Before she relocated to France, expat partner Anna Boyko had a demanding career that she loved. As a result, having no job was a shock to the system. What could she do to keep busy?
Challenging start
“I’m a doctor of economics and I used to teach at a university until I moved into the finance sector, where I had a demanding but successful career. It was tough to quit my job but I had no choice,” says Anna, a mother of two from St Petersburg, who relocated to Caen in late 2022. “After we had arrived, I was quite down. There were a lot of bureaucratic tasks for me to do. I thought that I spoke good French but I quickly realised my level wasn’t good enough to enter the workforce.”
Online solution
“Studying French and helping my kids to adjust were my immediate priorities. I also hope to start an MBA (in French!) in the near future. But I still felt like I needed an occupation. Then one day, quite by chance, I heard about a course to become a registered online seller for Amazon. It seemed like a good way for me to keep busy and earn an income. So I signed up and now I’m an official Amazon seller.”
Learning the trade
“Doing the course and receiving my licence were straightforward but I still had to learn how to manage my time. The first day I received products, I stayed up until 5am packing boxes. Then after I had set up my account, I found myself going to bed with my phone, checking how many sales I had made. So, I quickly realised you have to set some limits. There’s no need to check on orders and profits every few minutes!”
Encouraging support
“Now that I have ‘learned the ropes’, I’m enjoying the flexibility I have with this occupation. I can spend more time with my kids, who are still going through a major adjustment, and drink coffee in my own kitchen!” says Anna. “I just hope I have enough time and energy to also study for the MBA course. I really appreciate the support from my partner’s employer and Global Connection in helping me to develop this digital job. I wouldn’t have done the course if there hadn’t been someone there to encourage me.”
Photo: iStock
All Global Connection’s corporate clients are leading multinationals. Due to some of their policies, we no longer use their name in public articles. However, expat partners signed in to our private Media & Network can see the multinational’s name.
