In June 2022, I moved to the UK as an internationally recruited professional. The journey to get here was not without its challenges. There were a lot of ups and downs, a lot of research for the best place to settle and countless documents to prepare.

The adjustment period came with its share of hurdles, but I was fortunate to have an incredibly supportive team. From the very beginning, they provided guidance, encouragement, and the resources I needed to succeed. Their support allowed me to develop my skills and achieve my goals.

But after almost three years, I do not regret it. It has been one of the great experiences of my life. It gave me so many opportunities for development. After one and half years in the job, I progressed in my career and even started in a new field. Soon, I’ll be starting a master’s degree with the full support of my trust and team.

If I was going to start all over again, I would still do it because it really changed my life. If I was going to give advice to anyone thinking of starting this journey I would say read all the information provided and make sure that you have everything that you need. Have an open mind and explore everything that you want to do. Your team will be there to support you and you can reach out to others like myself.

It is scary, you do not know what you will find when you land but that is the most scary part because after that things will begin to make sense and you will settle.  

Have fun with it and be prepared because it will be a new way of living and working.  Be kind to yourself, you will be in a new country and it is difficult to step into the unknown and leave all your loved ones behind. You will miss them, you will sometimes wish to go back and you will question yourself if it was worth it. I can only give you my answer to it: it was.

It is hard when you miss the important milestones but the development that I had in my career in the past two and half years made it worthwhile and I would not have achieved all of this if it was not for the support of my supervisor, managers, team and trust offering me these opportunities.

To anyone considering this path, I would say take the leap. It will be different from anything you’ve experienced before, but it will also be incredibly rewarding. Be kind to yourself, stay focused, and enjoy the journey.