Starting a New Job in an Even Newer Environment

Everyone will start a new job at some point in their life. It can be an exciting yet nerve wrecking experience. Starting a new job in a completely different city, however, is a whole new story. 

This past September, I packed up my bags and moved to Sydney from Dublin. It was something I had always wanted to do and was something I knew I always had to do. Between my childhood home, schools and university, I realised I had moved within a five-kilometre radius my entire life and it was time to see what the rest of the world had to offer. Three weeks after graduating from university I found myself on a plane to the furthest possible place from home in search of adventure, better job opportunities and of course, better weather!    

PR was a career I always had an interest in and after interning back home for three months in a PR agency, I knew it was the right path for me. I was reassured Sydney was the best place to start a career in PR and after obsessing over the likes of Steph Claire Smith and Sammy Robinson, I was excited to get a feel for the influencer industry too. After endless rejections and a lot of perseverance (apparently foreigners are not that appealing to the job market over here), I landed a job with InsideOut PR. It’s hard to believe I’ve only been here three months as I’ve learnt more than I ever thought I could. It’s been one of the most exciting times of my life and I’m so lucky to work in such a welcoming and collaborative environment. 

There are three things I’d advise anyone else when starting a new job in a new city;

• Get to know your routine

I spent the first two weeks of my new job getting up ridiculously early and hopping on all sorts of buses before finally finding a routine that worked for me. It’s tiring and confusing but once you nail that, you know what you’re in for each day which makes the transition easier. Having a routine is also essential to make sure you make it to the office on time. I’m five months into living in Sydney and if it were not for Google Maps, I would probably not make it to my desk or back home each day. Yes Sydney, you are great, but you are LARGE. Not to mention after two months on the job realising if I went left instead of right when leaving the gym in the morning, I would be at the office in half the time. 

• Get to know your company culture

Getting to know your company’s culture and adapting quickly to how your team works is my number one rule when starting a job. There’s nothing more important than being able to contribute to your team environment – everyone’s input is so valuable and can lead to amazing ideas. It can be difficult in a new country as you have to adapt to a completely new social culture overall, and as they say us Irish have a funny sense of humour, but once you make the effort in getting to know everyone and know how things work in your environment, you’ll feel more at ease. 

• Find balance

With a new job comes a lot of responsibility and focus, especially in PR when you need to be aware of what’s going on in the media around the clock. It is important however to make sure you enjoy yourself at the weekends and make the most out of your new city. I came to Sydney by myself therefore I left all my friends and family at home and it was time to start all over again. I’m very lucky to have met so many friendly people along the way, but it is also important to put yourself out there and make sure to plan ahead and have something to look forward to at the weekends. Say yes to every invite and go out of your way to reach out to those contacts from back home. One of the best ways to meet people is to join a sports team and exercise is also a great stress reliever mid-week! I joined Oz-tag as soon as I arrived in Sydney and although my teammates would have me voted off the team if they had the option (due to a serious lack of coordination, ha!) it’s the fun you get out of it that counts!

Good luck!

By Sarah Meenan, PR/Influencer Coordinator, InsideOut PR and #AsSeenOn