Life

My First Six Months Working for a Foreign Company

On last 20th, I completed my first six months working as a software engineer for a foreign company. For me that day represented much more than just a normal day (even though it was also my birthday on 05/20), it was a day to celebrate achieving a teenage dream.


It’s true that I’ve been seeking this opportunity since I was a teenager. I always believed that working for a foreign company would be a life-changer for me and for my family.


However, the reality is that getting here required me to endure some tough and dark times.


I was rejected in at least seven interviews before I got hired. In the first two interviews, I couldn't even complete a single sentence. That scared me.


In every interview I tried to follow the same script:

  • Introduce myself
  • A lengthy speech about my experiences
  • A bit about two hobbies
  • Then a generic question at the end


But, when the interviewer asked me something outside of my script, I just melted.


I know English is not my native language, so I can’t express myself as I do in Portuguese. As the famous Brazilian actress Bruna Marquezine once said to a talk show interview:


“When I’m speaking English I feel like I’m a less interesting version of myself”


I DEFINITELY agree with her.


So, how have I been managed to complete six months in my first official opportunity?


By winning a battle with myself every damn day. Struggling to speak in every meeting. Trying not to let the frustrating consumes all my energy. And moving on, day after day.


There is no recipe, just a day after day.


And yea, after six months, I’m still uncomfortable during meeting with strangers. Some days I speak around 30% well, while other days around 80%, but never 100%, not yet. One day I will, I know it.


Besides, I'm still studying whenever that I can, either with a private teacher, at an English school or even by reading news from sites like ABC news etc. So, it's important to keep studying and finding new ways of learning.


I’ll write another post about this topic when I complete one year of this experience and let’s see what I've changed by then.


Note: An amazing podcast that helped me during this process is the American English Podcast by Shana Thompson, you can listen to it here:


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