An Interview with Angela Sánchez Fuentes, Accomplished Expat, Career Coach & Expat Coach!
Angela Sánchez Fuentes is an accomplished expat, career coach, and expat coach. In an exclusive interview with her, we discussed her unique journey to success and how she has made a life for herself abroad.
1: How did you start your expat journey? What was it that made you choose this lifestyle? Work,
study, trailing spouse?
I left Spain back in 2009 for an internship opportunity in London. What was meant to be a 1 year
experience, turned out to be nearly a decade in the UK. My reasons for leaving were a mix
between wanting to experience life abroad but also it was difficult to get a job for a recent
graduate like me in Spain due to the recession, so a lot of young people chose to leave Spain at
that point seeking for better opportunities abroad.
During that time in the UK I worked for 3 great Companies; Walgreens, Inditex and MUJI.
I met my husband whilst in the UK and at the end of 2018 he got a job offer to transfer to Costa
Rica with his Company, so I quit my job to accompany him in this adventure. 15 months later we
moved to Mexico where we lived for nearly 3 years and just 4 months ago we landed in Kuala
Lumpur.
2: What inspired you to become a coach? You have a lot of experience in coaching - please do
tell us about your most rewarding experience with clients!
Working in HR, Coaching has always been a big part of my job. In 2017 I decided to take on
formal education on this subject and after a lot of research I enrolled in Birkbeck University to do
a Postgraduate in Coaching.
I specialize in 2 areas:
Coaching for expats and their accompanying partners; work that I do with Prosper Abroad.
And Career Coaching, where I help people in their job search from polishing their CVs, to
planning the search strategy and interview practice.
I find it very rewarding when I work with women that are looking to return to the job market after a
career break; sometimes due to maternity leave, or other clients are looking for a job after moving
Countries. I love witnessing how they become more empowered session by session and gain
their confidence back.
3: You have lived in some incredible places from Mexico to Kuala lumpur! What has been your
favourite or least and why?
Every place is special for different reasons and the experiences I have had there. I will always
consider London my second home. I love coming back to visit my in law’s and friends and I just
feel at home there. Costa Rica was a breath of fresh air, and the first time I didn’t live in a big
city so I really enjoyed the nature and all the amazing places I got to see there. Mexico was the
easiest place to settle for me; I felt at home since day one and that’s where my daughter was
born so I will forever be linked to Mexico City in a very special way. Kuala Lumpur is home now,
but I have only been here for 4 months so still in a very early stage, although so far it has been
a very easy place to be an expat; people are very friendly and it is an amazing place to live,
from the weather, to the food and how safe it is. Where do I see myself going back to live?
Madrid or London.
4: What advice do you have for women who may be feeling stuck in their expat life - they need
to move countries or change professions?
I will suggest they seek out specialised help. Moving countries bring challenges that only people
who have been on that journey can really understand. That’s the reason 'Prosper Abroad' was
created: we are coaches who all have had experiences living abroad and our goal is to
accompany people in those life changing transitions to help them make the decision and if they
move, so they make the most of their time abroad. Expat life can be seen as very exciting from the outside, and it can be, but it is a complete change of scenario and no matter how many times you have done it before, it always brings challenges. Having someone you can talk to that really gets you, can be a huge help.
5: What advice do you have for women who have career gaps?
To normalise them: add them to your CV and LinkedIn profile (LinkedIn has now the option to
put them in your profile and there is a list of reasons such as maternity leave, relocation, travel,
health and wellbeing, etc.) The more forward you come to explain the gap, the less importance
they will give to it during the interviews.
6: What advice do you have for expatriate families who may be struggling culturally etc?
I think the bottom line is to avoid comparing your own culture to the country’s one. Just accept it
is different and that there is no right or wrong, just different ways to see life. Take it as an
experience to see other points of view and you will be surprised that in time you may add things
from the host country’s culture to your own.
7: Where would you love to retire to?
Spain :)
8.What do you do in your spare time?
Go to the gym, pool, read, study psychology, trying new restaurants and spending time with my
family.
Connect with Angela:
My social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelasanchezcoach/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asanchezfuentes
Webs:
https://prosperabroadcoaching.com/