My expat life in Kuala Lumpur
Hi!
My name is Julien and I am an APAC Network Consultant for CNS Communications under a VIE contract (The Volunteer for International Experience which is run by Business France, the French Trade Commission that allows young Europeans under 28 years old to work abroad to promote French companies).
CNS is an international company with presence in France, Malaysia and recently one in Romania, however, it is still a human size company.
To give you a little background, I started my adventure at CNS in 2017 in Paris where I worked for various customers as a Network Consultant mostly for Luxury companies. After 6 months, I heard about an opportunity available in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
I am very enthusiast about working abroad. Back then, I did an internship in the Netherlands during my studies, then I moved to New Zealand to work and travel for one year. I like discovering new countries, cultures and meet new people. It is my passion and if I can ally it with my job, I’m more than happy!
So, when I heard about the opportunity, I asked the HR and the management if I could apply and they answered YES!
A couple of weeks later, I had a lunch with the CEO in order to see if I was motivated enough for this position and most importantly aware about the life and working culture differences in Asia. By end of the lunch, I had the job!
I moved to Malaysia in October 2018 for 2 years with just a 30kg luggage and for me it was a big adventure. I have travelled in America, Europe, Oceania but it was my first time in Asia. In this country, almost everything was new; the culture and the habits were not the same. At the beginning, two things surprised me: the number of restaurants and street food basically everywhere, and the number of buildings in construction. You can literally feel that the city is constantly evolving. Asia is the new heart of the global economy and Kuala Lumpur including Singapore or Hong Kong is part of it.
When you are off to start your life abroad with only your luggage, at first thought, it can be stressful and complicated. However, it was the contrary because starting a new life in a new place can be very exciting even though sometimes you have some issues, but it is a part of the experience and the good parts are worth it. To start this new adventure, you have some checklists to do starting with the most important which is finding your future home. You have to choose the right district when you know nothing about the city, search for the best places, how the public transportation works, how to go to your office… but it’s the best way to discover the city and to speak with locals or other expat to get some tips.
For me, it was quite hectic. I had a hotel for the first week, an Airbnb for the week after, then a short stay in a flatshare for a month and finally I found the perfect room in a flat with 3 other expats. I have always lived with flatmates, as it’s a bit sad to live alone, especially when you are abroad or even in France moving into a new city. It’s a good way to meet people, share experiences, travel together… for me my flatmates are like my family in Malaysia!
When you are all settled, you can take your time to explore your district, the city, the country (and the ones around) and meet new people which for me is the most interesting part of the adventure. Furthermore, I have a fixed term contract abroad, so I am here initially only for two years, that’s why I take the advantage to enjoy my stay here at the maximum whether it is for my personal life or my work in Asia.
Now, let’s focus on my work experience in Malaysia so far. I have two main projects, the first one is for one of my clients for whom I used to work in France. I was a project manager and a technical expert on a big project and they requested me to continue even if I’m in Malaysia. At the beginning it can be a bit difficult because of the time differences between France and Malaysia so it is very important to be organized but at the end I got used to it.
My second project is for the monitoring solution made in CNS called C&Solve. I work with a duo in France to cover the monitoring in a long period of time because our customers are mostly from international companies with subsidiaries all over the world. With this organization, we can be reactive and we solved many issues before the opening hours, that is motivating!
Additionally, I also have some missions locally for APAC region and these projects will grow by the end of my French project.
For example, I did a project to audit and propose improvements for Visio conference for several offices in Asia and Australia managed by the APAC head office localized in Kuala Lumpur. It was interesting because in some countries like Vietnam for example, it is not like our standards in France, in this case the city has a bad internet infrastructure, so you must think in a different way and find solutions considering the local problem. Moreover, it is always a pleasure to have a project with Malaysian and more generally Asian people because there is a big cultural mix, you can work with Malays, Indians, Chinese and each of these cultures is different so adaptation is very important.
My opinion about this experience is that we should always be acquainted with the opportunities around ourselves, take the chance when you have it and never be afraid to go beyond of your comfort zone!
Working in a foreign country is an opportunity to grow, to be more open minded and understand how the world works. Nowadays we live in an open world, borders are more flexible and we must think international.
For those who want to travel, my personal advices are that Asia is a part of the world you must explore! Try avoiding the big western hotels and you will be able to discover something new, there are lots of diversity, foods, landscapes and you will never be bored 😊
Enjoy !
