This post is about taking advantage of an opportunity and how I ended up joining Expedia Group leading to a career spanning over 12 years.

I’d been working at Mantra Group on the Gold Coast for over nine years, really enjoyed the work, having a lot of success growing revenue for them with interesting projects and working with some great people.

I’m at squash, waiting for my next match and have the discussion referenced above about opportunity. After returning home that night from squash, I tell Claire about this discussion regarding (missed) opportunity and said that the next time an opportunity presents itself, I’m going to say yes.

The literal next day, I visit the largest job website in Australia and enter a search for SEO roles in the Gold Coast/Brisbane area. Foreshadowing, but on the very first page of the search results, I see a cool job with Wotif Group who were Australia’s largest online travel agent.

True to my word, it looked like a good opportunity and I was going to apply.

After writing a fresh resume, I sent it to a good friend Dan Petrovic who owns an amazing marketing agency for review. My ask to him, would you at least schedule me for an interview. It turns out, my first and second draft weren’t good enough. I submitted my third revision and rolled the dice.

I got an interview and ultimately got that job, I’m now a Sr Manager for SEO at Wotif Group.

Fast forward to later that year and Expedia Group acquires Wotif Group for AU$703M. I’m worried about what the future might hold, it is common place for the acquiring company to execute layoffs* following a merger or acquisition.

Not wanting to get caught out by that, I started applying for a new job and had six interviews lined up. At the same time, I was asked to fly to the USA and be part of a project team to help integrate Wotif Group into Expedia Group.

I remember having a discussion with Claire and saying to her, I think I need to say yes again. I didn’t know what the future might hold, but felt like there could be upside on the other side of that decision.

True to my word, I said yes, cancelled the interviews and flew to the USA. While I was in the USA, I was called to a meeting with HR and offered an Expedia Group employment contract.

If I’d never had that discussion at squash, never started re-evaluating opportunity, I’d have never made it to Wotif Group, which would have meant I’d never have made it to Expedia Group.

Without a shadow of doubt, that discussion changed my life.

* My concern about layoffs was well placed, Expedia Group executed layoffs three months later.