Submitted on Thu 09 Dec 2021
Untethered to me means, being able to be in two places at once. Being an expat, born and raised in California and now being an Australian Resident, isn’t always easy, especially when my parents can’t travel; not to mention the long separation due to Covid that every expat has faced these past two years.
Late in 2021, there was a glimmer of a chance that the unthinkable may be possible: I would be able to get home to see my family and just in time for my brother’s wedding in Los Angeles.
But I was faced with a dilemma, the only possibility of me getting home was to leave Australia for a minimum of 3 months or longer (due to border restrictions). During this time, I was also looking for a new role which left me with two options should I be able to travel, leave my new job soon after joining or stay where I was, treading water, hoping to be able to travel, and if I couldn’t, miss out on a great opportunity. I was living in limbo, ‘should I or shouldn’t I?’, ‘will I or won’t I?’
And then I discovered ‘untethered’
If I managed to get to the US, then I would be without an income for 3 months. I still had a home in Sydney to keep and a dog to get looked after, 3 months without pay wasn’t an option. But when I interviewed with The Recruitment Company, they brushed off my concerns as if they were nothing. I took the role, but they were much more confident than me that it would all work out well.
When I joined TRC, we worked together to write a letter to support my exemption application. The company not only fully supported me in my efforts to get home but seemed to be almost as excited about it as I was. The letter, amongst other things, worked and my application was granted. I had to stay a minimum of 3 months (I had only been with TRC for 1 month at this point!) and there was no guarantee I would be allowed back into Australia at the end of this time. Again, TRC seemed less concerned than I was.
What I discovered was that ‘untethered’ had been designed specifically for this sort of thing and the company had spent 8 years thinking through every aspect of how it could work. And it did. Seamlessly.
I hardly missed a beat with my new desk in a market I had no experience in. I worked Sydney times from LA. I got to spend the day with my family, my evenings with my clients and (very) early mornings socializing with my new colleagues. Although I hadn’t met anyone from the company, I immediately felt part of the team. I didn’t miss out on anything; from pumpkin carving and cocktail making to company meetings, drinks and monthly lunch clubs. I even attended all the training classes and brainstorming sessions. I even got to run the company meetings when it was my turn.
I found that, because of the way things were set up, I wasn’t hindered in my new job at all. In fact (if I do say so myself) I smashed it! Even though I was learning a new market to recruit in, a new style of recruitment and was building a new client base, I overachieved on all my targets and have already, 1 month early, hit my annual stretch goal and have won myself a place on the company incentive to be taken to Vegas.
But the best thing? I got to do all of this AND I got to do all the family things I wanted to do. I was able to meet my niece for the first time, be a part of my brother’s wedding, go to my niece’s baptism, visit my siblings’ first homes, spend some quality time with my recent retired parents and look after my father whose health is not doing too well.
I was able to be present for all of these things and more, all whilst working my job and being present for my clients, candidates, team and company back in Sydney.
I was fortunate enough to get to go home during a time many couldn’t but I was even more fortunate to be a part of an untethered company who encouraged and supported me to be in two cities at once.
Check out the rest of this series here
If you’re an amazing recruiter looking for a recruitment agency to call your new home, then let’s start with a chat. Call us today on (02) 8346 6705 or email to [email protected] for a no obligation chat with Holly. Find out why we were named Australia’s best small business to work for and how you could join our family.
The Recruitment Company – Making people enjoy the recruitment experience again
Specialist Recruitment Agency within Information Technology, Project Services, IT Infrastructure, Software Development, SAP, Data and Analytics, Devops, Cloud and the Public Sector.
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