The competition in the center of Europe is very high

Hello, I am Vyaра! Thank you very much for the invitation, and I feel flattered to have the opportunity to share my personala and professionala story of "One of many Bulgarians abroad" on the site of CareerDailyNews.com

Regarding my career: I have a very diverse overall 20-year expert experience in the field of human resources, change management, and communication accompanying these activities. For the last 15 years, I worked at one of the largest telecommunications companies in Europe, Telekom Austria Group, first in Bulgaria, and subsequently in Austria. In the last two years of this period, I was offered the opportunity to work at the company that prepared and executed the separation of the passive structure of Telekom Austria Group in six countries and six independently operating companies (except for Belarus). You can check my Linkedin profile for more details.

My main mission and motivation throughout all these years has been to help businesses, people, and teams cope with challenges and develop. My daily work included many and diverse tasks - from strategic planning to ensuring that people feel heard and supported. My work has always inspired me, it has always been very dynamic, and I feel proud of the experience and what I have achieved so far. Throughout my career, I have learned, whether formally or informally, as almost every two years over the last fifteen, I took on new challenges. I have always been very curious, goal-oriented, and with a bunch of future goals.

A few months ago, I decided to part ways with my last employer in Austria and took a step to dedicate myself to active learning for a while, with the aim of developing and practicing as a professional coach. This is a profession that has always attracted me and is dedicated to inspiring people and organizations through personal development and ethical coaching practices.

I contemplated the idea for quite a long time, and in February of this year, I started my graduation as a professional coach at Noble Manhattan Coaching UK.

Noble Manhattan Coaching is one of the leading coaching organizations in the world, founded in 1993. It has offices in over 30 countries and offers internationally accredited training programs in life, executive, and corporate coaching.

In addition to my graduation as a professional coach, the company offered me the opportunity to start working as Coaching Support Group Lead in Vienna, which will give me additional opportunities for development.

How I ended up here

I have been living in Austria for 7.5 years, in the outskirts of Vienna, 14 kilometers from the city in a very nice, quiet, and green area. The town is called Mödling, and I really like it. When we moved, we randomly rented an apartment in this area, and at first, I was just shocked by the silence and tranquility, coming from overcrowded Sofia. After a while, I started to feel very good and appreciate this opportunity. I would not return to live in a big city unless absolutely necessary.

The decision to move our family to Austria was very spontaneous and quick, quite adventurous when you are over 40. The main driver was my ex-husband, who wanted to start a business here, and I supported him. I never imagined starting my life all over again in a German-speaking country, with no knowledge of German. I did it mainly for the sake of my family and the new opportunities for my daughter, who was then 12 years old.

Early challenges and language barrier

Oh, this is a very long and colorful story. Everything was challenging and scary, finding a new and good school for my daughter, establishing all the necessary and regulatory relationships in the new country and conditions for residence, getting used to the new and different way of life, starting a business in the new country, and many other small and pressing things.

The language? Yes, in a country like Austria, it is difficult without German, but I managed. I do not give up; I just kept trying and trying. Phone calls, many emails, communication, persistently and politely.

Even now, I do not use German in a professional environment, as I had different priorities and motivations at different times, and the constant question of whether to continue my German studies to a fluent level or to use the time for development in other areas, improving at work, additional activities, and family was a big dilemma for me. In fact, I have not stopped learning it.

 The people and networks that helped me

When I look back, I find that very few people helped me, who were not even my friends, and most were Austrians.

Generally, everyone associates Austria with the beautiful Vienna and the ski resorts, but as one former colleague used to say, "Austria is a very special country," which you cannot understand unless you have lived here.

Austria is very focused on its own territory, society, community, and laws. I met people who had never even heard of Bulgaria and that our country is a member of the EU; I encountered a lot of discrimination and still do sometimes. You always remain a foreigner from Eastern Europe.

But what I have always done, and what has helped me a lot, is that I respect other people, show them that, present myself exactly like that in my communication with them, and this in most cases implies the same reciprocal reaction. That is, it was not always dramatically bad; I have many nice memories from the adaptation period.

Differences in work culture

I knew many colleagues from Austria when I started working at A1 Telekom Austria Group, and I was not very surprised by the work culture. Of course, now I had the opportunity to get to know them closely. As everywhere, in Austria, you are busy and have a lot of work, but there is no deliberately induced stress and tension, which I think is often present in Bulgaria. There is respect at work, there is a small personal distance, communication is balanced and considerate. I worked in several different teams, which gave me the opportunity to be in those that are very social and those that rather maintain professional relationships above all.

I have always respected differences and have been curious to observe and understand cultural ones, and I am glad that I had the opportunity to work with different colleagues and teams. And as I mentioned, I received a lot of support from my colleagues, I learned a lot from Austrian and colleagues from other nationalities.

Finding a job and challenges

The labor market in Austria without fluent knowledge of the German language and experience in the environment is very challenging, and I had to search for a long time for a job at the beginning. Very soon after I found and started one, A1 Group contacted me and offered me to return to the company again.

Finding a job here, I mean professional and related to your career, is different from back home. The competition in the center of Europe is extremely high; many people strive to start working in Vienna, and you have to fight. The expectations, the hiring process, even the way people present themselves professionally – all of this requires adaptation. Another thing is that people my age in Western Europe have always had the opportunity to travel, to explore the world, to have education on different continents, while for me in Bulgaria, and the way I grew up, there was no such opportunity. Everything was new and unattainable for me at the beginning.

On a personal level, a year after our move here, I separated from my ex-husband, and I took full care of my daughter, and I started my life all over again, for better or worse at the beginning of the Corona virus.

Advice for others considering the same path

It is very difficult for me to advise, but I would recommend that in a similar move, you prepare better than I did for the way of life, what to expect, and what exactly your next steps would be in the new place.

 I had time to prepare only the documents we needed for the move; I didn't even have time to mentally adjust.

Everyone knows that sometimes growth comes from discomfort, from moments of uncertainty that can shape you in ways you never expected. But it is important to try to minimize the stress from this, especially for our children, who are very different from my generation, and this can be unhealthy for them, even though they are much more flexible than us.

Looking back – would I do it again?

Maybe yes, when I see my daughter happy and just accepted into a prestigious business school in Vienna. Also, from the very beginning, this became my new home because I have not had many close relatives in Bulgaria for quite a few years. All the little memories we have from my daughter's childhood have moved and are still with us – stuffed toys, a lock of hair, her milk teeth. We have a Labrador, the same as the one we unfortunately lost in Bulgaria, just a month before we relocated, but much more playful and naughty.

Also, this challenge taught me new things; I learned a lot in different directions and changed many things in myself and my life. I think most of it has been in a positive direction.

What I miss and future plans

I do not miss friends because I keep in touch constantly with those I am close to; the others just forget you😊. I do not have a home in Bulgaria because a few years ago, I decided to sell my main property and invest abroad. I do not miss traditions because I have never been a traditionalist, and that is how I was raised. Another important thing is that you somehow have to accept and respect the traditions of your new country to adapt more easily and feel the culture and people. This is not betrayal; everyone decides how much and to what extent.

It may sound comical, but the only thing I terribly miss here is the delicious vegetables grown in Bulgaria.

My long-term plans, until a few years ago, were to move to another more favorite European country when my daughter finished school. More accepting and closer to my temperament because I did not plan long-term residence and did not intend to grow old in Austria.

But as happens in romantic movies, unexpectedly, I encountered midlife love; I have two small stepdaughters who help me improve my German much more successfully than all the courses I have invested in so far, and I changed my decision to stay.

Thoughts about money and balance

Money is important, but it is never the whole picture. They provide security, opportunities, and comfort, but life is not a bank account.

In my opinion? I want to have and need to have financial stability that comes with daily work and effort, but I do not need and do not want a lot of money.

For me, the most important thing has always been and will be family; I want to have the time and opportunity for my loved ones to feel good, to take care of them, and to be happy.

I have always had, and I want to continue to have a minimalist way of life, where things and objects are not that important, but only loved ones.