Expat Women in Brussels

WE MOVED !

2011-04-09T02:11:00.000-07:00

WE MOVED :

Please Visit this blog : Zest and Zen International

Check Profile: Anne Egros Global Executive Coach

STOP MAKING BAD PRESENTATIONS

2010-08-24T00:27:00.001-07:00

Tips to steal about great presentations

STEAL THIS PRESENTATION!

View more presentations from Powered by C3 / SelectNY.Paris.

Brand You: Engage Your Brain

2010-08-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

Intercultural Nonviolent Communication

2010-08-17T09:00:00.001-07:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Intercultural Nonviolent Communication

View more presentations from Anne Egros.

General Links About Expats in Belgium

2010-07-31T01:29:00.000-07:00

I am preparing an e-book in English to help new comers in Brussels.

My goal is to select practical informations and resources tested and recommended by expats currently living in Brussels. Ideally the e-book should be no more than 15 pages including:

A list of volunteers to welcome new comers

Associations and support groups

Culture shock resources

Relocation companies

Utilities,

Health care

Transportation

Shopping

Etc...

If you are interested to volunteer for this project, please email me: aegros@zestnzen.com

To start, I am collecting all websites and blogs talking about expats living in Belgium with a special focus on women networking. If you don't see your link listed please add in comment or email me : aegros@zestnzen.com

Thank you

http://www.awb.com/

http://www.blogjump.eu/

http://www.expatwomen.com/countries/expat_women_living_in_belgium.php#2

http://www.accueil-bruxelles.be/

http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-belgium

http://www.expatica.com/be/main.html

http://www.vlan.be/

http://www.brussels.angloinfo.com/

http://www.awcb.org/

http://www.brusselsprout.net/

http://www.expatlist.be/home/

http://www.expatarrivals.com/belgium/brussels/moving-to-brussels

http://www.expat-blog.com/en/directory/europe/belgium/

http://www.trabel.com/brussels.htm

http://www.easyexpat.com/

http://www.xpats.com/home

http://futureexpats.com/

http://www.doyoubuzz.com/anne-magnus

http://catwomaninbrussels.wordpress.com/love-and-the-cities/

http://newzealandersinbelgium.blogspot.com/

A Linkedin Group For "Expat Women In Brussels"

2010-07-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

A Linkedin Group For "Expat Women In Brussels"

New Expat in Belgium ?

Join the Linkedin group "Expat Women in Brussels": http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=2250561

Get Free advices and support from other expats

10 seconds ago

5 Tips on How to Connect With People You Don't Know

2010-02-28T03:18:00.000-08:00

Building a strong network of friends, relatives or colleagues is one of the most powerful tools that you can develop for being resilient, especially for the expat 's "following spouse". Expatriation is a great experience for most people but usually it is not so easy for the "trailling spouse", a majority of them being women.

Here some tips about effective networking for developping professional connections and making friends

Tip #1: Attract People
You cannot control what people think, but you can create energy that draw people to you by being authentic, establish credibility, convey self-confidence, tell personal stories, anecdotes and your passions in life.

Tip #2 Ask for Help
Usually people are very happy to share what they know especially with new commers, but do not abuse, for example do not ask for a job directly to someone you don't know.

Tip # 3 Do Not Sell One of the worst behavior repulsing people rather than attracting them is trying to excessively sell your services or products and over-promote yourself. You can share resources you created and when appropriate tell about your company and your services, but be subtle.

Tip# 4: Focus on the Other Person's Interests
The best way to build a strong relationship is to be genuine and try to understand the other person's perspective. Listen actively with all your senses by concentrating totally on what it is said, the body language and by asking powerful questions. I hate the "elevator speech" technique to tell all about yourself in 60 sec, I think it is better to try to understand the person first before being understood .

Tip #5: Learn How to Make the Most of Linkedin and Other Social Media
For people who had to quit their jobs or want to take the opportunity of an expatriation to start a new carreer or learn new skills such as learning a new language, I recommend to start by linkedin.
Participate in groups, Q&A, create you own linkedin groups, make a blog or a newsletter with content focused on your passions and interests. Use slideshare for importing Powerpoint presentations, see events your connections are going, read recommendations etc. Look for advices and webinars about using Linkedin, there are tons of them available for free. Attending multiple networking events and using social networks is hard work, but it will pay off.

It is important to meet people in person when ever it is possible. Use online tools carefully as you cannot see reactions, emotions and feelings of people.

Most of all enjoy doing it.

Are You Using Storytelling ? If Not Do It More

2010-02-24T08:09:00.000-08:00

Do you remember lecturers who made presentations, reading their Powerpoint slides without involving their audience by asking and sharing personal experiences ? probably not or you may recall the experience as boring if you were still awake.

You don't need a large audience to make memorable impression by conveying genuine emotions and feelings through storytelling. Like reading fairy tales has a universal appeal to children, when becoming adults we can also use those classic stories to entertain, inspire, and enlighten others. Sharing our real experiences also help make new connections even in a different cultural environment as we, humans, have always something in common regardless of culture.

My son was born in New York just 12 days after the tragedy of the world trade center on 9/11 and when asked where is he from, he likes to tell he is from New York with a French passport. Now 8 my son still insists that my husband or I read fairy tales but only in French as he judges that our English accent is not acceptable!!!

Storytelling is an art and I don't have the skills of a good story teller but you don't need to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, all you have to do is be authentic when telling your experience and non-judgmental when you listen to others' stories.

Beware of the Twitter Trap!

2009-11-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

At last someone who tell the truth about Twitter !!! When I tried Twitter I thought I was the only one who did no get the number crunching game with collecting as many followers as I could. I felt really lonely trying to add one tweet while getting 100 others from my followers, of course no link between them and no conversation.

Then I got followers that non only did not share the same communities with me but actually I was at risk of loosing my reputation with the content of they posts.

I decided that for now this is not the place I want to make friends and establish healthy professional conversations. Read more here:

Prospecting Weekly #57 - Beware of the Twitter Trap!

Do you have a business plan ?

2009-10-16T06:13:00.001-07:00

If you are a small business owner or a manager in a Fortune 100 global company, do you agree with this quote: "if you fail to plan you plan to fail" ?

I think it all depends on the stage you are. For example you have a mature business in one country, you have been relocated to another continent and you want to apply same recipes that made you successful in your previous location. In my case it was moving from Atlanta to Brussels. Despite the huge difference in the markets, I got 2 clients through Linkedin with same messages. Of course I took the opportunities without any additional plan. But now if I want to create a system that generate a sustainable income, I have to start planning and make my business plan. The PowerPoint presentation I made is a collection of slides I used to teach to adults MBA level topics at Temple University in Tokyo. I wanted to share this presentation to get feedback and as a discussion platform now that social media are truly a new way of marketing your services. Your comments are more than welcome.

Startegic Planning A.Egros

View more presentations from Anne Egros.

Desesperate Employers Cannot Find Candidates

2009-10-05T00:02:00.000-07:00

In the USA the unemployed rate is about 10%, a historical high number. At the same time recruiters and employers cannot find the right people to fill well paid jobs around $60,000 to $100,000 with benefits. The main reason is a mismatch between skills required for those jobs and the lack of expertise of unemployed people. If you are a nurse, a pharmacist, an IT network specialist or another expert having specific skills, the odds are in your favor.

If you are currently looking for a job, do your research and find out what employers in your sector are looking for and what skills do you need to update to get not only "A" job but a well paid position you enjoy. To read more click here or copy paste in your browser: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091004/ap_on_bi_ge/us_good_jobs_unfilled

Wha'ts Your Google Quotient ?

2009-09-13T03:43:00.000-07:00

Expat Global Network: Wha'ts Your Google Quotient ?

What Can We Learn From the Bad Job Market?

2009-09-13T03:04:00.001-07:00

What Can We Learn From the Bad Job Market? The Introverted Leader

Jennifer B. Kahnweiler, Ph.D., is the author of the must-read book "The Introvert Leader", and she is an expert in helping people building and managing their career.

Too often candidates start looking at resources when they have been laid off.
Building and keeping your network alive is hard work , takes years and must be a daily habit. Personal branding is also extremely important, if you type on Google your name i.e. “anne egros” you can see how relevant are the information. For getting a high level of visibility on the web and credibility, you must create professional websites where you position yourself as an expert. Be carefull of the story you tell to your future employers through posts in various social media like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and other blogs. All that is part of your personal branding.

The 7 habits of highly effective expat women

2009-09-09T05:24:00.000-07:00

There is no recipe to make an expatriation a great moment in your life but here are some of the tactics I have been using for 20 years to get the most of my life abroad:

Habit 1-Do not reinvent the wheel: browse the internet to find expat and international web sites and chat with people who are in the same situation as you are or have been there and ask them how to get what you want.Here some informative web sites, general and focused on Belgium:
http://www.expatica.com/
http://www.vlan.be/
http://www.brussels.angloinfo.com/
http://www.awcb.org/
http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english

Habit 2: Attend information sessions for new comers at your kids school or woman groups in your area and do activities you like while making new friends.
Here some information about international women groups in Belgium:
http://www.awb.com/
http://www.blogjump.eu/
http://www.expatwomen.com/countries/expat_women_living_in_belgium.php#2
http://www.accueil-bruxelles.be/Accueil des Francaises a Bruxelles: Journée Portes-Ouvertes : Jeudi 17 septembre 2009 de 9h30 à 16h

Habit 3: Take some time to define your personal goals for the next 2-5 years you will be living in your new home. Learning a new language, starting a business or volunteering for example.

Habit 4: Have fun! Whatever your plans are, try to stay around positive people and stop the negative self-talk. Start reading "the power of positive thinking" and other books by Norman Vincent Peale.

Habit 5: Be adventurous; if you live in cities like Brussels walk and get lost, it is the best way to find new shops, cafés or restaurants. By car try using different routes, you can beat your navigator by finding roads without traffic jam and save time with round abouts instead of traffic lights. If you are not good with orientation, just read a paper map.

Habit 6: Be fit: find a fitness center for you and family. For mothers with young children, look if they have childcare so you can enjoy your salsa class while junior is playing. Do what you want and enjoy 2 0r 3 hours of physical activities per week.

Habit 7: Reward yourself for the hard work. Living abroad is taking a lot of your energy so take time for yourself: Go for a massage, a hair cut or whatever is making you feel good.

If you have other tips to share thanks to add them in the comments.

Be well and have a great day.
Anne

Brussels - Executive Travel Magazine

2009-09-07T10:25:00.001-07:00

The diplomatic center of Europe is shaking off its musty image.
Great tips for expats and other international people living and working in Brussels:
Click here:
Brussels - Executive Travel Magazine

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NEW: Another blog for expat women in Brussels?

2009-09-07T04:57:00.000-07:00

There are tons of resources for expat women in Brussels but I could not find one blog, website or magazine where you can ask another expat woman about best kept secrets in town like your favorite hair salon, the best Danish pastries or how to start you own business from scratch, exchanging career tips and parenting skills.

You can use all languages officially spoken in this country: Francais, Flemish, German, English and more if you consider the languages spoken at the European and Nato communities.

So I created a Linkedin group Expat Women in Brussels and a Twitter site to exchange information in almost real time. Please use the media you like and tell me your opinion.

Have a wonderful sunny day (Who said that Brussels is cloudy ?)
Anne