Unlocking success Down Under: 10 career learnings and the 5 stages we wished we knew when moving to Australia
Our Australian adventure unveiled
A decade and a quinquennium in Australia: 10 years of learnings summarised in 5 stages we wished we knew beforehand to succeed professionally in Australia.
Learnings for professional success without giving up in the process.
Combining two years as a Master's degree student, Zuli is celebrating a decade in Sydney, Australia, this year. Lorena, co-author of this article, celebrates 5 years in Australia and 13 since leaving her native Mexico. Recognizing these 10 and 5-year milestones, we wanted to commemorate them by sharing insights applicable to the professional sphere. In the collaborative effort of this article, we realised that these experiences can be grouped into 5 distinct stages.
Stage 1: The Honeymoon - Gabriel García Márquez's butterflies in your stomach
This stage takes place before traveling to Australia and during the initial months in the new country
Before the journey:?
This is the phase where it feels like Gabriel García Márquez's yellow butterflies are dancing the Macarena in your stomach. It's a mix of love and panic: the idea of starting a new life, exploring new horizons, learning or improving your English, leaving your comfort zone, taking risks, and stretching yourself to the limits make your heart rate spike. The adventure, the challenge, the potential opportunities, curiosity, perhaps monotony, all of these make the risk worthwhile. It's the period during which we make plans that seemed impossible in our home countries.
First few months:?
Arriving in a new place that seems wonderful, being impressed by the safety (oh! people can get their phones back if they lose them, we can talk on the phone in the streets without fear of theft, we don’t feel anxious?walking at night even in less crowded areas), the cleanliness, the order, the pristine beaches, and the friendliness of Australians, among many other things, is striking. Opportunities seem endless, and motivation is at high stake. No matter where you look, everything seems to work perfectly. Public transportation is high quality, especially compared to the Latin American systems. We feel that we can trust the police, we feel free and protected, as if we could switch off the constant alertness needed to survive in our home countries. Multiculturalism is novel, especially the harmony in which different ethnicities coexist.?
Beaches, parks, and other public places seem like fairy tales, everything we try pleases us, and we begin to fantasise about how wonderful it would be to have a stable life in this new place. To give you a better idea, it's very similar to when we stroll as tourists and see everything as beautiful; the grass is always greener on the other side.
Stage 2: Free Fall (The crash) - Impostor phenomenon at its peak
Unless your English level is advanced, native, or you belong to the privileged class with access to high-quality bilingual education, it is likely that during the first months or years, the cortisol levels in your brain and stress will increase significantly. The reason: Australian English. We would love to hear your stories and opinions, but generally, our belief as Latinos is that 6 months abroad are enough to learn or perfect our English, nothing could be further from the truth. Even if you travel with an advanced level, considering the complexity of Australian English, it may take months or even years to feel functional with the language.
What emotions does it evoke? Frustration, desperation, the desire to quit, regret, generally negative emotions. Add to that the high cost of living, inflation, and the fact that savings in Latin American currency converted into Australian dollars don't go far at all.
Add shared accommodation to the mix. For those of us who have lived our entire lives with family (a common thing in Latin America), sharing with other cultures and people sounds fun until you share accommodation with a flatmate? who doesn't do their part regarding house chores, who parties all the time, or who may not share your values or culture.
Add the complexity of job hunting. It is likely that with your English level, lack of local experience, and the type of visa you have, you may initially have to look for a job in a different occupation than you are used to, perhaps not at a professional level. Job hunting requires knowledge of how the Australian job market operates, how recruiters review applications, etc. This process can be frustrating and may lead you to question why you decided to come to Australia. This stage can last up to 4-6 years.
Learnings:
Your English proficiency is directly proportional to the possibility of finding higher-paying salaries and opportunities. Make an effort to pave the way by studying English and preparing before traveling.
You are migrating to an English-speaking country, whether you have made the decision to migrate or are already living in Australia; be aware of the implications this entails. We recommend preparing and acquiring, to the extent possible, a solid foundation in the English language. It doesn't matter if you have financial difficulties, don’t have time, or lack of practice. Keep the goal in mind and motivate yourself to achieve a better salary, a better job, a better future; do the homework. It doesn't have to be perfect, but incremental progress in your English proficiency will make the transition smoother.
Some low-cost and simple ideas that make a difference:
Another powerful reason to do this is that when you come to Australia to learn or improve the language, the cost of living will be very high, and as you will be learning, you will probably be surrounded by peers who are also at the same proficiency level.
If you are already in Australia, we recommend always making an effort to improve your language proficiency. It takes time and effort, but it is possible.
Assume that English is your second language, and your accent is your superpower. Hopefully, you do this sooner rather than later.
Learning a second language is a long process that demands effort. It is also a demonstration of bravery, resilience, and persistence. On the other hand, accents are a natural part of the process; they occur because when we try to speak a different language, we still retain some of our original pronunciation and intonation patterns. This is as innate as the color of your eyes or skin. Being clear that these are conditions with which we start looking for a job increases the probability of adapting more quickly.
Stage 3: Should I stay or should I go? The breakdown
Some need second (or third) seasons to decide if they want to migrate permanently. In Zuli's case, during her first time? in Australia, she wasn't so sure about her decision, and for that reason, she returned to Colombia. Not being able to find a professional job deeply impacted her pride, motivation, and desire to migrate to Australia. Here we recognise that all cases are different: some come with a clear idea of staying, some are not so sure, and others are clear that this journey includes a return ticket. We then face two dilemmas: deciding whether to stay or not and figuring out the best way to obtain a permanent residency.
In Lorena's case, Australia was her fourth country outside of Mexico where she found a professional job (after the United States, Poland, and Spain). Despite this result seeming wonderful at first glance, these were the outcomes of a 10-year process, including studying a complex and expensive MBA in San Francisco, CA, and being rejected hundreds of times by tech companies in Silicon Valley.
The migrant's dilemma: On one hand, we love this country and what it offers us, and on the other hand, we have family, friends far away and the career path is not so clear; this is what we call the migrant's dilemma.
In our countries, we have more or less stability: language, job market, family, friends, food, and culture, among others. In Australia, it's as if all of this disappears, and suddenly we become a blank book, starting from scratch but as adults.
Learning:
It's important to have long-term dreams and goals; for the same reason, you are not obliged to have immediate clarity.
This refers to the idea of having clarity about our medium and long-term goals without torturing ourselves with the idea of defining them immediately. Give yourself time to discover how you envision yourself in a few years. For this, you can establish general goals of how you see yourself in five years; a good career coach can help you increase goal attainment. For instance, our recommendation is to set up a strategy to determine? a goal to achieve in one year,? then break it down into 12 smaller milestones or perhaps mini-goals that can be achieved on a weekly basis. If this strategy? doesn't work for you, it can be adjusted and changed as often as you need it. Cognitive flexibility and a growth mindset are your powerful weapons.
Consider that there might be trade offs to deal with. For instance, having to get a job that doesn't fulfill our expectations, while creating the path to temporary residency.
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Stage 4 - Conquering the Australian job market, and our self-confidence growing exponentially
This stage may start with difficulty understanding how to present yourself in interviews, and how to define a plan for professional growth. After several years of learning, job changes, perhaps frustrations while improving the language to work more competently, we find a stable job and understand the immense value we can add, especially by offering different perspectives to the organisations or places where we work.
This stage involves the chance of having to work in non-professional jobs that are different from those we had in our home country. Potentially, we may have to work in places and roles where we don't feel comfortable, either due to visa restrictions, company’s culture etc. If you are experiencing this, we want you to know that this is quite common for migrants and that toys are not alone.
Some signs of this stage:
Learning:
If you still haven't found a job that excites and satisfies you, you are not alone. It's a long process, but Australia is a country that offers amazing conditions for employees. Having a career mentor to help us navigate the Australian market, find a better job, improve our salary, helps catalyse the achievement of our goals.
Stage 5 - Cruise control
Australia is the place we call home, and we see ourselves established in this environment in the long term. We are a unique mix of Latino and Australian cultures . We are aware of the importance our roots have in our identity, however, we are individuals who embrace the rules and probably characteristics of both cultures: for example, planning, a love for order, respect, equality, political, educational, and health structures.
Learning:
Recognise the journey traveled, and remember that there are other Latin Americans who are just at the beginning of their journeys.
Conclusion and closing:
Like everything in life, you can see the glass as half-empty or half-full. It's a matter of perspective, expectations, and what makes you happy, which is different for every human being. For some of us, including the authors of this article, it has been, from all perspectives, especially the professional one, the best decision: having a great job has been the pinnacle of hard work, hours of study, dedication, proving our worth. The effort is comparable to what we professionally put into Latin America, but here, we see better-paying roles with a better work-life balance, hence a higher quality of life.
Has it been easy? No.
Is it impossible? No.
Is it perfect? No.
Is it worth it? A thousand times.
We finish this article with a message of encouragement for those who are just starting this journey of seeking professional jobs in Australia or for those who are not yet fulfilled with their current job: we pave our own destinies and you don’t have to stay in a job you dislike, you can change professions, trades and make your dreams come true. If you still haven't found your passion, it's not too late to find it. Remember: “We don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are.” — Ana?s Nin.
About the authors:
Zuli is a Senior Recruiter and project team lead, international Career Mentor & Coach. She holds a Master of Science in Coaching Psychology from the University of Sydney and a Masters of International Business from Macquarie University (Sydney-Australia). She is an accredited Design Your Life coach conferred by Bill Burnett and Dave, the authors of this methodology.
Having changed careers three times, learned a second language, traveled the world and worked for well-known Multinational corporations and with professionals from more than 30 countries. She calls herself a citizen of the world.
When not interviewing, attending networking events or? facilitating training, she enjoys Mentoring and Coaching others to unleash their true potential, reach their dreams and design their life. She is also obsessed with programs and initiatives to support women in technology.
She believes that dreams come true- Motivation
She believes that positive psychology and strong research-based models make a difference. - Mastery
She believes in the power of action – Persistence
MBA | Growth Marketing Manager. Lorena is an innovator by heart.?Lorena is a seasoned growth marketing professional with a robust history in the tech industry. Lorena obtained her MBA from Hult International Business School campus San Francisco where she was immersed in a community of 150 nationalities and adopted ever since, the Silicon Valley mindset. For the last 13 years she has been focusing on acquiring global professional experience.
She has collaborated with tech companies in LATAM, United States, Europe and APAC. She is currently based in Sydney Australia. Her skillset includes and is not limited to growth marketing, disruptive? innovation, leadership, mentorship and coaching.
She has also proven experience working with a wide variety of tech startups -from early stage to exponential growth, helping them to maximise their potential and reach their goals. Others she work with, recognise her for always learning and fostering development.
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