Hope you guys are doing amazing. Things over here are good, and today marks the end of my second week in Australia. I can finally say that things are starting to settle down. As you can surely imagine, it's been a tad hectic since my arrival here, and today is the first day I'm taking to just relax and "recharge my batteries".
Hence, I'm writing these lines from my laptop as I'm lounging around in the sun, drinking some delicious Japanese green tea, and grooving to beautiful trance melodies. Pure happiness. :)
Looking back on the last 2 weeks, I can't believe how well everything has fallen into place. From arriving in a hostel by the beach with no plan whatsoever as to where I was going to live, what job I would get to allow me to pay for rent and groceries... To hanging out in the massive backyard of my new house 5 minutes away from the Uni campus, relaxing from my first week school + work, I can't help but smile when I stop to think how far I've come already.
Many thought it was a bit crazy of me to take off for Australia with no real gameplan, but I wasn't stressing over it at all. I just had faith that everything was going to work out for the best once I got here. And so far, this experience once again confirms what I've realized a while ago. Wherever you go, if you keep an open mind, a smile on your face, and believe that things will work out, they will. As long as you do the little things to put luck on your side, then god, the universe, or whatever you want to call it, will do the rest.
To give you a good example of this, let me tell you the story of how I found my job here.
But first, I have to put you in context...
I had left for Australia with my personal finances in a bit of precarious state. Once I got here, I basically had to find a job within a month or else my bank account was going to show a big fat zero. And that was not at all the way I wanted to start this adventure. Therefore, there was a bit of pressure on that front, especially with the horrible way my job search in Montreal had turned out. However, I truly had this great feeling that as soon as I got here, a good opportunity would present itself. I don't know how, but I just sorta... knew it. Then it was going to be my responsibility to grab it, and run with it.
So last Sunday, after a week of getting my school stuff sorted and looking for a house, I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and go for a nice swim in UWA's outdoor pool. My whole life I have dreamed of being able to swim in an outdoor pool all year long, and finally it was happening. Naturally, I was in an amazing mood, and even a little high on life. I swam for about an hour, and once I was done, it was so nice out that I decided to hang around the pool deck and enjoy the lovely combination of sun and endorphins.
After a few minutes of this, a gentleman, about 60-65 years old, came up and started talking to me. Now I gotta point out that this happens all the time, Aussies love to chat up strangers, and once they realize I'm Canadian they get really excited. He commented on how good my swimming was. I thanked him and we started chatting about this and that. When he asked me what I was in Australia for, I pointed to the Business School (which is right next to the swimming pool) and told him I was here to do a Master of Marketing. He found it really interesting and and said he himself was in business and he was the CEO of a x-ray imaging company. He said that they were looking to hire junior staff members and that he felt that with my Bachelor of Commerce and my Master studies, I had exactly the profile they were looking for. He gave me his business card and told me to give him a call sometime.
Now at that point, the little wheels in my head started spinning pretty quickly as I realized that this might just be the opportunity I needed. So instead of thanking him and saying I'd give him a call later, I figured I might as well try and get an informal job interview on the spot. I asked him more about his company, their products, etc, anything to get him talking and really involved in the conversation. After a while, he said, "Phil, you look like the type of guy I'd like to have as an employee". He then asked me if I had anywhere I needed to go right now or if I was free for the next half hour. I told him I had all my time, and he said I should come and have a look at their office, which is only about 1 km away from the pool and the Uni campus. I said lets do it, so we got in his car (a HSV Grange, a really cool Australian luxury car) and went for a spin.
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| This beast of a car packs a 7.2L engine producing a whopping 500HP |
Once we got there, I got a bit intrigued by the building. It was this huge tower right next to Matilda bay, but it looked much more like apartments than like an office building. We got in the elevator and Wayne (the gentleman's name) hit "21" (out of 22 floors). As soon as we got off the elevator, I saw that there was only one door on that floor. This was a penthouse! We got in, and I'll never forget what I saw. Quite simply, the most exquisite view I had ever seen from inside a building.
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| "The Office" |
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We sat down on one of the couches and I tried to stay focused on my "job interview" even though my mind was absolutely blown away by the view out the window. We chatted some more and eventually he said he'd like me to come work for him as an Administrative Assistant. 15 hours a week, flexible hours meaning I can basically come in whenever I want, with the pay being a very reasonable 21$/h.
Now you have to put yourself in my shoes for a second. 30 minutes ago, I was just relaxing in the sun by the pool, and now here I was in this unbelievable penthouse/office, getting offered a job by a man whom I had barely just met, and who happened to be the CEO of this company.Woah!
I tried to gather my thoughts and analyze whether this was the right move or not, and then I just thought, "What would Freestyle Phil do in this situation?".
An opportunity like this doesn't come around too often, so I shook the man's hand, accepted his offer, and he told me I was starting the next day at 8am. Boom! Just like that I was officially employed in Australia. And I was going to be able to pay for my rent and groceries next month! Woohoo!
I have since gone to work 3 times and it's great. Basically this company sells x-ray imaging systems to veterinarians that allows them to visualize x-rays on their computer a mere 30 seconds after they've taken them. http://www.imagemetrics.biz/ Quite a niche market, but also very little competition for this product in Australia. Wayne is even considering expansion in France, and he said it was the fact that I spoke French that initially grabbed his attention when we started chatting by the pool.
The other employees are all young and quite friendly and they seem pretty stoked that I can assist them with all of their administrative hassles. It's quite a chill work environment (I think the view has something to do with it) and I'm really enjoying the "small company" vibe. Quite a change from a massive company such as Labatt.
They didn't really have a desk for me just yet, so I took matters in my own hands and got organized myself.
Now before you scroll down, hold CTRL on your keyboard and click this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9WVsnZDslk, and wait for the song to start.
All right now, check this out. I present to you my brand new desk/workstation:
And here's the pretty decent view I have when I look around :)
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| Looking to the left |
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| Looking straight |
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| Looking right. See the buildings with the red roofs in the distance on right? That's the UWA campus. |
Not bad eh? I can tell you it makes filling up paperwork a wee bit more enjoyable!
There's also been talks with Wayne that I might work full-time for them during the 3 month break the end of the semester, doing business development work around Australia. Sounds like a great opportunity to travel around the country in a more glamorous fashion than backpacking, while also getting paid good money for it. I'll see how things pan out over the next few months and decide then. Let's just say I have a feeling that whatever I decide to do, things are going to work out well. :)
Here you have it folks, the integral story of how I scored a job in Australia.
Now, for all those of you who are contemplating going somewhere, be it for work, school, and other pursuits, and are hesitant about making the big move... I hope this goes to show that uncertainty, yes, is scary, but that it's also exciting and filled with possibilities. The safety of home will always be there, but the window of opportunity to go explore the world without having to worry about kids, a house and all this adult stuff, is getting a bit smaller everyday. So don't wait any longer. Dive in, and I assure you you won't regret it.
As Mark Twain said, "“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
On side note, school started last week and that's going well too. All in all, I really can't complain about the state of things right now. And this week I'm gonna go get my surfboard and get started on my other little project- become a legit surfer! I'll let you know how it goes!
Have a great week, cheers!
Phil
