What are the challenges of navigating a career in Sydney as an international student?

I left a consulting career at PwC India to come here, so I wasn't short on experience. But I didn't know if my way of communicating would land, whether people would understand my accent or whether I belonged in a seminar room. That feeling didn't last forever, but it was real, and I've since learned how common it is.

There are also practical challenges that sit on top of that – "local experience" is still the default filter for a lot of employers, so international experience often gets discounted quickly. International students are also managing visa conditions, financial pressure, and a full study load while building a professional network from zero, in a country where a lot of hiring happens through people who already know you.

The quiet cost of all of this is confidence. After enough silence from applications, you start shrinking your own story, which is exactly when you most need to be sharing it loud and clear.

How did the Careers Centre help you navigate these challenges?

They supported me in three key ways. The third is the one I want other students to know about the most.

1. The one-on-one appointments and 20-minute drop-ins. What struck me was that the Careers Centre team actually listened. When you're applying for jobs as an international student, being properly heard means a lot. 
2. The market analysis. In one session, they walked me through a detailed breakdown of the roles I was targeting, keywords employers were actually screening for, and which roles are strongest in the Sydney market. They then emailed the whole analysis back to me afterwards so I could keep working from it. That document changed how I read every job ad after that, and it's still how I think about any role I consider. 
3. The debriefs. After every interview I had, I went back to the Centre to talk through what happened and what I'd do differently. Good interview or bad, I went back either way. In one debrief session, they helped me reflect on a group discussion I had for the Student Life Ambassador role at the University. Off the back of this session, I learned how to speak to the University's values with clarity rather than just enthusiasm.

Overall, the Centre helped me to translate what I'd done at PwC and as a Teaching Assistant to 800-student cohorts back in India – making it legible and appealing to an Australian employer. This translation gap is, I think, the single biggest thing standing between international students and roles they're already qualified for. 

What has been the highlight of your experience with the Careers Centre?

Going back to them. Every time I landed something – the Student Life Ambassador role, and later my role at JustFund – I went back to the Careers Centre just to share it. Not because I needed anything, but because they'd been part of the process and I wanted them to know. 

Working alongside the Careers Centre as a Student Life Ambassador was another highlight, where during our Welcome Program I handed out maps and talked to new students about what the Centre offers. I was doing for them exactly what someone had done for me a year earlier, when I was the one standing outside the Centre unsure of how they could support me. 

How would you explain what the Careers Centre is to a new student? 

I've now seen the Careers Centre from both sides – as a student who has been helped and as an Ambassador pointing hundreds of other students towards them. 

Here's what I'd tell new students: the Careers Centre isn't just a place you go when you need a job. It's the place that makes you ready before you need one. It's also never too early to start applying for roles. Opportunities will continue to present themselves to you, so you should be prepared when they do. The Careers Centre is how you get prepared. 

What advice would you give to students seeking careers support?

Don't wait, seek support early. The earlier you engage with the Centre, the more time you'll have to build your skills and explore your career options.

I also recommend taking advantage of the services the Careers Centre has to offer, and using them more than once. Go back after interviews, not just before them. This habit was worth more to me than any single piece of advice. And don't aim only at landing a job. Aim at becoming employable so that when the opportunity comes, you're ready. 

Has there been a moment along this journey that was special or meaningful?

My family visited Sydney recently, and I got to walk them through campus to show them where I studied, where I prepared for my interviews, and the Careers Centre office I'd walked into so many times. Being able to show them all of that, in person, was quietly one of the best moments of the whole journey.