Courage, Respect, Generosity & Resilience have always been some of my main values. I never really realised it until I looked back at my life to find them and told myself my own story again.
I was born in Minas Gerais, Brazil and grew up in France. When I finished high school, I did a year-long exchange and aspired to go to Australia but instead, I was sent to California for a year, to learn English. I loved my experience in the US and would do it all over again if I could. I then dragged my feet back to France and studied for 5 years. Those years were tough and I can honestly tell you that I learnt to be resilient. I did a program called "alternance" in France that allowed me to work 3 out of 4 weeks for 3 years while getting my Bachelor's degree and my two Master's degrees. I worked 40+ hours per week depending on the job and the company and studied at night. Great experience, thanks to everyone that helped me build my career. I want to give a special shout out to Jean-Paul Cheno who was the best Mentor & Manager I had the chance to work with and for in my career.
October 2013 marked the time to decide where I wanted to take my career after finishing the Business School... Well, I was the only one in my class without a career plan and my only goal was to "have an international career". Good one Marie! I told my mom I was moving to Australia and would continue my career there. She wouldn't have it and told me to get my driver's license before deciding anything; (thanks mom, you were right!) I got my driver's license first and due to her endless tears (me moving too far from home), I ended up changing my mind and moved to London.
March 2014, I packed 3 bags, got myself a one-way ticket to London and didn't look back... (see the photo below). I will spare you the details of looking for a job for 6 months, my tough daily routine: starting my day at 8am, allowing myself 1 hour for lunch and applying to jobs until 6pm - going to interviews for jobs with no base salary (can I get a honk sound please? that is just outrageous) - watching Downton Abbey to understand the British culture and accent (don't blame me, I only change my accent & vocabulary through TV series). After being spotted by SW6 Associates, I went to a couple of sales jobs' interviews - truth is, I didn't want to work in sales again but had no idea what else was out there. I remember making it to the last stage every time and not getting the job, so my recruiter Caroline asked me: "are you asking questions at the end of the interview?" - me: "of course not, how rude is that before getting an offer?" - Caroline: "Oh Marie... this is how it works in the UK" #cultureshock... (or thank god? I never really wanted to work in sales again). She then told me that I should consider recruitment, due to how I created strong bonds with clients. Long story short, I found a job in 2 weeks thanks to my new SW6 recruiter, Parveen, after I'd been looking for 6 months...
I recruited auditors worldwide for 2 years. I developed the client-base in France from scratch (a lot of CAC-40 companies and smaller ones), managed relationships with existing clients in Germany in the financial services (I had to pick up my unused German), Italy, and a few other countries. I also developed and built strong relationships with companies in Brazil and Argentina with big names like Bunge and Philipp Morris. I didn't know anything about those markets and had to master it under very limited time while finding the right candidates and I did. Are you seeing a pattern? Yes, you got it, I've always worked from WhatsApp or phone and often didn't meet my clients nor candidates in person but always made it work for everyone!
In 2016, my partner and I decided it was time for a new adventure. He got an opportunity to relocate to Singapore so to Asia we went! When I arrived, I met the Recruiter/HR of the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and she told me: "everyone finds a job, it takes time but everyone finds one". I actually wondered why she told me this and I swiftly understood. The networking, the events, the early breakfasts, the lunches, the brunches (alright, another honk sound please? It is pretty tough!), the different communities to approach, even with an "easier" visa it was a tough one! I took a few months to understand what my next career step could be as I was sure to not want to be in recruitment anymore and turned down all the offers I got #neversaynever. I worked for a bit, did some career coaching, took a lot of Polish classes and travelled, to finally start working at the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore in December 2017 as one of the new Recruiter/HR team member.
I spoke to candidates all around Asia & often in Europe. I recruited Sales, Marketing, Communication and Legal talents for International companies based in Singapore. I also presented the Singaporean job market at various events and webinars. The experience was pretty great, also due to amazing colleagues & tenants that I had the chance to work with for 2 years.
In 2019, you know the drill, my husband got an exciting opportunity in Sydney and we moved by the end of the year. This time, I decided to get ahead of the game and find something that would excite me, to make the move smoother. I decided to do a coaching training and did GoMasterCoach in Singapore created by Geraldine Gauthier et Aurelie Dhelhemmes to then set up my coaching company in Sydney in April 2020. After all this time, I finally managed to live in Australia!
My life and career have led me to this! After working as a recruiter, I felt I could make a difference but this time, by helping people understand their career and making sure they were taking the right path for themselves. Even after coaching people for years as part of my daily job, I now decided to make it full time, in order to help YOU!
Moving to London without looking back #internationalcareer #dertermination #coachtobe
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