talk 7 - november 2014

Magazine for the Alumni of the Magazine for the Alumni of the European Master in Business StudiesEuropean Master in Business Studies

Summer / Fall 2014

Issue n°7

Inside this edition: EMBS News « Indian Saffron Lamb » EMBS Alumni 2014 Annual Meeting in Barcelona Alumni Profile: Caroline Vandystadt « Moving without shaking » Pilot seminar II … and much more!

Page | 1 TALK | Issue Nr. 07 - October 2014

EMBS 5 has something to say! Graduation Wisdom words...

EMBS Alumni Association MagazineEMBS Alumni Association Magazine

January 2014 marked a full turning point for EMBS 5 generation. We all gathered in Kassel to celebrate that we have been lucky enough to live a dream. We are 21 dreamers from all around the world who once thought that it was about time to leave the comfort zone, who wanted to open their minds and see new ways of under-standing life, who thought that changing country every six months was not a problem, but a motivation. This has been an adventure worth living and to do so with international people was an incentive difficult to resist. Looking back at the last 2 years, we all agree that the name "European Master in Business Studies" is not completely fair, and that be-hind those 5 words there is

We have enjoyed a team spirit among 21 people over 2 years that some of us had never ex-perienced before. We have learnt that healthy competi-tion among us is great be-cause it helps us push our own limits. We have learnt that different cultures and points of view are comple-mentary and that they usually produce a better and unique outcome. This has been an experience that will remain in our hearts forever. We will never forget the time we spent together and now we have friends all around the world. LET'S KEEP THE EMBS SPIRIT ALIVE! Guillermo Fernandez EMBS 5

much more than just a regular program where you come to class, pass an exam and get a diploma. In fact (and here is a proposal) we should call it "European Master in Amazing Studies". "Amazing" because it is the perfect word to define what all of the adventures sur-rounding the "Studies" repre-sent. "Amazing", because that's how we would define the people who we started calling "classmates" and now we call "family". "Amazing", because today we are not only better prepared profes-sionals, but better people. For us, the people from Germany, France, Russia, Bulgaria, Brazil, Turkey, Italy, Austria, Latvia and Spain; this experience has meant much more than lessons, exams and presentations.

TALK | Issue Nr. 07 - October 2014 Page | 2

Thanks to the hard work of the respective alumni and student organization teams, the 4th EMBS Alumni an-nual meeting took place this year in Barcelona, from Friday, 28th to Sunday, 30th March. Once again, it has been with great pleasure that alumni, students and coordinators met for a weekend full of emotions!

Pictures: The EMBS Alumni back on university benches for a few hours’ workshop and discus-sions on intercultural communi-cation at the workplace.

Networking day: Friday, 28th March 2014

More than 25 people participated to the networking day on Friday. Unlike for the previous years, Friday’s netwoking day consisted of a workshop on intercultural communication organized by EMBS lecturer Petra Schwerchtlag. The day ended with a well-deserved common diner for all alumni, and some more drinks later on for the party lovers !

EMBS Alumni Annual Meeting 2014 in Barcelona: some highlights



Pictures: The EMBS Alumni and students from EMBS 6 and 7 gathered on Saturday morning for a common day. After the pre-sentation of the Alumni association, a few alumni also went on stage to present to the students their career path since their graduation, with even offers for jobs / internships.

Alumni and Students day: Saturday morning, 29th March 2014 The common day between students and alumni started Saturday morning at the CCCB (Centre de Cultu-ra Contemporània de Barcelona). The morning session aimed at presenting the Alumni association to the students, its functioning, as well as its main activities and objectives for the upcoming years. This meeting was also the occasion to get the feedback from the students on their impressions about the Alumni network and possible points for improvement. Once again, the EMBS 6 and 7 students had pre-pared very creative videos where they presented their generations. At the end of the session, students and alumni were invited to come together in pre-defined groups and get started with the afternoon activities.




Alumni and Students day: Saturday afternoon, 29th March 2014 The common day between students and alumni conti-nued on Saturday afternoon with the photo contest game: «Barna, marca tu objectivo». In total, 12 groups of alumni and students were formed, and each recei-ved a city map, a metro ticket as well as an indication to take a group picture in a pre-defined touristic sight in Barcelona. All pictures were collected during diner and the coordinators selected the winning picture.


EMBS News: A new book on the shelves by Ronan Chardonneau (EMBS1)

TALK: Hello Ronan. Tell us more about your new publication «Google Analytics». R.C.: My new book about Google Analytics went on shelves last October. In fact it is an update of the first book I wrote a couple of years ago. Google technologies are evolving very fast. For example if you take Gmail services or even Google search engine results you just get a foretaste of how fast Google technologies for businesses are moving. TALK: Was the experience of updating your previous edition as difficult as writing the first one? R.C.: In my case, writing the update of a book has been a painful experience. First of all, Goo-gle Analytics is more active now than in the past. As a result, I had to change at least 3 ti-mes a given print screen because in a couple of weeks my images were already obsolete.

In addition to that, you are paid less than for an original book. In my case, I changed 85% of the content of previous one, so I got only 85% of an original copy. Writing an update is more inten-sive because your readers know you, so they ex-pect a better book than the previous version. You also need to dig back deep to what you wrote previously in order to understand the dif-ferent points you made before. The worst of all is reading your previous work and realizing that you hate what you wrote! TALK: Why Google Analytics is important ? R.C.: Writing and discovering Analytics is excit-ing. Let's take for example TV reality show, for example «Britain's got talents», you will see every time now, some #hashtags asking you to react about what you just watched. How do you think that TV marketing managers are studying our behaviours ? Analytics... that's it! Nowadays, everything which deals with sales, marketing, advertising is slightly linked to «e-» something. Google Analytics is the most power-ful and famous web analytics package at the moment for studying traffic on websites. That's why such a topic is incredibly interesting, be-cause this is the heart of online advertising. TALK: How successful were you with the previ-ous edition? R.C.: When I wrote my first book, I asked to be paid based on sales, trusting my publishing house’s forecast of revenues. As a result, even if my sales went up to 5,000 copies, I received a revenue which was below my expectations. However, reputation is the most important re-ward you get. I am now reached by a lot of com-panies asking for consultancy and trainings. This is the milk cow. So, if you are offering services and training, I strongly recommend you to write a book, it is really worth it!



EMBS News: A new book on the shelves by Ronan Chardonneau (EMBS1)

TALK: What are the dangers of writing a book ? R.C.: Do I have a lot of fans knocking at my door? The answer is no! However, I got some positive and negative feedback on Amazon and both were justified. So, definitely there is a problem when what you wrote is being critici-zed online. The best you can do is to recognize it and post an update. In my case it is happe-ning with my second book (I wrote about an alternative solution to GA) where the sales are catastrophic, and I have to find a solution to that.

Interview by E.A.

May, 2014

The book covers all the steps of the study project, from the research questions to the presentation of the results, going through questionnaire design, data collection methods and data analysis techniques. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are pre-sented in the book, starting, in each chapter, with the theoretical foundations. In addition to that, examples and exercises are proposed, together with the practical Sphinx procedures, for implementing and analyzing a survey with the software. The book is targeted to completing Bachelor or Master students, teachers, researchers and research analysts, both from the aca-demic and the business worlds. In the French speaking countries, Sphinx is the leading software for survey design and data analysis. It is used by a wide range of Higher Education institutions, mainly in Europe: almost 200 Universities and Grandes Ecoles in France, 30 Universities in Germany, or 20 in the UK for example. And it is a refe-rence tool for research departments in international companies as well, like l’Oreal, BASF, Bayer, Orange, Siemens, KPMG, Ipsos, Nestlé, Sanofi Aventis, Crédit Agricole, Michelin for example. Apart from working at the University ? especially for the embs program, Stéphane Ganassali is also serving as a scientific advisor for the Sphinx company. As such, he has been taking part in some marketing and R&D projects of the company for almost 15 years. The book (named "Enquêtes et analyse de données avec Sphinx") is available on the retail websites of Amazon, FNAC or Pearson France, for a little less than 30 euros. It would include an interactive platform with video tutorials, eBook and additional exercises.

October 2014

Stéphane Ganassali, Associate Professor of Mar-keting at the University of Savoie and coordina-tor of the EMBS program has just published a new book dedicated to “Surveys and Data Analysis with Sphinx”. It is issued in French by Pearson Education, the world's leading publishing company for edu-cation and research.

Surveys and Data Analysis with Sphinx

EMBS News: Update on the EMBS website project by Richard Horn and Steffen Reuβ


TALK: Could you remind us of what we dis-cussed in Barcelona and talk about the current status of the website project? R.H.: In Barcelona we gave an introduction to both students and alumni with regard to the status quo of the website development: the current status of the project and future im-provements that have to be made. Initially the content was created by EMBS 6 students, but this has on the one hand to be updated, and on the other hand to be augmented with new information coming from other generations. S.R.: The idea of the website is that of a living organism, and every organism has to eat and breath to survive. The food and air of the web-site is the content. In particular, the content has to be updated. We gave the baseline and the setting, and now people have to keep it alive. TALK: What will be the major challenge for those who take over such a project? R.H.: The major challenge will be to keep inter-acting with the different stakeholders, Alumni, coordinators and students, in order to keep the project going. TALK: How did this whole idea arise? Why did you started it? S.R.: There was a website created years ago, but in the meanwhile the EMBS programme grew and new things came up, like the EMBS family. New factors arose. We realized that the previous website back then was not reflecting the spirit of the programme anymore. And that is why we decided to come up with a new website to match again the spirit of the pro-gramme with what we communicate to “the outside”.

R.H.: It was important to take into account stakeholders’ expectations outside the EMBS programme. We realized that if someone who is not aware of the programme went to the old website, the information supply was not suffi-cient, more detailed and relevant information was needed. TALK: Do you think that students and alumni should focus on specific/ additional aspects in order to improve the website? S.R.: If you think the website is a house, we have just finished the basement. A house is probably consisting of four levels. We managed to consolidate the content in a way but now we have to work on parts, on modules. So, for example the alumni section. It is a one big area that has not been focused on by us because we started small. And now people have to focus on this section. Right now we have the website and everything goes a bit out of discussion. We need people to keep discussing it in order to keep it alive, to decide on how do we update content, who does update content. With no discussion there is no improvement. The second issue is that the website should also facilitate back-office functions. The website is a communication instrument but it also facilitates application processes, but this is something with a long term perspective.

“We realized that if someone who is

unaware of the programme went to

visit the former website, the

information supply was not

sufficient; more detailed and

relevant information was needed.”


EMBS News: Update on the EMBS website project by Richard Horn and Steffen Reuβ


Something in between happened. I understood what is the leverage I can use to raise motiva-tion. I really started to understand what EMBS was about when I started to work on the web-site. I understood its potential. TALK: Is there anything else you would like to point out? (Both) This whole project we did would have not been possible without the professors’ com-mitment . They allowed us “to go” in this direc-tion. All we did would have not been possible; we should mention it because the ability to let us try is a matter of trust, and it is not common in any master programme.

Interview by S.D.M June 2014

R.H.: And then there is another aspect: it has to be known. For example in the Google scholar and Google search it is not popping out in many cases in the first place. It has to be referred to by the different universities in the same way. So there is a lot beyond the website and this is the whole network that surrounds it. TALK: What could be a short-term goal for this project? S.R. : One short term goal for the website is that processes have to be created, and espe-cially maintenance processes. Students, alumni and reference people should be able to update contact if needed in their sections and on their own. The system is able to allow different permissions to different sections. You can allow an alumni user to update on his or her own the alumni section of reference. TALK: What is the key learning as a student, as a professional or as a person that you’ve got from this project? R.H.: First I would say project management with multiple stakeholders in different coun-tries. Deal with different interests in the pro-ject and match them together to somehow get to the goal and the personal goals of each. S.R.: Motivate people. In the very beginning everybody was sceptical. In the very end, everybody was working for the website, everybody created content, we even did a video.

“If you think the website is a house,

we have just finished the

basement”

“In the very beginning everybody was

sceptical. In the very end, everybody

was working for the website, every-

body created content, we even did a

video. Something in between

happened. ”

Indian Saffron Lamb

Our series of semi-serious quizzes on cultural misunderstandings by Petra-Maria Schwertschlag

Picture: Red Cell®

Solution to Quiz N° 3: “A Small Country?” “At an international conference in Helsinki, Jorma Ollila, the president of Nokia Corporation, was ad-dressing a large audience. After his speech one of the delegates stood up, announced himself loudly to be X from country Y, and asked without further introduction, “How can it be that such a small coun-try as Finland can produce such a large successful company?” Ollila smiled and replied, “That is an in-teresting question. I am open for suggestions.” What was Ollila trying to say between the lines? 1. “You are right. I really don’t know!” 2. “Finland is small??? Where have you been to school?” 3. “Go on boasting. I will not counter your stupid attack.” 4. “Shut up!” Just wait until I talk to you during the break!” Where was the other man from? A. Liechtenstein B. France C. USA D. China

Correct answers: 3 and C. This is an example of, not so much a conflict, but just a small intercultural irritation and the dimension in question is Hofstede’s “Feminine-Masculine”. Finland scores very high on the “feminine” side of the spectrum which means that modesty, non-competitiveness and cooperation are appreciated standards of behaviour. Ollila’s answer is typi-cal of such attitudes and his meaning between the lines is consequently example No 3. When it comes to the ques-tion of the man in the audience, it shows all the traits of a person from a highly masculine culture, in this case USA. For the American for whom size, power, strength and com-petition are appreciated standards, it really is a question how it is possible that a nation of only five million people can produce a successful global player like NOKIA which, on top of everything, is headed by such a meek and soft-spoken person.


Quizz n°4: What is Wrong With Her?

Consider the following dialogue. Suppose that you are in a foreign country, looking for the train sta-tion, and meet a woman on the street. - You: Excuse me. - She: (pauses, looks at you fleetingly and walks on) - You: (walk up next to her) Excuse me (she looks down). Do you know the way to the railway

station? - She: (points vaguely) Excuse me. Walk that way and turn left. - You: (smiling) Thank you. - She: (walks off in the other direction) What would you make of this? A. She was afraid of you B. She disliked you C. She had fallen in love with you D. She was being respectful to you … You will find the answer, along with quiz Nr.5 in the next issue of TALK Magazine! Reference : “Exploring Cultures”, Hofstede G.J., Pedersen P.B., Hofstede G, Boston 2002

Indian Saffron Lamb


About the Expert

Petra-Maria Schwertschlag is a freelance trainer in cross-cultural management. She was born in Austria, studied in the US, lives in France, and dreams of dying in a peaceful world that can laugh about itself. Email: [email protected] Website: human-management-across-cultures.com

When you are in the position of heading a team with people from both feminine and masculine cul-tures be careful to attribute equal speaking time to everybody in meetings so as not to let the mascu-line dominate the feminine. Also be very conscious about your own attitude towards competition and/or cooperation in order to be able to manage your team according to your values and not let others dominate your team culture!

Alumni profile: Caroline Vandystadt (EMBS 3)


C aroline Vandystadt graduated from the third generation of EMBS. She is French and currently lives in Lyon, France. She shares with TALK her ex-

perience as Manager of her e-business. TALK: First of all, what is the address of your website? What is it about? C.V.: My website is www.kit-manucure.com. It is a French website dedicated to manicure products and accessories. TALK: What is the value proposition of your website? What makes it unique? C.V.: My concept is to sell products that are usually proposed exclusively to professionals. We are specialized in “all-included” boxes for self-made UV Gel nails. Most of our products are from our own brand and with our design. TALK: Which challenges have you faced while starting this business? C.V.: I would say that the first challenge is to keep on investing money while you are not earning anything. Another challenge is to keep a positive attitude and trust in a new e-business project although the previous one failed. Building a website with the right concept, a visual identity, finding good products and samples sound easier than it actually is! And also it is time consuming, you work on this project since months because it is only after a big period of time that you can decide if you should go on or stop and start something else.

“Building a website with the right concept, a visual identity, and finding good products and samples sounds easier than it actually is!”

TALK: In your opinion, what are the advan-tages and disadvantages of online business? C.V.: The online business is great because you don’t have as many costs as it is the case for a physical shop (rent, sales persons, etc). I can organize myself the way I want depending on the workload and I can work from home (no transport). On the other hand, it is a very com-petitive sector and prospects need only one click to come or leave, which is not the case in a traditional shop.


Alumni profile: Caroline Vandystadt (EMBS 3)


TALK: How do you ensure customer loyalty to your website/products? C.V.: Apart from the “all included” boxes, we sell each product separately in order to enable customers to buy consumable products. We also have a system of loyalty points which helps customers to get discounts. TALK: Do you plan to extend your business in-ternationally? C.V.: Not for the moment. Right now, we keep going with France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Dom Tom. Currently, we are more into extend-ing our range of products we want to propose more references before expanding internation-ally. Extend internationally is therefore not on my plan yet, also because the transportation costs are really expensive and this make us less competitive than local business. Before expand-ing, we also want to work in better conditions. In few months, we will move into a bigger office with a special space dedicate to order prepara-tion. TALK: Finally, what would be your 5 tips or recommendations for someone willing to start an online business?

C.V.: These are my 5 recommendations: 1. Find a good product or concept 2. Find a competent Webmaster (my Webmas-

ter is my boyfriend, and he is the best!) 3. Keep on trying and stay positive 4. If after several months nothing is evolving,

change your project 5. Be creative to make the difference and offer

something that others don’t have.

Interview by E.A. May 2014

In addition, it is really complicated to take days off because I do most of the things myself. And I would also add that although it is convenient to work from home, the backside is that you are not going outside to go to work and you don’t have any physical contact, neither with your clients, nor with your colleagues. TALK: How do you ensure traffic? C.V.: I use different strategies to ensure traffic to my website. For example, I wrote articles about Nail Art and Manicure in a blog, I also use social networks (If readers could “like” our page on Facebook it would be great!). Advertising on Google is the most important way for us to en-sure traffic and visibility of the website.

Pilot Seminar II with Petra Schwertschlag on her farm in France


T he last weekend of June some of the more adventurous spirits of the EMBS program shared the second edition of a pilot-project to test a not quite finished seminar location. WIN-WIN was the deal like last year: participants pay only expenses for a full-scale two-day program on leadership and in return give constructive feedback on the didactic perform-

ance and use of the environment. The whole thing started with some mysterious blunders:

Who is Who of the Announced Participants? Where the hell are they?

Gone to sleep already? No, the dormitory is empty… Have they disguised and hidden themselves?

By Petra Schwerschtlag, July 2014




But SOMEBODY has prepared a sur-

prise for breakfast!

No, I am just saying this for effect. Of course I knew who the participants were and the lovely breakfast surprise was prepared by Julien later on in the weekend. What is true though is that the seminar started with a communica-tion blunder. In order to handle different arrival times of the partici-pants I had conceived a sort of treasure hunt at a riverside away from the farm. Everybody had been provided with the first hint by mail so that they could set off individually or in their car-sharing groups. The “treasure” to be found would be the rest of the group and a picnic on the river-bank. The first to arrive would have the extra task of fin-ding the food and setting up the meal. A game allowing the gradual integration of participants as they arrived would fill the time until the group was complete and we could sit down to enjoy our picnic. The first hint that the participants had received by mail was:

Instructions:

“Be at F- 25920 Mouthier-Haute-Pierre on Friday at 1:00 p.m.! Don’t bother to stop for lunch on

your way there, there will be lots of food awaiting you... once you’ll have found us.... To do so ask

your way to the parking lot of “La cascade”. Once there, don’t wait for the others but put on

shorts or pants that you can roll up to your knees and put on your waterproof sandals (this can

also be done barefoot, if you don’t have any). Don’t take any luggage with you, just your valuables

that you can easily carry in a backpack. Walk to the little river that you will find flowing into the

big one. Now start wading/climbing up this little river until you get to a waterfall. This takes about

ten to fifteen minutes. (For those who have an uneasy sense of balance or who really don’t want

to get their feet wet you can also take the trail that leads up next to the river....but this is defi-

nitely less fun and doesn’t go all the way). Once arrived at the waterfall, look out for a little grotto

hidden behind a tiny curtain of falling water. Get in (well, yes, at least one of you will have to get

his/her feet wet!) and see if you can find a treasure there....”

I had test-run the trail for possible dangers, and proof-read the instructions for any ambiguities se-veral times. Everything seemed perfectly harmless and absolutely clear to me. So on Friday morn-ing Sarah, my assistant, and I set up the blankets, hid the food, prepared the games, stacked some towels for drying wet feet and waited. And waited. And waited…! [...]



[...] After about one and a half hours Elena arrived, happily swinging the little bag with the instructions in her hand. She had thought to be the last one and therefore taken the instructions with her! Rats! Now the others would get lost for good... so the poor girl had to run up to the waterfall again and put them back. Being of the sportive type this did not take her very long but when she came back she said that she had not crossed a soul. Where the hell was everybody? I went to check the parking lot and found it completely empty. How was this possible? How had Elena gotten here? “Elena, where did you park your car?” “Why? As instructed, up in the village on the parking lot of “La cascade”!” Now it dawned on me: there was a hotel called “La cascade” (the waterfall) about 2km uphill whereas in my mail I had referred to the parking lot of the waterfall itself! Communica-tion can really be a sucker. To make a long story short: Eva, Friderike, Katharina, Laëtitia, and Julien arrived safely some minutes later and unanimously said that they had enjoyed the walk although the instructions really had been a bit confusing...! Noémie missed all this hilarity since she only joined the group in the evening directly at the farm. Everything is well that ends well!

But fortunately things didn’t end there since our weekend had only started. What can I say about it? I think we all really had a good time. A wonderfully harmonious and dynamic group with Julien who faced his role as the only per-son of the testosterone variety with courage and sensitivity. Many new games and activities, some theoreti-cal input, serious analysis of each participant’s real leadership case, nice meals (the dinner cooked by the group in autonomy neared gas-tronomic standards this year!), a night-walk during a thunderstorm, very constructive mu-tual feedback, lots of laughter and some near-tears: a weekend packed with life! I can only say thank you to you EMBS guys for your patient and dynamic assistance in the development of this project! You are making this a real joy for me! Next year we will have a third and last pilot. Flies, coffee-cups, shower-jams, and delayed arrival times are under control now; let’s see if I can improve my communication-skills in the next edition. And then there will be the games with the horses to test! So anybody with a soft spot for adventure reserve 26 to 28 June 2015!

Petra Schwerschtlag, July 2014

What does the R stand for? Master cooks




He already did this last year! Slavery?

Beer advertising? Winners!

“Expect the unexpected! The seminar forced me out of my comfort zone and gave me plenty of tools and food for thought to reflect on the importance of guidance and protection in a leader’s role. In Chasnans, I had the feeling of leaving the world behind for two days: the little things in life such as lighting the fire, walking during a thunderstorm at night or wading barefoot up a little river sometimes have a much bigger meaning than the great things.” (Elena P.)

« Athypical »

The seminar in a few words:

« Relaxed »

« Off the beaten track »

« I learned that it is ok to have trouble with leadership as long as you know what to do about it » (Katharina L.)


You have graduated? Congratulations! What’s next?

About the Expert

Yelena Parker is a technology sales and commercial operations leader, expatriate, coach, mentor and writer. A US citizen born in Ukraine, she has worked in over 20 countries, and lived in Switzerland, Tanzania and the United Kingdom, where she is now based. She has a Postgraduate Diploma in Strategy and Innovation from Oxford University, Saïd Busi- ness School, MBA from San Jose State University in California and BA in

English from Zaporozhye State University in Ukraine. She has more than twelve years of international business experience working with a variety of global and early stage technology companies, including Cisco, VeriSign, and Symantec. Parker founded her expatriate coaching consultancy to help people achieve their dreams of living a truly global life. Follow her on the Website | Huffington Post Blog | @yelenaparker |@movingwtshaking | Facebook


Have your say!

D ear alumni, TALK is your EMBS Alumni Asso-

ciation magazine. It is designed as a way to share all different types of news about you, alumni and students, and also about the de-velopment of the EMBS program, as well as any other interesting topic which might ap-peal to our readers. We are therefore always keen on hearing from you and receiving your contribution for future issues. Wherever you are, send us your photos, your stories, tell us about your uni-versity memories or your recent news and achievements. A new project you would like to promote? An event you would like to present? A job or in-ternship offer you would like to communica-te? TALK offers you the possibility to share any type of information you think could be interesting and valuable to your EMBS collea-gues and friends. So please, do not hesitate to send us your news and articles for publication at: [email protected]. We will also be glad to answer your requests, comments or suggestions about the magazi-ne or the Association in general. Either way, we would love to hear from you! Looking forward to receiving your future contributions! Kind regards, Your EMBS Alumni team

http://www.movingwithoutshaking.com

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yelena-parker

http://www.twitter.com/yelenaparker

http://www.twitter.com/movingwtshaking

http://www.facebook.com/movingwtshaking

You have graduated? Congratulations! What’s next?


Y ou have achieved a

lot: your Master’s in business was a tremendous amount of work but you are now a proud graduate of EMBS pro-gram. Perhaps you speak a few European languages. You have lived abroad. It’s time for a big decision: where is your next job going to be located? Does it really matter for your long-term career planning? Some of you may choose to build your careers in the familiar territory of your home countries. You have missed your friends and family enough so it’s time to reconnect. Others will get on the path of becoming serial expats.

A little over a year ago I was at my graduation dinner at Oxford University. It was the third time I went to university and, at that time, the fourth country I chose to live in. We ended up in a conversation about how 10-15 years ago some of us had no idea of what being an expat was going to be like, what chal-lenges international career building would present and what were the things we wished we knew back then. Over the years I have met so many talented people who pursued careers abroad and had an incredible amount of stories to share. The stories have contributed to my own learning about what it means to become a successful expat and how to not be affected by challenges, barriers and cul-tural differences. I went on to interview 8 women who lived in 12 coun-tries to add to my own story across Ukraine, United States, Switzerland and United King-dom, and wrote a book to help others who are evaluat-ing their international career and lifestyle choices. I focused on women’s experiences be-cause it is so important to show how much “women next door” are achieving every day.

You don’t need to be a CEO, an entrepreneur or a trailing spouse to become a success-ful and happy expat. Planning, goal setting and great attitude will get you on the desired track. Moving Without Shaking breaks down the 8 major fac-tors that affect your move abroad. It highlights what to expect and mixes in advice and personal stories. Think of it as a guidebook-meets-memoir for the benefit of new expats. Major areas include: Languages: Is my native

language enough? Career Changes: How do

I navigate a foreign job market?

Cultural Adaptation: What is culture shock and how should I handle it?

Relationships: Should I let go, or should I hold on?

Attitude: How can I find the right attitude to en-sure a successful reloca-tion?

Now available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback edi-tions. You can also download it on Apple’s iTunes, Google or Barnes and Noble.

Yelena Parker, July 2014

About the Expert

Yelena Parker is a technology sales and commercial operations leader, expatriate, coach, mentor and writer. A US citizen born in Ukraine, she has worked in over 20 countries, and lived in Switzerland, Tanzania and the United Kingdom, where she is now based. She has a Postgraduate Diploma in Strategy and Innovation from Oxford University, Saïd Busi- ness School, MBA from San Jose State University in California and BA in

English from Zaporozhye State University in Ukraine. She has more than twelve years of international business experience working with a variety of global and early stage technology companies, including Cisco, VeriSign, and Symantec. Parker founded her expatriate coaching consultancy to help people achieve their dreams of living a truly global life. Follow her on the Website | Huffington Post Blog | @yelenaparker |@movingwtshaking | Facebook

Moving without shaking

http://www.movingwithoutshaking.com

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yelena-parker

http://www.twitter.com/yelenaparker

http://www.twitter.com/movingwtshaking

http://www.facebook.com/movingwtshaking

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The EMBS Alumni Association was legally created independently from the EMBS official organization. TALK is produced on behalf of, and edited by the EMBS Alumni Association. Every effort is made to ensure the infor-mation given in the present publication is accurate. No legal responsibility is accepted for any errors, omis-sions or misleading statements - Not for sale.

talk 7 - november 2014

Documents

respective alumni

better people

barcelona alumni profile

embs spirit alive

guillermo fernandez

amazing studies

international people

embs lecturer petra