Impact can mean different things to many people. At Procore, when we say “Build a career with impact,” we mean that we offer the opportunity for you to do something that matters to you and the world around you. We provide avenues for our employees to positively impact our customers, our communities, and even each other. Like Pierce, a recruiting manager, who took a three-month assignment in Australia to support our growing talent acquisition team.
Combining Passion for Travel with Career Opportunties
Traveling to the other side of the world with his fiancée, Pierce was able to translate his passion for travel into a working abroad experience. “We already love to travel. Of course, I said yes to the chance to work in Australia for a few months! Picking up and going somewhere for a trip is not new for us, but we’ve only ever lived in New Orleans; actually, moving to a whole new country was a big change. We had to pack up and arrange everything in 30 days.”
Pierce attributes the fact that he was selected for this opportunity to two things:
- He had experienced what it was like to transition from recruiting for a small company to recruiting for a larger one, working with the team to develop new procedures and adopt ones that Procore already had in place.
- He was always very vocal about his passion for travel and interest in international opportunities.
“I think one of the many reasons I was selected for this opportunity is the similarities between what our Levelset team was like and what our Asia-Pacific (APAC) team is experiencing right now. At Levelset, we were a small company, and our approach to recruiting and managing internal relationships with our hiring partners was suited to that. Our APAC team–even though they are a part of a global company–still has some of that small startup vibe. Entering the Procore recruiting team was a change for me. I went from spending my time coaching and motivating my team to building and focusing on systems and processes. How a manager functions at a small company is different than a big company. Having lived through that transition and now understanding our Procore systems meant that I could be a great resource for Carley, our talent acquisition manager, and the team in Sydney to help them with their growth.”
Seeing the World In New Ways
Moving from the US to Australia wasn’t a difficult move. “We were very excited to jump in and try. Even though it was a new culture for us, we found it wasn’t all that different. We speak the same language and have a lot of the same values. We settled in really quickly, and everyone was so welcoming, both at Procore and in general. My partner, Mary Catherine, was able to work remotely the whole time, so our travel didn’t impact her job.”
When asked about why he loves to travel, Pierce said, “I think that having new experiences and being among people who talk, think, and act differently breaks you out of your bubble. It shows you new things, and you get to see the world in a whole new way.”
Advice for Global Career Opportunities
His advice to people who are hoping to take advantage of international opportunities in a global company is to be curious and to be vocal about what you want. “Talk to people, learn about different teams and what problems they have; find out who is in charge and what the strategy is. Express to leaders that you’d like to travel and be involved. Make sure that they know you are interested, so they think of you first.”
Pierce was able to create a positive impact on his colleagues down under by sharing his learned experiences and insights. His story is a reminder that as we aim to develop and advance in our own careers, we can support those around us at the same time to help them see the same successes.
Also, he adds, kangaroos are much bigger than you think.
Like this story? Check out Tas's career journey that took her from Willmar to Dublin!
- Australia
- Global Mobility
- Internal Mobility
