How I found a UX job in Sydney and moved overseas (Part 1)
A 3-step plan to help you cross the pond
Is moving overseas and working in another city a lifelong dream of yours? If you find yourself worrying whether or not you’ll actually do it or don’t know where to start, this article will help you. If you’re a UX/product designer with a couple years of experience, I have some good news for you—it’s very doable.
This adventure will test you. But it could be one of the most worthwhile struggles you can experience.
I’ll share the plan I used to move from the freezing wind and snow of Toronto to the sunny beaches of Sydney, Australia. I hope to show you that, just by getting started, you can make your dream happen—possibly a lot sooner than you think.
Moving overseas. Where do you even begin?
I talked about doing this for years but it never seemed to be the ‘right time’—until late 2018. At the tail end of a breakup, I found myself wandering a book store, feeling pretty lost in life. For some reason, a book caught my eye and I plucked it off the shelf. I cracked it open to a page titled ‘The Great Discontent’. It was a chapter about having a dream of yours you keep putting off in favour of doing something not as great, but perhaps safer. Something there resonated with me. It was Chris Guillebeau’s The Happiness of Pursuit. With this book fuelling my inspiration, I decided I was finally tired of life in Toronto and I realised a window of opportunity was open.
Over the course of 3–4 months, I updated my portfolio, quit my job, moved out of my apartment in Toronto, booked a flight to Australia and found a job in Sydney a few weeks before leaving Canada. As a result, my life path has taken many interesting turns from where I thought it would be, but I’m happy to say that Australia is now my long term home. I discovered my love of beach volleyball, met lots of amazing people and found my favourite place in the world to live.
Plan of attack
We’ll tackle this from the perspective of a UX designer. Whilst some working holiday makers land without a job or may not have a specific skillset to lean on, UX is a field of work that provides opportunities for work sponsorship.
Let’s take a look at the process that I followed. The intention is to inspire you to get started and show you this is actually possible, despite the discouraging things you might be telling yourself.
1. Get clear on what you want
Narrow things down and get specific. What countries or cities are you most interested in? Do you want something similar to your current home or totally different? Are you a city person or do you love being closer to nature? Do you like cooler weather or do you prefer the sun and heat? It might be good to take inventory of what you value and what you’d most like to get out of this experience.
For me, Australia was a natural choice given I was seeking a very different life from Canada with different weather, activities and opportunities. It’s also part of the Commonwealth and is predominantly English-speaking which certainly helps. Choosing a city is tough, but Sydney offered what was most important to me—good work opportunities, nature, sports, and lots of other international people.
2. Count the costs and reason with the obstacles
Take out a pen and write down your budget and any obstacles in your way. Ask yourself:
- How much money are you willing to part with? How much time in another country will it buy?
- What are the main obstacles? For example, getting a visa, breaking a lease, finding a job, worrying about what your friends and family will think, etc.
- What’s the worst case scenario and is it really that bad?
- What’s the best case scenario and is it worth the risk?
While every country is different, for Australia, you need to have at least 2 years of professional experience to be sponsored for a longer-term (skill shortage) visa. You may want to double check this for the destination you have in mind.
For me, my top 3 obstacles were updating my portfolio, finding work in Australia and overcoming the anxiety of leaving my hometown.
My worst case scenario was flying to Australia, not landing a job after 3 months and spending about $8,000. But when I thought about it, this really meant a 3-month trip to Australia full of challenges, experiences and meeting new people. It would have sucked to come back after only a short time but at least I would have tried. Also, any learnings from my trip could help me decide what to do next in my life.
And what was the best case scenario? Finally do the thing I’ve been wanting to do for years. Maybe find a great job and build a fulfilling, interesting life in a great place. For me, the upside was worth the risk.
3. Create a plan
Now that you know what you want and your budget, let’s create a plan of action. Designers are pretty familiar with creating processes—find a whiteboard, grab a coffee and let’s map this out.
- For those obstacles, what’s needed to overcome them? Can you section this work into small, logical chunks? Can you create any sub-goals?
- How much time do you want to allow for this? What’s your absolute deadline?
- Are there any other unknowns? Can you gather info on them and turn them into knowns?
One of my biggest obstacles was updating my portfolio to give myself the best chance at finding a job. I listed the high-value tasks and set aside 5–10 hours each weekend to chip away at them. After a couple months of work, I decided my portfolio was strong enough to start applying for jobs. As with all plans, yours can evolve as you go.
I then began reaching out to people in Sydney to get the ball rolling before my flight. I expected to land there with no job but was hoping to at least line up some interviews. That might seem pretty risky to some people. Fair enough. But it’s your adventure and you can always dial things back, give yourself more time, and find a job before committing to moving if you want. It’s a big decision so you’ll want to approach it in a way that’s comfortable for you.
Speaking for the field of UX, another advantage you could tap into is the community of recruiters. While I can’t speak for all cities in the world, I know that Melbourne and Sydney have a lot of them. There are many ways to land an interview, but getting in touch with recruiters made things feel more within reach. I was able to land interviews and even a couple offers before leaving Canada!
Takeaways
If there’s one thing to take away from this article it’s that you just have to get started. If you put your intentions out there in the world, you’ll be surprised at how many people are willing to help you. When you create a plan and break things down, what seems impossible and scary could be more feasible than you think.
I hope this article has helped you get some insight into what’s involved in moving countries. You can also check out Part 2 of this article here. Thanks so much for reading and best of luck.
