I got into recruitment by coincidence. I was writing my thesis on the company I was working for at the time and a consultant from Walters People called to prospect business and I picked up the phone. We started talking, and the consultant asked me what I was going to do once I graduated— a few months later, once I'd finished my studies, I interviewed and was offered a role as a recruitment consultant.

Working for Walters People in Amsterdam was amazing. You are responsible for your own desk with your candidates and clients. I really loved that it is 360° recruitment — from start to finish across the entire recruitment process, which gave me the opportunity to learn so much. I was able to observe recruitment best practice first hand from my manager, who had been a top biller before moving into management roles, which was eye-opening. 

During my time at Walters People, I learned the importance of running the recruitment process efficiently and effectively and how to approach sales, business development calls and negotiating.  You work hard and put in the extra effort, but teams are very goal-orientated, with everyone wanting to achieve and make it a success whilst having fun together.

I'd met my partner at Walters People in Amsterdam, and in the year before my partner and I decided to relocate, we had friends that made the move from Walters People Paris, and shared how great the experience had been. At the time, we were travelling the east coast of Australia, and we fell in love with it — particularly Melbourne — so we decided to make the move ourselves.

Making the move to a different market was challenging, but that was one of the reasons I had wanted to do it in the first place. I wanted to adapt in a new environment and culture, and in doing so, I wanted to try becoming successful on the other side of the world.

Some things were the same, however — I found the people and the culture at Robert Walters just as friendly and supportive as my former colleagues had been in Amsterdam, and I still had a lot of ownership over my recruitment desk and accountability, which makes each day fulfilling.

What I love about working at Robert Walters is that it's a no-nonsense, hard-working, kicking-goals environment, where you can celebrate your successes with your mates, which is a great feeling. On top of that, I get to live in Australia — what's not to enjoy? The people are super friendly and welcoming — it's quite easy to meet people and build relationships just by grabbing a coffee. Melbourne is very multicultural, social and with our campervan, we can explore Victoria and travel the rest of Australia so easily.

If you're interested in working abroad, I'd give you this advice: Do it! It’s a unique and awesome experience to work and live abroad. It adds so much value to your life and you will learn so much!