SPOUSECARE: LET’S INTRODUCE YOU TO MARIIA

This is @Mariia Tsatsanidi. Mariia moved to Denmark from Russia in August with her husband, who works at Topsoe, and their three-year-old daughter.

Mariia is an HR specialist with lots of experience with headhunting, recruitment, and mentoring, and she also says that she truly enjoys “helping people find their path”. About the Danish job market, Mariia recognizes that “it’s challenging to find a job - especially as a Russian who doesn’t speak Danish”, however she is also excited to advance her career here in Copenhagen as she believes that there are generally a lot more options within her field here. ?

Mariia was introduced to Spousecare and her career counsellor, @Charlotte Juul, several months before her relocation. In the beginning she recalls being both nervous and very eager.?

“Charlotte was good at calming me down and helping me create realistic expectations. She was a big support from the very beginning. Today, Charlotte is more than a coach and a mentor - she’s a friend.”

When asked about what Mariia has needed the most help with since relocating, she didn’t hesitate:

"Everything! There are so many questions when you’re new in a country. Anything from figuring out public transport to sending job applications. It’s all the small and the big things.”

Mariia also mentions how she’s been very happy to meet other spouses via the Spousecare network - she even met another spouse who turned out to be her neighbor this way!

Inspired by the Spousecare workshop on how to start your own company, Mariia has created her own coaching company in Denmark helping both Russian and English-speaking people thrive. Moreover, she is still working her HR-muscles through her volunteer work and attending workshops with Spousecare and of course learning Danish – AND also using her native Russian language to assist us in Spousecare when we meet spouses from Russia that do not speak any English. She would, however, very much like to find a corporate HR job in Copenhagen.

Another one of Mariia’s passions is the Toastmaster Club for Russian speaking moms that she has started here in Copenhagen. The club meets monthly and practices public speaking in three languages, English, Russian and Danish.

We want to sincerely thank Mariia for telling her story and shredding light on what it is like to be a new expat in Denmark within the Spousecare network!

PS: Spousecare is turning 15(!) this year, so we also asked Mariia how to say happy birthday in her language: “с днем рождения!”

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