The most common question people ask me when I tell them I am moving to Belgium is something along the lines of, “How did this even happen?” To say it’s an opportunity of a lifetime would be an understatement.

I vividly remember sitting in Professor Dan Wiljanen’s class during undergrad at Grand Valley State University when we had a guest speaker come in and tell us about how he had worked abroad. The career development and stories he shared stuck with me. It was in that moment I knew I wanted to do that. My majors were Human Resources and International Business, with the requirement of studying abroad.

Studying abroad was one of the best experiences ever and something I didn’t think twice about. Living abroad on the other hand is much different. It truthfully has always been something that interested me, but I didn’t know how it would work, especially not at this early stage in my career.

My company often sends very senior employees from Japan to work in the US, but rarely from the US outbound. In career explanatory conversations with my manager at the time, I had expressed interest in taking on a global role, but didn’t think it was even a possibility.

The truth is that it’s really easy to doubt yourself…
“There’s probably not a role available for my level”
“What would it look like to relocate?”
“It just wouldn’t workout”
were just some of the many thoughts going through my head.

But sometimes the stars align (and you have a really awesome team advocating for you). My VP of HR reached out to our European HQ in Brussels, and there happened to be a headcount available. I updated my resume, met with the team there virtually, they created a role for me, sent over the job description for my review, and a few weeks later I received the job offer!

Every bullet point of the job description was a YES from me. I will be working on engagement surveys, training, development, leadership programs, aspects of DE&I, CSR activities, and so much more. Meeting with the team there to discuss the role felt natural. Door after door kept opening so easily, making me feel certain that this was the right thing.

I am so thankful that this is happening. It is hard for me to take a step back and be proud of myself. I never want to seem boastful, but I do know how hard I have worked to get here.

T-7 days. Eeek!!!