The dream of living abroad is now a reality for Bruno and he’s loving his new life in the Caribbean! With a laidback lifestyle and the beautiful waters all around, we’ve had the pleasure of assisting Bruno secure a fantastic role in Barbados. We recently we caught up with him to find out how life is going living on the Island.
In his own words, we’re happy to share Bruno’s story, his experiences, highlights, and the simple advice he has for others.
‘I began to think about moving abroad when I was young.’
‘The idea of living and working abroad came when I started learning English and became feasible when I started my career in audit in Big Four Companies years later. After seven years and few unsuccessful attempts to international opportunities, my contract ended, and I concentrated all my efforts on my dream. It was when I found a position in Caribbean region through an online application that everything happened. It took time for me realise that it was happening in a quite special way, in short: work overseas, in a beautiful place, speaking in English, Caribbean life style, Barbados popped up, and it changed my life. I had never heard about this amazing Island before, and I just thought ‘wow it’s great!’’
‘It’s always good here.’
‘It’s a different culture, it’s a country where English is the first language, so I can keep my fluency up. The lifestyle is totally different from my home because I lived in a huge city – Sao Paulo, in Brazil. So you know traffic jam, crowds of people, it’s all rushed, exciting but crazy, and quite a stressful life. But in Barbados I can do cool and awesome things being close the sea, you know I go to the gym, the beach, and the weather, and breeze are amazing. The lifestyle is good, and the professional experience is great.’
‘The biggest challenge here for me is the communication and the methodology.’
‘My English skills are in good progress (sometimes the accent kills you – laughs), the management skills mindset improvement and I’m exposed to different business and leadership situations that make me feel more confident as time goes on. After months living here, I am still learning a lot. It’s a small office, so have direct access to the partners and directors. People here know each other, they remember birthdays, they are caring and warm people, and hold many social events are run involving everyone. It’s a different approach when you work in a big office. Before I was working in auditing in a company about 2,000 professionals and now I’m working with about around 300 people, so it’s a huge difference. Now it’s a busy time for me here. We are running the final audit for one of the big clients that I have at my portfolio. I’m about to complete 1 year in Barbados, the time goes really fast.’
‘I’m a diver now! I’ve done my certification – it’s amazing!’
‘Personally, it’s something really different for me, I got my diver certification last month, have been snorkelling on weekends, and learning to surf is the next thing on bucket list while in Barbados (laughs). The experience is really interesting and rich. The Bajan culture and history, the geography of the island, the local parties (Crop Over celebrations are great), local beer, tourist, and driving on the right hand side – it’s all part of an exciting life. I meet people from all over the world. The office has professionals from America, Europe, Africa and Asia, my Bajan friends, so yeah, it’s really good. My family miss me and I miss them, however now I think I speak much more with them than before, it’s a kind of distance that make you close the family.’
‘First, try. Give yourself the opportunity.’
‘Hey! Don’t give up before give yourself a fair chance! Read about others’ experiences and establish a goal in a medium-term to accomplish. Be prepared mentally, read about the country, and look for cost of living in the host country. Believe in yourself, study, do be yourself, be prepared, and grab the opportunity when it pops up, then you will be the lucky guy! When you’re about to be contracted, check the income tax applied in the host country, hold a minimal financial fund (at least 1 month) for emergencies when you move. Oh and lastly, it´s really important collect appraisals about you from our co-workers, you will need them in the future.’
‘There’s a lot of things happening at the same time and all of these things are connected to my personal ability to communicate, so I think I’m improving. Now I’m much more motivated to study and move forward to the next steps. I am grateful for my consultant who assisted me to achieve this role – she was amazing. She took the time to prepare and motivate me for the interviews. It was really good and unforgettable. Thanks a lot!’
We would like to thank Bruno for sharing his story with us, and wish him all the best in his future studies and even brighter career ahead.
If you’re interested in taking your career global, we’re here to help. Please get in touch with us here to talk about your move abroad with our trusted consultants.
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