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They are the most common and also the toughest for many candidates.
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They are the most common and also the toughest for many candidates.
This free E-book shows you how to answer them with confidence.
Career Reshaped Episode 7: How an International Student Found Their Dream Career in Australia
What if 2025 wasn’t just about doing more—but about finally owning your story and turning it into something powerful?
In this heartfelt episode of Career Reshaped, Natasha and Pauline are joined by Savani—an immigrant, content creator, and social media consultant—who opens up about her unconventional journey to career clarity. From tutoring kids as a teenager to working part-time gigs in photography and event décor, Savani shares how every experience helped her build confidence, creativity, and a sense of purpose.
Now, she helps other immigrants find their footing and elevate their personal brands in Australia—proof that your starting point doesn’t define your potential.
This episode is an honest look at what it means to reinvent yourself in a new country, why soft skills and hustle matter, and how following what lights you up (even if it seems small at first) can eventually lead to a fulfilling career. It’s about saying yes, staying flexible, and trusting that you’re becoming more valuable with every step.
Whether you’re just getting started, pivoting careers, or finding your place in a new environment, Savani’s story is a reminder that your path doesn’t have to be traditional to be impactful.
🎧 Tune in now and let this be the moment you start seeing your career—and your story—through a new lens. 2025 is waiting for you to show up as the most honest, bold version of yourself.
Discussion Overview
Sarvani faced intense pressure after investing in an IT degree, but she chose to walk away from a role that made her miserable. Her decision came from deep self-awareness and the understanding that staying would only lead to more unhappiness. Sometimes, the fear of regret outweighs the fear of change.
After crying post-work and feeling drained daily, Sarvani realized that holding onto a job for the sake of "sticking it out" wasn't sustainable. At just 23, she recognized the emotional cost of staying in a toxic role and made a conscious decision to leave, prioritizing well-being over obligation.
Sarvani’s mother didn’t pressure her to follow a “safe” path. Instead, she offered emotional support and the freedom to choose her own direction. This kind of trust gave Sarvani the space and courage to pivot authentically—and serves as a reminder that family support often gives clarity when things feel messy.
Even after spending tens of thousands on a degree, Sarvani refused to let that investment lock her into an unfulfilling path. She chose purpose and passion over practicality—proof that settling is not the only option, even when it feels like the easiest one.
From trying a t-shirt line to tutoring, Sarvani embraced experimentation. Not all ventures took off—but each one taught her something, helping her refine what she did want. Her failures weren’t failures at all—they were redirections in disguise.
By listing her monetizable skills, joining Facebook groups, and pitching herself to entrepreneurs, Sarvani landed clients for video editing and content strategy. Her real-world experimentation and willingness to learn led her straight into a niche that aligned with both her strengths and her passions.
What started as tutoring evolved into content creation, then consulting, then a stable role in education. Each pivot felt disconnected at first, but over time, Sarvani saw a common thread: helping people learn, grow, and connect. Her purpose wasn’t a straight line—it was built through trial, error, and reflection.
Sarvani’s social media presence played a direct role in job offers. Interviewers referenced her online content and were already confident in her ability to support students. Her personal brand made her visible, credible, and trusted—long before any formal application.
LinkedIn became Sarvani’s launchpad for client work and professional visibility. When she started posting consistently, she gained writing gigs, content strategy roles, and even long-term contracts. She now teaches others to do the same: show up, share your voice, and leverage LinkedIn as a branding tool—not just a resume holder.
Podcast Transcript:
| Time | Transcript |
|---|---|
| 00:00 | i know if i'm gonna stay in that job i'm gonna be more and more miserable in my |
| 00:05 | head it was now or never sort of a situation and i |
| 00:09 | just asked myself if i want to feel this way i quit that job these are the skills |
| 00:14 | that i can monetize basicallyyou are your brand like you're reaching |
| 00:19 | 2025 if you have to stand out build your personal brand attention is couldn't see |
| 00:25 | that's what i've learned you have said yes to almost any |
| 00:29 | opportunity that has come past you're doing this you're getting all those |
| 00:33 | skills and you're becoming more and more valuable if we can specialize in |
| 00:38 | something that we are naturally good at and gives us a passion then we're |
| 00:42 | winning this podcast is your go-to guide for landing your dream job think of it |
| 00:47 | as your free masterclass packed with all the tips advice and strategies you need |
| 00:51 | to take your career to the next level hi and |
| 00:56 | welcome back to our channel career reshaped i'm pauline i'm natasha |
| 01:01 | and we're really happy to have you here with us today |
| 01:03 | today we will be chatting with savani about her career journey thus far and |
| 01:08 | how she has been able to make a name for herself as a content creator |
| 01:12 | and influencer for immigrants looking to have a career within australia and now |
| 01:17 | who is also into social media consulting helping business owners elevate their |
| 01:22 | personal brand hi savani thanks for joining us today |
| 01:25 | we're really happy to have you here thank you natasha my pleasure so we're |
| 01:30 | hoping to start off with just getting to know your career journey a little bit |
| 01:34 | you know where you started to where you are now |
| 01:37 | sure um where do i start with |
| 01:41 | so when i was when i was um when i was i would say 16 17 i started with tutoring |
| 01:48 | kids that's that was my primary source of |
| 01:52 | income when i was in college and i finished my bachelor's and then moved to |
| 01:56 | australia and um i've done plenty of things you know um as part of my |
| 02:02 | part-time jobs i've done photography gigs i've done |
| 02:06 | decoration staff for christmas parties birthday parties and whatnot i've done |
| 02:10 | some fun jobs here and there and um and then um because of my english |
| 02:16 | score being really good in the competitive exams that i've given |
| 02:21 | i was given an opportunity to be an english trainer |
| 02:25 | in one of the institutes here in australia |
| 02:28 | especially teaching pte and ielts i think that was my first ever serious |
| 02:35 | job that i ever got into and it was really fun because i had to |
| 02:39 | address what 25 to 30 students every session which means in a day i used to |
| 02:45 | um i still teach um |
| 02:48 | i would say more than 100 students actually um we used to have four batches |
| 02:53 | um and each batch was two hours long um and um i just had one hour break in |
| 02:59 | between and and that's how my actual career journey started here in australia |
| 03:04 | and then i know i'm it's still intact |
| 03:10 | i always dealt with a strategy so what i would do is the first |
| 03:16 | when the session would start was quite intensive the second hour will be will |
| 03:21 | be basically me giving activities so that |
| 03:23 | students would work on them so i have that one hour break |
| 03:28 | and then take the next session when the next session starts it's again intense |
| 03:33 | and then you know there's another couple of hours break so that was my strategy |
| 03:38 | but um yeah but um it was quite fun because um there were a lot of people |
| 03:43 | from different places um you know there's people from italy there's people |
| 03:48 | from um india there's different people who are trying their luck with pte |
| 03:52 | especially in this country um so that's how i |
| 03:56 | understood how melbourne is so multicultural and um |
| 04:01 | that's how i actually learned a lot of stuff |
| 04:03 | and after that job i wanted to i wanted to have a nice |
| 04:09 | you know desk job just so that you know i'm not much on feed because i stand |
| 04:13 | eight hours a day teaching students so i was like you know what i need a job |
| 04:18 | where it's relaxing and i can just do computer stuff and because my background |
| 04:23 | is in masters you know masters in information and technology and this was |
| 04:28 | all in my part-time stage um nobody gave me an actual i.t job you |
| 04:34 | know definitely because because of my work hours as an international student |
| 04:38 | here in australia um and i went into administration i realized in |
| 04:43 | order for me to have you know great skills especially communication skills |
| 04:49 | and um any microsoft office suite and all of that though i knew them i wanted |
| 04:54 | to know how it how that's being used in um you know |
| 04:59 | office environment pretty much um so i found a job for myself as an |
| 05:04 | administration officer and i worked there for one one and a |
| 05:08 | half years i understood okay this is how office environment here looks like |
| 05:12 | because for me um it was quite new i never knew what's the work culture here |
| 05:17 | in this country i knew how it was back in india but again it's two different |
| 05:21 | countries you just can't compare apples you oranges you know |
| 05:25 | um and then once i had pretty much that idea okay this is |
| 05:30 | how work culture looks like this is how you know these are the boundaries that |
| 05:34 | people follow here especially in this country and then by then my student visa |
| 05:39 | turned into a temporary graduate visa which means i had full-time working |
| 05:42 | rights and um that was when i got into a proper |
| 05:47 | id job and um |
| 05:50 | not too soon i realize it's not for me so um i was super stressful because um i |
| 05:57 | shelled out what sixty thousand dollars um during my master's and |
| 06:03 | and um i think i think for people my age um |
| 06:08 | especially in the job hunting phase um they they are in a position where |
| 06:16 | they have no enough clarity in terms of where |
| 06:19 | should they go so there's there's these um things that society has set up |
| 06:25 | that you know whatever you study you have to work in the same industry that's |
| 06:30 | one of the things that's like literally said in everyone's brains |
| 06:34 | you you just do this job because you've spent |
| 06:37 | so much of money into it and um and then |
| 06:43 | i think it's also about how important it is for you to explore |
| 06:48 | what your personal interests are as well and for me fortunately because i was |
| 06:54 | into content creation back when i was a student itself i knew |
| 06:59 | what my strengths were and um even in that phase when i've |
| 07:03 | decided to move on from my you know from the industry that i actually wanted to |
| 07:08 | work for years together um it was a tough decision to make and i was quite |
| 07:12 | scared as to you know am i even taking the right decision here |
| 07:18 | though i know i've got you know a lot of years ahead of me |
| 07:21 | um at that point in time you know everything becomes so important |
| 07:26 | it just feels like a do or die situation and um i did talk to a couple of you |
| 07:32 | know my my family members and everyone they were like you know what do what you |
| 07:37 | want but um they just said you know we just want you |
| 07:42 | to be happy but i do understand that it comes from |
| 07:47 | you know all what they say stems from that fear of whether i will be settled |
| 07:53 | um and then there's this norm of okay what is she doing why is she jumping |
| 07:57 | from one job to the other you know there's all of these questions back of |
| 08:02 | their head but it's just to ease me they keep saying okay do whatever you want |
| 08:07 | um and i think i took a i took us |
| 08:10 | eight months of break then um |
| 08:14 | and because of my skills with video editing social media management um back |
| 08:19 | then i was already working with clients um from |
| 08:24 | canada uk um so i just took i just took an eight months to ten months of break |
| 08:30 | um and um i just worked from home like i don't know i didn't know what sort of |
| 08:37 | courage i mustered up together you know to just end everything i was like you |
| 08:42 | know what i'm just gonna i'm just gonna focus on this and give myself enough |
| 08:47 | time to see if i'm gonna you know end up doing something else |
| 08:53 | so even in this short little time |
| 08:58 | there's four different topics that we can touch on and talk about |
| 09:02 | the first one is the importance of family support the fact that they didn't |
| 09:07 | put their biases on you their personal concern for you instead |
| 09:12 | like okay we're worried but it doesn't matter because |
| 09:16 | you need to follow you you do you you follow your path so how important that |
| 09:21 | is and that's the one thing i've noticed the people who |
| 09:25 | go out there and actually give things a try |
| 09:28 | are the ones who do have that support from |
| 09:32 | their family and friends so before we talk about how you got |
| 09:36 | those clients i think natasha you want to talk about |
| 09:39 | fear and overcoming that so yeah as polin touched on already that |
| 09:45 | you know there was that fear but you still decided to take that eight-month |
| 09:50 | break which is great and you had the family support but |
| 09:55 | to make that decision initially to do that and you said you |
| 10:00 | were thinking about all this money that you spent and you know you thought this |
| 10:03 | was your path and everything like that like how did you |
| 10:07 | overcome that hurdle of the fear that with a lot of other people becomes |
| 10:13 | overwhelming and they just can't move on and they end up staying where they are |
| 10:17 | just like you said not to waste their time and all that studying and all that |
| 10:22 | money so |
| 10:24 | what was it in your thought process that |
| 10:28 | helped you jump the hurdle |
| 10:31 | yeah um so since the beginning um like since i |
| 10:35 | started working back in india usually everyone starts working after |
| 10:41 | they graduate um so there's no there's there's not this culture of you know |
| 10:46 | having part-time jobs like how it is here in australia you know you have a |
| 10:50 | school break you guys go and work yeah yeah so that's not the culture back |
| 10:55 | in india and and once you graduate you get into a serious job and that's how |
| 11:00 | your life's gonna look like for the next four years or something until you retire |
| 11:04 | so um so for me because i've been born and brought up um looking at everyone |
| 11:09 | that way for me was you know when you when you |
| 11:13 | get a job you got to stick to it anduntil the next job is actually paying |
| 11:18 | you well or you know if it's much more better than your previous job that sort |
| 11:23 | of a mindset was what i had back then |
| 11:27 | and then once i came here and when i when i knew |
| 11:31 | there were times when i used to literally cry |
| 11:34 | um after finishing my work because i just didn't feel it and since the |
| 11:38 | beginning i've been this person who has explored |
| 11:42 | multiple things i like to call myself a multi-passionate person because um i'm |
| 11:47 | not someone you know sometimes i get to hear people |
| 11:51 | say like how can you do everything |
| 11:54 | it's not how can i do everything it's because i'm interested to learn |
| 11:59 | things that's because i'm quite curious as a person |
| 12:03 | and and the thought process that goes into my head is until i try how would i |
| 12:09 | know if it's good for me or no absolutely that's that's that's the |
| 12:13 | thought process i had and and that's how i ended up doing engineering |
| 12:19 | and because i tried now i know for sure that i don't like it |
| 12:24 | which means i need to go and find something else which |
| 12:28 | which might interest me and that's how i've been operating since |
| 12:33 | 18 years of my age i've tutored kids i love that |
| 12:40 | even now if i get an opportunity to tutor kids um i'm gonna do that because |
| 12:45 | i know that's one of the skill i have under my hat |
| 12:48 | that i can always look back on and and then i i stumbled upon content |
| 12:54 | creation and i stuck to it like seven eight years |
| 12:58 | um video editing i stuck to it i edit all my videos i stuck to it so i know |
| 13:03 | what what i enjoy and what i don't um and and when i got into this job and |
| 13:09 | then i i still remember this um so i gota whole car |
| 13:14 | and then i called up my mom i was crying and i said look um i want to quit this |
| 13:19 | job i know financially it's it's absolutely |
| 13:23 | a blunder but um you know i i just can't do this anymore um it's so stressful i i |
| 13:30 | feel i'm just wasting my time um and mind you i was just 23 okay |
| 13:43 | yeah i'm not gonna stay in something that's so |
| 13:46 | toxic it was |
| 13:49 | yeah if it felt it felt as if it's just drawing my energy every day like every |
| 13:55 | single day um and um and then my mom was like |
| 13:59 | there's nothing much that i can say but if it's making you feel |
| 14:04 | really worse you already know the answer and that's |
| 14:08 | why you called me so i'm not gonna tell you to change your |
| 14:12 | answer but she she also helped me she also told |
| 14:17 | me you know that she can help me with finances but |
| 14:19 | well me being me i didn't wanted to take that help and um |
| 14:24 | and i so because i'm kind of i knew i'm gonna be in this position |
| 14:29 | because i got into the job not so happy because i got into a job |
| 14:35 | because for my visa stuff and all of that |
| 14:38 | and uh i had some savings so i had some savings for about one to two months i |
| 14:44 | had that cushion to lean back on but um you know once you start spending |
| 14:49 | money and there's no source of incoming um finances like that's gonna be done in |
| 14:56 | like a day or something um so yeah so i've taken a decision i quit |
| 15:02 | that and then i've decided look |
| 15:05 | i i actually wrote that in my diary so these are the skills that i |
| 15:10 | that i can monetize and these are the soft skills that i= |
| 15:15 | actually um can utilize in order to monetize these skills you know um |
| 15:22 | and and and then what i did was i watched a bunch of youtube videos you |
| 15:27 | know this is again touching back on how i got clients as well |
| 15:31 | um and then if i know i'm that kind of a person like |
| 15:35 | if i have that willpower to do so and because just like in my |
| 15:39 | head it was it was now or never sort of a situation |
| 15:45 | i quit that job and and the reason how natasha you asked me you know |
| 15:50 | how did i overcome that fear it's because i know if i'm gonna stay in |
| 15:55 | that job i'm gonna be more and more miserable |
| 16:00 | and i just ask myself if i want to feel this way |
| 16:04 | definitely the answer was no because that's how i called up my mom saying |
| 16:08 | that i'm no more interested in this job and for me career was really important |
| 16:12 | and i imposed all sorts of made up fears in my head that you know what um i don't |
| 16:18 | have a specific kareer path what am i even doing like i'm doing thousand other |
| 16:22 | things like i'm getting money i'm doing |
| 16:25 | financially good but how don't ask me it's not through one source it's through |
| 16:30 | multiple sources um and that's exciting too because you'll never be bored |
| 16:35 | i know when we talked without when because |
| 16:38 | you're really you're talking our language right now like this is our |
| 16:42 | process so when we when we get a client who's looking at career change |
| 16:47 | we do very |
| 16:50 | similar things so we look at their passions skills likes |
| 16:55 | dislikes as well because we need to make sure that we know what not to include so |
| 17:00 | if there's a lot of dislikes in one job like maybe that's not the right job for |
| 17:05 | you so by understanding that being really self-aware and a lot of people |
| 17:09 | are not um well they can be they just don't take the time to stop and really |
| 17:13 | reflect it's it's a deep thought process but it's about being self-aware and |
| 17:19 | listening those things understanding that yes your heart and soft skills |
| 17:23 | are indeed transferable maybe not all but a lot a lot are |
| 17:28 | and then it's also |
| 17:30 | about um realizing what are the options but the |
| 17:36 | other thing is is also realizing that like i mentioned before there's not one |
| 17:41 | direct line like a career a lot of people think okay |
| 17:45 | i need to go into this role i'm going to start as a junior |
| 17:49 | and i'm going to move up until i don't know i can break the |
| 17:53 | ceiling i can be maybe the ceo of a company one day but the thing is there's |
| 17:57 | no rules we've we've put the rules on there but there really aren't any rules |
| 18:02 | so when we tell our clients you know what |
| 18:04 | you can actually get income from multiple sources you can maybe do this |
| 18:08 | one part time but then have some side gigs and hobbies like there's no right |
| 18:13 | or wrong and therefore you get balance |
| 18:17 | you can maybe start to tap into different |
| 18:21 | areas that maybe one of your passions is not something that will get |
| 18:25 | you a lot of money coming through so you can |
| 18:27 | supplement that with something that seems more practical but then still get |
| 18:33 | a little bit of a funnel of an income flowing through on a side project that |
| 18:37 | gives you purpose and meaning and joy absolutely |
| 18:41 | and i wish more people would open their minds |
| 18:45 | to that concept right and it's okay if you fail like i actually i decided that |
| 18:50 | i was going to launch a t-shirt line and because i love to be creative i know |
| 18:55 | you're laughing but i love to be creative and so i went on canva i |
| 18:59 | created all these different designs and i i got a domain name i created the |
| 19:04 | website but then i look i didn't end up pushing it i think |
| 19:08 | if i pushed it and i put some money behind marketing maybe it'll be all |
| 19:13 | right but it didn't it wasn't the organic stuff didn't didn't |
| 19:18 | translate yeah um and that's okay it didn't go well flop i guess i think |
| 19:23 | about the money i lost and i wish i had that back |
| 19:27 | but i gave something a shot and i learned experience yeah yeah i |
| 19:32 | think with that it's also finding what is |
| 19:36 | you know something that you do for fun like a hobby and something that you want |
| 19:39 | to take seriously and turn into something bigger so it's still good to |
| 19:44 | try those little hobbies for instance you know i took up sewing i always |
| 19:48 | wanted to learn how to sew oh and i finally |
| 19:52 | somebody posted on facebook about classes |
| 19:55 | i'll do it i'll do it and i was really excited and so i've learned how to sew |
| 19:59 | not amazing at it but i've done a few things in the house and a bag and a |
| 20:03 | pencil case with people and and all of that and i thought maybe one day i'll |
| 20:09 | sell kids clothes but and then i thought i'll do you know |
| 20:13 | designs for kids because kids because that my kids like to wear |
| 20:18 | and put that out there maybe do markets no |
| 20:24 | for me why didn't you decide i could design clothes for my friends |
| 20:29 | again you know i started doing it and i did some things for the kids my kids |
| 20:35 | and i realized okay this is not something that i can actually do on a |
| 20:38 | larger scale because i don't have the time right now i really don't care right |
| 20:41 | now that passion for it it's a fewer hobby |
| 20:45 | not something that i'm going to make bigger but like you said savanni |
| 20:48 | if you don't try you're not going to know and that's what i love i want that |
| 20:53 | to be our headline if you don't try it anyway i think we spoke yeah enough i |
| 20:57 | want to hear more from you let's go and you did it anyway |
| 21:03 | you did the list of your skills and your soft skills and you knew what you could |
| 21:07 | do so what was next so um all i realized when i wrote down |
| 21:14 | um i realized video editing is one thing that a lot of people um |
| 21:20 | want to you know need actually and um and |
| 21:24 | because it's time consuming a lot of times business owners do not have that |
| 21:28 | sort of time so my next step was um i went into a ton of facebook groups and |
| 21:35 | and i i had a goal for myself look i have some money in my bank but |
| 21:40 | essentially i don't want to use that i want to earn whatever expenses i have |
| 21:45 | for that month through something because i wanted to try something fast i wanted |
| 21:51 | i wanted to make more mistakes like you know what just so that i can figure out |
| 21:55 | um what's working and what's not working like you know quick because i don't have |
| 21:59 | time um and um i went in and i spoke to a bunch of |
| 22:05 | people um on facebook you know and then i came |
| 22:09 | across this course creator she was looking for a video editor |
| 22:14 | for her course and she developed this um i think it was it was a meditation |
| 22:20 | course and and that was and and when i spoke to her i closed her and she |
| 22:27 | uh the first i think she gave me eight hundred dollars um for |
| 22:33 | for it was five hours of course that i edited for her she loved it |
| 22:39 | she she made a lot of sales for that course and |
| 22:43 | and then i was actually shocked like i did all of this in a span of one week |
| 22:49 | and and it was it was actually something |
| 22:52 | that i had to let my brain experience like if i'm |
| 22:57 | thinking i can actually earn money from somewhere online |
| 23:03 | i actually made eight hundred dollars um and i can use that to pay off my rent |
| 23:09 | and that was that was mind-blowing for me |
| 23:13 | and um i had this i had this same client um that i worked with like for six |
| 23:19 | months like she became a recurring client because i was editing videos her |
| 23:23 | audience retention and all of that improved because i i had that eye for |
| 23:28 | editing because i do my youtube video editing and stuff um and then she asked |
| 23:33 | me to do strategy sessions and then i realized okay something like |
| 23:37 | this actually exists you know and this was back in 20 um |
| 23:42 | 2018 or something 2018 2019-ish um and then um it was six months of strategy |
| 23:48 | sessions um i revived her youtube channel i revived her instagram and um |
| 23:55 | and it grew up until 10 000 or something and then she was like i am happy to give |
| 24:00 | you a testimonial i was like okay |
| 24:03 | uh i have something to show other people and this was all paid |
| 24:09 | i've never done like anything for free and um and then once i started you know |
| 24:14 | i i did all of this for eight months now not just this client i used her work and |
| 24:20 | her messages as snapshots and sent her to other people and said look you know |
| 24:24 | people are appreciating my work she's actually one of my clients and then i |
| 24:28 | got three other clients and that's how i did that for ten months eight to ten |
| 24:32 | months and um and meanwhile my youtube was |
| 24:36 | growing and then i got a call from this um uh |
| 24:40 | agency a migration immigration agency saying that we actually love your work |
| 24:46 | we love what you're doing for international students we we are looking |
| 24:50 | for a immigration assistant um um and an administration officer um when we're |
| 24:57 | going to teach you everything about visas and stuff |
| 25:00 | and i was like you know what um and i can work from home i was like yeah why |
| 25:05 | not that's that's like a match made in |
| 25:08 | heaven and because i was still doing my youtube |
| 25:11 | thing um learning about visas and all would be really helpful for my content |
| 25:17 | and it was a win-win situation and i got into that job and |
| 25:22 | i worked there for one and a half years and i wanted a break again and i quit |
| 25:29 | that job and went back to india um for for about three months and that's |
| 25:35 | how i enjoyed and now i i knew that i have so many skills that i acquired |
| 25:40 | um i was like okay now i understand my interest is in |
| 25:46 | you know working with students anything related to education is where |
| 25:51 | my interest has been leaning towards um and because of my teaching skills and |
| 25:56 | then consulting and coaching you know all of this they they all still fall |
| 26:01 | under the same line but just different industries that's all |
| 26:05 | and um and then i applied to a job um as a program officer wherein i |
| 26:11 | i should be working with multiple universities and helping students from |
| 26:16 | those universities to get into an internship |
| 26:19 | um and it was basically work integrated learning |
| 26:23 | area and i worked there for one year and um and then i went into rmit online |
| 26:31 | so i think that's where i think that was a point |
| 26:34 | when i understood okay higher education is my thing like you know anything to do |
| 26:38 | with students let it be international let it be domestic anything to do with |
| 26:42 | education is where my interest lies and |
| 26:47 | um and then once i even even with rmit online it was a it was a 10 month gig |
| 26:53 | actually they said it was it was for a maternity leave cover it was it'll be |
| 26:59 | just for 10 months but then my thought process was you know |
| 27:02 | when you have a brand on your resume it's easy for |
| 27:06 | other universities to pick you up you know |
| 27:09 | and then i was like you know what 10 months is a long time something can |
| 27:13 | happen and it might make me permanent um why should i let go of this opportunity |
| 27:19 | and i got into the job they made me permanent one and a half years later i'm |
| 27:24 | still working there so um and and during all of this process all |
| 27:30 | that i understood was though i was dabbling into different things |
| 27:35 | there was still a commonality to it like there was one common factor |
| 27:40 | that made me stick to that particular job or that would heal a geek |
| 27:45 | and and now um instead of working with international |
| 27:50 | students i've taken a pivot and i've been i've been um you know helping |
| 27:56 | businesses and um other students in fact in terms of their credit and in terms of |
| 28:02 | their personal brand and now i understand |
| 28:06 | how something that you know how they say you're numb to |
| 28:09 | your own knowledge you know what you what you |
| 28:13 | know you think that every it's pretty much |
| 28:16 | common sense but it is not actually yes absolutely what you might have in mind |
| 28:22 | may not be exactly how you have it in mind but it's still the same thing for |
| 28:25 | example right i actually also i wanted to write a book that was |
| 28:31 | a dream since high school i've never i have not written a book per |
| 28:37 | se but i have written guides like |
| 28:41 | there you go multiple guides and blogs and |
| 28:46 | uh newsletters i am writing now i still have the dream to write a book that is |
| 28:51 | still there but i've at least been able to |
| 28:55 | utilize something i've always wanted to do |
| 28:58 | into my work and i didn't realize that i read it because we call them ebooks |
| 29:05 | and it was like oh god they're not exactly the same but it's |
| 29:10 | not like i haven't been able to tap into that |
| 29:14 | area at all so like i've done right i write every day exactly it |
| 29:20 | wasn't right away that i am a writer maybe not in the traditional sense |
| 29:26 | as an author but i've write written content for others to read so |
| 29:33 | there we go yeah just don't realize those skills you |
| 29:37 | don't yeah many people overlook these things they just see the core like |
| 29:43 | right of their job the first the main to the meat of the job but they don't |
| 29:47 | realize all the other things like goes beyond that absolutely |
| 29:52 | cool |
| 29:55 | your career journey in a way started in education started with the |
| 30:00 | tutoring exactly you've kind of come full circle and throughout your journey |
| 30:05 | you've had a hint of it here and there but from what i understanding now |
| 30:10 | you've kind of come back to that educating people with your |
| 30:13 | exactly the content and the editing but the strategy classes the workshops that |
| 30:19 | you do and you've also have noticed um |
| 30:23 | especially on your linkedin you're also giving advice to others on career as |
| 30:28 | well and and how to make certain changes and |
| 30:31 | their brand so not necessarily you know finding a career journey and telling |
| 30:36 | them what careers they should do but promoting themselves and their brand and |
| 30:40 | by doing that finding their base and knowing where to go so can you talk a |
| 30:45 | little bit more on that sure |
| 30:47 | um well we're in 2024 |
| 30:51 | and um you know |
| 30:54 | back then there was a lot of um companies out there |
| 30:59 | back then brands mean just companies okay like big big organizations you know |
| 31:06 | like a lot of famous organizations and you know um now basically |
| 31:12 | you are your brand and um when i've given interviews |
| 31:17 | people actually looked at my social media content and |
| 31:22 | they they told me in the interviews that uh we're 100 sure that you will be able |
| 31:28 | to support our students because we can see that you've been doing that since |
| 31:31 | ages yes and |
| 31:34 | and when an interviewer decided to tell that to me |
| 31:39 | in an interview i've understood what sort of an impact i must have made |
| 31:44 | you know putting out myself out there and um and i think |
| 31:50 | in 2024 like you're reaching 2025 if you have to |
| 31:54 | stand out you have to you know build your personal |
| 31:58 | brand even if you have a small business or a |
| 32:01 | big business or no business you know you need to have that brand for |
| 32:06 | yourself and until you and and basically |
| 32:10 | attention is currency that's what i've learned |
| 32:14 | right and if you are unable to get anyone's attention |
| 32:19 | you're losing there like you're not gonna make sales or you're not gonna |
| 32:24 | stand out you know if you have no business you're |
| 32:26 | not gonna stand out and if you have a business you can't make money because |
| 32:30 | you don't have anyone's attention and that's how |
| 32:34 | all the social media platforms are just you know craving for that attention |
| 32:39 | linkedin has bought videos youtube was a video platform and is a video platform |
| 32:45 | tiktok is a video platform snapchat also has videos instagram has |
| 32:50 | videos like |
| 32:52 | what the hell is going on like everyone wants your attention and just imagine |
| 32:57 | when everyone's out there on social media or on different platforms |
| 33:03 | i think it is important for us to understand how can |
| 33:07 | you be different and that's where personal brand comes |
| 33:10 | into the picture so with what you're saying you know now |
| 33:14 | 2024 going to 2025 and it's all about your brand and selling yourself so is |
| 33:20 | this something that you would say searching for work right now in the job |
| 33:24 | market i know you're also focused on businesses |
| 33:28 | but if you're thinking about individuals right now is this something you would |
| 33:30 | say that they really should be focusing on as well |
| 33:34 | i would say yes because um at the end of the day when someone's giving you a job |
| 33:41 | when an employer is giving you a job they |
| 33:44 | may not be giving you a job just for the skills personality hires the thing which |
| 33:49 | means we can understand like you know how much that is important how much |
| 33:54 | personal brand is important and um and which is why what i always advocate |
| 33:59 | people is just |
| 34:02 | how much you are on instagram and youtube and on snapchat she's supposed |
| 34:08 | to be on linkedin as well just just treat it as a professional |
| 34:12 | platform put in your opinions put in your |
| 34:16 | thoughts and that's how everyone would understand and let's say |
| 34:20 | for example if you're putting out an unpopular opinion that actually strikes |
| 34:24 | a chord with a lot of them who knows you might go white |
| 34:30 | you never know yeah but um i think i think that's where |
| 34:36 | everyone ignores linkedin and well i was in that phase when i ignored linkedin as |
| 34:41 | well until i came across a stat with set 95 of people on linkedin |
| 34:49 | do not post weekly content if they happen to post weekly content |
| 34:55 | they would have 4x profile views |
| 35:00 | than others and that actually |
| 35:05 | blew my mind like we are going into platforms |
| 35:10 | where we are craving for everyone's attention |
| 35:13 | but there's a lot of saturation like youtube |
| 35:17 | instagram you know other platforms tick-tock |
| 35:21 | but why aren't we paying attention to a platform where the platform wants to |
| 35:26 | give you attention but you just don't want to put in the effort and work |
| 35:31 | it as well you could be happy with where you are now but who knows what other |
| 35:36 | opportunities can come to you without you putting effort looking for it just |
| 35:42 | because you've engaged and shown yourself as a professional |
| 35:47 | in your industry and we we have a client actually um and |
| 35:51 | she was saying how she's like um became very well known in her industry because |
| 35:56 | of the quality work that she was doing that she was invited to multiple |
| 36:01 | networking events and it was really |
| 36:04 | easy for her to connect with large companies ceos because of her |
| 36:10 | reputation they already knew of her abilities and they wanted to connect |
| 36:15 | with her and it made her work easier it made her stand out and she |
| 36:22 | reaps the rewards from that so |
| 36:27 | what you're saying is a hundred percent absolutely |
| 36:30 | because even last year i got my first gig um as a |
| 36:36 | blog writer you know i was basically a writer |
| 36:39 | through linkedin and i was like okay so it means linkedin also can help us land |
| 36:46 | clients that's that's when it hit me because i've never thought about |
| 36:50 | linkedin that way and and i i had that i had that gift for |
| 36:56 | almost more than a year in fact and and i have now i have a portfolio to |
| 37:01 | show other people that i am into writing i can't write for you guys and this is |
| 37:08 | my work and how did i get that work through linkedin |
| 37:11 | and it was just not me |
| 37:14 | them reaching out to me i've never reached out to anyone |
| 37:18 | and they they just happened to see my work and they were like you know what um |
| 37:23 | we think you can be a really good person in terms of social media strategy |
| 37:28 | but we also see you've got a good you know writing flair |
| 37:34 | what do you want to try out me being me i said yeah and |
| 37:38 | and then there you go one year i was stuck to them doing their social media |
| 37:43 | strategy and writing for them um and um and it is one of the biggest australian |
| 37:49 | publications and i'm happy because you know what i got to work with such |
| 37:54 | interesting people and that's how i understood how how i'm able to integrate |
| 38:00 | education and marketing and you know i really love this blend um |
| 38:05 | i think now i'm in that zone where i'm not confused about where the hell am i |
| 38:10 | going now i kind of understand what my thing is |
| 38:13 | and i think that just happened because um it took me what five to six years for |
| 38:19 | me to try different things make multiple mistakes like and though i speak |
| 38:25 | you know like quite motivatedly when i myself was in that situation i was |
| 38:31 | definitely feeling really uh bed down because |
| 38:35 | um anything that i tried i was i would lose |
| 38:39 | interest and i'm like why like you know what why am i having to jump and do |
| 38:46 | multiple things when when there are people you know who have |
| 38:50 | chosen doctor as a profession and they know they have this straight uh goal |
| 38:55 | for me it's not like that why is my career not growing linearly but that's |
| 39:01 | the mistake and when i'm getting this opportunity to |
| 39:05 | try different things to acquire so many skills |
| 39:09 | um now i understand that i was actually fortunate you know |
| 39:14 | i'm so glad that you're at a place now where you're really happy and you're |
| 39:18 | you've found your your balance so i guess what i'd like to |
| 39:23 | you know round this off with is |
| 39:26 | what is like the top tip or top tips maybe if you've got a few that you would |
| 39:31 | give to people watching today about how to overcome that same journey |
| 39:37 | as similar to yours or aren't sure have multiple skills what |
| 39:43 | what which advice would you give them um one of the things that i would say is |
| 39:48 | everyone has something valuable to give out |
| 39:53 | and everyone |
| 39:56 | i can't even emphasize this enough and it's just you who needs to identify that |
| 40:02 | and if you're struggling to identify that |
| 40:04 | go and ask people around you as to what do you do good you know what do you |
| 40:10 | do things in a better way as compared to them |
| 40:14 | and and i would just say slow down and see what are the things that you think |
| 40:20 | are part of your routine but are actually the skills that you've |
| 40:24 | acquired so every job no job is smaller and every |
| 40:28 | job has something or the other um that can give |
| 40:31 | you it's just you who needs to identify that |
| 40:35 | and um you know put it in the right direction but that's all i've got to say |
| 40:40 | no but that was great and and it's exactly what we tell our clients as well |
| 40:44 | we we ask them let us know all the jobs you've done all |
| 40:48 | the little details of the jobs that you've done because you would have a |
| 40:52 | particular skill that you've developed to be able right no matter how mundane |
| 40:57 | it may seem it's helped you to be able to do that so |
| 41:01 | thank you for that that was absolutely amazing advice thank you well silvani we |
| 41:06 | thank you so much for your time we really appreciate the the time you've |
| 41:10 | spent with us and the amazing advice you've given our listeners it's been a |
| 41:14 | fantastic chat today it was great um thanks for inviting me |
| 41:18 | as well i've had like you know i've enjoyed this so much |
| 41:22 | guys pleasure absolute pleasure having you all so thank you |
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