Rising to the Occasion: Working Abroad in Asia Pacific [SLIDESHOW]

One of our cultural values at LinkedIn is Transformation: of Career, Company, and World. After a little over a year and a half here, I’ve truly experienced this for myself.

I started my LinkedIn journey as an Engineering Recruiting Coordinator where I was responsible for creating a flawless and unique interview process for candidates. A few months into the job, after it became apparent that I could take on more, my manager started asking me about my passions and aspirations and what I was interested in working on, intent on pairing my interests and skills with the needs of the business.

At one point, I expressed my interest in international opportunities, particularly in learning more about LinkedIn’s offices around the globe. This interest very quickly turned into a reality. Right before my one-year anniversary at LinkedIn, I was asked if I’d be interested in a four-month assignment in Asia-Pacific. I would be going to our offices in Sydney, Singapore, Bangalore and Mumbai to help improve their existing efforts with coordination efficiency, reporting and candidate experience. Before I knew it, I was on a plane to Sydney embarking on an opportunity of a lifetime.

Although this was an incredible opportunity, I was scared at first. Would I be able to accomplish everything I had set out to do? I have to admit that I had some doubts pulling it off, but my LinkedIn team believed in me, and I rose to the occasion. It’s still hard to believe that I spent four months in Asia Pacific, living out of suitcases, staying in hotels and visiting historical landmarks on weekends. It was challenging, I had my doubts, but I figured it out as I went (thanks to the support and patience of the teams I was visiting) and learned a lot along the way. I became a pro at using the reporting capabilities of our ATS, my Excel vocabulary is much larger than it used to be, and personally I’ve become more patient and more aware of cultural differences - something that cannot be learned from a textbook, but rather must be experienced. I’ve also come away with not only an appreciation for the resources we have at my home office, but a deeper and broader perspective, awareness and understanding for the challenges our satellite offices face.

I’m now back in LinkedIn’s headquarters in Mountain View. Having proven to myself through my experiences abroad that I really can do anything, I’m on to my next challenge. As soon as I got back, I started in a new role as Talent Brand Coordinator, working on projects that showcase LinkedIn’s employees, their passions and how special this place is for all of us.

I am so grateful for the personal and professional transformation that LinkedIn has already provided me. I can’t wait to see where it takes me next!

This post is part of our Life at LinkedIn series. Are you interested in a career at LinkedIn? Check out our open opportunities at careers.linkedin.com.