We organize occasional workshops as well as a biweekly Job Hunt Support Group for those who are actively looking for a job. This support group has an informal character.

Upcoming meetings can be found in the events calendar. If you already have a user profile on this site, and are interested in joining the Job Hunt Support Group, please indicate so in your member profile, so we can send you reminders for upcoming meetings and (occasionally) job openings or job hunt advise. In addition, we also invite you to join our Job Hunt Forum, for discussions and info around looking for a job in the area . If you are not a member yet, please fill out this form or send an email to focusoncareers@pwg-basel.ch before each meeting, to let us know you will be joining.

Share & Connect
by Eliane Garo, October 2012

- Are you between jobs? I might know your future employer.
- Are you self-employed and struggling to find your first customer? My husband’s colleague might be your future best client.
- Do you have a teenage daughter or son willing to do some babysitting? My English-speaking neighbor is looking for a good one for ages!
- Are you new in Basel? What is then most challenging for you? What are your needs?
- You love opera, theater and are looking for someone who would share a season pass with you?
- You recently read a great book and would like to share the title with everyone?
If that’s the case, the sharing – connecting section of the newsletter is for you!

Speak out and tell us what your needs are, tell us about a recent experience you had, what you could offer and I am sure someone
will connect with you.
Don’t wait! Send 1-2-3-4 or more sentences to newsletter and we will publish it. No need to write something fancy. One line can be enough.

Don’t forget that you can also connect with other PWG members via our LinkedIn group or via our PWG website, i.e. via the Bulletin Board
I would like to be the first one to share my story with you. It will take more then one or two sentences but I think it is worth to share.

I lost my job in the spring of this year. Losing a job is something uncomfortable. It was not nice when I heard my company will be
closing this coming fall.
I knew I will be out of my comfort zone for some time, I will have to spend lots of energy reading job descriptions, understanding how
thing are done and organized in other companies, call and meet people to get the right information, dare to ask, network, understand where I am and decide where I want to be, dare to say I don’t want that job, be patient, prepare for interview, convince and wait for the right time, right place, right people.
I now found a new job that fits my expectation and I am happy I can plan my life again. Networking gave me the energy to go through
this life experience. The interesting discussions and unexpected questions I had helped me find the way forward.
If someone is going through the same in life, get in touch with me. I would love to help others. I would love to share my job hunt experience and connect.

Eliane Garo, PhD
Drug Product Project Manager

Never underestimate the power of a clear vision

By Lara MacKenzie

To look for a job in a foreign country where you do not speak the local language and do not have local qualifications is tough. You may start to doubt your capabilities and the more rejections you receive, the more your motivation might wane.

However, it gave me the luxury to be introspective, to think about what I really enjoyed most about previous jobs, what type of company and colleagues I like to work with, as well as to identify skills beyond the obvious, to be open to new experiences and to try new activities. It also forced me to think about my personal priorities and identity beyond being a career woman.

What I learnt was that it’s important to take the time to create a vision for what I wanted in work and in my personal life, to ensure that I created a ‘Lara’ brand around this with a consistent message when networking, creating my CV as well as in my social encounters. If the vision comes from your core, then this is easy to be consistent. It’s also easier if you have support, from loved one’s, friends and also from others like the PWG group.

The PWG focus on careers group provided a fun, interactive platform for discussion about our

• One minute ‘elevator speech’
• Personal brand
• CV
• Highs of the week
• Planned job applications
• Networking leads
• Frustrations
• Preparation for interviews

I always left the meeting feeling that, even though I didn’t have a job, at least I was not alone, had practiced my elevator speech, had verbalized my plan for the next 2 weeks, possibly had a networking lead and that, hopefully I had helped someone in the group with their CV or preparation for an interview. This was all over a tasty cup of cappuccino with some interesting, international ladies!

Six months after starting a job I enjoy, what amazes me most is that it is in line with what my vision was, not what it was right at the start, but what it had developed into over time after all of the input I received from numerous sources. Therefore, my strong recommendation is never underestimate the importance & power of having a clear vision!

Reviews of past Focus on Career workshops