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Everyone can get lost in a new place. Especially when everything familiar is a thing of the past. Maria Baldina from Kharkiv went through this path - from confusion to confidence. She found support in herself in a new country, restored faith in herself and is gradually building a new reality - step by step, with an inner voice that she finally began to hear again.
Burnt roots
“I came to Switzerland from Kharkiv over three years ago. I had a business — we produced designer maps with backlighting. It was love with a technical slant: sales, clients, marketing. And also — freedom,” Maria begins her story.
Switzerland met her not only without advertising, maps and clients, but also without the ground under her feet. “My motivation disappeared. It was empty. I didn’t understand why I was here,” adds Maria. But then the woman decided: everything needs to start step by step.
Apathy is not laziness. It is apathy.
Maria is not one to give up after the first fall. But when the world is falling, neither a resume nor memories of successful projects help. Maria studied German, because the language barrier and a complicated personal life were added to the complete uncertainty. Then the woman decided to seek help from a professional coach. "I went as a client. After the first session, for the first time in a long time, I felt that I was... alive. And I thought: I want that too! I want people to remember who they are after talking to me."
Maria completed a full online training. At the same time, with her new profession, the woman gained self-confidence. But not work. "Working as a coach in Switzerland did not allow me to become financially independent from social benefits. I realized: I need to look for another entry point. And I started looking for work."
100 resumes — and not a single “yes”
Maria calls looking for a job in Switzerland a “new reality.” She searched everywhere: she sent out resumes, personally visited organizations, stores, and catering establishments.
"I sent out about 100 resumes. Zero responses. Even the coop said no to me. I thought: if even the coop turned me down, then who am I anyway?"
The supermarket's refusal so outraged Maria that she could not remain silent. The woman found the HR manager's email, wrote to her directly, arranged a personal meeting and secured a trial day. And then, when she was offered a job there, Maria ... refused.
“I was standing with jars, arranging products, and I realized: I can do more. I want to go back to marketing,” adds Maria.
The voice of reason — and language
Maria considers learning German to be one of her top priorities. “We are all so smart when we communicate in our native language. I wanted to sound “smart” in German too. So that my intelligence could be heard, and not just the polite “Grüezi.” Therefore, Maria is still improving her language skills. And she also works in her specialty. Maria found not one job as a marketer, but two at once!
One of them is in the field of cutting-edge technologies: in a company that develops helicopters, light aircraft for complex technical operations.
Another is a marketing specialist at a Swiss jewelry company. Here, Maria’s task is to increase the company’s sales through social media. It’s challenging, stressful, but at the same time extremely rewarding – she’s “in the game” again!
The strength to regroup
Coaching taught her to “assemble herself.” Like a constructor. From scattered pieces. Maria remembered who she is, what she can do, what she wants. This is not just support. This is support. According to Maria’s plan, by the end of the year she will pass the German exam, and thanks to the increased percentage load at work, she will fully cover her financial expenses. At the same time, thanks to the work of a coach, Maria understands the difference between those who have taken off and those who are stuck.
“Belief in yourself is not an abstraction. It is what holds you back. When a person sees no way out, they begin to “steal” their self-worth drop by drop. Someone said: “Your experience here is not important” — and the drop fell. Someone: “You don’t know German” — another one. And that’s it. You no longer see yourself. The environment is very important.
So I went from people who said, “You won’t succeed in Switzerland.” And I found those who said, “Look, it’s possible,” Maria adds.
Sometimes a person just needs to be reminded: you still have wings – you just need to spread them. After all, integration often begins not with a resume. But with the phrase: “I can do it.”
