LiftOff: Miles McDermott and Australia

Previously, we have shared stories from U.S. Orionites who have moved domestically as participants in LiftOff, our employee mobility program. Today, we’re sharing the international experience of Miles McDermott, who was based in Orion United Kingdom and has been working in Orion Australia for the past few months.

What were the factors in pursuing the LiftOff opportunity in Australia?

The old cliché, but I really do love to visit new countries and meet new people and push myself out of my comfort zone. Professionally I saw this as a challenge and the chance to work in a much smaller team has exposed me to all aspects of Orion since my arrival. In the UK, my primary focus was business development, in my first months here I have had to step up and learn quickly. I have leant on a range of other experiences from previous jobs, as well as former and new colleagues. The overall exposure I have received being in a smaller team will allow me to learn about the whole Mediabrands business, ensure we are always considered in wider business objectives and to make more confident decisions.

I had some things to overcome in my personal life, the wretch of leaving behind loved ones, friends and colleagues but everyone recognized the size of this opportunity for me, and I departed with good will and best wishes. I have previously worked overseas in the USA, and those close to me know the effect that opportunity had on me. I returned a more rounded, confident individual. My family and I hold similar hopes for this experience.

Sydney is a fantastic city to live in. I am from a central area of the UK and I have always wanted to live by the coast. I have been made welcome by a few old friends, including a college roommate with whom I recently joined a links golf club. One of the biggest draws was the opportunity to travel to some of the countries that are close by. My biggest personal passion is traveling to new countries. I visited Indonesia over Easter where I learnt to Scuba Dive and I have loose plans to travel to Japan or Korea and New Zealand, later this year.

What do you hope to get from your experience?

I hope to use this as a springboard for future success in my career, I have learnt to always jump at opportunities, and if you work hard [and be nice!] you never know where they will take you. There are lots of opportunities in this market, and I am driven to build Orion into a bigger unit here and contribute to the Orion APAC regional growth aims. I am motivated to build the belief and trust in Orion with clients, media and agencies. I enjoy educating people about Orion and telling our story, and I thrive off others curiosity and entrepreneurial ideas. I take great pride in explaining just how many Orion employees there are around the globe and agency teams here so far have been surprised to hear about the scale of Orion.

I am very focused on my key goals here and taking each day as it comes whilst enjoying the experience. I am open minded about the long term opportunities of this experience. I hope this will lead me to similar opportunities in the future.

Have there been any benefits from this opportunity that surprised you?

I suppose a surprise was understanding the nuances of Orion by market. I am not sure if I expected things to work exactly the same in the UK as they do here. But, I have had to adapt and understand different processes/models and the reasons behind them. I quickly banned myself from using the phrase “In the UK” but nevertheless I have tried to take the best of the processes I have worked with previously and combine them to what works well here to provide the best Orion service.

I have had both Brian [McMahon, CEO and Founder] and Greg [Walsh, Global President] out at separate times to help settle me in and ensure the transition is working well. This was great as I could really ask all the questions I liked and it really energized and focused me. I also had some dialogue with Monica [Tran] who is in the process of a similar move and by sharing my experiences I realized all the things I had overcome and already learnt and it warmed me knowing I could share my experiences and help a colleague.

What are you learning in Australia that is different than at Orion United Kingdom?

The media market here is smaller and more concentrated. The biggest challenge I have faced is going back to square one and being ‘the newbie.’ I have had to get around the agencies and introduce myself to as many people as possible! I have left the UK office where I knew a wide range of people in the office socially and professionally, so building myself a network here is one of the toughest things. After three months, now I feel I am starting to make progress and people are seeing more of my personality. I have had a few jokes made recently about the fact I am always sat in different places in the building, hot-desking with different teams – The Orion nomad, who knows what the future may bring…