26 Oct Q&A Sessions
At the start of this year, Jack McCormack, a New Zealand-based real estate lawyer made the move to Sydney from Wellington, New Zealand. Montgomery Director, Laura Lal and the Private Practice team worked with Jack to support his move across the ditch (“dutch” for those Kiwi readers!). We provided a number of opportunities to Jack and subsequently assisted him with his applications from preparing him for the interview process to the offer and relocation process through to starting his new role and settling into the Real Estate team at DLA Piper. Here is what Jack had to say about his experience making an international move with Montgomery…
Jack, tell us about your current situation. (Your role, your team etc.)
I am a solicitor based in Sydney, Australia. I am working at DLA Piper in their Real Estate team.
Where were you working prior to coming to Australia?
Prior to the move, I worked as a solicitor in a boutique commercial property law firm in Wellington, New Zealand.
So, what was the catalyst for the international move to Sydney?
It was a mixture of the bad weather in Wellington, becoming far too comfortable with my life in Wellington, and realising that the upside to my potential was really limited in New Zealand. I wanted to move to a place where the upside was unlimited.
What was your “greatest fear” in making an international move?
Moving away from our friends and family in New Zealand was a big decision at the time. When we moved the borders were still closed in New Zealand, and we didn’t know when we would be going back.
What have been the greatest challenges you have faced since moving to Sydney?
Dodging the rain – google search La Niña!
What are some of the highlights both personal and work-related since moving to Sydney?
I live 300 meters from Coogee Beach and get to swim most mornings before work. It doesn’t get much better than that! From a work perspective, a lot of the real estate transactions I have had the opportunity to work on simply don’t happen in New Zealand, just purely due to market size. It’s been great working on transactions I haven’t previously had experience in.
How did Montgomery support you through the interview process?
Laura Lal ran the whole process for me and truthfully I didn’t have to do much apart from showing up to the interviews. The whole process only took about three weeks.
How did Montgomery stand out against other agencies?
I’m biased as I only used Montgomery – suggest you do the same!
