A woman who once worked as a head of product at a major company in London has gone viral after candidly speaking about rebuilding her life in Melbourne, a journey that eventually led her to cleaning Airbnb apartments while trying to find stability again.
The woman, identified as Shweta, shared her story in an emotional video on Instagram, where she reflected on how drastically life changed after moving from the UK to Australia two years ago. According to her, finding the right opportunity in Melbourne’s difficult job market proved far harder than expected.
In the video, Shweta describes how losing the career identity she once carried affected her deeply. She recalls how people would casually ask what she did for work, but she no longer knew how to answer. Slowly, she said, it began to feel like she was no longer truly “living” her life.
The contrast with her past became a recurring theme in the clip. Shweta spoke about the version of herself who lived comfortably in London, with “new clothes in the wardrobe,” branded makeup, handbags and multiple pairs of shoes. “She lived life queen-size,” she said, before adding that the woman she used to be had slowly disappeared, leaving behind only a “shell.”
But the story did not stop at loss. Shweta explained that she eventually found work managing Airbnb properties, which involved cleaning apartments, changing linens and responding to guest queries online. Alongside that, she also began teaching English to children.
Watch the video here:
“It’s a functional job. It gave me a small part of myself back,” she said, explaining why she continues doing it every week.
The video has resonated with thousands online, particularly with people navigating career setbacks, migration struggles and identity crises. Many users praised her honesty, saying the clip captured the emotional side of starting over that often goes unspoken.
Through her series documenting “career rebuilding” publicly, Shweta’s story has become less about professional titles and more about resilience, the difficult, uncomfortable process of rebuilding a life one step at a time.
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