AdeleVDM Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Hi everyone, this is my first post on this forum.I do apologise if this has been discussed before, but we are at that stage where we would really appreciate any help we can get.My husband and I are in the process of organising our lives for our move to Australia as we received PR in July this year and now have to get the ball rolling!As excited as we are to go, there is the very important issue of finding work and not wanting to take the risk of going over without employment. We are aware of the fact that so many people say that prospective employers prefer candidates who are already in Australia.My husband is an Urban and Regional Planner by qualification and is currently working as a property specialist in the telecommunications industry dealing with all property matters relating to the approval and construction of new infrastructure. We have not yet decided where in Aus we’ll be moving to, that will very much depend on where we find work. However, Melbourne is currently first on our list after we’ve done some research. JBecause we are aware of the importance of networking, we would like to make use of this opportunity to find out if there is anybody on this forum who might know about related job opportunities in Aus. Or maybe somebody could advise where to start the process? The obvious choice would be permanent employment, but in order to get over there and start earing Australian Dollars, we would also consider contract work at this stage. We are both registered on Seek and he is on LinkedIn. My husband has applied for numerous jobs, without any positive response on his CV – not even an interview.We need to make our first entry before June 2015, so ideally we would like to make one trip, given that this is a costly exercise for most of us.Thanks in advance for your time and assistance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORC Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Have you tried seek.comIt may seem a little crazy but now that you have PR it may help seeing what jobs are on seek, then if it's via an agent, get in touch with that agent directly and mention that you've got your PR. You'll be surprised how some of them are willing to help, even candidates from abroad, especially if you have PR and you now have a definite intention of coming over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdeleVDM Posted August 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Hi RCO.Thanks for the reply.We are both on Seek and my husband has applied to various adds on the site but with no positive outcome (yet).I know he got the details of the HOD for one of the regular companies on Seek's details and is in communication with her, but we hope to cast more than only one line with regards to employment... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Hey Adele, welcome to the forum and congratulations on the visa grant. As far as finding work goes before you leave, unfortunately it is one of those things that is difficult to answer. There are a lucky handful of people who have found employment before leaving South Africa but the majority will only find work once they are here.It's a recruiters market at the moment which simply boils down to the fact that there are so many people applying for positions at the moment that they are spoilt for choice and the first thing they look at is where you are and if you aren't in Aus then they don't look further. They don't need to work hard to find suitable candidates locally. Even though you may be the best candidate for the job, the fact that you still have to get here counts against you especially when there are locals (regardless of nationality) that can start immediately.Most of the people who have found work before leaving RSA have either been extremely lucky or they have had a specialized skill set that's in demand. I am honestly not trying to discourage you from looking and would hate for you to stay because you are afraid you won't find work. I simply want to paint a realistic picture.I work in the recruitment industry (although I'm not a requirement agent myself) so I get to see the types of jobs and numbers of applications that come through for those jobs and it's scary at the moment. I was chatting to a recruiter the other day about screening processes and she was saying that the first thing they look at is current address and if the applicants are not within a 50km radius of the location they get moved to the not suitable pile.Unfortunately there are so many applications that they don't even bother sending a dear John letter because it simply takes too much time and they would need to employ someone just to do that job because of the sheer volume of applications being processed. Granted they are in the healthcare industry but there are other recruiters in the industrial and manufacturing as well as white collar industries that are telling me the same thing.One piece of advice I can give you is make your CV and cover letter standout as much as possible, make your LinkedIn and Seek profiles as complete and professional as you can and consider looking at careerone.com.au and mycareer.com.au as well, the more coverage you can get the better. If you haven't got one already, get a Skype address for interviews if they happen and make sure it's something that looks professional and not something like badboy56 etc. it may give the recruiter a good laugh but doesn't create a good first impression. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 www.hays.com.au is another large Aussie recruitment firm you can register online with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted August 19, 2014 Report Share Posted August 19, 2014 If he is in the telecomms market, also try to target stuff specific to that sector like the NBN programme here in Aus. And I agree with HEOJJ, I dont hire people with nicknames like WickedWilly, badbooi100, HEOJJ...PMSL :jester: Just ribbing ya HEOJJ. Seriously though, clean up on Linkedin, and it will help you immensely. Also, being in Aus is a huge difference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdeleVDM Posted August 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2014 Hey HEOJJ and SurferMan!Thanks for the advice and the laugh ? nice to make contact others who've been here before..In the meantime the job hunt and moving admin continues! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted August 19, 2014 Report Share Posted August 19, 2014 If he is in the telecomms market, also try to target stuff specific to that sector like the NBN programme here in Aus. And I agree with HEOJJ, I dont hire people with nicknames like WickedWilly, badbooi100, HEOJJ...PMSL :jester: Just ribbing ya HEOJJ. Seriously though, clean up on Linkedin, and it will help you immensely. Also, being in Aus is a huge difference.Hey, I was lucky to find a boss with a wicked sense of humour and just as wacky nicknames, he has several profiles all with different names for different purposes. Oh the joys of being in the open source Linux world. I'm pretty constant though, I use this avatar and name everywhere, even when I am filling in test candidate applications when setting up new clients which makes for much entertainment. Unfortunately the reference to Juju go over 99% of my clients heads.I must say I like WickedWilly, maybe that will be my next name, or maybe HadEnoughofHockey or HadEnoughofAbbot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted August 19, 2014 Report Share Posted August 19, 2014 Snigger, WickedWilly!Mate I saw cmh just got their 186! Frigging heck, did someone throw go juice into DIBP's coffee machines!?!?! I told the goose we finish the docco upload TONIGHT. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted August 19, 2014 Report Share Posted August 19, 2014 There does seem to be some movement on the DIBP fronts. Always picks up at the beginning of a visa year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozellem Posted August 19, 2014 Report Share Posted August 19, 2014 My husbands two emails are snoekkop and stompnoe. Oh the joys of spelling those to people and answering their usual follow up questions. These days I just say "Its a navy thing, dont ask". ps. Adele, there is a forum member called Emille (with two ll's) who live in Perth. From memory he is in town planning and might be able to point your husband in the right direction. Just put Emille in the search function at the top and set it to members, then press search. He is the black and white head shot with the shades. Otherwise, take the leap like thousands of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdeleVDM Posted August 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2014 Thanks rozellem!Will look him up ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted August 19, 2014 Report Share Posted August 19, 2014 If I may be so bold,Just get here already, the job market is getting tight, it's way easier to find work when you are here. There is not a sane forumite who will disagree with that one. HEOJJ has some really sage advice on this topic. See you soon!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdeleVDM Posted August 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2014 SurferMan, planning to arrive in Feb '15. Eeek! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Go girl! See you soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdeleVDM Posted October 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 Good day Guys.Just an update...We have been blessed and my husband has been offered a permanent job ... in Melbourne ... in telecoms (employment contract to be signed in the next few days)We will be departing before the end of the year and he will start his new job in January 2015 ... exciting times!!I guess the reason for this post is to tell you guys looking for work that if you are willing to do the legwork and re-write your CV and cover letter before you send it to every relevant add you see (he sent close to a 100 CV's), you definitely stand a change of securing employment from SA.A tip for when you are looking on Seek.com - ensure that you know all the different names that the profession that you are in is referred to or known by and include these names in you 'Favorite Searches' otherwise a great deal of opportunities might slip past without you knowing!Stay positive! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4viljoens Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 That's great!!! Gives me hope!! Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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