“During my own journey to find my voice, I understood it was necessary to empower others to find theirs ”

Caro Monroy

***Country of Origin:*** *Colombia*
**Occupation:** Entrepreneur; founder and MD of Empower Consulting Services. **State of residency:** WA. **Favourite place in Australia:** Dunsborough. **Upon arrival:** Surprised by the privilege of living among the most ancient civilization on Earth, the Indigenous Australian population and learning that they have been in Australia for at least 60,000 years!!!

Caro Monroy is a migrant, psychologist, and a coach who specializes in helping migrants going through life challenges and career changes. She has more than 12 years’ experience working in Human Resources, recruitment, training & development, and strategic account management in countries such as Colombia, United Kingdom, Argentina, and Australia. She was born in Colombia and has been living in Perth WA for 9 years with her husband and her dog Paco. Author of the e-book “The Skilled Migrant’s Guide to Success: How to gain visibility in the Australian job market”. Monroy’s passion is helping Skilled Migrants become visible and confident in the new professional market.

TELL US YOUR STORY

Nine years ago, in September 2013 I arrived in Perth with my husband, looking for a better quality of life.

Three years before that, while living in Buenos Aires, we decided to apply for the Australian residency and embark on this adventure of migrating to 'the most isolated city in the world'. Once we arrived, the first challenge was to secure a professional job, it wasn’t an easy task, but I was able to secure one within the first month of our arrival - who would imagine that drinking coffee could land you a new job? Yes, being new in the city was a real advantage! With that excuse in mind and with a learner’s perspective, I sat with a few local counterparts and some managers and asked them many questions related to the market, industry insights, Australia’s way of life, corporate world, economy, and of course tourist attractions. I never asked them to help me find a job, but by the end of the conversation, it was clear I was here to stay and certainly hunting for my next professional job.

Those conversations gave me enough information and confidence to apply for a job and participate in a recruitment process where I was successful in securing my first job in Australia as a recruiter.

After a couple of years, I realized I needed a career change, I was grateful for all the new skills I gained in recruitment, but I understood that wasn’t the industry for me. I started to look to going back to Human Resources, as that was something I did in the past during my time in Argentina, and luckily, someone in my network decided to give me the opportunity to build pretty much from scratch the Human resources department, in a mid-size company that provided engineering services to the mining industry. I learned so much. I also gained a greater perspective of the job market in Australia, being on the other side of the coin allowed me to observe myself and question if I was really doing something aligned with what I really wanted to do in life. Deep question, right?

Perhaps I was asking these many questions to myself because I was getting old or because deep down in myself, I knew I wasn't reaching my full potential. That’s the beauty of being in Australia, you can reinvent yourself as many times as needed. So I did it again, and I went into another career change that led me on a path to becoming an entrepreneur.

I took some time off and went back to Colombia for a month, I needed to disconnect and "reset" my mind and professional persona. When I came back and with my husband's support, I started working on the planning of my company and launched my business publicly in March 2020. Since then, I’ve been privileged to work with hundreds of skilled migrants helping them to gain confidence and clarity, to pursue the things that really matter to them, while I have the fortune of loving and enjoying what I do, as it allows me to live my purpose.

CHALLENGES

Talking on the phone - When I landed my first job as a recruiter, despite the happiness of starting my professional career in Australia, I never imagined encountering one of my biggest challenges in something as simple as talking on the phone. This kind of job has very strict KPIs and I was required to interview candidates and make business development over the phone. This job awoke so many insecurities in me, but within time, also gave me the opportunity to improve my communication and learn so much vocabulary.

Career changing: How to convince someone that you are capable to do the job when you’ve never done here in Australia? Well, that was my question when I wanted to jump from recruitment to HR. I had so many rejections to my applications, my CV and cover letter wasn’t doing a good job! However, once I activated my network, put out the word and learned everything related to the "fair work Australia", that helped me sound more capable to deal with the responsibilities of the new role every time I mentioned my desire to make that career change.

Living the corporate world: Dealing with uncertainty, dwelling on things you can't control, and confronting fears and insecurities are just a little part of what I experienced when I decided to become an entrepreneur. Shifting paradigms became the norm, becoming comfortable with the uncertainty, being ok with abandoning the security of a job, and letting myself be seen by others is something that I still reflect upon and learn every day. This is the kind of challenge where you invite others to guide you and that’s exactly what I did, I have my business coach and my husband walking along with me on this new path.

CONTRASTS AND SIMILARITIES

Volunteering: Many people in Australia are keen to do something to give back to the community! They are willing to donate their time, knowledge, and skills to help others. Even corporations develop programs for employees to assist with volunteering programs during working hours.

Sense of community: There is a real sense of community! There is a shared feeling that people matter and building community and belonging is key to Australian social values. This is related to the previous point, as many people volunteer to make possible social projects or initiatives and they take this seriously as part of the development of our society. In Australia, people are never too busy to not care or help!

The concept of Mateship: Something that struck me from the beginning was to see how Australians embody this whole idea of being friendly, welcoming, and willing to help when possible. This is how I ended up having coffee with local professionals willing to share insights and information with me.

PIECE OF ADVICE

Dream, but execute! Migrating to another country requires willingness but also commitment. Plan as much as you can, imagine the ideal scenario but be prepared for the unforeseen (E.g. not getting a job in the first 4 months of your arrival). Improve your English, and learn about the culture, economy, and market.

Stop pleasing others and be true to yourself! Become accountable for your decisions, set boundaries, and focus on giving your best in everything you do. do not strive for perfection! You can choose to have the courage to live a life true to yourself, not the life others expected of you.

Life is a continuous process of decision-making, a constant problem-resolution exercise. Nothing remains forever, that includes struggles, pain, fear, and worries. Every day, you’ll be faced with at least one problem to solve, but it gets easier when you realize that problems are simply choices!

IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS…

Caro Monroy plans to still live in a world of possibilities, where she embraces the excitement, joy, uncertainty, and challenges of being alive, being an entrepreneur that creates an impact on the skilled migrant community. She sees herself having a good time, laughing, and in good health, with the courage, discipline, and commitment to keep showing up, living in her integrity, and growing her business while enjoying quality time with her family and friends.