“Real Stories From Abroad”: All The Inspiration You Need For Moving and Working Abroad
Making a move abroad is not an easy decision for everyone, especially in unpredictable situations like in a global pandemic. That’s why constantly strive for reading or hearing about others’ experiences and their stories when it comes to moving and working abroad.
“Making the Blu Experience: Real Stories Abroad” is one of the most exciting projects we have at the moment. We get to know our amazing candidates during our recruitment process very well but thanks to these interviews we learn their hidden talents and stories.
Vera’s New Adventure in Lisbon
It’s an absolute honour for us to share Vera’s story from Lisbon today. Vera is an extraordinarily talented woman with a colourful personality whom we had a chance to work with just recently. Now she’s a content moderator in one of the biggest BPO companies in Portugal and is very excited about her upcoming career steps.
If you want to learn more about how Vera has started her new adventure back in Lisbon after 12 years of experience in China, we invite you to read her interview and get inspired for your next step.
"…the fact that I know not only the language but also the culture makes it super interesting to be the bridge in different projects. "
Hi Vera, thank you so much for accepting our invitation to participate in “Real Stories From Abroad”. Let’s start by introducing you to our readers. Where are you from? Where do you live and work at the moment? You can give us some background information about your professional and educational background and your hobbies and goals if you want.
I have a degree in Language and Business Skills from the University of Aveiro. After graduating, I was lucky to get a scholarship to Taiwan and later to Beijing to improve my Mandarin which led me to stay in China for 12 years. Initially, I worked there as a Portuguese IT Tester for Neusoft/ Nokia, and later I worked as a customer service representative for an e-commerce company where I was also training the remote Portuguese and French teams. After this job, I continued my career as an event planner and public relations specialist for the best clubs in Beijing. Due to the fact that I reached a lot of followers because of promoting only things that I try and trust, I became the foreign PR and this made me work with amazing music festivals: Grammies Music Festival, Great Wall Music Festival among others… Later I was invited to work for 5-star hotels as an event planner/artist manager for Segrace Entertainment that I had the pleasure to work with Four Seasons, China World Hotel, Hotel Jen, Kerry Hotel, Fairmont, Sheraton hotel, etc.
How did you decide to make international work experience abroad? Did you have any previous experience, and what was your motivation for following this route?
I speak 5 languages. So I LOVE to speak the same languages on a regular basis and the fact that I know not only the language but also the cultures makes it super interesting to be the bridge in different projects.
How did your job search go? Do you think that it is relatively easy to find a suitable job abroad? Did you get any previous information or recommendation about the company you are working with right now?
Due to the pandemic situation, I decided to come home and wait for everything to be back on track… but after one week I decided to start looking for a job, so I selected some filters on Facebook and was lucky to find this job. I got fully detailed information on the company, the role, and the job offer
"It made me feel safe and confident to know all the details about the job and the offer, and this is the reason I already recommended 3 friends to my point of contact at your company."
You know that we encourage people to #makethebluexperience when they decide to make an international career move. How were your Blu experience and your recruitment process overall?
I must admit that I can’t stop saying that I loved the constant follow-ups by email and by a phone call from Blu Selection. It made me feel safe and confident to know all the details about the job and the offer and this is the reason I already recommended 3 friends to my point of contact at your company.
What are the strengths that made you get the job, do you think? Which soft and hard skills do you think helped you to be selected for your current role?
I think the fact that I can work well under pressure, that I am used to working in a multicultural company, and that I am comfortable at switching between 5 different languages made it easier.
Can you tell us about your daily routine during this experience? Do you enjoy your job at the moment? Did you have a chance to attend any team activities or after-work events?
At my company, we have weekly training to guarantee the quality of our performance, and this is something that I truly love. At the moment, we just focus on online meetings, but soon we will have team buildings.
Never be afraid to try different jobs, but always put your heart in anything that you do.
What have you learned so far, and what do you expect to gain from this experience, both in terms of personal gains and professional skills?
Now that I am back in Portugal and I can speak English and French since our client is a Chinese media platform, I truly hope that I can be promoted to supervisor or manager. With time, I can have a chance to be the bridge between the company and the client and show the fact that I really know not only the language but the CULTURE thanks to my 12 years of experience in China.
What is the best part of this experience, or what do you expect it to be?
I love the teamwork that we have among our team members, but also can’t wait to work at the office and socialise with others from other cultures. I am in love with the fact that Lisbon has amazing cultural places, beautiful sunsets and it is so close to the beaches. The sky is so beautiful that the last week when I was working during the night shifts I managed to see 2 half-moons where one had the colours of the rainbow…
What advice would you give people reading your story?
Never be afraid to try different jobs, but always put your heart into anything that you do. So just tell your recruiter exactly how you are and what you are looking for so that you can have a long-lasting relationship with your company.
Thank you so much for sharing your unique story with us, Vera!
Vera’s success was not only due to her experience and various skills but also to her transparent communication. As she said, as long as you know what you want and express your needs and preferences to the recruiters you’ll have a job that makes you feel good about yourself, just like Vera.
We hope you enjoyed reading Vera’s story as much as we did. If you want to know more about the Blu experience or would like to share your story with us, you know what to do: just contact us!
