Seven months ago, after two years of a pandemic and fully remote work, I was stuck. Endless hours at the same desk. Almost no social interaction outside the virtual world of my job. Life on autopilot, like a lot of us.
The lockdown was a difficult stretch, but it also forced a real pause. In that pause, I started noticing everything I was quietly not enjoying, and questioning things I had taken for granted for years. It felt like time was passing without me actually doing anything with it. So I decided to change that.
I have always loved travel. For a long time I had dreamed about seeing more of the world and possibly living abroad for a while. The internal voice got clear: if you do not live your life, no one else will live it for you. If you are going to regret anything, it will be not going.
The professional side: could I keep the job?
Of course there were fears. The personal ones were real, but the professional ones were sharper. I am an Embedded Recruitment consultant at Damia, working full time inside a client’s team. How was I supposed to travel the world without losing that?
The first thing I did was talk to my managers. Not one manager, two: my manager at Damia, and my manager on the client side. Both had to be on board or the plan was dead.
I was nervous going into those conversations. I had rehearsed the “no” in my head more times than the “yes”.
Both said yes.
Damia’s answer did not fully surprise me. Since I joined, the culture had been consistent about one thing: do what makes you happy, challenge yourself, grow as a professional and as a person. Words that only mean something when they are backed up by decisions like this one. I am genuinely grateful to Damia for backing up the words, and equally grateful to the client, who were more excited about the plan than I was and did not care about the time zone difference.
Five months in
I have been travelling for five and a half months now. Thailand, Bali, more places to come.
A few honest observations from the experience:
The infrastructure is there. I had heard that digital nomad hubs exist and support this lifestyle, but I did not expect it to be this smooth. All you actually need is a laptop and a good wifi connection. In Thailand and Bali, you can find both in the middle of the jungle. In my case, a solid pair of noise-cancelling headphones is the third essential.
Time zones are less of a problem than I feared. With a client team that trusted the setup from day one, and clear communication about my working hours, the practical logistics have been much easier to manage than I expected.
Recruitment work travels well. Interviews, sourcing, candidate conversations, hiring team check-ins. All of it works from anywhere with wifi. The parts of the job that are less portable (long deep-work blocks, focused documentation) I schedule around the day rather than fighting for.
The intangible upside is bigger than the tangible one. I have met people from all over the world, worked in beautiful places, learned constantly. The perspective shift is real, and it changes how you show up in a candidate call. In a way I did not expect, this trip has made me a better recruiter.
If you are thinking about it
I do not have a return date yet. What I know is that when I do go back, I will be a richer person for having done this. The moments, the people, the places, I will carry all of it.
If you are considering something similar, take it if you can. If it does not work out, you can always come back. The path that scares you is often the one worth taking.
If you want to know how Damia thinks about remote and flexible work, read about working with us, or see current tech roles.
