Spotlight your TRUE self

I had the great pleasure to interview my former colleague and HR Business Partner Veronica Gordon. Originally from Argentina, she came to Finland in 2011 to work for Nokia and after the company declined, she faced the challenge to find an English-speaking job here in Helsinki. Listen in this interview, how she mastered her career here in Finland with her outstanding sunny spirit and open attitude....

Why are you doing your job? Why do you want to work in a certain position? In a certain business sector? Or for a certain company? Small children always ask “Why?” again and again. Do you still have this curiosity – especially for yourself? Can you get to the core of your motivation for your next target and your big dream? Because knowing your “Why” is what will make it really happen! If you have...

When I have recorded this episode two weeks ago, I did it based on the motivation to create hope for my listeners suffering from unemployment or from any other personal crisis caused by the pandemic or the covid-19 virus. I have gone through some dark moments during the last Christmas time and the beginning of 2022 myself, and I had the feeling that I want to share, how I have managed a mentally c...

“I wonder that Finnish recruiters have liked it.” That was one reaction on my published cover letters. I had shared the e-book (available here https://www.michaela-kettner.coach/ebook ) on social media and it was discussed a lot. First of all – thank you for all your feedback! And also recruiters and hiring managers expressed their opinions and this statement was a really interesting one. What do...

The last step to settle down in your dream job is actually not a step – it is a journey. Because having a work environment where you feel really well, having a team in which you enjoy working and being a successful and recognized expert for your topic is nothing that you create with one single step. You are investing in this on a daily basis. Learn in this episode how you can keep up the motivatio...

A first working day in a new job is always a little adventure itself. Will your expectations be fulfilled? Will your new colleagues be nice? Will you like your working environment? Will you enjoy your first workday or will it be a system-overload? And can you provide the best first impression of yourself? No matter if you look forward to your first workday or if you are very nervous about it – lea...

Let’s talk about a topic, that can feel uncomfortable: How do you negotiate the contract and the salary for your new job? This episode is also interesting for you, if you take the new year as the chance to re-negotiate your salary! To solve this and to make sure that you get out with something satisfying, you need – first – full clarity what you want to have, and second how you argue for this. Lea...

Imagine, you have sent a well-written application to the vacancy of your dream job and you are impatiently waiting for a response. You are checking your inbox every hour – and finally you receive the invitation for the job interview! And after celebrating this successful moment, you start to wonder how you will master this next challenge. What questions will you have to answer? Will they like you?...

When you apply for a job the most important part of the written application is the cover letter! Therefore, you should focus on quality instead of quantity – that means: Choose only a few vacancies to apply for and invest time and effort to write a cover letter that stands-out, that highlights your skills and personality and contains the right arguments why YOU bring value to the company. Writing...

Are you in the starting blocks to find your dream job this year? Where and how are you searching for it? Do you know exactly what you want to do and how you want to work? Learn in this episode what is important to find and select the right vacancies for yourself! And the better you know for yourself what you want – the more specifically you can select where to apply for! This episode is the 1st st...

Imagine, it is Sunday evening and you are already looking forward to get back to work on Monday morning! Imagine, you wake up every work day with a smile, because you are looking forward to what you will be doing today together with your great colleagues! Don’t you want to have a job that you love and work in an environment in which you feel comfortable and absolutely valued? – Yes?!? – So, how do...

If 2022 is like a white empty sheet of paper on which you can write and draw all your dreams, targets and visions – how would it look like? Would you now finally like to get the job and the position that you deserve? Do you feel like you are hiding somewhere and nobody really sees your competence – but this now finally has to change?! Do you want to present yourself and your work in a way that mak...

No matter if you want to have a stress-free gathering with your family on Christmas or want to improve the communication with your colleagues at work: Being a good listener is the key! Listening is what is guiding a conversation. But often, we all forget to really listen to someone else and only seek for the fastest way to express our own opinion. Learn in this episode: · What active listening rea...

As a woman in the late 20’s or early 30’s you can target to move abroad, take the next step in your career or even start your own business. If you have family members and friends with a very traditional mindset, you will hear things like “Sounds great – but when do you actually plan to get married and have kids???” Does that hinder you to realize the vision that you have for yourself? Do you adjus...

What is your biggest dream? What is the target that you are really burning for? Do you allow yourself to dream big? Having a dream and speaking it out loud, nevertheless, does not mean that it will realize immediately. It can be a long way to get where you want to be, which requires many small steps. But the way is worth going, if you know what your dream is, if you know what you would like to rea...

Why not feeding your brain with some positive and encouraging thoughts about yourself? I have recorded over 60 powerful affirmations for you, that you can listen to whenever you are in a bad mood and need something to quickly cheer up yourself. Try it out, what effect it has on your mood when you are listening something like this! Do you wanna push your self-confidence and get more visible to push...

Do you know what is the number one reason for most of our civilization diseases? – Stress. And do you feel relaxed when you are watching the recent news over hours and reading all the terrible headlines? – Most likely not. We live in challenging times and I don’t say that it is not important to know what is going on ‘outside’ regarding the next corona wave or even a new lockdown. But do you just n...

A couple of weeks ago, one of my Finnish colleagues asked me exactly this question. I thought about it and concluded that there is a lot, what I value about Finnish people. Especially their silence! I know that this is what drives many people crazy when they come to Finland from more ‘temperamental’ cultures, but listen in this episode, why I see it as a big advantage that my Finnish friends and c...

Do you have a bad day? Do you feel like everything around you goes wrong, the whole world seems to hate you – and vice versa? In contrast, do you know that, when you are energetic and extremely passionate about something – and suddenly everyone around you shares your enthusiasm and positive vibes? This is exactly the experience that I have made when, in May 2019, I found the job that I had dreamed...

Imagine you are looking for a job as a foreigner in Finland - and you find a job offer that is only published in Finnish! Do you think ‘This is not for me’, if you are not fluent in Finnish and keep continuing your job search in other companies which provide job offers in English? But what if except of the language you would be a perfect fit for this position? Well, my very first contact to a Finn...

Do you live the exciting life of an expat? Have you lived abroad on a temporary or permanent basis? Or are you dreaming of moving to a country, that fascinates you? Well, moving abroad always brings a lot of challenges and a lot of ups and downs. For me, after I had made the decision to move to Finland in the beginning of 2019, it even turned out to be a true roller-coaster of emotions and experie...

Do you make plans for your life? Do you know where you want to be in 2 years, in 5 years or in 10 years? When I was in my mid-twenties, my answer to this would have been a clear Yes! And guess what?! - Moving to Finland was definitely NOT part of the plan. Five years ago, I had never ever been to Finland nor Northern Europe, neither did I had plans to travel here in the near future. There is nothi...

“If you are not interested, you can’t be interesting” – the American businesswoman, interior designer, and fashion icon Iris Apfel once has nailed it with this statement. This is one simple trick for getting more visible to others, that you can apply immediately at work, in your family, when meeting friends or even completely foreign people. But being open-minded and showing honest interest toward...

Okay, this is real talk: Do you like it to feel as a victim? Do you expect other people to make a step towards you when you are struggling with certain circumstances? And who are these ‘others’ that should improve your situation? Your family? Your friends? Your boss? Politics? Or do you decide to take responsibility yourself? The word ‘responsibility’ contains the word ‘response’. Have you ever no...

Do you have mindfulness about your thoughts – and the awareness that you have the power to make your own thoughts disappear in the same speed as they have popped up? In our daily work life, we easily judge about ourselves whenever we make a mistake. We make assumptions that also other people call us stupid and interpret any reaction of a colleague or our manager in a personal way. At the end, the...