success

Sharing a tear and a smile with the right friends

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One of the reasons, why I ended up having few but very strong and talented friends, is simple: they all can be happy for me. At any time. At any level of my “happy”. If I would earn a million tomorrow, they would be glad for me and would ask, how I did it. And I would definitely tell them. I would come one week later, and each of them would already have 5 million. “Damn, I need to catch up!” – I would think.

I cannot tell you to surround yourself only with people of “the same level”, as my mom used to say. But remember that being a friend is not only sharing the worst moments of your life, but also being able to be happy for somebody else. The friendship includes both sides, and there is no way around it.

Kindly yours,

Russianladyabroad  

One lottery ticket for your career luck

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And here I am.. fashionably late with the new style of the website, but I hope that you will enjoy it on your mobile devices as well 😉

I guess, you know that I never reappear without a fresh container with motivation. I would never disappoint you, so, here I am, packing my things to get a Lobbyist training with the European Parliament.

What a Russian soul has to do with the European Parliament, you would ask. Everything and nothing: during an exchange semester in Germany in 2010, I got a student excursion to the European Commission in Brussel. I was very excited when we were offered to seat in the seats of the Commission officials, you know 😉 Many important decisions are made there, decisions, which affect the world politics. So, I was happy and I wished very deep in my soul to be able to work in the European politics one day. Just for a bit. Just for life experience. A strange wish to a non-European person, isn’t it?

9 years later, whole 9 years later I was invited to get an intensive Lobbyist training – but not in Brussel, in Strasbourg. All costs covered. I still have my Russian passport, I have just applied for the German permanent residence permit, and I was wondering at first, what gave me this opportunity. Talent? Motivation? Strength? Nope. Curiosity. Because I applied for a place in the program one day before the deadline, the same day I found it. Just for fun, just because I was curious if I have any chance.

There is one popular joke in Russia. A man dies and asks the God: “My whole life I wanted one thing: to win a lottery. God, why didn’t you give me just that?”. And the God answered: “Actually, I was going to. But you did not buy a single lottery ticket”.

Buy your lottery ticket very much in advance, dear reader.

Kind regards,

Your Russianladyabroad

Fail, repeat and fail again – mathematics of success

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The thruth is, all those successful applications for conferences, summer schools, round tables, exchange programs etc. made my career to a game. I know that I will win, and this is only the matter of time and practice.

When people think that what I achieved, meaning all the international summer schools, conferences, projects, employers etc., is a coincidence, they are wrong. The reality is: I have almost no luck, meaning this incredible force that should make your dreams come true with no efforts from your side. Already at school, I learned that, if I don’t learn 2 questions  from 150 and will have 3 questions in my exam, I will have both questions I did not learn in my exam.

The success is as “simple” as mathematics: the more often you fail, the more often you win. If a person would be lucky every 21st try, and he tries only 20 times, he would never see the success and feel like a looser. But the success is not about you trying one time and getting it or not getting it. It is about trying again and again until you have it. I know that the luck is not always on my side, so I do 320% in order to get 100%. Sometimes I have luck, and you may see the result for all those 320%. Nevertheless, this only from time to time.

Neither the luck nor the coincidence lead you to your dreams. However, the simple insistence will do the job. So, do not give up after the first failure – this is only the first step leading you to what you desire!

Kindly yours,

Russianladyabroad

Thought for the day

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Among all career steps I took so far, the most satisfying one was to change to a small regional development company from a BIG4 monster and to take care of all nice local innovative projects, which BIG4 did not want to have. The innovation does not always involve transnational corporations – there might be SMEs, local government, communes, cities involved. Neither should a good career necessarily involve companies, which invest in jobseekers’ marketing more than in their own employees. A career itself should be measured by the responsibilities one takes and by the results one brings – not by the list of known names in one’s CV.

Reputation of Russian women in the world: how to use if rules apply, what to do if you don’t comply

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In Russia, I was a “strong 5 from 10” type. Small, curvy, well educated, with many interests in various areas, I was not in the centre of attention.  Surprisingly, this has changed once I moved abroad – but not necessarily for the best. This article will be a summary of stories from some countries, which shows, how men around the world are fixed on the idea of “Russian brides”, and how to deal with that.

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Your “abroad” is guaranteed: work&study agencies vs. your own way

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Looking for more security, political stability, financial opportunities, better healthcare systems, Russians are ready to invest an impressive amount of money in an opportunity to move to another country. As Russians get less and less satisfied with the life in the country, the amount of agencies promising an almost guaranteed place in summer schools, universities, companies etc. grows as well. This article will be concentrated on pros and contras of working with “work&study aboard” agencies. What can you expect from them? When are their services pointless? What should you look at by yourself when preparing a big change in your life? Let’s talk about it openly.

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Handywoman: how to benefit from any education you got in your country when moving abroad?

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Personally, I know plenty of women who studied Teaching in CIS-countries and completely changed their professions when they moved to an EU-country. Usually they are in mid 20s or early 30s and start from scratch by getting a Bachelor degree. The most popular subjects would be Marketing, Economics and IT, as these professions are “always in demand”. The usual idea behind this is: if I had a “good” subject (economics, law, IT etc.), I will study the same abroad. If I had a “bad subject” (social science, education etc.), I should choose a new field.

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