| Working overseas |
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| Tuesday, 03 July 2007 00:00 |
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Meera Atkinson Australians are famous globetrotters and at any one time there are approximately 900,000 of us living and working overseas. Throughout the 20th Century it was an obligatory rite of passage for young Australians to spend a year or two in the motherland, good old England, working either in a chosen field or picking up casual bar and restaurant work to fund excursions to Europe. Some of those who fled to Old Blighty, like famous ex-pats Clive James and Germaine Greer, never returned. In the last 20 years, young Australians have become less predictable in their choice of destination, journeying far and wide in pursuit of the heady mix of work and travel. Though immigration boomed in the last half of the century, it was for much of that time relatively uncommon to come across someone from overseas that had come to Australia expressly for their career. Now, with globalisation and contract work the norm, we play host to young people from all over the world. So, what exactly are the benefits, the pros and cons, and the realities of moving across the planet to take up a position in an alien land, far from friends and family. And how should the brave young souls who take the leap prepare? Australia has an agreement with several countries enabling Australians under the age of 31 (the cut off age can vary slightly between countries) to work overseas on a working holiday visa, and enabling eligible citizens from those countries to work here. Sometimes, under individual employment arrangements, an employer will sponsor an employee from overseas, thereby securing them a working visa. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) hosts a website, www.smartraveller.gov.au, with “essential information for Australians living and working overseas”. It recommends people cover certain easy-to-overlook basics such as insurance, international driver’s permit, vaccinations, and the notifying the electoral role of your absence. It offers advice regarding consular services and the assessment of job offers. The International Exchange Program (IEP) is a non-profit organisation that promotes and supports working young people from Australia, the United States, Canada, Cambodia, Peru, Costa Rica, the European Union and South Africa. IEP helps working travellers secure jobs and accommodation, and assists with vital information.
It not hard, says Naomi, to place Australians in positions. “Australians are very popular overseas. People love the accent. They love the fact that we’re from a foreign land far away but with a good work ethic as well. It’s a big draw card. Australians don’t have many problems finding work overseas because generally we’re a liked culture.” The payoffs of working overseas are manifold, says Naomi. “It develops people’s confidence. They’re thrown into an environment where they don’t know anyone — a lot of people are travelling by themselves — and they’re forced to meet and mingle with people from a different culture. "International work experience looks fantastic on a resume. Even if you’ve worked in a pub, it’s a lot more impressive than working at your local pub because you picked up from home, left your family and support system and took the initiative to get over there and set yourself up. It’s not always an easy thing to do. It’s proving you can do it. "And the good news is that you’re not restricted to working in a pub. You can follow up your career and then come back with international experience. With the new visas you can work for longer — before there were more restrictions.” Naomi says improved air travel and high-profile tourism campaigns have made Australia a popular working destination for young people from overseas as well. Stephanie Horsburgh is a 20-year-old student from Edinburgh who has been in Sydney for a month on an IEP working students’ program. “I was desperate to come to Australia and go travelling,” she says. And it appears she has already fallen in love with the place. “I want to come back out here to work permanently once I finish my degree.” Though working is a critical aspect of her time here, Stephanie is among the many whose overseas sojourn is driven more by the desire to travel than by ambitions to further a career. She has excited plans to visit various destinations around the country; for Stephanie the work is secondary and she’s not particularly fussed about what kind of work she does. Her family did not relish the thought of her adventure when she broke the news to them, but they have now adjusted and are supportive. “They’re happy I’ve come out here and are proud of me for doing it by myself. I think they’re quite surprised that I’ve managed to do it.”
“It was a nerve-wracking experience, at least for the first three months,” he says. “I went on a wing and a prayer. It was always to further my career and work in a bigger market. I wanted to work in parts of the industry I hadn’t worked in before and to work with a larger crew than I’d worked with in Australia.” After three successful years in London working for the likes of the BBC and Granada, Geoffrey moved back to Australia. But it wasn’t long before he got itchy feet. “I felt like there was more out there for me to experience — I didn’t want to hit mortgage-belt drive too quickly. So I decided to take on the United States. I made some calls and got my first job in Los Angeles working on the Academy Awards.” For some, working overseas proves to be not only a life-changing experience but a life-defining one as well. Geoffrey met his American wife while working on a Lou Reed documentary in New York. They plan to stay based in LA for the next few years but see themselves settling in Australia at some point down the track. “It’s been great to see different cultures and a great experience work wise. I’ve performed above what I would have been able to achieve in Australia,” he says. Even so, he admits there is a downside. “Missing family and friends — it’s the worst thing about being overseas. Sometimes you want to throw it all in just because your brother’s having another baby or your mother’s in sick in hospital. There’s always the anguish on the end of the phone that you’re 12,000 miles away and helpless. I’ve spent more money on phone bills than rent.” According to Naomi Joyce, though homesickness is universally the most difficult aspect of living and working overseas, the positives of the experience far outweigh the negatives. “It can take your life on a completely different path,” she says. “You are definitely going to benefit from it.”
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Naomi Joyce, the marketing and public relations co-ordinator of IEP, says most of the young Australians who sign up for the program are at a crossroads. “They might have finished school and are not sure if they want to go to uni. They want to try something different and branch out,” she says. “Others have finished university and want to go somewhere and get international experience.”
Geoffrey Mills, 34, is that other breed of international worker: the career go-getter. A freelance cameraman, he has worked on reality TV, docos, short films, current affairs, and commercials. He left Australia and a good job at Channel 7 in 1997, aged 24, for London. He did not have work lined up.
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