:: What is your career background?

After university my initial career was in Psychology and Criminology. With this background I became a police officer with the Victoria Police. I was intending to spend my career with them specializing in criminal psychology and community policing. However certain events took place and became responsible for beginning one of Australia’s largest ever internal investigations into police corruption, Operation Bart. This operation lasted for a number of years and over 1000 police were investigated with over 40 police resigning before disciplinary charges and others facing criminal charges.

After all this I can say, I have had enough excitement to last a lifetime and now prefer helping people achieve their dreams as permanent residents of Australia. I am now the co-owner of one of Australia’s largest visa consulting firms and we successfully process hundreds of applications a year. I am now personally in the top 1% of migration agents in the total successful applications lodged.

:: In your opinion, what is the most important factor for someone to achieve a successful career, especially in migration services?

The most important thing in being a migration agent is to keep up to date with all the law changes (which there are many), be honest and highly organized.

:: Would you mind to share with us, some tips for choosing a good migration company?

You must able to have complete confidence in the integrity and knowledge of the migration agent you choose. Ask how many applications in your type of visa they have done and how many are successful and how long they have been in business.

:: Can you share with us, how do you manage your time between your personal life and your busy business life?

My wife is Japanese and also a migration agent and co-owner of the company. We work together so in fact most our lives are spent at work. Most of the time we work 10-12 hour days. We try not to work weekends and spend our time mainly bushwalking and sailing. To keep up with the work pressure, we also go to the gym at Martin Place after work. Not having kids make it easy to maintain this lifestyle.

:: What is your personal secret in pursuit a successful career?

The most important thing in life is to have respect for yourself and be honest with all the people around you. If you can do this, then it will not matter what job you are doing for you can be happy with yourself. I have been through things that most people would never experience but it was always the belief that what I was doing was right and what was expected of me by my friends and the community, this is what kept me going. You can apply this philosophy to all walks of life. As a migration agent, people trust their whole future with you, so you must be 100% honest with them.

:: How do you motivate yourself to resolve and overcome new problems and challenges?

I am highly experienced in overcoming problems and taking on new challenges. My experience in the police force makes everything else in life seems really simple comparison.

:: What is your life motto?

Be honest, sincere and take pride in what you do, everything else in life will fall into place.

:: Do you have any message for Indo Post readers, especially the younger Indonesians residing in Australia?

Enjoy the life that’s given to you, because you’re only going to get one chance at it. Everyone at some stage in their lives, faces difficulties and heartbreak, but it is the manner in which face them will make the person you grow into.

Make sure you are the type of person who you want to be. If you are not happy with whom you are then take one step at a time towards the direction you want. That may take a while but in the end you’ll be where you want to be.