Dimitra Karatolou
Since I was a child, I dreamt of pursuing a career through which I would be given the opportunity to explore, create and contribute socially to the implementation of positive changes. When I graduated from the German School of Athens, I felt that the ideal profession for me was journalism. Therefore, I aimed at the Communication and Mass Media Department of the University of Athens. While studying, I worked as a journalist at the International News Department of a nationwide broadcasting Greek TV station. Having developed a special interest in Psychology, I was thinking how many things I would change in the work environment I was. So, upon my graduation my dreams had changed. I headed for the UK, with scholarship due to excellent academic performance, to study Social and Organizational Psychology at the London School of Economics and Political Science. For my dissertation I researched the use of emotions in professional roles (emotional labour).
In 2001 I returned to Greece, kept creative writing as a hobby and started looking for a job in Human Resources. Pretty soon I was assigned positions of responsibility at leading national and multinational companies, both in Greece and Germany (retail, automotive, banking and education). Throughout my career in in-house HR roles I have been actively involved in recruiting and selection – until today I have conducted more than 6.000 interviews-, training, performance appraisal, employee surveys and change management. As truly valuable experiences I consider leading the training and certification of a multinational company's dealer network in Greece, setting up and reorganizing HR Departments, designing innovative systems for cross-cultural communication and carrying out Assessment and Development Centers.
The year 2006 was a milestone in my path because I reconsidered my career and lifestyle. For 6 months I moved to the island of Santorini where I worked as a winery tour guide. There my thoughts became clear, I started writing again, social and travel articles for Sunday and special magazines, and HR Passport was created in my mind: a holistic personal development service which would act as a teammate throughout the professional pursuits of a person, from school years until she/he continues to feel creative and restless.
This is how I embarked on the challenge of freelancing. Until today, while providing one to one coaching, I have designed and managed organizational development, teambuilding and training projects on various subjects. Aiming constantly also at my own personal and professional development, in 2009 and 2010
I attended two professional coaching programmes, in Greece and in Belgium, certified by international organizations; I am member of the International Coach Federation.
In my free time I read as much as I can, I write short stories and travel.





