From There To Here
Yohana Jury
Five months of rejection taught Yohana that a stepping-stone job, even one below her qualifications, was the only path to breaking the 'no Australian experience' barrier.
You don't have to be in crisis to call.
Yohana arrived in Australia on a master's scholarship, met her husband, and decided to stay. What she didn't expect was five months of rejection from every professional job she applied for, despite holding a local degree and Australian credentials. Employers kept saying the same thing: no Australian work experience. After applying to five to ten jobs daily, losing confidence in her own qualifications, Yohana made a decision. She applied to McDonald's. Not because she had to, but because it was the only way to prove she could work in this country.
Three months after starting at McDonald's, the same job she'd been rejected for came up again. This time, with local work experience on her resume, she got the interview and the offer. That single stepping stone changed everything. Yohana now works in a leadership role in the multicultural sector, supporting newly arrived migrants through their own transitions. She tells them what she learned the hard way: don't be ashamed to start lower than your qualifications suggest. Prove yourself, and they will promote you when they see what you can do.
But it wasn't just the job that saved her. It was community. University friends led to volunteering, which led to a network of people who understood what it meant to start over. Through these connections, Yohana built the support system that kept her going when the rejections threatened to break her confidence. Now she speaks of Australia as a place of opportunity and kindness, where she and her family have made a home. She still code-switches between her independent Australian self and her deferential Indonesian self, but both versions are equally hers.
Every story here belongs to the person who lived it. They said yes to sharing it, and we sat with it carefully before it went up. Nothing here is exaggerated and nothing is used without permission. Read how we handle these stories ↗
Kintsugi Heroes · Registered Australian not-for-profit · kintsugiheroes.com.au ↗