International career:
Design as the bridge to personal achievements
Design as a profitable job that leverages your personal life in search of experiences, comfort and security. This text is for those looking to change countries and see design as a way to do it.
First of all, it is important to overthrow the popular belief that only people with unusual knowledge and performance work abroad. For example, I’ve had over a month to write this article and I’m only doing it for the last few days possible; Was it pure procrastination? An absurd self-knowledge about my super powers as a designer on European land?
The answer, obviously, is the first option. Well, below I will describe a little of my trajectory until I arrived in Berlin in Germany, from the ambition for something inaccessible, into the stages of the selection processes, the official job offer, as well as the process of change and the experience of work for 9 months in another country.
It is worth remembering that nothing here is absolute truth, every story consists of details that may even coincide with similar results, but that are influenced by opportunities, privileges, knowledge and individual efforts. On my journey it took 2 years to get an international offer, just as there are those who did in the first few months, it is important to be aware of this, so as not to get carried away by anxiety, frustration and comparison during your journey.
My history
My studies with Design started in 2012, during high school. My first job was in a small printing company, with the salary I paid half the monthly fee for my Graphic Design college, the other 50% was paid for by a scholarship from the Brazilian government. At that time, my focus was on having a different reality from the one my family and I lived in. I always had the ambition to leave the country, even without having dual citizenship, contacts or money to do that super cool exchange, I knew it would have to be in “hard” mode.
Hiring processes
My first international interview was in 2019 for a position in Amsterdam-Netherlands, I have always been one to document processes, today watching that recording it is clear that I was still not prepared, even though my career in Brazil was evolving, I had great difficulty with English and that compromised my communication a lot, whether to show my technical knowledge, how to manage to structure answers that highlighted my profile and personality. The language will be one of your main differentials, for example, I still take English classes today, because it helps me a lot, the sooner you start improving it, the better it will be.
After a few conversations in 2020, it was in 2021 that I returned to focus on the international market and did exactly 72 interviews with different selection processes, which added to my baggage with important lessons, such as knowing what the most frequently asked questions were, what to expect of each step, how to present a project or solve a technical challenge, and even how to deal with the frustrations of being on the “almost” sometimes. During this period, my frustrations were fueled by my own expectations and the main learning was not to get carried away researching life in the place, before having a concrete offer.
During the processes, companies look for more senior profiles than in theory, they will offer a specialized workforce that was not found in the place of origin, bringing a person from outside the country is something that costs time and money, so the choice it has to be as accurate as possible, consequently, the level of demand during the process is higher, despite having steps similar to those applied by large companies in Brazil:
- Introductory interview with HR: In this first conversation, the objective of the recruiter is to validate his communication, including English, and high-level experiences, in addition to knowing his profile to analyze whether it corresponds to the culture, challenges of the team and company.
- Interview with Hiring Manager: Enter the design or product lead who is responsible for that vacancy and will be able to tell you more about the challenges of the position, as well as questions focused on your knowledge, preferences and previous experiences in detail.
- Exercise or technical presentation: It’s time for the famous Case, Whiteboard, Portfolio Review or any other challenge that will serve as a technical validation, in which it is expected that you will be able to demonstrate your work in a practical way. I’ll leave here some of the cases I’ve done for stages like this.
- Interview with the team: In order to give you the opportunity to meet more people from the team and vice versa, there may be other interviews with people from different teams of the company.
- Interview with C-level or decision maker: Last step, this person has high decision-making power and influence in the business, and may be a director, Head, VP or CEO who will seek to make sure you are the right person.
Job offer
Only in January 2022, I was approved in one of the selection processes, I received a concrete offer, basically consisting of all the information, such as job function, salary, benefits and details of the relocation package.
In my case, there was a cash bonus that would only be paid after the first salary and also 01 month of accommodation paid for by the company in Berlin. The housing situation in the city is complicated and this helped a lot in the beginning.
It may seem like the end, but the offer just starts the bureaucratic part. The visa and moving process demands a lot of effort, availability and money. I only arrived in Berlin in April, it took 3 months gathering documents, going to the registry office and the consulate, to finally receive the work visa in Germany.
Living and working abroad
I’m going to write a text just on this topic, but what I can say about these 9 months on German lands is that a lot has happened, I’ve even changed jobs, and I can say that after the initial moment of “everything new” the experience has still been valid and overall positive.
In the work aspect, the most notable difference is in the direct way in which people communicate and position themselves. The day-to-day work routine in English has also helped me a lot, especially in fixing the language. Personally, the small differences are still new, while the first year is not over, like the long days of summer, the short days of winter knocking at the door, bringing dusk at 4:00 pm and the first snow of my life.
I recommend anyone who has a similar opportunity to take advantage of it, even if it’s to change and come to the conclusion that it’s not for you. I applied for vacancies all over the world, Berlin “chose me”, I don’t know how long I’ll stay here, but for now it’s making up for the whole trajectory that now you know a little more.
I hope it inspires you to try too.
Thanks you.