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Victoria Rozanska didn't have connections, referrals, or a native English advantage when she set her sights on Google. What she had was patience, persistence, and a mindset she calls detachment from the outcome.
In this episode, Victoria walks Tannia through her path from Poland to the UK, into Google Dublin, and finally to Google's Bay Area headquarters, where she landed on a Friday and started her new role the following Monday.
Along the way, she discovered something most people never expect. Even her native language became foreign to her in a professional context. Selling to Polish clients from Dublin, she realized her English business vocabulary was stronger than her Polish one.
We talk about the real mechanics of building a life from scratch in a new country, not through networking events, but through curiosity, and the cultural adjustments that catch so many non-native professionals off guard: America's shout-out culture, the rhythm of small talk, and the specific phrases that signal contribution instead of interruption in a meeting.
This conversation is for you if you've ever wondered whether your English is good enough to lead, because Victoria's story makes the case that the real barriers were never linguistic.
In this episode:
0:00 Introduction
0:48 Starting out in Poland, finding the tech path
2:27 Applying to Google and waiting for years
4:17 Detachment from the outcome
5:56 Rejected, then accepted months later
6:13 The moment she realized she didn't know "business Polish"
11:22 Small talk as relational infrastructure, not filler
12:51 Landed in San Francisco on Friday, started Monday
14:38 Why American small talk feels different
15:44 Building community from zero through shared interests
16:43 The silent ecstatic beach dance that led to real friendships
22:54 America's shout-out culture
25:17 Why shout-outs are part of good leadership
28:52 The workplace phrases that change how you're heard
29:31 "To your point," piggybacking, and active listening
35:24 Coaching, identity, and life beyond the job title
39:09 Closing thoughts
About Victoria Rozanska
Victoria (Wiktoria) Rozanska is a Global Partnerships professional at Google, podcast host, certified Ikigai coach, and international career advocate whose journey spans five countries, three continents, and multiple career transitions, all while building her career in a language that isn't her native one. Originally from Szczecin, Poland, Victoria moved abroad alone at 18 to study Business Management in the UK. She gained experience through internships at HP, Accenture, and Google, later securing a full-time role at Google by applying directly through the company's website with no personal connections or referrals.
Since joining Google, her career has taken her from the UK to Dublin, Silicon Valley, and New York City, working across sales, strategy, onboarding, and business growth before moving into Global Partnerships, where she now works with companies across the apps, gaming, podcast, and digital media ecosystem.
Alongside her corporate career, Victoria is the founder of Aligned with Ikigai, a coaching platform focused on purpose, career transitions, and identity in a rapidly changing world. She's also the creator and host of The Human Presence, a podcast featuring conversations with founders, investors, artists, technologists, and multidimensional thinkers exploring what it means to stay human in the age of AI.
📌 Follow Victoria: @wiktoriaer (Instagram) and on LinkedIn (Victoria Rozanska)
📌 Follow Victoria’s new podcast here: https://www.instagram.com/the_humanpresence
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