UOW graduate, Rachel Young has been working for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as the Third Secretary at Australia’s High Commission in Port Vila, Vanuatu for the last two and a half years.  She joined DFAT as a Graduate Trainee in 2005 and was posted to Vanuatu in July 2006.  Her role is one of a junior diplomat, representing the Government of Australia in Vanuatu.  Rachel’s work is very diverse, but mainly she works with counterparts in the Vanuatu Government, NGOs and other Foreign Missions on a variety of different issues of interest to Australia. For example, UN matters, environment, climate change, fisheries, aviation, national disaster response and women’s issues.  Her work also includes organising events for the High Commission – such as Australia Day and ANZAC Day and providing consular assistance to Australians in Vanuatu.  Rachel also manages two small grants programs that provide funding for grassroots community development projects.  We interviewed Rachel about her experiences and what it is like to live and work overseas.

When you applied to work at DFAT, did you know that it would be likely that you would work overseas and was this one of the reasons you chose to work for DFAT? 
Yes – the allure of traveling and working overseas was one of the reasons I applied for a Graduate Position within the Department.  Having studied international and human rights law at as part of the my law degree at the University of Wollongong, I also wanted to gain some practical experience in working in international relations.

Why did you decide to work in this area?
To be honest, I had expected when I left university that I would end up working in the community legal sector or in native title law.  When I made it through the various ‘rounds’ in the DFAT Graduation Trainee selection process and was offered a position, I realised that this was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down - there was just so much potential within DFAT to work and live overseas, to learn from a practical perspective about development, human rights, the UN, trade and the dizzying array of international relations issues that DFAT covers. 

Why did you want to work overseas?
I took a year break in the middle of my degree to backpack through Europe and Asia – as many people do.  I loved traveling, but always felt like I was moving too fast to truly understand a new country and culture.  I resolved that next time I left Australia, I would try and live and work in one place – a place very different to Australia – so that I would have time to really come to understand a culture different to my own.  I feel so lucky to have been posted to Vanuatu, where kastom (traditional culture) is very much alive.  Outside of the capital city, Port Vila: welcome to a land of huts in the jungle, coconuts, bananas, no telephones, electricity by generator (if you are lucky!).. a whole different world!

Did you have to apply to work overseas/ did you have a choice on going and on where you could go?
In order to work overseas with DFAT, you have to apply for a “posting”.  These are like internal organisational job transfers and usually last for three years.   When I applied for a posting in response to advertised vacancies at that time in Australia’s Embassies and High Commissions throughout the world, I listed Vanuatu, Turkey, Russia and Thailand as my four preferences (with Vanuatu at the top!).

What do you see as the benefits of progressing your career overseas?
The opportunity to learn new languages (for me, French and Bislama), to demonstrate a capacity to work in new and sometimes challenging or stressful environments, to gain practical in-country experience in development and human rights issues, to develop contacts and networks with international agencies … to name a few!

What do you see as the personal benefits of working and living overseas?
I think there are many, many personal benefits to living and working overseas.  I believe you gain a much greater understanding about yourself and your own culture when surrounded by a world that is completely different to the one you know as home.  The people I meet, the places I go, the things that I do are so different to ones I would encounter back home.  All these experiences increase my personal confidence, my passion for equity and justice, and my delight in our crazy, beautiful diverse world.

What advice would you give to fellow alumni who are thinking of working overseas?
The best advice I received when trying to choose WHERE to go, was to think about what was essential to my happiness and wellbeing at home, and make sure I would still be able to do those things overseas.  For me these were basic, but also specific: living somewhere warm (I’m very glad I didn’t get Moscow!), being able to swim regularly to feel safe and free to move around the streets at night and to adventure outdoors on the weekends.  For other people it might be – good nightlife, the perfect job, movie cinemas, an ice skating rink…whatever!  If you have those one or two things that keep you sane – the world is your oyster and the options are endless!

What are the challenges of working overseas? 
It is challenging not having your ‘peeps’ to share the good times and the bad.  I miss not having people around who have known me for years and years and that I feel I can just “be myself” with.  Its also easy to be swallowed up by a “working overseas” social group of other foreigners in-country, which is great.  But usually this is a very transient group of people who up and leave just as you feel you’re actually getting to know someone.  I think it takes far more effort to convince locals, who know you are only there for a short time, to decide you are worth the effort of getting to know – but its always so rewarding to become entangled in the local scene.

Has working overseas been everything you thought it would be?
And more!  Loving it.

When does your time in Vanuatu finish and what’s next for you? 
My posting in Vanuatu ends July 2009.  Usually for DFAT officers, this means returning to Canberra for a couple of years before you can apply for another posting overseas.  But for me, I think there are more overseas adventures in store, even if it means I have to leave DFAT, because my partner’s career will take him to New York and Europe once we finish in Vanuatu. And I’m quite happy to let him be the breadwinner for a while. 

What are your goals and ambitions for the future?
I’m not sure that I have a specific career goal or ambition.  So far I’ve been making decisions based on what I inspires me, what challenges me and what will offer me opportunities to live life a little bit (but not too much) ‘out side the square’.  If you had to pin me down on a goal for the future, I think it would be to be working in a community legal centre in a middle sized country town in Australia, with an enormous veggie patch and lots of kids!  But I definitely need to get some serious overseas adventuring under my belt first.

Last reviewed: 13 June, 2008