Hey friends, How's your 2022 going so far? You might have noticed that I did not share much for a little while. That was because I was working with my coachees to help them get their dream job in the Netherlands. Let me share some of the most important lessons learned from their journey.
Nothing is impossible - what I experienced in the past months "I want to be a consultant, but not now. I'm not good enough yet." This is one of the first sentences I heard from my coachee, Lavency. I was totally shocked when she told me that as I read her CV before. But okay. There must be a reason that she told me so. During her career coaching sessions, I figured out she is very confident about her job, what she achieved, and the challenges she is passionate about. However, when I talk about herself she seemed to believe that "there are so many top talents out there in the Dutch labour market, why the consulting company will choose me?" She is right, there are so many top talents in the market! She is wrong, as she did not know that she is also very talented! I need to let her experience that she can make it instead of just telling her. In the end, she got her Big Four offer within just a few weeks! Can you imagine? I know I don't need to tell her how much I believe in her anymore. She proved herself by having the offer. Before reading forward, take a moment for yourself. Have you ever doubted yourself? Did you ever think that you would never make it? That's just the limitation in your own brain. "I want to give up, but I know you would not let me." When Rupsha started to work with me, she was very clear about her target. She wanted to work for an NGO. However, NGO organizations have some natural limitations for expats who need a visa like Rupsha. They are non-profit, so it is HARD for them to become a sponsor. They are non-profit, so they spend cautiously. To get a visa through payroll services is too expensive. That basically makes expats who need visa sponsorship a “mission impossible”. She got a lot of rejections and got ghosted many times for these reasons. At the same time, her time was ticking as her visa only allowed her to stay in the Netherlands for a little while longer... It wasn’t easy to see light at the end of the tunnel... In mid-February, when she only had 3 weeks left, I did something very BOSSY to give it one last shot. I asked Rupsha to post on LinkedIn and ask for help. We wrote a post together and posted it on LinkedIn, even if it was far out of her comfort zone. I also asked my coachees and network to help Rupsha by commenting and liking the post. The post BOOMED. (400k+ viewed, 3k+ liked, and 400 comments) It brought Rupsha some great opportunities. Even more importantly, she got an offer that she is so passionate about! You might wonder why I want to share their stories? Job searching in the Netherlands might be seen as mission impossible. But, both Lavency & Rupsha's stories proved that: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!
Besides job search, don't forget to take a look outside. Spring is the best season in the Netherlands! Flowers get to bloom, daytime gets longer, and much more sunshine! The world's largest flower part "Keukenhof" is going to open soon! Don't miss a great time, my friends! With my warmest, Grace