I GOT HIRED IN NORWAY!
Hi, I am a Mexican woman with a certification in UX UI Design. I have been living in Norway for a little bit more than a year (S. 2021).
Today I want to share my story with you. Started in March 2022 when I decided to take a UX certification with CareerFoundry. I develop my UX design thinking, integrating all my professional experience, learning Figma, and start making worldwide networking on LinkedIn and Slack. To give a cultural fact, coming from Mexico with a degree in architecture, is not common to put -a lot of effort- into LinkedIn building connecting, joining groups, and using the CAR methodology on past work experience. All of this was new to me.
At the beginning of August I started my job hunt, applying, meeting, and expanding my network in Norway, having the opportunity to connect with so many Norwegians and ex-pats, sharing my story, and my background, and most importantly, embracing rejection for one specific reason I didn’t have the experience enough to join a company. This is tough, I have been talking with my multiple mentors, trying to keep my motivation up, and most important continuing applying hoping that one day I’ll get hired. Only my close friends and family knew what I have been going through. I remember my mom saying to me one day:
You should not feel bad about all of this because, you are not in your country anymore, you are in other country, and this is a huge jump for you in your professional career, and You should be proud of yourself!
…But of course, me being a little bit disappointed about all the previous rejection, these kind words from my mom in Mexico was not what I wanted to hear… So I continued focusing my attention on two things, one, my UI specialization, and two continue applying.
I remember that during this exhausting process of jobhunting I receive a call from a headhunter and she immediately connected me with her colleagues from a Headhunter company, suddenly, I started having interviews again! and I remember one of the recruiters telling me that “Getting the first job in Norway is not easy”, at that moment I remembered my mom’s words… but the recruiter told me that she may have a client in mind that we can make a match. After that great interview I was trying to keep myself calm, because of past experiences, so I decided not to be excited at least for this stage. Days pass until I got a call from her, that her client wants to meet me.
So imagine all my emotions went up! I started to feel anxious and excited at the same time! So started to search the company’s website and I started as a typical millennial daydreaming about my future… The day came of meeting face-to-face the Manager of the department, and I was supposed to meet just him but in the end, they were five persons attending our interview meeting, including front and back-end developers. The interview began, and I felt really confident! our interview was very organic, they were talking about the company, about the team, they were asking me questions, I was asking them questions, I learn about the projects that they are working on and I felt really happy! but most importantly, I was enjoying the present.
And after a few days, I received a call at 8:26 am from the recruiter telling me the amazing news that the company wants me ASAP! I was really happy!!! when I hang out, I told my husband that I have a job, I hug him, and I cry…
This past Tuesday I finished the paperwork to begin my new job next week on November 7th. If you are looking for a job opportunity in another country or not, this is my advice, -embrace the moment-, embrace the rejection, and embrace the self-doubts, because -everything is worth it!-, make connections! don’t be afraid of anything, reach people physically and through LinkedIn, have an excel record of all the companies you have been applying to, invest in transportation, and dress well for your interviews! but most important smile, be grateful to the person you have in front because they are taking 30–60 minutes to hear you, and remember to believe in what you have done.
