and I knew I was determined to make it work. I ended up in a city nearby Shanghai. The first time I visited Shanghai in March 2015 I totally fell in love with the city. I said to myself: I must move here. And to think, I didn’t even know what I know now about the city!

How did you find your current job?

I was using LinkedIn, Smart Shanghai, E-China cities. I had quite a few interviews, but nothing really seemed to be the right role for me. I knew I was passionate about and storytelling and how brands design and market products. At that time, I didn’t know marketing and branding were the answer until after I had an interview for a marketing position with a solar energy company. Although it wasn’t the right fit I enjoyed working on several interview projects. It helped me to narrow down my search.

The position I am in now was posted on LinkedIn and I applied for it. I had fifty connections and an outdated profile picture, but I got called in for the interview. Now I have over 1,100 followers and have published several popular posts and articles, several of them receiving over 12,000 views. I was featured in Forbes because of a connection I made on LinkedIn. We began a conversation about getting qualified leads through HubSpot, and we ended up writing an article that was published on Forbes, in just over a week it surpassed 5,000 views.

I know people in my industry are using LinkedIn, but I don’t see people, especially my peers, using it to its full potential. Nowadays building your personal brand is extremely important, it is the biggest thing you will carry with you from job to job. The reality is that my generation will be changing jobs at least a few times throughout their careers. LinkedIn is the platform to build your professional presence online. Twitter and Instagram are important too, but the LinkedIn is the ultimate professional space where people are going to go to search not only for talent, but for thought leadership. How have you contributed, what do you have to say about your industry? Building and interacting with your network is important, and now is the time to utilize LinkedIn to do this . I wrote about in What I learned from LinkedIn’s first Official Meetup in China article.

Can you tell us about your typical day at work?

I work for Brandigo , a global branding and marketing agency, with offices in Shanghai, Boston and Manchester. I’m based in Shanghai as our in-house marketing manager. I develop and carry out our inbound marketing strategy, this means I’m working with our marketing automation software, HubSpot, which helps to attract and track qualified leads. Each day I’m checking how are people interacting with our website, looking at which content is the most read and shared, what problems are people searching for that we can help solve, and what channels are they using? I develop our content strategy, keep our marketing collaterals updated and looking fresh.

What are the skills needed to succeed in marketing and branding in China?

You have to realize that the market here is unlike anything you have seen and experienced before. I cannot tell you how many conversations I have with professionals in this industry who will tell you that no matter what, you must be prepared to throw most of what you know out the window. China is changing incredibly fast, much faster than in the West. I see many international brands coming into China and they have no idea what WeChat is, but they want it. The fact is that marketers need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. China is massive, each city is like an individual country, and all these cities are very different from each other. A great WeChat will only get you so far, it’s about finding the right way to localize everything. If you can roll with the punches, see 10 steps ahead, listen to what is happening, and be flexible, you can survive in China.

What is your advice for someone who’s just relocating to China?

At the beginning, it seems like a massive life change. And it will be! But you have to be proactive and seek out groups and events that interest you. The unique aspect of being an expat is that you will almost always be able to relate to other expats on some level. You will share this common affinity for adventure and independence. There will be hard days, days when everything seem to be working against you and nothing makes sense. These tough days are amplified by the fact that you are other side of the world from everything you have ever known to be comforting. However, compared to other parts of China, living in Shanghai is easy, because most people speak English, and it is a modern, multi-cultural city. Find your community, find people who share the same values, interests, passions and surround yourself with people and projects which can expand your horizons and keep you grounded.

How did you find your community?

I moved here in August 2016 and didn’t know anyone in the city. I searched on Meetup.com and found Girl Gone International. This was the first community I got involved in and it gave me a gateway to many other friendships and relevant communities. The incredible thing about China is that we have WeChat, and WeChat groups. These groups can have up to 500 people in them, and when they are well managed, like the GGI (Girl Gone International) ones, they can be incredibly useful. After GGI I attended a number of networking events, and have since become actively involved in other groups such as IPWS (International Professional Women’s Society), TedxPuxi, and FitFam. The community that I have grown the most with has been FItFam. I got involved with FitFam – a free fitness community in Shanghai, which started about two years ago. Currently FitFam has 14 locations all over Shanghai with over 2,000 active members, and over 5,500 WeChat followers. I manage the FitFam WeChat account and communication strategies. The FitFam community is so special to me, everyone, foreigners and Chinese, are so supportive and always welcoming. This community has given me so much, especially because I have been able to combine my passion for fitness and healthy living with my passion for marketing and content creation. I truly believe that if I was back home I would not have pushed myself to get involved in so many different organizations, meet so many diverse people or challenged myself explore my passions. In Shanghai, you can meet so many incredible people from backgrounds you never imagined, try new things you didn’t even know existed, and simply get out of your comfort zone. I believe Shanghai gives you the opportunity to become a much stronger, empowered person.

What is the question no one asked you about, and you feel they should?

“What can you do differently?” I made a huge, and hard decision to leave my family and my home to come to another country to work. There are some tough days; it can be lonely, and sometimes nothing makes sense, but the hard work and sacrifice should be for something much bigger. My initial decision 10 years ago to start learning Chinese was because I wanted to do something out of the ordinary. During this past year I have tried to take in every experience, every opportunity that I possibly could. The more people I meet, the more I learn, not only about myself but also about the industry I work in. Today the world we live in is increasingly competitive, and I believe that to make an impact, not only in my own life, but also to impact the lives of others in a positive way, it requires us to seek out opportunities and challenges that that are outside of the norm. This is what I am looking to do.

Thank you, Olivia, we are looking forward our next interview: Everything About Branding.

Picture credit: Olivia Plotnick, Brandigo, VPHOTOS.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Lao-tzu, Chinese Philosopher (604 BC – 531 BC)

In 2011 I quit my job in SAP recruitment in London and moved to China. Little did I know what was going to happen, but I hoped that the relocation would help me change my career.

I didn’t love my job, but I didn’t strongly dislike it either. As everywhere, it had its rainy Monday mornings when commuters were rushing through the Liverpool Station. Everyone seemed stressed out and unhappy about starting a new week in the City. However, as soon as I would get inside the office and make my coffee while chatting with colleagues, it didn’t seem that bad. ‘I can do it, I can get through another week, if I only survived Monday’ I would say to myself. There was also the thrill of headhunting, the constant buzz in the office, and a lot of laughs. Life was good and the closer to the weekend the better it was becoming. Around Wednesday, emails from my friends were starting to circulate as we were preparing for another fabulous weekend in London. It rarely happens that we are entirely happy or unhappy in our job, and I guess that makes any decision harder. When is the cutting off moment when we say: “I’m done with it and ready for a new role”? Once we have reached that stage another obstacle appears – we don’t have clarity on what we WANT.

I realized that what bothered me the most about my job was the fact that I didn’t feel challenged anymore. I didn’t want to live only for the weekend. I thought about moving to internal HR, as that was one of the most common “career transitions” for agency recruiters. I was also asking myself when was the last time I was happy at my job? The answer was three years ago, working as an executive search consultant in the energy sector. With that in mind, I was considering going back to the executive search. Then my boyfriend got a job offer in Beijing. We discussed three options: a long-distance relationship, me staying in London and trying to job hunt in Beijing, or finally quitting my job and relocating together. From a recruiter perspective, I knew that being in the right location could make a huge difference. Firstly, my CV with London and the UK number on it could go into the “bin folder” in a matter of seconds. Secondly, meeting hiring managers face to face is a small difference that makes the all the difference.

While discussing relocation, we also decided to get married. Three weeks later, on a Monday morning, I was rushing through Liverpool Station to work. I was going straight from the airport and I asked my manager if we could have a meeting. He knew I just came back from Las Vegas, he wasn’t particularly surprised about the marriage decision. However, he didn’t expect the news that I was now moving to Beijing.

I was moving to a country that I haven’t visited before. I didn’t know anyone there and I didn’t speak the language. A country that scores at the top of the most difficult places to live and work in the world. The goal was to find a new career path and I was excited about it, especially about the fact that everything was going to be different.

What happened in China?

Since it wasn’t my first relocation experience, I was confident that soon I would find my dream job. However, my confidence was crushed and then rebuilt again. It turned out that majority of mid-level HR roles in China were reserved for Chinese speakers. One of the most shocking feedback replies was from P&G: We are only hiring native Chinese people for the HR department. Recruitment is a numbers game, so I set myself a target- twenty CVs to send out per week. I started to be headhunted by recruitment agencies and without any better option, I was going for every interview I was invited.

Over countless interviews and five formal job offers later (I rejected all of them), I was disillusioned with my job search. I accepted a role as the IT Recruitment Consultant. The same job I had in London. I realized that no matter how hard I tried I will never love this job. During that time, many foreigners asked me to consult them about the job market in Asia, their CVs, and interviewing. That was a first, small step to becoming a career coach in the future. I also enjoyed training my Chinese colleagues on recruitment best practices and social media.

One day I received a call about interviewing with another IT recruitment company. I explained that I was not looking for yet another similar role. “Why don’t you just meet the manager and see what happens?” said the recruiter. It was like hearing myself many times before, convincing my candidates to be open-minded and go for the interview.

During the interview, I was very clear about what I didn’t want and what interested me. The company decided to create a new, fixed term contract role for me, which was training and coaching their recruitment team. I was going to deliver what the company needed, doing the work I enjoyed. It turned out to be one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. Before my contract expired, I updated my LinkedIn profile, and I got headhunted for an intercultural trainer role. A new career in training and coaching had officially begun.

How can you approach your career transition abroad?

• Before you throw away your current career, think about the moments you enjoy at work. These are the good clues. I realized that I was keen on helping others to learn and grow or find a better job. I did like the recruitment ambiance, and the whole process of headhunting supported by social media. Now, I train others on social media recruiting. My recruitment experience comes in handy in my coaching work.
• Think about your niche skills and how you can solve the company’s problems. Find out what are their struggles and propose your solution. Pay attention to direct competitors of your current employer. These are usually the companies that will want you the most. In my case, I offered my knowledge of SAP market and hands-on expertise in recruitment to secure a training position.
• If you work for a larger company, a good place to start career transition could be your current workplace. Much of recruitment efforts is about mitigating the risk of hiring the wrong person. Once you are in company A, someone else has already taken the risk of recruiting you. It’s much easier to change roles or even a whole career internally.
• If you relocate with your family, ask your partner’s company for career assistance. More and more companies deliver career coaching for relocating partners. Others don’t have formal programs in place yet, but they can provide some extra budget for it. I predict that it will become a growing trend because many more relocating families want to continue dual careers.
• Do an inventory of yourself (HERE is the book that will teach that) but don’t keep it for yourself. Go out, meet people, interview, brainstorm. Have the courage to say: I like your company, but I don’t like the job. If the company truly wants you, they will create a job for you. YES! It does happen.

Beata Dziedzic

Pictures: BD, Heather Schnacke, Canva

Erin Leigh studied public relations, advertising and applied communication at Western Michigan University. She came to China after graduating from college. She has been living in Shanghai for over five years, working in PR and marketing, before co-founding Spare Leash. Erin has Oliver (labrador mix), Betty (mini schnauzer), and Max (terrier mix). They used to be foster animals, but she ended up adopting them. Erin usually fosters one more dog every month. She also rescues kittens; she bottle-feeds them and looks after them while searching for adopters.

Spare Leash is dedicated to making life easier for pets and pet owners by providing loving and trustworthy pet sitters in Shanghai. Their services are safe, reliable and cage free. The company was founded in Shanghai, in 2016. In the same year, Spare Leash was awarded by Time Out Love Shanghai for Lifestyle Service of the Year.

How Spare Leash started?

Elsa: It began in 2016 when I wanted to adopt a dog from the street in Shanghai. I was still a student, and I was going traveling for a whole month. None of my friends could take care of him. Finally, I didn’t adopt this dog. However, I started to think how we can all help each other looking after pets when we travel. I had an idea, and I spent a few months thinking about Spare Leash and how I can make that happen. I had mutual friends with Erin. She was facilitating pets’ adoptions in Shanghai.

Erin: One day, Elsa texted me out of the blue, saying: “I need to talk to you. Meet me for lunch”. We met at one of my favorite restaurants, Kommune. Elsa told me about her idea. It was also a part of her university project.

Elsa: I had a class called Entrepreneurship, and that’s how I started to look at it from a business perspective. My initial idea was a pet hotel, but I wasn’t 100% happy with that and kept on brainstorming. I went to Australia for a month, and because I didn’t adopt the dog, I was thinking about it during the whole trip. I was doing my research, writing down my ideas and a business plan. When I came back, I met Erin.

Erin: Elsa nearly had a business plan and the avenue laid out, as well as the name and the logo. Right away I said: YES. The very next day we were in my living room, my three dogs were running around, and we were starting the business. It was around early April. I had just quit my job in PR.

Elsa: I was in the last semester of my Bachelor’s degree majoring in business. I had in my final exams. My final thesis was about the WeChat business, so I was going to many business events and learning from hands-on entrepreneurs.

Erin: We first built a website, which took a month. Then we had a launch party – a charity event co-organized with Best Friends China.

Elsa: We got our first client during this event. The first interviews with sitters happened in Erin’s apartment.

How do you recruit your sitters?

Erin: We don’t want people who do it only for money. The main driving factor should be their genuine passion for animals. You recognize straight away the right person: they have so many stories to tell about their cats and dogs. They say all the time: “my dog” or “my cat” and lay out all the pictures. We meet every candidate in person, and if they get a job, they go through the training.

Elsa: Some expats are in Shanghai for a short period, so they didn’t relocate with their pets. They work for us to be closer to animals and earn some extra money. These are usually good candidates. We put the job advert in Smart Shanghai and spread the word, searching for animal lovers. Everyone who wants to become our sitter needs to fill out the application first. We also ask for their photos with pets.

Erin: If someone cannot provide a picture it’s a huge warning flag.

Elsa: One candidate said that he had a lot of experience with cats and dogs, but he could only provide a picture with a cow. That was a no!

Tell us about everyday life at Spare Leash.

Elsa: We work like a dating app; getting pets’ owners agreements and pairing them up with the right sitter. We sometimes use the co-working office at WeWork, or we work at Baker and Spice café at Anfu Lu where we meet many people with their dogs. We chat with them and sometimes they even become our clients. We organize many events. For example, we had a charity Thanksgiving where people could drop the stuff like beddings or pet food that went to two shelters in Shanghai. One shelter is fully outside and they have over hundred dogs. It was perfect timing with the winter coming up and shelters in need of blankets. We also had a happy hour. It was a cold day, but many people came. Our next event will be a training for dog owners and sitters. We want our clients and sitters to interact. Now we have a team of hundred seventy sitters which is a tremendous growth. Last summer we only had sixty of them.

When you first started, you had fifteen sitters and three clients and grew to hundred seventy sitters and three hundred customers in less than a year. You were also awarded by Time Out Love Shanghai for Lifestyle Service of the Year. What is the secret of your success?  

Elsa: Spare Leash sitters ensure individual care as well as daily pictures and updates.

Erin: Instead of putting their animal into a pet hotel, our clients prefer their pets looked after in the house, by someone who is a true animal lover. The main problem of expats pets’ owners in Shanghai is finding someone to care for their animals while they travel. It’s also a key barrier for expats who want to adopt an animal in Shanghai. We fixed it.

Elsa: Spare Leash enabled me to adopt my dog. Now I can travel knowing that someone reliable will look after my dog while I’m away. The “no cage” aspect is paramount to us. In Sweden, we don’t have pet shops and pet hotels with caged animals at all. Here in China, shops with caged animals are everywhere.

I looked at the prices in Shanghai, and in many cases, it’s less expensive to hire Spare Leash than to put the pet into a pet hotel. Also, you are a real lifesaver for cat owners who love to travel. For most cats, it’s much less stressful to be looked after at their house.

Erin: Our sitters also give their full attention to pets. It’s not unusual that they cry when the owner is back and they must part with an animal. Our sitter’s boyfriend just called me and said: “Anita cannot work for Spare Leash anymore.” I asked: “What did we do to her?” He said: “The owner picked the dog two days ago and Anita is still crying.” This is how our sitters get attached to the dogs. They treat these animals as if they were their own. We want clients to be worry- free because their dog will be preoccupied with a sitter instead of staring at the window, waiting for the owner to come back.

Elsa: I once boarded a dog who used to sleep in their owner’s bed. Therefore, at my house, he was also allowed to sleep on the pillow next to me. That’s what he does at home, so I didn’t say no. He loved it and got attached to me. The family was super happy, too. Photos are also very important to us. When I leave my dog with someone else, I want to receive at least three pictures a day, and our clients can expect the same.

Aside from Spare Leash, you both rescue animals as well.

Erin: It started a long time ago before college. I was rescuing, adopting and rehoming animals. Coming to Shanghai from Michigan I saw way more stray animals. I felt something had to be done about it, so I joined a couple of groups that rescued animals in Shanghai. With the power of WeChat, we rescue animals, make them safe, and find them a comfortable home.

Elsa: I adopted my dog, Betsy, from Rose. I was going to foster, but I ended up adopting her. Now I’m getting a new foster, Luna, this week.

Erin: It’s 24/7. You surround yourself with groups of people who post updates about animals in need on WeChat and whoever is close will go and rescue the animal. There is a bunch of groups: Best Friends China, JAR, People for Pets, and Rose’s Rescue. Right now, we are working closely with Rose’s Rescue. She dedicates herself to saving animals. We help donate and fundraise for the vet bills.

How do you fundraise to help animals in need?  

Erin: We organize events. In March, we did a Pet Talk and Ride for Rescues event and raised over 2500RMB for Rose’s Rescue. We have another one coming up!

Elsa: The Shanghai pet community is always willing to help animals in need so our events are super fun and it’s a great way to give back.

Which social media do you use?

Erin: WeChat. It’s right there in front of you; you can request the phone number, the resume of potential adopter and ask basic questions. Our friend went to Hangzhou where he found a dog that was almost dying and asked us what to do. He ended up keeping the dog and recently sent us “before” and “after” pictures- he loves his dog. It’s just one of the many stories. We help to facilitate adoptions for dogs but also a lot of cats.

Erin: We also educate people: “If you find a stray animal that needs helps this is what to do. First, you take them to the vet. Taking a picture and walking away is not helpful.”

I’m so thrilled to hear all these stories. Let me ask you the last question, what’s your advice for other expats wanting to start a business?

Elsa: It takes good planning. My tutor says “put the idea in the fridge”. Let it chill a little bit, think about it, open your fridge sometimes and look at it. In the meantime, surround yourself with the right people, go for meetings about start-ups. Find someone who has the skills that you don’t have.

Erin: Some people do that for three years while working full time. I can only say: DO IT. When Elsa came with her idea, I said: “when do we start?” Don’t just have the idea, create it.

Interested in learning more about Spare Leash? Contact them on www.spareleash.com

Pictures: Spare Leash and Canva

Tiziana Figliolia is the Sr. Vice President, Global Business Operations and Finance at PTC. She is also the President and Board Member of International Professional Women Association (IPWS) in Shanghai, and a speaker on the topic of gender diversity, equality and women empowerment (Women TEDx Shanghai Salon, Shanghai International Forum on Women’s Development).

Tiziana is a global leader with 20 years of experience working with technology companies publicly traded and startups, with a wide range of strategy, planning, finance, customer support, sales & operations, R&D, and business partnering related responsibilities. As a native Italian and after graduating in Economics, Tiziana realized that moving to the USA was the right choice to springboard her career. Being a naturally curious and open minded person, Tiziana relocated a few times with her family and progressed her career around the world. Currently, she lives with her husband and son in Shanghai, a city, which she finds the most international and cosmopolitan from all the international cities.

About IPWS:

International Professional Women’s Society is a non-profit organization that provides professional women with different platforms to connect and foster personal and professional growth. IPWS has a community reach of more than 2000 women.

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Tiziana talks with Coachify about her motivations to volunteer, engage with a local community and empower professional women, as well as how it helped her to live a fulfilled life. One of the lessons we can learn from her is: choose a volunteering project or community that resonates with your life vision and passion.

Tiziana, how did you become interested in IPWS?

After working for some time in China, and completing my MBA, I felt there was a void in my life, which needed to be filled. I’ve accomplished a lot professionally, I have a great family, but I needed more to fulfill my purpose. More than the traditional work/life balance, I believe in living an integrated life where professional, personal (family) and social (giving back to the community) are interconnected and a measure of who we are, what we do and how we accomplish our life goals. These are three very fundamental parts of who I am. At the time I felt that the social aspect was incomplete. I asked myself: How do I give back? How do I make an impact on the community? I started to look around, and when my friend Margot invited me to an IPWS event, I joined. I enjoyed the crowd and the ambiance of the event and worked my way to join the Board of Directors and become the President of the organization, now for the past four years. IPWS was and still is an excellent fit in terms what I was trying to achieve.

You are describing it in a very modest way.

I’ve started to really match my personal vision with that one of the organization, which is to impact women individually and their personal and professional communities. That to me is very fulfilling, and I realize that in the process I gain more than I give.

How women come together in Shanghai?

In Shanghai, there are many organizations dedicated to women, at my last count there were 15 or more. In some ways, we overlap, and in another way, we fill the needs of the community organically. For example, the AmCham Women Executive Network, which I am part of is dedicated to executive women, while Lean In China and the Women in Leadership League are dedicated to university students and young professionals respectively. I like to think of IPWS as the most inclusive community as we reach women of all ages and professional background. Regardless of each organization’s nature, we found ways to collaborate, and that’s very powerful. We hold two roundtables a year to share our activities, and once or twice a year we organize a joint charitable event to benefit gender-focused non-profits. The most recent event was called Power Tribe where we fundraised for an organization to buy eyeglasses for women in rural China.

Does community work help in life abroad?

Yes. Shanghai is an easy city to live in, but at the same time, it can be very foreign. To have a network, support and reach can really help the quality of life and work we lead here. I am ready to bet that through my IPWS built network (and WeChat) I could be of help with anything you would ask me.

Our IPWS members are women who work in Shanghai or are in career transition because the family moved or because they are young professionals who moved here to start their career. IPWS activities and the community itself encourage these women’s feeling of empowerment, action-taking initiatives, and support for each other, so that they can get the most out of living here. But not just here, in fact, we often refer to IPWS as a global community. Shanghai is a very transient place, where people come and go. There are so many people I met through IPWS that now live all over the world. Switzerland, Germany, or North Carolina, you name it. Personally, I have a developed a global network of people with whom I share the experience and the values acquired from life abroad. It’s a very strong tie to be treasured.

Interested to learn more about IPWS? Join a career workshop How to optimize your job search in Shanghai HERE.

Photos: Tiziana Figliolia and IPWS

Yolanda sees herself as a preservationist of humanity’s current lifestyle and being. Her vision is to capture this generation’s contemporary environment for future generations.

Yolanda, when did you discover your passion for photography?

When I was a little kid my mother gave me a camera to take some pictures while I traveled with my brother on our own. After we would come home, my parents would develop the pictures and I would have the memories from the trip. The preservation of my experiences gave me the ability to share with my parents what I experienced, seen, and done. I did not have an outlet for my deep need for sharing, but taking pictures gave me the ability to preserve something not only from my life but also from others’ lives. It became a way to communicate. For my eighteenth birthday, my father surprisingly gave me a proper camera. I started to play around with it. When I was nineteen I needed to decide what I want to study after high school. I looked at architecture, psychology, and photography and then tested all of them during my summer vacation.

How did you test them?

In Germany, we have something called Volkshochschule which is a summer school/ workshop program. I participated in one photography workshop. Another workshop was about architecture. I also interviewed an architect and I asked him about his job.

He said: “There are so many people studying architecture nowadays that you will end up behind IKEA’s desk selling furniture.” This, plus my fear of math contributed to my decision to choose photography rather than architecture. I thought this would give me the ability to meet, communicate and work closely together with people, which is what a psychologist also does… However, photography gives access to a variety of different topics and fields I can work in. My father had ten or fifteen jobs in his life. I thought photography might give me the option to travel, see different cultures, work with different people and update myself to fulfill my need of learning and steady creative and personal development.’

Your father had so many jobs throughout his life. You picked up one job, which has so many jobs in it.

Exactly. There are so many fields I can work in. It took me some time to figure out my skills set in photography. The studying aspect made me really confused about which field of photography I want to work. I’ve failed a lot. Every single semester I had to redo my work two or three times. Only interior photography was OK. And there … we are coming back to architecture.

What are the other fields?

Advertising, products, … Interestingly now, in my personal work I go more and more into portrait photography, as it comes very natural and easy for me to connect with people. People trust me. However my need for straight lines and typographical work as well as my picture language initially worked better with interior and architecture. So I focused on that, and this is how I make my living right now. But by word of mouth, I have focused more and more on portrait photography, business portrait, and so on.

How do you add value at your work?

When I look from now to the end of my life… My goal is to create work which is valuable to society. In the sense that I preserve things or I immortalize people for future generations. There is one work which got already a little bit of social value. It’s called Karlstreet and The People of Karlstreet. It is in the rural, coal-mining area of Germany. I documented it for the first time in 2005. I took the pictures of duplex houses from the outside, then I went inside. I took portraits of people in front of their doors and inside their living rooms. I did this ten years ago, only on one street. I literally went from door to door to knock and ask people if I can take their pictures in their living rooms. The majority of people trusted me very quickly and let me into their homes. I should use that skill more often. Anyway, I did it in 2005 and exactly ten years later I did the whole thing again. I went back to the same street, I took the pictures of the houses and the families in it. Some families have changed; some people died. So you have this kind of documentation and I will go on with it in my life. It was exhibited several times. People found it interesting and that is the thing that fulfilled me the most. That is something I have done in my life which will stay here when I go. It has a value for the generations to remember the past.

What is the story behind your move to China?

In 2005, my university, University of Applied Science Dortmund, had an exchange workshop – with Chinese students from Tsing Hua University Beijing, in Germany. We worked and lived together for three weeks – thirteen Chinese and thirteen German students. We lived in the coal mining area. This is actually where I developed my Karlstreet project. We were exchanging ideas and lifestyle. After that, I took Chinese classes at the university. I’ve finished my ground studies and I was able to get a sponsorship from the government to do an exchange study program. My contacts in Beijing helped me to find a university. I went to China for one year. Beijing appeared dusty and gray, and the traffic there was so loud… but during my semester vacations, I went traveling around China. In one month I went to six provinces and eight cities. I mostly stayed at my Chinese classmates’ homes or their friends’ homes. My Chinese got better and after I came back, I felt home in Beijing. In summary, what I experienced during that year were very welcoming, warmhearted, open and positive people.

After I came to China I got the feeling that I do have an advantage due to my education. I was not very convinced of my skills and environment in Germany because there is a lot of competition. There are many, well-educated photographers, and there are not so many companies who can hire them. The creative industry in Germany uses a lot internship and student workers who supply cheap photography work. I was a little bit disillusioned about my future in Germany. Coming to China and having this positivity, a bit more peace and an educational advantage gave me a lot of hope and energy to say I might start here. When I graduated from University of Applied Science Dortmund, Beijing Blue was my graduation project.

Tell me about Beijing Blue.

After I came back from the exchange year in China in 2007, the Beijing Olympics were on the move. At that time media were portraying China in a very negative light. I wanted to fight for China and all the nice and welcoming Chinese I met. There was no contemporary portrait of the so-called “Chinese”. I decided to incorporate that into my work to show Chinese people and China. To show something else than just bad press. I think there are not enough people showing positive aspects of China’s development. So I did Beijing Blue. I walked around the streets of Beijing with my camera and a blue background. I randomly asked people who I’d find interesting if I can take their pictures. I also had to convince two others passerby to hold the blue background for them. The other two people didn’t know I would also take photos of them, and therefore, they didn’t stage themselves. Sometimes they were smoking, looking around, talking on their mobiles … Or they were thinking … maybe I was going to take a picture of them as well, so they would hide behind the background. With my work, I connected random people on the street. Connections that are uncommon to Chinese.

I think we should connect more with people surrounding us. Even now in Shanghai, I talk with common people, the flower lady at the corner… A couple who is selling their xiao long bao. They are there, working every day in a 5sqm shop. A merchant, who is preparing a barbecue on the street every night … I know they are from the Hunan province. They work in Shanghai and their son is back home. Their son is getting very angry when they leave him again. He cannot understand why they are away for the whole year. They work really hard to send a little bit of money back home.

What was a deciding moment about whether you will be living and working in Germany or in China?

In 2010 I was the official press photographer of the German Pavilion during Shanghai Expo. I had that job for nine months which was a huge opportunity for me. Directly after graduating I had a fixed job and a fixed monthly income. It enabled me to build a network in Shanghai. After the Expo, I went back to Germany for four months. I was crying and said to myself “What am I doing here?”. For me, after doing this exchange in 2006, it was clear that I wanted to go for it in China. In Germany, I would struggle for ten years in order to have a normal life and a client base as a photographer. I managed to get to this point after three years in China.

How do you deal with a flexibility of your work?

When you go to work or you have a company, people wait for you, so you need to be reliable for these people. I’m a freelancer. If I don’t do my work, I won’t be able to survive. I need discipline towards myself and towards my drives. I get up at 8 am, sometimes earlier. It’s a natural time for me to get up, but still you need this discipline as nobody is calling you out and you could just sleep until 11…. You need to accomplish all tasks related to business even if you maybe don’t like them, for example, admin work. To have that discipline is an important part of being successful.

What is success for you?

For me, being successful means to a certain point being able to choose what I want to do and when I want to do it. Don’t misunderstand me, that has certainly nothing to do with being lazy and only picking cherries from the cake. Of course, I have to take jobs I might not favor. However, I have this incredible luxury of saying “no” to certain jobs.

Photography for me comes out of a deep passion. It fulfills and balances me. When I can’t take pictures for a while, I get uneasy and tensed. I am deeply thankful and fortunate to have managed to find what I am passionate about. Which lets me get through low or highly stressful times. I can choose to put my energy and time into more valuable projects.

This morning I posted a picture of me sitting on my bed with the sun coming through the window, shining over my feet and I was thinking: It’s so enjoyable to not have to run to work and have the same schedule everyday and do the same tasks every day. How luxurious it is to be able to work once in a while from a café or from home. To not have someone telling me how I should work. What is success to me? I think success is very much connected to one’s definition of luxury. If you think luxury has only to do with materialistic and monetary assets, I am not successful by this definition. For me, luxury and therefore success have to do with freedom. To be successful is to have choice. To be able to create and re-create myself. To a certain point, I have reached that level.

Thank you for inspiring us!

Pictures: Yolanda vom Hagen

Interested to learn more about Yolanda? You can contact her here:

Website: www.yovohagrafie.de

Behance: https://www.behance.net/mail342742d9

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yolanda-vom-hagen-6b63702a/en

Mail: info@yovohagrafie.de

WeChat: Yovohagrafie

Too difficult to answer?

How about this one:  what do all the above have in common PLUS establishing an internet shop, volunteering in Africa and running photography workshops – all at the same time?

As a career coach, I might be slightly more attuned to these ideas I hear literally every day – from my friends, acquaintances, and clients. What is this all about, you might ask. Is it about who has the best idea? Who is the most creative? Maybe who can execute something and bring it to life? Or perhaps about picking and focusing on just one idea? I can  see something on a much deeper level: people desperately long to add value to the world and be truly useful to others. When others around me say ‘I want to open a vegan bed and breakfast’ or ‘I want to create a job search app’ or ’I want to be a life coach,’ I hear “I want to add value.” They want to change the world – or at least help improve parts of others’ lives. At the same time, we would like to use our unique talents, be creative, have fun, and earn for living (except, of course  volunteering). Earning while doing something valuable and enjoyable seems to be the trickiest part. I think many of us still believe that they can not earn well while doing something they love. Others think they first have to sort out their own careers and financial security and only THEN they can start adding value and changing the world.

Is adding value and helping others a luxury you can only afford after you yourself become established and successful?

To the some extent, yes, especially if you are living and working abroad. We all know the Maslow pyramid of basic needs. If your priority is an international career, the  very first basic needs are the working visa, financial security, and simply making it in another country. However, some of us wait for too long. I hear you saying ‘let me get this promotion, let me save more money, and THEN I will go out and realise my dreams of being helpful to others.’ You don’t have to wait that long or wait for ideal circumstances to truly start adding value.

We would like to demonstrate to you that this is realistic and possibly quicker than you think. That is why we are starting the Adding Value Series on this Coachify blog. During the next months, you will find here stories of people like yourself who help to make a world a better place in an extraoridinary way. You will read case studies, interviews and tips on:

– how to fully transition your career so that you finally know your work truly contributes to the world

– how to add voluntering to your busy life abroad

– how to organise your creative ideas and pick the one you would like to pursue

This is exciting, isn’t it!? If you want to be a part of it,  and don’t miss out on all the know-how, sign up for our newsletter HERE.

If you cannot wait to start contributing to the world but unsure where to start, you can contact me HERE for a free, one-on-one strategy call. There is a limited number of available time slots so hurry up. The biggest risk you take is learning something new about yourself and learning to use your unique talents in a meaningful way.

We are looking forward to learning and exploring the Adding Value stories with you. At the very least, it will be fun and hopefully give you a bit of inspiration along the way.

Written by Beata Dziedzic

Picture: Canva

I looked at the regular local job websites here in Prague on a daily basis and nothing truly caught my eye – then I was directed to an organization called Internations which is a great site to meet other expats and network. I decided to look at its job forum and there were a few jobs I was quite interested in, including the one I have now.   Within this job description, there was one thing I didn’t have at all, “french speaker,” but I thought why not apply anyway? I had nothing to lose. So I did – I heard nothing for a few weeks but then I was contacted by my current boss. She had asked the organization if french was truly needed for this role and in the end, they agreed that it was only nice to have. She immediately pulled my CV and called me – I got the job that day. Lesson: you just never know.

I say all of this to encourage you to:

• Keep going even if things seem fuzzy or you have lost sight of the vision – stay hopeful!

• Apply for a job even if you don’t have EVERYTHING on their wish list – it truly may not matter in the end and it could change your whole direction

Talk to people like Coachify who can help direct and encourage you – sometimes friends and family have your best intentions but they are afraid that you will get hurt so they might offer more discouragement than you need . Trust yourself and your intuition.

So here on I am…it is the first day on the new job today. I ended up working both jobs in June so that was a busy month but now I am in full gear with this new position. I am not writing this to tell you that the perfect job landed in my lap – but it is the perfect next step. I do struggle because I want to do so many things! My mind literally changes all of the time in terms of career direction (read Beata’s article about ‘the grass is always greener’ HERE – very me). But I am learning that having that type of mindset is okay and I can actually use that to my advantage – especially this day in age where job changes are actually accepted and expected.

On a personal note, I am still in a long distance relationship – and it’s thriving. We have been together for close to ten months and have seen one another on average twice per month. Not too bad – there are definitely hard moments but we have chosen this and we DAILY choose one another. That’s it. We make the moments count and when we are together, we just live life. And the best part? We get to build our friendship, which we both value the most for the long haul. One vision that is becoming clearer – building enough skill sets to work location independent so when the timing is right, the transition to London (or somewhere new together) will be a lot easier… Stay tuned.

Thanks for journeying with me as always! I always love that you are here with me.

Heather

I have put together some tips and lessons learnt from my own experiences and from observing people similar to me. Yes, I am a change loving person too. After countless job and place changes myself, I can say that I somehow learnt to manage it in the way that it doesn’t affect my career development and happiness. I have also learned that changing everything doesn’t have to be the best option.

“You have to follow your passion”. “Do what you love”. – We hear that all the time, and while it’s not easy, it works especially for change loving people. On the other hand, a change loving person who is not passionate or worse, bored at work will not stick around for long. There is so much discussion around about job hopping.  For me, a “jumpy’’ CV doesn’t show the whole picture. For example, I wouldn’t mind to hire a “job hopper” if I knew the role I have on offer is a perfect match for this person.

What you need to remember from this mini hiring guide, is that if you are a change loving person and not passionate about your role, it will be more painful for you (than for other people) to stay in a job for a longer period of time. If you do stay, however, (or shall I say that you force yourself to stay) it could be more stressful for you than for others and can have serious effects on your health.

Appreciate where you are now. As you might know, gratefulness is the key to happiness. I remember when I first moved to London I loved it, but after some time, I had images of myself working somewhere sunny like Australia, Middle East or Asia – I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. These fantasies were becoming stronger after every New Year and I think it had something to do with not the exactly fabulous UK winters. When I had the opportunity to move to Beijing, it wasn’t a very hard decision – it had nothing to do with the image of spending time on the beach after work but it had two unbeatable advantages – it was new and it was different. Although China was a perfect move career wise, I realized I was missing London and the European life style. I still enjoyed my life in China, but also I was impatiently anticipating my next relocation. When I moved to Prague, I realized after some time that I was really missing … Asia. Something was wrong and I knew I had to deal with it, otherwise my life will be just short-term moments of happiness of before and after relocation and longing to be somewhere else in between. I don’t even have to mention that I had the time of my life during my last months in Beijing – when I knew I was going to leave that place. A good hint for what was coming. I said to myself that I don’t want to repeat this mistake and fall in love with Prague after it’s too late. Here, imagination comes handy. I imagined that I am relocating again – what I will I miss from Prague? What do I love here that won’t be easy to find somewhere else?  Some of the things on my list are speaking Czech, tramways, Ovocný Světozor (a Czech patisserie), kávička (a special Czech coffee that has only 30% of coffee in it), and the fact Czech people love animals and dogs are omnipresent wherever you go. I will also miss my amazingly supportive Czech and Expat friends. If you become restless, but are not ready to leave your current country, creating a list of what you would miss works wonders. Just make sure that you think or even talk about it every day and after some time, it will help you to become more grounded and present in the moment, instead of living in the past and future.

Everything is possible these days. If you dream day and night about travelling, start following on Instagram those who do it for living. It won’t happen overnight, but you could find your niche and join this tribe who earns while travelling. All you need is a dose of imagination, curiosity, and an open mind. For sure you have them all.

Speaking of your niche, I can’t stop refrain myself from saying that everyone is different and you need to find what works for you. If for any reasons you cannot not go fully location independent, there is so much of a middle ground waiting for you to be discovered. In my case I went for a “blended” location independence. I relocate on average every three years and I travel almost every month, which is a good mix of some sort of stability and constant change. I am able to manage my workload in between travels, but if needed, I simply take my laptop with me or I use my phone. Nowadays, the lack of internet in some places is actually a luxury and I can use this time for creative thinking, writing and planning.

How about you? Are you a change loving person? Where are you relocating next?

Beata Dziedzic

People move from one country to another for various reasons, mine was based on two – love and job opportunities. My partner of 4 years comes from Prague and after her contract in Malta expired we evaluated our situation in Malta and looked at the possibilities in Prague and here we are.

In my articles I will be sharing my views on life in Prague. My experience as a newbie expat and an islander living in a landlocked country.

In my first weeks in the capital of Bohemia I noted the following:

No Sea No Beaches

When I meet Czechs and they ask me where I’m from, I tell them Malta. They ask me why I decided to move to Prague and give up on the beaches and the sea. Let me provide a clearer picture to the reality – most of the jobs in Malta at executive or managerial level are 9:00 to 17:00. A day in the office during a heat wave drains your energy and after work you wouldn’t have enough energy to enjoy going to the beach. There’s always the weekend! I feel you stating. If you enjoy spending your relaxing days on a beach of 2Km to 3Km stretch with another 1,999 others please be my guest, I tend to opt out.

Blessed public transport

Efficient, inexpensive and great service! The public transport in Prague is effective and many agree that it’s the most efficient way to travel across the City. Moreover, the Lítačka is very convenient and provide different public transport packages covering from 1 month to 12 months.

A few humble tips from a Malt’an in Prague –

1) DO – take lessons in Czech language – not only it offers a different experience of Czech society but also opens more opportunities in the job market. It’s also good if you’re a film enthusiast. Apart from having great Czech films, most cinemas provide international blockbusters in Czech dubbing.

2) DO – use recruitment agencies to understand how the employment market works. However, do look for jobs and send your resume directly to companies. The market is blooming for proactive candidates. Make sure your CV is up to date and be prepared to talk a lot. I applied both through recruitment agencies and directly with companies and as I’m writing this article I’m evaluating various offers. Did I mention that I’ve been in Prague for less than 3 weeks?

3) DO – try the local beer (with moderation) – you can’t visit Czech Republic and not sip a cold a pilsner (a Pilsner in Czech Republic refers to Urquell not just any blonde beer). However, if your taste buds prefer a darker type of beers you must try a half litre of černy Kozel. When it comes to food goulash with dumplings and a grilled sausage is always welcome when watching a football game accompanied with bread and mustard. The sweet tooth may be satisfied with a warm trdelník pastry covered with cinnamon, sugar and if you love as much as I do you may have it covered on the inside with chocolate. Another pastry that I like is koláček – it’s a flat pastry with a filling in the middle usually made from fruits, quark or poppy seeds. I appreciate it most with a nice warm cuppa.

Not only the cuisine is delicious (that always depends on taste) but more so most of the pubs have lunch menu offers and employers offer meal ticket vouchers. With approx. 120 Kc (26 Kc = €1) and a voucher covering usually 100 Kc (usually 55% paid by the employer 45% by employee) – make your own calculations.

That’s it for now. I will continue to share my experiences as weeks roll on through my new journey in the Golden City.