Australian Diaries 11 - The story of International Experience

Over the last few weeks, I have had opportunity to interview prospective Project management firms for some of the projects I handle. Part of the interview involved assessing or rather getting to know the prospective team members the Project Management firms propose to allocate for the projects. During one such interview, I came in contact with team members who were perfectly marketing themselves. Not to forget the fact that these team members were ably supported by the Directors. Nothing bad in this; except for the interesting fact that the team members had been in Australia for only a couple of months, having been transferred internally from UK.

The team members made a small little print out of the presentation, as part of the impression process. One particular slide said we are proud to bring in International experience to Australia and specifically for the projects we were discussing. The irony for me was that all the companies that I was interviewing were the same ones who had rejected my applications in one way or the other for the so called ‘lack of local experience’. But then here I was witnessing an altogether different perspective of the firms to an individual who was from the Queen’s country. It didn’t matter about the experience the individual had, all it took for people to look at was his mere nationality and the ability to add “Pluff” to the constant artificially created conversations, with no REAL content.

Moral of the story was that – In Australia, only ‘UK” experience is being considered as International experience and the remaining of the “International” experience is considered as ZERO experience.

What a feeling indeed! I was broken to the core at this reality.

Post Script: Somebody is gonna hit really hard J

Australian Diaries 10 - Foreword to the 'Reality Check' Series

Five months has elapsed since I permanently migrated to Australia. These five months have been spent getting to know the country and the systems in this country, at a relatively slow pace – like a Chinese proverb – moving inch by inch.

The undeniable greenery and the nature’s landscapes provide an opportunity for melodramatic pictorial impressions of the not so photogenic individuals like me. In this age of digital and virtual world, I sometimes relish posting some of these so called ‘melodramatic’ snapshots in my Social media space. Ironically, the rest of the world always reckons that feeling of ‘the grass is greener on the other side’. Mind you, I take no offence. As I believe every individual believes that the other is having a good time, just by noticing ‘smiles’ on those snapshots and I was no different until some while ago.

Over the past couple of months, I have had friends communicating and enquiring with me about the ‘Australian Life’, all with a view to apply and go through the immigration process as they plans to move to Australia (just like what I did).Practically, my first stint with Australia was in May 2015, when I come in for a first landing to activate my Permanent Residency in Australia. I went back having gained and understood the realities. As it happens, upon return I was flooded with friends and colleagues enquiring about Australia. Probably, I was the only one who was giving a reality check feel in my feedback. People were surprised and shocked to hear stuffs from me, as deep inside all they heard or knew was a “Rosy Picture” about Australia with no thorns at all. How I wish it was true to have no thorns at all?

I believe some of them reckon that I give them false pictures of Australia as if I don’t want people to come into Australia. Well to set the record straight, I have no impact if have my friends migrate down under. On a positive note, I migrated having no friends or relatives here. So it’s a plus if I have friends in Australia and bring back the old memories. The only rationale behind giving a realistic feedback is to ensure people don’t expect Australia to be a bed of roses and are well aware of what to expect.

As a soft spoken, genuine and honest individual, I only express and convey my personal opinions with intent that there are lessons learnt from my experiences that could be useful for others. All my blogs do, is sometimes express my personal opinion on the daily activities in ‘this world’ (Australia) and compare them with ‘my world’ (India and/or some other country).

Stay tuned!

Not to forget ‘Jai Hind’, which echoes more loudly than ever in my ears, with every day I am away from ‘my world’. Looks like this is one long distance relationship that is working wonders J what say?

Australian Diaries 09 - Sydney Diaries 03 - An Overview of my personal opinion on Australia

AUSTRALIA, as a country: The more I am away from INDIA, the more I have been appreciating and valuing my country. Most of things here are marketed very well, but has very little content. In fact, I personally am of the opinion that India is far more developed / ahead than Australia minus the (a) Cleanliness (b) Orderliness. Looks like I am being a good brand ambassador of India, because I keep sharing with people the positive experiences of India in comparision with Australia and let others know how we have developed much beyond the imagination of being a country of snake charmers and Cows J

WORK: Well, been around 3 months now since I have been employed in Sydney. I now work with the State Government in the Department of Education, as part of the PMO team. I have been assigned projects up to $200 million. The value of projects is much less than $1 billion, I was assigned in the Middle East. But, new country, new culture, new people and new ways of dealing with issues/variations. Sometimes I am surprised by the lack of expertise in this department in a so called ‘Developed Country’. But then I guess that’s how these guys been working. In fact I am told the department I work is considered the most efficient department in the Government. Hmmm…J Most of the people here keep self-boasting about their achievements, which is sort of weird for me but I understand is the norm here.

WORK-LIFE: The only thing people take seriously is the Barbeque, Beer and Beach. Work comes last to the majority. People are hell bent on the so called work-life balance. Nobody stays a minute extra to the 7 or 8 hours of work. I have never heard anything as Urgent is my last 3 months here, whereas Urgency was a norm every minute in the Middle East. Another interesting aspect is people don’t like travelling more than 30 minutes to work from their homes. Well, for someone who is used to travelling a lot to go for work this was amusing. Everyone is relaxed here. No shouting, no tensions, stress free for me. The stress handling capability levels are diminished for people here. I sometimes wonder how they would react if those guys were to work in India J

HOUSE CONSTRUCTION: None of the houses (except Apartments) are built with RCC. Bricks are used for external and the entire interior walls (gypsum partitions) including the roof are made of timber (battens and cement tiles-similar to Mangalore tiles). Some of the guys do ask me what is the use of RCC? And are these better than existing mode? J For the expensive prices, doesn’t interest me in buying a house here.

Australian Diaries 08 - Sydney Diaries 02 - Marketing, Selling....

26 Nov 2015 – 75 days since I landed in Sydney and time is flying. The one great news is I am now employed in Sydney. It has been five days joined since I joined my new employer. I have been analysing people about the way they act; project themselves and the actual capabilities. On the first count, looks like you have to really sell and market yourselves remarkably well, irrespective of the actual content that exists with individuals.

Marketing, Selling and creating dramas has never been my cup of tea. I am already beginning to wonder how to cope with these requirements. Success seems to be dependent on these traits. For someone with a laidback personality yet works with agility, sincerity coming over other aspects of work, the environment here seems to provide a challenge. Mind you, I only said, the environment not the work.

An example in the recent five days has been evident of my thoughts and apprehensions. A colleague assigned me a task (indirect assignment by an indirect manager). At first, I was asked if I was good at excel. I only replied downplaying my skills to – ‘Decent’. A couple of email copies served as the information and the task was assigned. Two hours later, with the task completed and issued back to the assigner, I only had admirations and positive feedback directed to me. All good things come to an end. Yes, this point ended my good times. For the next four hours, all work Mr. X performed was to keep staring at the excel sheet I had provided, make cosmetic changes and present it to the manager as ‘their’ work. I heard it over again and again, but alas as a new member I could not do anything. Well one man’s pain was another’s gain.

I am wondering if my way of working would indeed be successful. For someone who does not possess the traits to be successful in this environment, the struggle begins. All I remember now is the famous saying, Survival of the fittest!

Time to search a new one?

Australian Diaries 07 - Sydney Diaries 01 - The curious case of "Local Experience"

02 Nov 2015 – 50^th day in Sydney today. An incredible journey so far, with disappointment superseding all other positives. This disappointment has been on a professional front. Yes and as everyone must have guessed it by now, it is all owing to my ‘not employed’ status.

The picture you see on the internet is lot more different to the reality in Australia. I did get an intrinsic feeling of the unlimited jobs that were available when I found them on job boards. I was so engulfed in the outer picture that my brain ceased to work on the details. It was only when I landed here and understood the way recruitment works; I realized the real depth of job availability. Well, I should say, the depth was very shallow. The reason being, one job, is advertised by many recruiters in different styles. Alas, I was blindfolded, apparently by the effective marketing capabilities of the innumerable recruiters.

I have always believed that my profile, skills and talent was commendable by any knowledgeable industry professional. Whilst this may have partly played part in the recruiters picking up the phone and enquiring additional details, the one common question I am asked is – “Do you have experience working in Australia”. It is a lethal question indeed, to crash and diminish the hopes of a candidate like me. No matter what you have done elsewhere, people are very concerned about your local experience, in an era of globalization. More importantly, even though they know I am a new / legal skilled immigrant in line with the very policies of the federal government to address the so called 'skill shortage' issue.

I have tried to answer this question in many realistic ways. I had drawn comparisions with Australia’s demographics and explained the far more multi-cultural environment I come from, say, middle east. I have tried explaining people that people skills takes lead in people management and is not a concern irrespective of the location. But, well, all said and done, these have fallen into deaf ears. I have had a recent experience wherein the recruiter was highlighting the fact that the construction methodology was different. I only had to ask him, if the roof was laid first here, before the foundations? Understandably, I had no answer on this point.

Just as I am writing this piece, I receive yet another call from a recruiter, asking me if I have a local experience. This time, I had to be brutal and straight. I responded by stating that, well – all the callers, like you, have only been asking me if I have local experience. But everyone seems to forget that unless someone gives me an opportunity, I will continue to have NO local experience. A deafening silence and a typical smile followed from the other end. All I get to hear later on was the routine closure dialogue – Thank you and we shall come back to you later. 50 days and I now know, nobody does!

Australian Diaries 6 - Melbourne Stay - Part 2

21 June 2015: My personal journey in Australia ended and it was time to return back to Qatar. I have encountered many events, analysed the place, people, situations and the services in general what Australia had to offer. Whilst there may be many more intricate details available or to be explored in the future, I have written and shared my thoughts below based on my stay of nearly one month in Australia.

 

Government Services:

Our first trip mandated that we register and enroll ourselves in various government services. Contrary to my experiences of visiting government offices in India and the Middle East, Australian experience was “EXTREMELY POSITIVE”. Everybody listens to you, treats you with dignity, accords respect and most importantly gives a sense of belonging. At first, most of the government offices we visited were paperless. Ipads were the norms for personnel working in the reception area. They carefully enter the purpose of visit, enquire the details and request you to be seated for the name to be called up. Then, a courteous government official coming out of the chair, calls up your name and greets you with respect. Subsequently, we are escorted to his seated area and ensured that all requirements are completed. What drew me was the fact that these officials went out of their way to help, assist and ensure there were no hassles in domain areas not related to them as well. We could have easily been directed to another department, but then as we lay seated, the official went up to altogether a different department, enquired the status and was worried that we were not onboard the medical system despite being 3 days since submitting applications. The official finally had a sigh of relief when he was told that the centre in which we registered for medicare was very busy and had a lag of applications that were supposed to be entered on the system. A week later, we were up there on the system. I could have easily cribbed and complained about the slow system, but this is a testament of the fact that human touch in customer service overcomes any minor negativity. Lack of adequate staff is visible and, therefore, everyone is encouraged to enroll online for the services that are offered online. An interesting notice board on all government offices is - “Aggressive behaviour is not tolerated”.  Wow!!! Good for me atleast J else I would have been lost amidst aggressive humans.

 

Banking Services:

By now, we got to know courtesy and politeness are key in dealing with people in Australia. Please, sorry and thank you are very common words used, for very basic and simple things. The process was easy too, as I had opened my bank account from overseas. All I had to do was activate my account and grab my debit cards. The debit cards experience seemed creepy. Not going further, considering the security aspect for banking in India and especially the Middle East, I guess Banking security in Australia needs a lot of improvement.  So, my personal rating for this service is – NEUTRAL. Unlike in other countries, banking is a very costly element in Australia. Account holders get charged (monthly) for maintaining accounts in Banks (apart from one bank which doesn’t charge the account holders). There are no free transactions for with drawls from ATM. Every transaction is charged. Interest rates are very low for savings accounts. I was wondering if this is the reason for the ‘no saving’ culture J

 

Shopping Malls:

Shopping Malls in Australia is an interesting subject of my Australia visit. As a Middle East resident, I am used to shopping malls being open till 1am (late night!). However, Shopping malls in Australia are shut down by 5.30pm in the evenings. I was surprised to note that the malls are open for only two days till late night, that too, the late night being 9pm (on Thursdays & Fridays only). The reason I have been told by some Australian Residents is that it is part of the Health & Safety Culture (read – Crime Prevention). Oh, gosh! It took me a week to took me out of this shock. Whilst I still cannot come out of this weird mall culture, I guess I will have to leave with it.

 

Entertainment:

As an avid cricket fan (former), I have heard that Australia is known for Beer. Rather, Australians are known for their love of Beer, BBQ and the Beaches. Summer times in general are known to have beaches crammed with people sunbathing, surfing, swimming and many more! We were there in winter and obviously the beaches were empty. I guess not the right place to be when temperature hovers in the range of 0-12 deg Celsius during the day. The little penguins though were a sight to watch.

Well, all that is left for the entertainment is the scenic natures beauty, pubs and the clubs. I am wondering if there is anything else for entertainment except for seeing, eating and drinking. A paradise for the tourist and avid nature followers, I must admit.

 

Society:

Australian society in general encourages people to be ‘Independent’. Nobody bothers about what you do, as long as you don’t come in others way. They are helpful when you seek help though. The numerous helps we received when we were lost in our navigation to the desired destination was an example.

For those, especially from India, who are often used to hearing that beggars exist only in India. Well, be aware that they do exists in Australia too. Again, they are classified in different terminologies. If I am not wrong, they are called as ‘Buskers’ in Australia. I have witnessed talented buskers with impeccable  acting skills, street dances, musical abilities – drums, guitar, saxophone, key boards etc performing in an effort to seek money into the hats they place in front of them. I guess the singers on the trains or the street performers in India are equally talented. The only difference lies in the way people behave. The request for money is not assertive or forceful in Australia.

The homeless exists too, often accompanied by the trusted dogs. Many of them have their names and reasons for begging written on cardboards and placed in front of them. These guys do not perform or even open their mouth. All they do is show the cardboard expecting a few coins in their hats. I did notice though few gentlemen offering them food and exchanging words with these homeless people.

The other jobs:

The lure of the dollar often encompasses the human feelings and strives to strengthen necessity of earning to sustain a living. Australia, in general, does not alter the respect to human kind irrespective of the nature of job you perform. BE it laundy or the cleaning jobs or the waiter jobs in pubs, clubs or hotels, you are respected in the society for being human. This in the basic reason for people to take up these jobs irrespective of the education background possessed.

Competition is intense, irrespective of the nature of jobs. Voluntary jobs are equally fierce, as these serve as a stepping tool to gain local experience for the often job hunting immigrants who are skilled but lack local Australian experience.

 

Conclusion:

The first personal opinion is that it is not AUSTRALIA. It is just Australia, another country in a different hemisphere on this planet Earth. From an Indian perspective, Australia offers a diverse range of options just like India. The cleanliness and the orderliness apart, the only difference between touring Australia and India would be the Kangaroos. I guess India has Royal Bengal Tigers in lieu of the Kangaroos. Jokes apart, Australia has varied versions of flora and fauna, true to its regional existence in the southern hemisphere.

One major factor noticeable in Australia has been the existence of “Human Values”. I guess most of the world has seen human values being diminished. But for some reason, Australia still possesses in my personal opinion a very high respect for human values.

The value of dollar is very high in Australia. Every dollar is highly valued. I guess this is related to the fact that dollar is actually drying up in the hands of people, with not enough jobs and of course not being paid enough. The cost of living is noticeably high, but the salaries are strikingly low. This makes me feel scared though!

Finally, what did I achieve out of my Australia trip? Well, I seem to love India the more I explore the world (Incredible, isn’t it!) Second, I have begun to love Qatar for what it has to offer (Yep!). Third, I did decide though, irrespective of all my observations and opinions, the ten thousand dollar bill spent immigrating to Australia can only be recovered by accomplishing the ultimate objective of Australian Citizenship (Hurray!!!)

So……well; the Australian journey continues!

 

 

 

Australian Diaries 5: Melbourne Stay - Part 1

18 June 2015 - It has been 20 days in Australia. These 20 days has given me an altogether different insight of Australia. I am pretty sure that if not for this on the ground visit, my illusion of Australia would have been contrary to the reality that exists in this part of the world.

Let me take you through the journey I have had since landing on 29 May 2015. Whilst my previous post detailed my observation on the landing day, this post blazes through my eyes, brain and heart.

30 May 2015 : Our landing was on a Friday, so the weekend (Sat & Sun) was planned as the time to search for our accomodation for the remaing duration of our stay in Australia. Strolling around in Melbourne without local mobile phone and cellular data was difficult for someone new here. So our first stop - Local mobile phone service providers. We discussed options with our hosts, had a rough idea of the route and the proceeded to our journey. As always, we were lost. Fortunately, we found two Indian guys walking on our way. Understanding our enquiry, they lead us through the desired destination. Exchanging of info revealed that they were from Bangalore. Namma kannada overtook all emotions. We also accepted their advise and knowing were less than 14 hours in Melbourne, they personally took us to the Railway station, made us purchase local public transport cards for easier movement in Melbourne. They also showed us the service provider after some suggestions. There you go now, we were at it all alone again. But this time in the right direction and at our destination quickly.

We chose, Telstra, as our service provider. Telstra is similar to BSNL in India. Uncertainity in our final destination made us pick this option. Easy number portability at the back of our minds, we chose our respective plans. So, finally secured our local phone numbers. It seemed as though we would have our tasks easy after securing our local phone numbers. Actually, it did in reality.

We chose to go back, register on local classifieds, use our local phone number and identify spaces for rent. All done, a couple of hours later, we were their at one of the spaces for inspection. One shot, One view and our accomodation for the remaining duration of my stay was accomplished. I guess, target well achieved. I bet nobody else would have even dared to think of taking up a search in an unkown country with unknown people at this quick pace. Not even 24 hours since we landed in Melbourne, we closed a deal.

In the midst of all the above, our stomachs were scramblling with emptiness. A visit to an indian restaurant was mandated by brain and heart. A $25 bill for 2 thali's seemed a good deal. But all we had on the plate was half naan each, a small cup of rice (read so called Biryani) and 2 curries. Well, this was not what we wanted. Our stomachs remained empty and we were on a seach for some vegetarian respite. Ever wondered who the saviour was? Well, it was SUB-WAY. I first tasted subway in Doha. Good that I did in Doha, else we would still be searching for our vegetarian option in the streets of Melbourne.

31 May 2015: Our planned targets achieved, we had the almigty to thank. Thats when we decided to visit "Hare Krishna Temple" (ISKCON). This also gave us an opportunity to move in Trains, Trams and walk around the city. Heading to South Melbourne, crossing through the downtown (CBD area) gave us an insight into what Melbourne offered. I must admit, for a tourist, the weather, place, people would have been heavenly. As a job seeker, this did not matter much. Probably the enthusiasm and zeal would only be reflected once we accomplish the objective of securing jobs for ourselves, however small it may be.

ISKCON had australian priests. A small but beautiful place in a posh locality. Most of them would not know it exists, barring Indians. They provide free food. We did have it along with the many Indians who gathered in the temple vicinity. A noteable observation was we also saw many local homeless families / people queing up for this free Indian food. Our thoughts wandered on seeing this plight. But I guess this is something that we did not expect.

All done, in the cold afternoon, we headed to South Melbourne beach. The winds surpassed our walking pace, making us go back and get into the tram service to the downtown. In downtown area,, we visited National Gallery of Victoria (Museum). A stroll outside on the road, we saw roadside hawkers and buskers. India seemed reflected here, just that here it is orderly and sensible with no shouting. The Arts precinct, GPO, Yarra river and the buildings made a good view. A mall on the south bank of the river gave us an opportunity for window shopping. Across the river, crossing the railway station, we had an insight into the interior spaces of downtown.

A recce of our destinations, based on the planned tasks, was also executed. We surely did make use of technology. GPS was our best friend, guiding through the streets. The locals were very kind and helpful. Making sure we understood their directions correctly. On the way, we found one more vegetarian option. The middle east famous "Falafel"   was our companion to satisfy our hunfer. The falafel rolls, french fries, subway sandwiches made sure we were alive and kicking in Melbourne.

It was an interesting two days. The week may have ended, but a new start in our life was already made. No matter the place, all kinds of people exist everywhere. These two days made us love INDIA more and more, for as the saying goes, there is no place like INDIA. Infact I can strongly say, now, there isn't a better place than INDIA.

Australian Diaries - 4: Landing in Melbourne

29 May 2015 - 21:00 hrs - Landing at Melboune Airport, I had a huge breath and sigh of relief. Our long journey of non stop flight for 13 hours came to an end. Vegan options on the flight were limited. But then, who cares about the details of the food, when the excitement and nervousness of leading a life in an unknown country surpasses all other emotions.

The landing was the smoothest I ever encountered in my entire life. The immigration was polite and nobody had any questions pertaining to our visit. As a planner, I envisaged many questions to prop up during the immigration. But we hardly had anyone asking us questions. The stamping was done and the immigration officer chanted "Welcome to Australia". Well, that sounded cool. A smile on both of our faces was evident to each other. Australia would be our next home. I am unsure if its forever, but am sure it will be for the next 5 years - until the time we have an Australian passport.

As an outsider perspective, I thought I will only view English advertisements in Australian. But I guess, such is the chinese influx and domination, that we found welcome boards and other advertisements in Chinese (Mandarin). Deep inside my heart, I felt we are not dominating this part of the world, as we do in middle east.

We found people of varied nationalities in Australia. Immigrants seem to be very welcome. I guess evryone except the aborigines (australian natives) are immigrants in one way or the other. But we had one feeling deep inside. Our skin colours and the way way we look, differentiated us inside. We were the odd men out. The slang (or lingo) was different. Our english was superior but the way we spoke sounded inferior. But then, we are sure, going down the time, we would be more australianised than the australians.

The above thoughts dispersed the moment we had our school friend - Sudarshan, visible to us. Comfort factor kicked in. Pleasantries exchanged and we were off in his car to our pre-booked accomodation. A 30-40 minute ride on near empty roads was a complete contrast to the high density roads back home or even the middle east. We were told many shops and restaurants don't work after 5pm or on weekends. All this in the name of work-life balance to all individuals. Wow, what a contrast to the part of world I come from. Certainly sounded interesting.

All along the road, Australia reminded me of India. The two main differences between India and Australia are - Cleanliness and Orderliness. The paintings or the writings on the walls are a commom sight in both countries. Australia calls this as 'Graffitti' and I wonder what India calls these as. I am sure if the 'Swatch Bharat Campaign' by PM Modi is a success, India and Australia will be alike in the way we see and feel the country.

The first day's thoughts hover around. I guess more to follow, observe and write. Until then, Australian dreams seem to undergo transition from the cold vibes; just like the bloody cold winter we are encountering in Melbourne.

Australian Diaries - Post 3

23 May 2015 – One week to go for our Australian journey. We are super excited. The very thought of landing in Australia makes us feel anxious too.  Irrespective of the outcomes, the journey in itself is sure to give us more than a couple of lessons.

Packing is in full swing. I can never think of a time, where we have been so much concerned about the baggage limits. Blame it on the horrendous costs for the extra baggage; we are better off having a couple of kilos less in our baggage. So much time spent on optimization, we were using our professional skills to enhance our personal lives J. Finally, we decided to barge in the remaining stuffs through a cargo service from Doha at a later date.

Our mobile phones are now loaded with the apps – ranging from Australian banks to travel guides. Not to forget the app of Melbourne transport. Planning the first week has been complete, more or less. With winter settling in Melbourne, we had all our winter wear up and running, considering the fact that it has been more than 2 years since we used them here, in this part of the world.

The first weekend in Melbourne is planned to scout for permanent accommodation. Casual search on the internet serves a reminder of the large Indian settlements. Plenty of rooms are available on sharing basis, especially for females. Reading through those messages would sometime give a feel that you are actually in India and not in Australia. Albeit the large presence of Indian community, you can still feel and sense the typical Indian feeling. No offense directed, but sometimes you feel like running away from the exemplified attitude of my countrymen. I hope I will be able to find some good accommodation quickly.

The first week day after our landing is planned at the Central Business District (CBD) area. Our bank accounts need to be activated and yes, we need to get the much awaited debit cards. Then, we have to walk around 350m from our Bank to register for medical and centre link services. This done, I also need to visit an Australian post office to register for a tax file number. I am sure; this would call for a delicious Indian lunch. Will I be able to grab one? This is something I cannot tell you now.

The second weekday – it will be time to move out of the booked accommodation. I am hoping success would have prevailed in our weekend search. Else, the contingency plan will be to extend the stay at current place or move into a budget hotel.

Third weekday is a time to hit up and run to the recruiters. Meeting the recruiter would seriously bring out the best of our sales skills. Experiences till date indicate it is all about selling our capabilities. This is where I will have to use my Middle East experience.  I am hoping the holy angels are up waiting for me. Ha ah ahah

I am laying my fingers to rest at this moment; but my mind is nowhere resting – as it continues to run countless trips to Australia, without any air tickets!!!!

Australian Diaries - Post 2

07 May 2015 – Sometime in the afternoon, my ‘highly smart ‘phone notified me of an incoming mail. I unlocked my screen and noticed I received a mail, into an email address which I use it for professional purposes (read – job search!). As I opened and read through my email, I was delighted. By now, you might have known me as a highly optimist person. The inner traits took control over my mind and I was hoping that the opportunity this mail presented was the one I should grab. Did I grab? Yes. But then as typical Indian movies, that have been successful theatrically, there was a twist. Here is an update on this incident, which I personally encountered.

The mail originated from Australia. The company is a reputed project controls expert serving high caliber clients. Now, how did I get here? I am unfolding the background here - I used my business development skills (again!) through LinkedIn and approach a higher level manager in the UK branch, for positions in Australia. The gentleman from UK was kind enough to have replied to me - stating that my resume would be forwarded to an Australian branch if I was interested. Not the one to hold back, I immediately provided a positive response with a request to forward my resume to the Australian Branch. A couple of days later, the Regional Manager of the Australian branch sent in the subject mail I highlighted above. Joy knew no bounds when the content of the email, extract derived, read “……….I would be keen to do a telephone interview tomorrow……….”. I felt my hard work would eventually bring me happiness. I was already dreaming of leaving Qatar. But destiny said, not so fast, my son! There is more to go!!!!

Now coming back to the subject email, I responded to the email with high energy. I was hoping I would get a confirmation for the telephone interview within a reasonable time (not more than 60 min). But, alas, the response never came. I spent the so called ‘tomorrow’ looking at the phone, hoping there would be a telephone interview (again, optimist in me beats the realist). The day ended and I was reminded of the tagline – “Tomorrow never dies”. Rather, for me, the tomorrow I was looking for, never came. L

You might be wondering, why am I disappointed? Well, there are several reasons. For one, not many know in my circle know that I have published a couple of articles on project controls expertise. I am of the opinion that my skills would have been the best fit for the potential role I missed out, oops!..rather never had a shot at. Two, I could have completed writing my book on project control expertise and used it to sync with the role of training the industry personnel. I lost out on the opportunity, at this moment, to earn the name and fame J Three, the role would have given me chance to travel and use my skills at multiple locations, enabling me network better. Four, experts are paid ‘more’. And I missed out on a heavy pay cheque, for a start, in Australia.

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My wife keeps reminding me that I am unique. My wife continues to say, that, less than 1% of the people in the world are sincere like me – adhering to timelines, commitments, accepting statements made, even if it was wrong and more importantly having 100% trust on the ‘other’ person. The world is not the same, I am told always and repeatedly. I have always argued with my wife, that, as humans – ‘trust’ in its basic sense is eternal and privy to human kind, for, that’s the only element, the human kind is differentiated. I now have the unfortunate history of such scenarios repeating over time and again. But no matter what, I still yearn to be different, irrespective of the consequences. Professionally, I am a strong advocator of ‘change management’, but personally, looks like I am not ‘managing to change’ some of the elementary characteristics developed in me, throughout my life cycle till date. What are the risks and consequences? This is something I have to wait and watch.

I have always believed life teaches us more than the books. For a fact, I do not remember, much of the civil engineering subjects nor the mathematics I studied at school nor remember even the science experiments that I used to hate. All I have used in my life is the basics of English, the 26 alphabets, the jugglery of which constitutes my ability to communicate with people in life. Events in life have taught me more. Some of the events make me feel stupid, whilst the vast majority gave me the confidence in reiterating my thoughts that my intellectual capability is far higher than the successful people. It is just a matter of time, when the luck around the corner has to creep and crawl into my life. For this, all I need is the fruits of the ‘good karma’.

I guess I will have more to write as the days pass. For now, I can’t wait to unravel my experiences as and when I experience the experience :). I am just reminded that Tourism Australia has a tagline – “There is nothing like Australia”. Well, with my experiences, I can’t disagree with this tagline, right?

Australian Diaries - Post 1

January 30, 2015 – I was confirmed of my Australian Permanent Resident status. I was offshore at that time. But joy knew no bounds. The fantastic landscape that I often come across on TV and the web was going to be a place, I would see it in real, through my eyes. For someone coming from India, the grass on on the other side looks green. I was no different, expecting Australia to be the land of my dreams. But will this dream remain a dream or will Australia match my expectations? That is something to be experienced and am sure, I will let my opinion out here.

Immediately after receiving the PR, my job search started. LinkedIn profiles were updated. Optimism was high and was running through the blood. Did I expect miracles? Well, I did. But now almost three months later, I don’t expect miracles to happen. Rather I am compounded by the ground realities, even before I land in Australia.

I have had numerous conversations with people who have experienced Australia. I have used my sales skills and business development skills to connect with cold contacts and obtain all requisite information. The web searches yielded a lot more of information and within a month’s time, I knew the transformation will not be easy.

For an optimist like me, it was a shot in the arm, for having realised the dark secrets. For once I felt, India is good. In fact I sometimes feel my job in the Middle East would have made me comfortable, at least financially, over a period of time. But then, I was never satisfied with the good. I always left the good, for the better. Hope, Australia will be better, over the longer run.

I realised no country is perfect. Pros and cons exist in every country. This calms me down in handling various scenarios in Australia. Now, what am I talking about? Well, its all about the job search for new migrants. Here is my short story and experience.

In a span of three months, I mastered the art of writing applications for government jobs. The long list of questions and the equally long sought after answers was something I enjoyed. In fact I sometimes feel, I was blessed with this trait of writing lengthy answers to demonstrate each of key selection criteria. I think, my English is something I have to thank. Never mind the fact that, I learnt  English in my - India! How do I quantify success in this area? Simple, it is - the number of interviews you get!. Till date, out of the three matching roles I applied, 1 went to the Interview and the remaining are in consideration for interview. I wish, I had my job with the very first interview had with a government agency in Sydney. I realised, me not being in Australia was a major negative point that deprived me of furthering my career within the Australian business. For the remaining, alas!  I wish I had divine intervention to accelerate the slow progress. For all the time we blame the Indian bureaucracy, try Australia. It is no better than India. :(

The private jobs are very scary in Australia, as most of the recruitment's are done only through recruitment consultants. I have heard stories wherein recruiters just follow a checklist policy. I wonder if they ever use brains. But that is something I don’t wanna write here. Who knows, if a recruiter finds this post and blacklists me for jobs! ha ha ha.....I know my opinions are not indifferent to the majority in Australia. Hopefully, one day, I will eventually overcome this hurdle.

I hope I grow to a stage wherein I start a recruitment company in Australia, which operates differently to the existing ones. Oh! I realised that..Australia is driving out in me the idea of entrepreneurship. Not a bad start, I guess. Let’s see how it works out in the future. Until that time, of course, I will still be on a job hunt for that elusive first job in Australia...............:)

U and Me

Oh! My Rose; you are the one I chose.

Not for the blows, But for both of us to be close.

I may not have made you smile,

Nor did I want you to cry.

All I wanted baby, all the while

Was just make you feel high.

For the love you gave me always,

I realize it only nowadays.

The rain is nowhere to be seen,

But I want to come out clean

I wish I had the rain,

So, you never see that I am going through the pain

I am lonely; am craving, for the one I am missing.

This is not for the rhyming, But only about the timing;

I want to let you know, before I start crying;

Time may be flying; but without you, life is just crawling.

U and Me....

Oh! My Rose; you are the one I chose.

Not for the blows, But for both of us to be close.

I may not have made you smile,

Nor did I want you to cry.

All I wanted baby, all the while

Was just make you feel high.

For the love you gave me always,

I realize it only nowadays.

The rain is nowhere to be seen,

But I want to come out clean

I wish I had the rain,

So, you never see that I am going through the pain

I am lonely; am craving, for the one I am missing.

This is not for the rhyming, But only about the timing;

I want to let you know, before I start crying;

Time may be flying; but without you, life is just crawling.

Operation - EVOLUTION

The last day of this Calendar year marks an important personal milestone – that of having completed 200 days since I landed back in India. It may sound theatrical for others, but I have always felt that this period would be as spicy as some of the famous Indian curries and not less melodramatic than any of the Oscar nominated movies.



Each day here in my country brings a daily test to me. To begin with was acclimatising myself to the pollution levels. The list then followed itself with Politics, Obsession, Jealousy and the great Indian taxes. One thing there is no dearth is the competition. Irrespective of it being healthy or Unhealthy (mind you, I still can’t differentiate these two); it always is a contrivance to keep yours truly on the toes.

It feels that I was back only yesterday; but so much seems to have happened. I have a new member inducted into our core family. Before you get any weird ideas, well, just happy to share that it is my wife. Today marks the completion of 61 days of our marriage, but we are fortunate to have seen all four seasons within this short duration. Our ongoing journey seems to have had all the mood swings – Comedy, Romance, Drama, Thriller, Suspense and Adventure. It’s a journey I guess that shall require progressive embellishment of my patience, adjustments, understanding, thinking and balancing between personal and professional requirements. This is where a turnaround occurs or rather occurred. All these days, I had a feeling I am a misfit into my job; a consequence of my negative mindset towards the Consultancy role. However, a sudden enlightenment has towed me in accepting the realities and the reason for me to have set foot in to this role. I have understood this is a natural evolution for me to utilise the prior experiences and enhance my value in the market. Of course, the odd appreciation does act as a catalyst in empowering positive thoughts on my career. Am slowly beginning to love my role and be passionate about my job.


All in all, it has been an exhilarating experience; aided by the ongoing operation of reinventing myself and working towards achieving my dreams. My Dream list looks bad – not in terms of content, but in the sense of achieving it. Most of them in the list seem distant, yet I continue believing in hope. Of all the things said and done, my bank balance has remained constant. So constant, that it fails to impress upon other numbers and is in love with the only number invented by my fellow country man. In fact, the truth is that being over flowed by warmth and love; it negates all other deposits :)


I now feel familiar again in dealing with the functionality (or non functionality?) of the Indian bureaucracy. I decided I have to stop being judgemental and critical and start enjoying the wonderful things that are on offer. I have re-ignited my admiration to the people here, for whom everyday is a survival and appreciate people’s determination to survive and thrive despite various adversities. Well, with this, I now feel, since I have survived in India; I can survive elsewhere as well.



I am now in a land, where indeed anything is possible!! It has made me realise and wake up; it has made me realise my capabilities; made me experience the tranquilities and above all, made me realise the importance of evolving myself. While I evolve, I revolved and found the purpose of life and that’s the enchantment that keeps me going…Going Places :-)

Changing Times...

120 days since I retured to India..Life has been swinging 360 degrees. Getting hitched in few days time and what a time it is..uff....All at once :)

Professionally, joined a consultancy firm..What a difference it is in working styles...Anyhow I liked my profile and journey of being associated with the contractor firms...I guess that is where I belong...Anyhow, will ahve to continue untill I find time and an offer tomove back to the contractors, as that is where the action is...Am I happy with my current job? Well, no answers..Very difficult to answer.Not much actually.....Well then Is anyone listening this? :)

As the title of this post goes, Changing Times Indeed.....

GET..SET...GO!!!!!

All set to go….

30 months after having set foot in the Middle East, time has now come to bid adieu to the place which has given me a decent amount of returns financially. In fact, to put it on a positive note, 30 months here has given me something which I can call as “Home”, back in my country – India. And the count stands as – 100 hours to go…

Ain’t you feeling sad to leave? Your parents must be really happy that you are moving back to be with them?  These are some of the questions which I have been forced to answer ever since I had put forth my papers or more importantly revealed it in my Facebook page. Boy…I never knew that me going back would be liked by many J

Life is full of surprises – some great man said. And yeah, I guess I can’t disagree. What I can only add in relation to my personal experience is the mere part destiny plays. That story I guess will leave it for now.

Now; Am I sad? Or happy?  Well, in a way both, but then I would peg my ratio favoring happiness at 51:49. For sure, I would miss being independent and running my life my way. I would be missing driving my JEEP in one of the smoothest roads in this world. I would be missing my weekend specials of waking up at 11am and what else? I guess, friends are an important part which I cannot forget to mention. But then in an era of digitalization and wireless connectivity, shouldn’t be much deal. In fact, writing down this list of what really I miss, purely has once again supported my decision to move back. I haven’t gained much personally, apart from a few genuine friends I have made. Irrespective of these, I would not be missing my “HOME”. I would be delighted to put my life back on track in the right way.

Sometimes, it feels nostalgic to go back and stay with your parents after this long gap. I am pretty sure, I would be pampered by my MOM with her food contributing to my ever growing waist line. I presume I would be added on to the list of people who crib for being taxed on their hard earned money; complain about the excessive pollution and the traffic jams...Well, the list goes on..But then, these have been part of us since we have realized the world around us. So, what big deal?  In fact, it’s because of these encountered circumstances that we have been able to move up the ladder in our lives. Who doesn’t cherish those days when we would be going to our college in crowded buses and hanging outside, trying impress every damn beautiful girl in the road (or even inside the bus)? Having seen a bit of life in this part of world, I guess nothing can replace those memories. Fast cars will only be an addition to our memories, but can never replace those existing ones.

Moving on, I would like to say a big thank you to all those whom I have shared a word or more in this fascinating journey of my life. This being a small world, I need not say good bye.Because, I know we would meet for sure, once again and yet again.

And will I replicate Arnold's famous lines...".I'll be back"? Well, I guess not really. But then, who knows...Life may bring up surprises, again and again......

Country through an Expat

In an era of globalization, it is evident that people cross across the boundaries intending to have more than their livelihood. Mind you, it’s not only the so called poor and the middle class who have been venturing out of their geographical boundaries, but also the super rich. I have no answers as to why they move about for; but am pretty sure there are valid reasons for it.

Having been brought up in India, for me, a foreigner still reflects a visual of a European or an American roaming around in shorts in my country. But I tasted a reality of being called a foreigner when I first ventured out and landed in Muscat, Oman on the 10^th of January 2010. An encounter which initiated a series of changes – Internally and externally and helped me learn more in life. From the time I have set foot in this mountainous country, life has indeed been a great teacher. Language is an issue for any new comer. However, the traces of India’s roots reflects when you hear locals speaking to you in Hindi and making your life a bit comfortable than expected.

There is always a different perception and focus on dilute events / objects for an expat in comparision to a local. What may seem natural and not of any importance would be an important attention seeker for an expat. One of the things that I started after having left the shores of my country was to follow certain blogs written by expats about my country – India. Well, as expected, I started learning about my culture more than I ever did while I stayed amidst my countrymen. The attention to detail by an expat is indeed more a revelation of their thoughts on what we would normal associate as – Normal. As accepted universally, sometimes, normal does sound abnormalJ. It’s indeed with great pride I reveal that I have found how my country sounds through the eyes of foreigners. And actually, it is not bad as I thought it would.

Having said all these, I would bring upon an interesting fact. Well before I arrived into the Middle East, blame it on our education system or the lack of complete knowledge over this region, a pre-conceived notion of being an Islamic country added to my woes of having to deal delicately with the local women and stay away from even glancing them. But, having worked with the local ladies here, I was surprised in a way they dealt with expats like me. Contrary to my beliefs, I found the local ladies to be more interactive and not to forget a jovial lot to deal with. In fact, I would not be afraid to convey that their openness and curious looks combined with their humour only left me shell shocked most of the times. Back home, during my school, I had never imagined that a day would arise when they would not mind sharing food with us and mingling amongst their office colleagues. But one thing I admit envy is their fascination towards White men….Well, unfortunately I wasn’t one among those, so just smiled myself from only having to write about it from a third party perspective.

All said and done, life moves on for every expat, having made the cycle from a comfortable zone to an uncomfortable zone and then convert this uncomfortable zone into our zone of comfort. There is plenty I would like to write about, but somehow couldn’t find an inspiration to continue. Is someone listening to this?

Realization - A late one though!!!

Pavan – We want you to study hard, score good marks and get yourself a nice job so that you settle down in life. This is what I have heard of, more often from my parents until I actually got one after completing my education. Well, I have no idea about how it runs in other countries, but for sure, in India, we all would have been used to these words uttered by our parents quite often.

It has been five years since I have had a job and I do feel happy to notice my parents being happy and satisfied. But far from these, classified as – happened – I nowadays feel, what I do now, was more out of having no choice. Simply put that as – was having no exposure to the outside world, the choices it offered and the means to attain the same. Blame it on having to see your favourite person on every working day or on the routine stuffs we have to carry about, I do feel that we would have had done something different so that we don’t have to be working till we retire, for having to wait for the peanuts, to satisfy our needs. I do believe nowadays, that, job, is a temporary solution to our financial needs.

Why is that, I could not think something different in life? Different than the usual marathon of life I right now carry about – a reality of which I feel embarrassed to be pursuing for the next thirty years from now? I have no idea if this realization I incurred, of driving beyond the routine stuuf is a late one. But at least I am glad I have it now. Glad because I still believe I can do something different and venture into segments which I had not previously. It’s time now for me...to look up because….There is no end…It’s only the beginning!!

DAD!!!!

I have been thinking of writing in for quite a while, but everytime I think of writing in, I end up being lost in the events that control my daily activities. Work is leading me nowhere, as I have almost forgot entertaining myself.
Above apart, I was just going through a few pages in the net and noticed that the father’s day was round the corner. For all the pain parents took in bringing me up, I felt, work should take a back step at least for some moments, so as to allow me open my heart on something personal. The whole world respects the responsibilities of a mother in bringing up her children and I am no different. While I have so much to write on my mother, I guess it’s time to write about my unusual hero. My Dad. My Dad, Mr. S.Babu Rao, now a retired employee, is a person whom I have looked up to for satisfying most of my stuffs. Be it buying chocolates even if my mom refused to or eating out without a penny. I have looked up to him time and again. From the time I have grown up, I realized what he has done to me, in trying to bring me up on par with the entire neighbourhood who were super rich. I remember the day being beaten up by my father, not for any of wrong doing, but because of inability to swallow pills to cure my hepatitis. I had been angry at that moment and have even sweared as many times as I could; but looking back, I can feel the love for me, in his quest to make me swallow the pills and have an early cure.
There are many incidents that I remember and would love to have it come again and again, but the couple of them that lingers most in my memory were that of the admissions for the Colleges. I had an average score of 82% in my 10th and had no financial means. Yet, he was the one who took my certificates, believing that it was a good enough score in spite of the top rankers in my neighbourhood. He had asked me which stream and college I was interested in and coming back in the evening with the fees paid and securing my admission in the college I was unaware of till then. Joining it, I soon realized that was one among the top and the only with a flexible timings from 7:30 am -11:30 am., giving me ample time to have all my food in the comforts of home. The next one was during the entrance exam of my master’s. Not expecting me to pass it, he was sitting alongside a column in the corner of building. As I get out of examination hall, he comes to me citing that there is o need to worry and that you can sit in the house for a year to prepare for the next year’s examination. After a fortnight, with the results announced and me making the cut, I could see his moist eyes. I guess, a hug was good enough for both of us to be left in tears.
Now, years later, having moved from the comforts of home, in a quest for greener pastures and to satisfy many needs, I can’t wait every night to talk to him on the varied topics he discusses, the sense of humour and the intellect , which only makes me ask for more. I wait everyday for those conversations which are valued now more than I earn.
These days, I wonder how much I miss my father, for having replaced currencies in his wallet with a snapshot of me. For having cared for me so much, in spite of my several swearing. For having been patient, in spite of my several wrong doings. For having supported me, when none in the world was. For having raised me in an environment, where I guess even I cannot. For having let me win in those verbal fights we used to have. For having broken down, when his son moved out of the house for higher education and finally still concerned when I am here…that I have no one to cook and take care……An ordinary man turned by love into hero.
With due respects to him and for everything he did……I realized that my father was right in whatever he did and it was me who never understood him. As I continue to relive those moments and make him happy, I know he would not ponder about what I did in my previous years, because……he is my DAD……Love you, Dad!!!!! And thank you for everything…..Miss U!!!!

I am falling........

As someone said – We suffer in Silence. Or rather we suffer because of Silence. The human experience is singular in its suffering. There hasn't been a human who has walked on this planet, not even one who has escaped great pain and deep sorrow. Yet we don't want to admit it to each other. Our suffering, we assume is a shameful secret to be locked away, never even to be whispered to each other, lest it diminishes us. We Indians are especially good at this kind of insularity. Keeping our personal pain hidden away is worn as some badge of honour. We die saddled with our grief, lonely and tormented by what we suffer.

But maybe my story is similar in many homes. If it’s not and is better, I will be the happiest one and can truly say – India is shining. Ever since I have interacted with the world, I have believed that truth cannot be hidden and can be used as a mighty sword. But then…..

It all started when I had decided to leave the shores of my country in search of greener pastures. I left behind my aged parents for a few extra bucks. With it I also started living internally and forgetting that life is to lead externally. I stepped into an alien country with a hope of leading a better quality of life. Quality at that moment was in a way having more money; which I believe turned out to be false, contrary to our construction philosophy – “Quality comes at a Price”.

Now after ten months of life in gulf, I have had more negatives than positives. I had lost contact with most of the people back home in my native country. I had lost touch with relatives. More important than anything else, I lost touch with myself. I have become used to the machine life. No recreation, No entertainment, No laughter and No love. All I had was a job a.k.a career and then a place to sleep to restart my job the following day. All this made me realize that trying to be rich; I was only becoming poorer by the day.

In the end, at this very moment, I realized I only was another classic example of – “Why look for diamonds elsewhere, when you can find it within you”.