IDP Student Alumni: Shiv, India

Honestly, I must have been to at least 5-7 different study abroad consultancies to seek guidance and help with the whole process. IDP immediately stood out by how much care the counsellor Sandeep Kaur showed in the initial consultation. She was very patient in listening to my education goals and then presented different options to best fit my goals. A couple of my friends have also recommended IDP, so it became a no-brainer for me to choose IDP services and it was in fact a great decision as the whole process of applying for the university and getting the COE was very smooth. I recommend IDP to everyone now.

The biggest challenge in my education here was doing one year of my master’s degree in the middle of a global pandemic in 2020.

I was doing odd gigs in my first year of studies and then after I graduated, I landed a door-to-door sales job through my network which was an incredible experience because I got to travel Australia and speak to over 8,000 people from various backgrounds. Then in 2022, I moved to the media industry again through a referral from my network. I strongly urge international students to work on their networking from day 1 of arriving in Australia, the connections, and relationships you build in university will help you long after you have graduated.

I wear a lot of hats now, by profession I am a digital marketer and by passion I am a coach at my ‘Speak with Shiv’ training where I help international students get better at their communication and public speaking skills. My goal is to scale the training business and pursue it full-time within the next 2 years.

Yes, I cannot stress enough on how important it is for us international students to work on our communication skills. In my personal and professional journey in Australia, I have been able to achieve some amazing results and network with industry experts because I worked hard on getting better at speaking and communicating. I know it is tough when you move to a new country especially if English is not your first language, but you can create a better 2.0 version of yourself with practice.