Tom Nevill currently works as the Senior Director of Real Staffing and leads the retail division in Chicago and Minneapolis, but when he first began his career with Real Staffing, he was based out of Leeds, United Kingdom. After consulting with our Global Mobility Program and company leaders from both the UK and the US, Tom decided to take the leap and move to Chicago in August of 2022 and is happy with how this life change has worked out for him.
Tom’s favorite part about being in the US is the opportunities presented, both in business and in life. He added, “it can be such a great opportunity for your kids and partner to experience a new place and culture with some incredible places to visit and a very good quality of life.”
Moving abroad with a family can make the experience even more daunting, but Tom felt comfortable and assured with the help of our Global Mobility Program, and was able to coordinate the timing to work well for both the business and his family. “For us as a family it was vital that we timed it right to coincide with schools, and Specialist Staffing Group was very accommodating when it came to this,” Tom says.
With kids and a partner to keep in mind, Tom knows how important it is to settle into a community. “It was easy for me to settle in as I was going into a place of work and could meet people, but for my partner it wasn’t. Work, clubs, sports, hobbies, or anything to allow your partner to integrate into the community is important for a successful move,” he recalls. Most importantly, Tom says to give it time and don’t give up. He added, “you can’t judge how it is going after just 3 months, give it time, talk about it regularly, and know in the long run it’s an incredible opportunity!”
The best piece of advice that Tom has to offer to others considering a move is to properly plan and prepare, making sure to understand how the system works. “Getting all your ducks in order is key, and getting things like a social security number quickly are vital,” he shared.
Overall, Tom’s move to the US has been a massive success for him, and he gives credit to the Global Mobility Program for the assistance they provided, saying “they offered a lot of internal and external tools to make the transition as smooth as possible.” Tom now encourages others to take the leap and take advantage of opportunities abroad. We are thrilled that many SSG employees have found this program beneficial and hope to inspire other organizations to create similar programs to open a world of possibilities for colleagues to take advantage of!