From the UK to working as a Freelance Strategy Consultant in Australia

Adam was a Strategy Consultant at Accenture in UK before he moved to Australia to work as a Freelance Consultant. We recently placed him in a freelance role with our client, one of Australia’s most responsible operators of hotels, alcohol and gaming facilities.

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Please tell us a little about your career so far?

I graduated in Economics and worked at Javelin Group (acquired by Accenture) in London for 3 years, working in Retail Strategy for Supermarkets, fashion and homeware brands across projects of commercial and operational due diligence, growth strategy, cost optimisation and international expansion. Most notable experience was working ‘undercover’ as a quick commerce delivery rider to better understand the commercial viability of the business model.

What motivated your move to Australia on a working holiday visa? How did you go about securing the visa and is there an option to extend your stay beyond the initial visa period?

For a while I’ve wanted to live in a warm climate and enjoy the benefits that brings - beach lifestyle, outdoor sports, evening cocktails outside etc. And working at home over Covid years made me feel like a change of scenery and adventure.  A working holiday visa was the quickest, simplest and low commitment way to get working rights in Australia. I heard it was a strong job market so I trusted I’d be able to find a job, and if I wanted to stay longer term, get sponsored. I moved alone so didn’t feel the need to have anything secured beforehand and worst case scenario I’m only one flight away from home.

What advice would you give to other consultants who are interested in doing a short stint in Australia? Are there any particular opportunities or challenges they should be aware of?

Just do it! It’s a great quality of life over here, and if it’s something you’ve always fancied doing you’ll probably regret it in the future if you don’t. I don’t think you have much to lose. The new UK-Oz trade deal is coming into law soon which will give you a 3 year working holiday visa straight away.

Culturally it’s similar to the UK, there are lots of expats and you’ll fit in quickly. Only advice would be to get the ball rolling with your network to let people know you’ll be moving out. Arrange a coffee with them when you are here. I feel the skills required are relatively similar to those in the UK, so brush up your CV and be ready to hit the ground running when you arrive. Main challenge is that if you come on a working holiday visa, not all companies are willing to sponsor, so be open minded about what role/company you will be in.

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How have you found working in Australia compared to Europe? Are there any notable differences in the work culture or expectations?

People say the work culture is a little more relaxed, with a better work life balance, and I’d say from my experience that’s generally true. Hard to ask employees to work long evenings when it’s 30 degrees and their friends are at the beach! Work output and softwares used seem similar. Language between colleagues is more informal which I like. Hard to compare directly as I think some of the differences are a result of contract vs perm rather than UK vs Oz. On contract much more focus on output and employers are not really bothered with what time and where you do the work, which makes it really flexible - a big plus.

A few words about your experience with Movemeon? How Movemeon differs from other platforms/agencies/channels and how they helped you secure a new freelance position?

Movemeon was great as you have a success team member who understands what you’re looking for and keeps you updated with relevant opportunities. They have a wide variety of roles on the platform and it’s constantly updated. You can sign-up for email alerts, or join various application pools for contracts during certain times of the year. The process moved very quickly when I found a suitable role. I interviewed the day after applying, got the role offered a few days later and started as soon as I was back from holiday!

Find out how other Movemeon candidates experienced and managed the change from consulting to industry in further interviews we published on our blog.

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