Secondment – The one where I decide (chronicle 1)

Hiya peeps!

So... firstly - May the Fourth be with you (edited in - kinda coincidental it went up on this day).

How’s everyone? Enjoying the last month of autumn, even though we’re still getting summery days it’s hard to tell that it is autumn right. But… yeah, anyway!

For the past 2 years, I’ve been spending the first half of the year overseas on secondment. So I thought why not write a little bit about my experience and the small adventures I had. Well what I can remember anyway.

So what should I start with? Well I thought I’d start with, how I decided on which city to go to. (If you don't already know. Don't Cheat! Don't scroll down... you scrolled down didn't you =.=).

Making the decision;

Initially, I didn’t know where I wanted to go. That’s actually very typical of me. I’ve never really thought about actually doing a secondment. I remember when I applied for the graduate role I expressed an interest in the possibility of working overseas because I thought it’d be pretty cool and my company had international networks. So, why not utilise it right?

I had an idea of a few cities which I was interested in but wasn’t really sure about which one would be the right choice for me. So I had a chat with my manager and he was really helpful. We basically discussed the options I had and what the cities were like and why people chose to go to certain places. These were my options;

London
This is a very popular choice in our office. I mean, I get it. The lure of the big city, all the way on the other side of the world, makes it an obvious choice. London is a great hub for travelling all over Europe too. Why wouldn’t you want to pack up your bags from this big island and head to London. After discussing the other aspects of the secondment, such as work related stuff, my manager mentioned the weather. As the secondment would take place from the northern hemisphere’s Winter to Spring period, it meant having to survive the cold weather. Can I survive the London winter? I wasn't too sure. I'm pretty sure that would mean wearing plenty of layers. Was London calling? Hmmm…

Copenhagen 
We actually discussed the option of going to a European city where they spoke English. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to work in Europe since the culture is very different and the cities are a lot smaller. My manager suggested Copenhagen as an option, as we knew the Danes spoke English and who wouldn’t want to work in the city where Princess Mary lives. Was the European way of life calling?

USA cities 
So I’ve always wondered what it would be like to work in America. Being exposed to the American culture through TV shows and movies always made me wonder what the experience would be like. I have this preconceived notion that Americans work hard and work long hours. I wanted to see if that was true. Besides the work culture, America has so much to offer. So many things to see, so much food to eat. With the country being so big, my manager told me to consider where I’d like to work, the East Coast or the West Coast. To decide this, I asked my American colleague which cities would be good and also another manager who did her secondment in LA.

And the winner was…

SAN FRANCISCO!!!

Now I can honestly say that ‘I left my heart in San Francisco’ (please let me know if you get the reference – it’s not that hard… I hope!).

Why did I choose the Bay area?

Well, to me, San Fran has always been a beautiful city and plenty of people have told me that it is a lot like Sydney. So I figured that this could help with easing the home-sickness. (This would be my first time living away from home! I didn’t know what to expect). San Fran also drew me in as it is known for being the hub for technology and start-ups. 

Most start-ups come out of Silicon Valley and I wanted to see if I could get some experience auditing that industry. I’ve been obsessed with getting exposure to technology/ start-up companies. I don’t know why – I just like learning about new start-ups and seeing what these companies are doing to innovate the world. That might be a bit of a nerdy reason, but hey, in the end I don’t regret my decision. 

Also, I’ve never been to America, so this would be my first time and I’d get to travel it after. Woohoo!!

My advice for picking the right place

There’s so many things which can be said about picking an overseas city to work at. So many places have their pros and cons. You can make lists upon lists and talk to so many people. But I always think deep down, you’ll know where you want to work and why. Trust your gut. Go where you want to go. This is your experience, not someone else’s. So make it your’s. Also, don’t be disheartened if you don’t get your first option, just remember, this is an opportunity that is very hard to come by. Whichever ever city you get, make the most of it. You’ll have a blast no matter what!

In the next post I’ll actually write about my time in America, I thought it’d be nice to give some insight into what I went through when deciding on where to go.

Until next time peeps!