How I migrated to Ireland and landed a job at Microsoft: 6 tips for aspiring immigrants.

In this article, I want to share with you my personal journey of migrating from Venezuela to Ireland and how I managed to get a job at one of the most prestigious tech companies in the world. I hope that by sharing my story, I can inspire and help other people who are in a similar situation or who have similar dreams.

My story begins in 2013, when I decided to leave my home country, Venezuela, with my wife. We had recently gotten married, and we were looking for a better life for our family. We had a successful career as co-founders of TuDescuenton.com, the first Groupon-like page in South America. However, the government changed the rules overnight and took over our business, leaving us with nothing.

Tip 1: Be crazy but not a lunatic.

Yes, I know these two words are synonym but stick with me. What I mean by this is that many people might consider you crazy and you might be. the Wright brothers had to be crazy enough to think of flying but they weren’t lunatic to jump off a building without a machine. Get the point?

We had to be crazy enough to make a leap of faith and move to Ireland, without much preparation or research. We faced many difficulties and uncertainties, such as finding a place to stay, getting a visa, and learning the language. For us, we trusted that God had a plan and that He would guide us through the challenges. We were not chasing luck; we were following our destiny.

I guess if you want this to sound more professional you could say tip 1 is to have a strong motivation/faith. ?

Tip 2: Be prepared to face challenges and overcome them.

The second tip I can give you is to be prepared to face challenges and overcome them. Migrating to a new country is not easy. You will have to deal with a different culture, language, weather, and system. You will have to adapt to a new environment and make new friends. You will have to find a way to survive and thrive.

The first day we landed in Ireland we were amazed by how different the city was to what we were used to. Keep in mind this was my wife’s first time in Europe and my first time in Dublin. Within the next day, the novelty had worn off. We started to face many challenges. First, my wife didn’t know English. I did, to some extent. In my case, I was told I was going to be able to work full time. However, I learned that me because I had a student visa, it didn’t allow me to find a full-time job. This was my status for the first 8 months. Another challenge we faced was loneliness, it was my wife and I alone in Ireland. Our parents were a source of motivation and strength, they were cheering us significantly from abroad, but they were only available virtually and at times.

Lastly, money was running out quickly. We brought over a few thousand euros (the limit our government allowed at that time to take) and with our rent being 950€ per month, you can do the math.

We overcame these challenges by working hard, learning fast, and staying positive. We also relied on our faith and our community for support and guidance. We never gave up on our dreams and goals, no matter how hard they seemed.

Tip 3: Customize your CV for each job application.

8 months passed and I was able to find a job. Being in such a hurry to survive, I remember applying to every Spar, Centra, Tesco, Coffee shop available. I handed tens of CVs with no response whatsoever. My mistake: I had a corporate CV.

So, the third tip I can give you is to customize your CV for each job application. This might sound obvious, but many people make the mistake of sending the same generic CV to every employer. This can make you seem uninterested or unqualified (or overqualified) for the specific position. Instead, you should tailor your CV to match the specific requirements and expectations of each job. You should highlight your relevant skills, achievements, and fit for the role and the company. This can help you stand out from the crowd and show that you have done your research.

I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t getting calls. I went on to change my CV to highlight the experiences I built working in kitchen, preparing meals and cleaning toilets. I focused on my volunteer work at church. Only then, I started to get calls and interviews. This was key to land my first-ever irish job at Centra.

Things started to look better after that.

Tip 4: Learn from every rejection and feedback.

After a few months working at Centra, I wanted to pursue a professional/corporate job.

Back to sending CVs and applying. ?

The fourth tip I can give you is to learn from every rejection and feedback. Rejection is inevitable in the job search process. You will face many noes and silences before you get a yes. But don’t let that discourage you or make you give up. Instead, use every rejection as a learning opportunity. Ask for feedback, if possible, and use it to improve your CV, your interview skills, and your self-confidence. Don’t take it personally but take it professionally.

I’m not sure why I was hired at Microsoft, you would have to ask Helena and Garvan who were the first ones to give me that opportunity. But I am sure of something. I wouldn’t have landed the job if I hadn’t been rejected the previous 39 professional interviews. The point here is, if you’re in the process of looking for a job, never turned down an interview. It might be out-of-reach, or might not be your most desired company, but I tell you, if you keep an open mind, you will learn something from every single rejection.

I kept a journal in which I self-reflected on why I was rejected. Regardless of whether that company had provided me feedback or not. Sometimes feedback hit you like a train. For example, when I applied to Daft, the hiring manager had suggested I went back to college and change my degree. Instead of taking it personally, I went beyond the harsh feedback and realized I either had to improve my developer skill or apply to different opportunities.

Tip 5: Be flexible and open-minded about your career options.

When I first started landed in Dublin, I was dreaming of getting a 6 figures salary of a developer. Even better, because I had already management skills, I was expecting to become a manager on the go. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

Should I had not be flexible enough, I wouldn’t have worked at Centra which in turned taught me a lot. Similarly, my corporate job was a tech support engineering. Far from the developer line and even further out from management. The reality was, my management skills were in Venezuela, a much different culture from Europe and I also was too young. Also, as a developer, it had been 4-5 years since the last time I coded so it made sense I couldn’t pass those job interviews. I was “dusty” on my coding skills. ?

The fifth tip I can give you then, is to be flexible and open-minded about your career options. When you migrate to a new country, you might not be able to find a job that matches your previous experience and skills. You might have to start from scratch, learn new things, and adapt to different expectations and standards. You might have to take a job that is not your dream job, but that can help you gain valuable experience and connections. You might have to explore different industries and roles and discover new opportunities and possibilities.

This tip was crucial for me in my job search. I had to be flexible and open-minded about what kind of job I could do and what kind of company I could work for. I had to accept that I might not be able to work in the same field or level as I did in Venezuela. I had to learn new skills and technologies and prove myself in a different environment. I had to take a job as a cleaner in a Centra, which was not my ideal job, but that helped me pay the bills and improve my English. I had to explore different career options, such as Tech Support Engineering, Call Centre, etc. and discover new interests and passions. I had to be open to new challenges and opportunities, and not limit myself by my previous "glorious purpose"

Tip 6: Network and build your circle of support.

Networking played a key role in my job search. I never applied to a job position in Microsoft. It was somebody’s friend’s friend who handed my CV to Helena Dillon and Garvan Kelly , who were the first ones to hire me. I met that person, because my sister had met them before, years ago. Then that person connected with me asked for my CV and handed it over to somebody else. I think, at the end I’m not even sure how my CV ended up in Microsoft. Regardless, I will be eternally thankful to all of them for giving me that opportunity.

From a support circle, our parents were there, right and centre cheering us up, helping us not giving up and returning. Also, a very important factor was the church we quickly integrated too. Thanks to our faith, we connected to like-minded people that up to this day, 10 years after, have become our family.

So networking helped us build our circle of support in Ireland. In our case, it was our faith in God, family and the church that provided us with the most support and guidance. This is not a post to discuss about faith, so as long as you take-away the importance of building your support I’m happy with it.

Conclusion: The sixth and final tip I can give you is to network and build your circle of support. Networking is crucial for finding and landing a job, especially in a new country. You never know who might have a connection or a referral that can help you get your foot in the door. Networking is also important for building your social and professional network, which can provide you with support, advice, and opportunities. Make sure you attend events, join groups, and reach out to people who share your interests and goals.

Finishing up

That’s it for my article. I hope you enjoyed reading it and found it useful. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below. I would love to hear from you. Thank you for your time and attention. And remember, if I can do it, so can you!