As I reach nearly five years back home after two years of working in Australia, I have found myself reflecting on my time both at home and in the land down under – the difference in culture, lifestyle and Sunday morning Ulster Frys!
I’m a firm believer that working in a different country, for no matter how long, is an experience everyone should have in their lifetime. My time in Australia is something I think about a lot, and I often find myself reminiscing on my experiences there in terms of both my work and personal life. I proved to myself that a guy from Northern Ireland can handle the work for a big international company and I was able to show my talents to many teams across the globe.
My wife and I moved to South Melbourne, a beautiful little area with markets and independent shops. If the market was on, I would always stop at a little coffee shop called Padre’s, which was a really cool spot. We were right on the edge of the city and even ordering an Uber taxi to get to meetings in the city was something I had never done before at home.
It was such a brilliant experience to work with big companies in these big skyscrapers. I just couldn’t take in that I was working in that sort of environment. Coming from Belfast and working for clients in a small way, this was a complete 180 in terms of workload and opportunity. It reignited the love for what I do.
Clients in Australia have problems just like clients in Northern Ireland. While the scale and therefore risk was obviously different – I would be working on a £50,000 job in Northern Ireland compared to a £1 million job in Australia – I encountered many of the exact same issues and problems. There are good designers everywhere, but it was the management and strategic side that companies were looking for, and I could bring that to the table.
When you’ve been away from your home country, you see how big the world is and Northern Ireland isn’t really on many people’s radars. We have the opportunity to become bigger and achieve what we should be reaching. We need to invest our money back into our businesses and appreciate that you’ll get what you paid for. It brings a better return to the business, at the end of the day.
Now I continue to work alongside many amazing clients in Australia, which I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do if I hadn’t taken that leap. Alongside finding the right-fit clients in NI that appreciate my strategic business approach to brand design and communication.
I would recommend working in a different culture or large city – even London. Just to experience different ways and views of working.
Look at it like an elastic band – we all need stretched to be good at what we do. My work lifestyle and ethic are so much better now because of that experience in Australia. It’s changed my perception, pulled me in directions that I was really scared of, and pushed me out of my comfort zone - but that’s what everyone needs once in a while.
