Of course I had to make a trip to Sydney while studying in Australia! Before I share my Sydney experience, I'd like to point out the two VERY different airline experiences I had. On my way to Sydney, I traveled on Qantas since I paid with my accrued flight points. On my way back, I traveled on Tiger Air. When I arrived at the Melbourne airport en route to Sydney, my ID was not asked for at all. I went right up to the Qantas ticket machines, printed out my boarding pass and was in through security all in a span of 10 minutes. No waiting in lines; it was amazing. On the hour and a half flight, I also enjoyed a free drink and snack. They also had ipads at each seat with movies and music! 

Now, the way back was slightly different. With one woman working at the Tiger Air Check-in desk, I waited upwards of half an hour to just check in. By the time she checked me in, she was not too happy. Luckily, I got an exit seat on the flight (always ask for exit seats! more room and you board first!) but no free beverage service. The flight was at 9:10pm, but I was still surrounded by multiple crying babies and coincidentally I couldn't find my headphones in my bag.

It was just interesting how different the two experiences were. I've been on budget flights before, but I've never been on a budget flight and a normal flight within a 5 day span, so the differences were fresh in my memory, so I thought I would share!

After arriving in Sydney and finding Asylum Hostel, I waited for my two friends and then we went for a walk to the Sydney Opera House. One of them already had a ticket for a show that night, so my other friend and I were going to see if they had any other cheap shows playing that night. 

We walked through the Botanical Gardens - they were beautiful and so vibrant! The weather was warm and perfect!

We ended up getting two tickets to a stand up comedy show the first night we were in Sydney! It was great and some of the acts were hilarious. The acts included Matt Okine, Luke Mcgregor, Greg Behrendt, Felicity Ward, Ryan Hamilton and the host Dave Thornton. I haven't laughed so hard in a while!

The next day we went to Bondi Beach. It was a bit confusing to get there since a few people were telling us different ways, but we made it and it was the perfect weather for it. We did the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk and saw some beautiful views of the coast and heaps of surfers. The water was so blue! 

More pictures from the walk are below!

Sydney was a nice city. I'm still happy I chose Melbourne Uni over New South Wales in Sydney, but I am a bit jealous of the weather in Sydney. Melbourne has been quite bipolar lately; some days are freezing and some are hot! It's supposed to be Spring! I want a happy medium!

It's a choice I made when I decided to do the International Business Exchange fall of my senior year - I'd have to recruit for full-time positions in America from Australia. While I've only had a few interviews so far, I'd like to share my experiences recruiting from abroad. I'm currently recruiting for actuarial analyst positions, but the process is the same for other financial positions, too.

A month before recruiting started, a frightening thought crossed my mind. What if no employers want to hold a Skype interview for me? Of course, this was a silly thought, because in the world we live in, it's just as easy to hold a virtual interview as an in-person interview. I think this is a thought that may occur to many people who are deciding whether or not to study abroad during recruiting. While ensuring you a have a job when you graduate is important, I personally believe recruiting should not be a reason to not study abroad. While some employers may not hold Skype interviews, quite a few firms will, so it shouldn't make a difference in your decision.

The process has been just as easy as if I were back in New York City. I apply for positions through On Campus Recruiting, I'm notified when I get an interview, I pick a time-slot, then I email the recruitment team to make sure a Skype interview may be accommodated. There hasn't been an instance where I was invited to interview and they could not accommodate me with a Skype or phone interview. 

Before coming to Australia, I didn't think too much about the time difference. I just knew I would be 15 hours ahead and would have to talk to those back home either relatively early or late. However, when you are working on business time, the standard 9am - 5pm, this equates to midnight - 8am my time. My interviews have fallen in the range of midnight to 2am.

It's been both tiring and interesting having interviews that late. For me, I think the most beneficial aspect of having the interviews so late was that I had to go through a full "normal" day beforehand, so a lot of the nervousness was taken away until just a few hours before the interview. The worst part was staying up late for the interviews - I'm usually in bed by 11pm! 

Regardless, time difference has not been a huge issue regarding recruiting from abroad and really, time difference is the worst for those recruiting in America from Asia or Australia.

Before recruiting, I never had an interview via Skype. The most important thing to do when interviewing from Skype is to make sure to test out the camera before the interview - make sure your chair is placed in a position where your full upper-body can be seen on the screen. Also make sure there is nothing behind you, it's best if there is just a plain wall. 

A Skype interview is very different than an in-person interview. It is a lot easier in an in-person interview to feel the part - you're in an interview room with your interviewer and you are speaking directly to a person. Over Skype, you are in a different environment, most likely your own room, and you are speaking through a screen. This was one of my biggest problems with Skype, as I get most of my energy from having a person physically in front of me speaking with me. The best you can do in this situation is to just continually focus on the interview and try to find other ways to get energy and connect, whether it's listening to music seconds before the interview or practicing in the mirror right before.

Of course, there are also benefits to Skype interviews. Personally, I enjoyed wearing my Sperrys with my skirt suit, they're definitely more comfortable than heels! It also takes less time to prepare for the interview - you just need to make sure you're seated in front of your computer at the time of the interview. You don't have to worry about finding the office building, knowing how long it takes to get to the location, etc. 

Recruiting is definitely still possible from abroad and while it is something to think about before choosing to study abroad during that important semester, it should definitely not be a deciding factor solely based on the thought that it is impossible to recruit from abroad or you won't get good interviews or anything like that. If there's a will there's a way. If you want to study abroad senior year and you want a full-time job when you graduate, you can still have both of those. You may have to work a little harder, but it is definitely possible.