reinvent
rethink
relocate
A relocation presents the perfect opportunity
to try something new, writes
Karen Sherwood
.
May 2014
63
L
eaving the familiar
surrounds of your home
country for a new life in
the Fragrant Harbour
can be an overwhelming (though
exciting!) experience. For many wives
and husbands, an international move
also means abandoning their own
careers to join the ranks of “trailing
spouses” following their partners
across the sea. With any change comes
opportunity though, and there is
many a trailing spouse who has used
his or her relocation as a springboard
for reinvention, emerging with a new
career to match their new address.
Beyond language barriers
A move abroad doesn’t mean a career
trajectory
can’t
continue uninterrupted,
but there are some specific barriers
to working in Hong Kong that may
initiate a rethink. One of those is the
challenging local language. Kylie
Waterstrom, a mother of four, was a
trained firefighter and paramedic in
her native Australia before moving
with her husband to Hong Kong in
1998. “I applied for many jobs in Hong
Kong, but imagine working in an
ambulance with no Cantonese? The
same goes for firefighting. I did make
contact with the fire chief in Hong
Kong when I first arrived – but it never
eventuated for the same reason.”
Kylie decided to accept that her
firefighting and paramedic days were
over and embrace the chance to try
something new. “I went back to study
Occupational Health and Safety, then
scored a job as the safety manager at
the [then] new Container Terminal
9 development project. When I first
started work there, there were 2,000
employees, but only four Westerners.
No one spoke to me in English for
about eight weeks. I was quite out of
my depth.” Undeterred, Kylie found
ways to connect with her colleagues.
“I used to play cricket with my
Pakistani and Indian counterparts
and badminton with my Korean
and Chinese colleagues during my
lunch hour. That built bridges for a
nice working relationship.” After a
successful few years on the project,
and as children arrived, Kylie took
another leap of faith and moved into
materials sourcing, construction and
boat-building. “The upside of being
