Wendela Elsen

I have been an expat partner for 20+ years and have been professionally active for most of that time in paid employment, in volunteering roles and in my own business. Finding these roles was hard and I felt desperate at times. There was little support and I felt left on my own. As I progressed through my career I started to realise that there were other expat partners with aspirations and frustrations similar to mine. That is when I decided to become an expat partner coach. 

My mission is to support expat partners in finding what gives them professional fulfilment. I am committed to this because I believe that no expat partner should need to give up their professional life or career because of their partner’s overseas assignment. 

I don’t accept that the success of one should require a sacrifice from the other. It doesn’t need to be either/or, it can be and/and.

Does that mean that I believe that the perfect job is always available for the expat partner in their new host country? No, probably not for everybody but with flexibility, creativity and perseverance I believe that every expat partner will be able to find something that will bring them professional fulfilment, whether or not in paid work.

Originally from the Netherlands, I have lived in Taiwan, Japan and the United Kingdom where I now still reside. In addition to having lived in different places, I have 25+ years of experience as an HR professional and have read thousands of cover letters and CVs. I have hired hundreds of people and have given career advice to many people along the way. I know how it works.

Education and training

I was trained by the Coaches Training Institute in 2007 and by the Coaching Revolution in 2020. I am certified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). I have a level 3 certificate in Counselling. I have a Master’s degree in sociology from the University of Amsterdam.