Stella Pennekamp MA | Senior Expat Career Coach and Counsellor
Founder of Orange Expats, an Amsterdam based international career coaching and counselling practice for Expats living or working in The Netherlands.
Stella is a Senior Expat Career Coach and Counsellor with over 15yrs’ of experience helping highly-skilled professionals from over 80 + countries master their challenges and accelerate their international career.
Stella holds a Master in Cultural Policy and Management and embraces lifelong learning. She uses an client-based, integral, holistic approach to help you reach your full potential.
Stella is a Dutch native who speaks fluent English and by happily being married to an Expat herself, she fully understands the challenges Expats facing living and working abroad. She loves helping you feel at home and cope with cultural differences you might face in The Netherlands.
She also voluntary offers coaching trajectories to African Female Future Leaders pursuing optimal use of renewable energy in Africa.
Qualifications
Stella holds a Master's degree in Cultural Policy and Management at the University of Amsterdam (UvA)
She also holds Post Graduate qualifications in:
- Personal & Career Coaching
- Stress management (CSR® - methodology)
- Burnout prevention, diagnose and treatment
- Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT)
- Mindfulness & Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
- Focusing (G. Gendlin)
- Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)
- Polyvagal-informed Therapy (S. Porges)
- Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)
- Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Biofeedback
Mission
To help professionals master their challenges and accelerate their international career.
Integrative approach to career coaching and counselling
"To me, there is no single approach that can help each client in all situations. With my client-based, integrative approach to career coaching and counselling, I’ll bring together different elements of theories, methodologies and interventions to help you master your challenges. Through blending of these relevant elements, an approach is formed to effectively suit your needs. Combined with highly effective job marketing and career-related insights, it results in a tailored approach for successfully achieving your goals."
Clients
Her clients are Netherlands-based highly skilled employees: expatriates, (short- & long stay) migrants, their accompanying partners, Dutch natives and (inter)national companies employing them. Stella’s recent clients include IUCN, the University of Amsterdam (UvA), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU), the Dutch Whiplash Foundation (WSN), law firms and companies working in the creative, cultural, fmgc and retail sectors. Her clients work in marketing, finance, e-commerce, sales, I(C)T, HR, legal, consultancy, journalism, as a teacher, among others.
Membership & Think-tank
She associates with the "Landelijk Centrum Stressmanagement" - the National Centre Stressmanagement - an occupational health company, providing activities to activate selfregulation, selfregulation by heartcoherence, selfregulation of emotions and selfmanagement of stress.
Stella is a member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) and the Dutch Association of Professional Coaches (NOBCO).
As Burnout Expert Stella is part of the think-tank for Maaike Hartjes' "Burnout Diary" Animation. ‘Burnout Diary’ is a half hour-special and social media project about accepting imperfection. The project is currently being adapted from the graphic novel ‘Burnout Dagboek’ by Dutch comic artist Maaike Hartjes and won the 2020 Trickstar Business Award.
Testimonials
Stella is well organized, knows how to make an action plan and make you stick to it and she is also a great listener and motivator. If you are an expat partner, she knows how to make the right recommendations and help you understand the Dutch business environment. I definitely recommend her!
R. Pastou
Read other testimonialsWell organized, action plan, great listener and motivator
I had a single efficient session with Stella. Within the first 10 minutes, she pointed out what might be the root of the problem and helped me to understand the problem with models. The models that she used to explain the problem was simple but to the point. She guided me to figure out the next step toward solving the problem, rather than telling me what I must do. If you need a career coach, I highly recommend Stella.
D. Lakayan
Read other testimonialsEfficient, to the point, problem solving
Stella has been a great source of support in my move from London to Amsterdam, both as career and expat coach.
Stella is very good at making you stop, think and review your strengths together with your career goals with the ultimate objective to align these. She then offers practical advice and continued support to achieve these goals.
I would highly recommend Stella to anyone looking for help in managing their career, a new job and dealing with cultural changes especially if you are new to the Netherlands or Dutch job market.
She is a great sounding board, full of good ideas and importantly very easy to get on with.
Top Qualities: Personable, High Integrity, Creative
B. Hetem
Read other testimonialsGreat support to enter the Dutch job market
“Stella is an amazing coach. She guides and directs with such efficiency and grace to find solutions to concerns or areas of improvement. Great in building personal Brand & character as well. The coaching sessions were very insightful and helpful.”
Read other testimonialsAmazing coach, efficient, very insightful
“My problem, as a working mom of two kids, was to get my priorities straight. As a perfectionist and ‘love it all’-type I had to make choices without losing my own self. With a well though-out plan Stella goes to work. It isn’t about talking, it’s about creating your own insights and face your own difficulties. Sometimes I had to come out of my comfort zone, what I wouldn’t had done by myself. All of the time it was inspiring. I was faced with the fact you can learn by doing, and at the end: you have to do it yourself. And Stella gives you a push in the right direction. Each session I left full of positive energy. It is great working with Stella!”
A. de Raaf
Read other testimonialsInspiring, positive, step out of my comfort zone