The Spring 2005 Issue contains a.o. the following articles:

CAREER

Making Your Way Through the Assessment Maze
CAREER: Making Your Way Through the Assessment Maze
Mary van der Boon takes you through the grueling process of landing a job in an increasingly competitive Europe, starting with the application and going on to the interview, the assessment and the personality test. In the final paragraphs, Mary van der Boon takes a moment to reflect on cross-cultural competence and ‘putting things into perspective’…
www.globaltmc.com
Mary van der Boon, e-mail: mary@globaltmc.com

LEISURE

Maastricht, Best City in the Netherlands
Having asked 18,000 inhabitants in 60 big cities in the Netherlands to grade their city on a scale from 1 to 10, the people of Maastricht graded their city the highest, with an 8. Not only that, but the mayor of Maastricht was also chosen as best mayor in the Netherlands, and as if that’s not enough, Maastricht was chosen as the second safest city in the Netherlands, Groningen being the safest. Could this be a coincidence or is Maastricht really that much better than the rest of the Netherlands… we decided to go check out what all the fuss was about.
Naomi Bolderhey
 

EXPATRIATE MANAGEMENT

Hierarchical Issues in Everyday Working Life
As you might have noticed, ‘acting normal’ is the appreciated Dutch standard and the Dutch seem to have a problem accepting hierarchy. What effect, then, does this have in companies and organisations, where people have varying degrees of authority, power and status? How are decisions made when everybody is supposedly equal in theory, but not so in practice? With levels of ambition and competition rising in the Dutch business world, the core value of egalitarianism may be less noticeable nowadays than it used to be, but it certainly still has its consequences…
In this issue, an abbreviated version of a chapter from the 2004 edition of Dealing with the Dutch, by Jacob Vossestein. 
With over 40,000 copies sold, Dealing with the Dutch features among Holland’s best-selling management books. ISBN 9068325655.
Jacob Vossestein

EXPAT LIVING

Women Expatriates - What Do You Do All Day?
“What do you do all day?” was probably the most frequently asked question I encountered when I was enjoying my expatriate assignment as Regional Director in Asia of ING. The question came up at different occasions, such as business functions, activities at the expatriate club and receptions – regardless of whether I was attending with my spouse or not. Many expatriate women have experienced that the conversations at those occasions are initially directed at their spouse. Eventually you might get asked “So, what do you do all day?”, a sign of common courtesy. The always well-intended question is based on two assumptions. The first one is that your spouse is the one working on an international contract. Therefore he is interesting to know and share information and experiences with. The second assumption is that you are not working in a professional job. How do you react in these situations?
www.mv-imc.com  
www.womensinternational.net
www.EuropeanPWN.net
Mirella Visser

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