Elna57 Posted March 27, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2019 @stefans Thank you so much for that. I never even thought about that. I will get him to give it a go. Much appreciated. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elza Posted March 27, 2019 Report Share Posted March 27, 2019 So, I've been here in Australia for a total of 37 weeks and 5 days!!! I have not for one minute since arriving here felt that perhaps I made the wrong move, never once!!! I am living with my son for the interim until I achieve my next goal - getting work!! I think I am very fortunate because my son actually works FIFO, eight days away and six home. Which I see as good and bad....... The bad is I miss him and some days it can get lonely, however, on the other hand, the good, because then we are not on top of one another, I have the chance to be myself, coming and going independently day and night, having friends over for coffee, making my own choices of what to do for the day and so on. I have a chance to explore the different food options here, making my own dinner, which is so much fun when they task amazingly, but not so if they yuckie!! During the days the first thing I do is look for advertised jobs in 'Seek' 'Indeed' 'Jora Job Alert' I try to apply for at least three a day. Yes, Elna is right here about the cover letter and CV. Each application I check to see the job description of what is expected to do and make sure that I include these lines into my cover letter. I check the requirements for the job are also word for word in my CV. In a discussion I had with a very kind gentleman about job hunting, he told me that most of these places use a computer program to check your cover letter and cv for the standards of what they are looking for, so if the program cannot match up it disregards your application. Not all of them inform you, in fact, very few companies actually write and tell you that your application will not be going further. I have had telephone interviews as well as appointment interviews, the Australians are such nice friendly people that every time I get the feeling that it really went great, one time it was between me and one other person, unfortunately, because the other person has experience in Australia she was successful, so local experience is a very big plus. So advice from me, take time over your cover letters and cv, check your spelling, sentence structure, punctuation. Don't use elaborate layouts for your documents, remember if a computer program is scanning your cv and its all fancy, a lot of information may be missed out. I was advised not to place any important information into the Header or Footer as these programs do not pick this up at all. Try to use their descriptive words and lastly, be patient..... If you calculate a minimum of three applications a day, and I promise some days it's much more than this, that means I've actually applied for over 792 jobs minimum and I'm still searching!! I've had to create a filing system on my computer for all the applications, just to keep track of what I am applying for so when the interviewer calls I can open up the job and see immediately what the job application was looking for. Many of the jobs that I read have so many fancy descriptions and points I sometimes think to my self there's no way a 'training coordinator' can do all that, if so, they would be a company CEO I'm sure or building rockets as secret agents in the desert!!!! So I know also it is more 'who you know then what you know', so try to have a local person as references on your cv, again ticking the local experience box again. To keep my mind sharp, we all know that from the 50-year mark we tend to start becoming absent-minded, I have taken up learning a new language - French! I have also enrolled in two other institutes to gain Australian qualifications as well. Work health and safety certificate IV, which is much needed in the mining world and then I chose Coaching which is something I could start after hours and could perhaps after a few years of operating become a source of income for me. Networking is also a great idea, I have joined a couple of Meet up. These are groups of people getting together for various reasons some are for dinner, beach walks, listening to music, sundowners on the beach the list goes on... so many different ones to choose from. Just search for the app called 'Meetup's'. Secondly I joined a church group made up on mostly South African, I didn't want to keep to South Africans, however being with this group of people helps me to connect with others, again networking, I get to know what's happening in the community that everyone is talking about but is not written out anywhere... One of my first few days when I had just arrived I sat down and made a list of all the things I planned to buy once I get money. Most being kitchen appliances, you see the container I brought over had mostly special sentimental things that can never be replaced. So after quick negotiations or discussion not sure which, with my son about how he books an uber every Monday to take him to the airport and collect him when he returned home. I offered, or he asked, again not sure, anyways long story short the end result is my son pays me to do this trip! So I'm making a little bit of money so as the weeks pass it adds up and I keep an eye on the different appliance stores closing down or for sales. The best was a set of 6 crystal wine glasses that were selling for $50.00, I bought them for $13.00 as the store was closing down! In time I will add more, I didn't think this would become as long as it has!!! So guys, really don't lose hope in the waiting room!!!! Australia is the best move I have ever made, should have done it years ago actually!!!! 🌴🐬😀😁🐬🌴 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelW Posted March 27, 2019 Report Share Posted March 27, 2019 On 3/26/2019 at 3:49 PM, Elna57 said: @Maz Me myself and I clean houses! It keeps me fit and active. In between I am doing a course in Hospitality (Food and Beverage attendant) to become exactly that. I worked for an ex SA lady for about 5 months and absolutely loved it. So, this is why I decided to do this course. We are doing industry training at a 5 star hotel right now and although it is HARD work, I absolutely love it. It is in an outdoor setting with stunning views which makes the whole experience even better. The staff members are super helpful and supportive. Medical reception always in demand BUT you will probably have to ask to volunteer somewhere for a while to learn the computer systems here. Pracsoft is one for example. All doctors use different software and because of Aus Healthcare system there are many rules and regulations as to who gets charged what. It is not TOO involved but still something that you will have to be taught. But is is absolutely possible if you could get a foot in the door at a local doctor or clinic willing to train you in return for voluntary services. I know all this because I did a course in medical reception myself and am happy to share all my course handbooks with you. They are all paper though which could be a costly exercise to courier to you. My main point is to learn the different software packages and the different billing options for eg. Bulk billing, private medical insurance, Veterans etc. I did not pursue this career path because I am not one to sit in an office all day. I need to be up and running and happy, energetic and the receptionists that I have met so far (2) were anything BUT friendly, welcoming or passionate. They made me feel unwelcome and a nuisance. That is just my own personal experience. Please do not take just my word for it. That is it in a nutshell. (A very BIG nut😆) Posted in Landed! Parent support group. 20 hours ago, Elna57 said: @Maz Me myself and I clean houses! It keeps me fit and active. In between I am doing a course in Hospitality (Food and Beverage attendant) to become exactly that. I worked for an ex SA lady for about 5 months and absolutely loved it. So, this is why I decided to do this course. We are doing industry training at a 5 star hotel right now and although it is HARD work, I absolutely love it. It is in an outdoor setting with stunning views which makes the whole experience even better. The staff members are super helpful and supportive. Medical reception always in demand BUT you will probably have to ask to volunteer somewhere for a while to learn the computer systems here. Pracsoft is one for example. All doctors use different software and because of Aus Healthcare system there are many rules and regulations as to who gets charged what. It is not TOO involved but still something that you will have to be taught. But is is absolutely possible if you could get a foot in the door at a local doctor or clinic willing to train you in return for voluntary services. I know all this because I did a course in medical reception myself and am happy to share all my course handbooks with you. They are all paper though which could be a costly exercise to courier to you. My main point is to learn the different software packages and the different billing options for eg. Bulk billing, private medical insurance, Veterans etc. I did not pursue this career path because I am not one to sit in an office all day. I need to be up and running and happy, energetic and the receptionists that I have met so far (2) were anything BUT friendly, welcoming or passionate. They made me feel unwelcome and a nuisance. That is just my own personal experience. Please do not take just my word for it. That is it in a nutshell. (A very BIG nut) Hi Elna, Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. Your posts have been very useful. I am interested in the medical reception course handbooks you have and no longer need. Could I please arrange with you that I pay the courier costs to Melbourne West to get these please? Can you contact me per PM so that we can discuss please. Thanks MelW 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maz Posted March 28, 2019 Report Share Posted March 28, 2019 @MelW Once I have arrived and settled in I will contact you as well and see if I can then purchase these books from you after you have finished if you don't mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maz Posted March 28, 2019 Report Share Posted March 28, 2019 @ElzaThank you so much for such an informative post. I will take away some really good tips. Please keep them coming. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elna57 Posted March 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2019 @Elza @Maz @MelW Thank you all for keeping this thread alive. @Maz There is a huge demand for aged care but I can not see myself doing that YET. Perhaps in the future.... who knows. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefans Posted March 29, 2019 Report Share Posted March 29, 2019 https://www.seek.com.au/career-advice/australias-most-and-least-applied-for-jobs-on-seek?tracking=EMC-SAU-eDM-CVisNewsletterQ3-17595&utm_campaign=CeDMVisQ310947&utm_source=SEEK&utm_medium=eDM&utm_content=NewsletterBodyArt1Active 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elna57 Posted March 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2019 @stefans Thank you for the link. Very interesting reading. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefans Posted March 29, 2019 Report Share Posted March 29, 2019 https://www.stayathomemum.com.au/work-at-home-ideas/night-fill-jobs/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elza Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 Hey everyone, hope you are all well and motivated and life is treating you great!!!!! So as I promised, that I would add, I wanted to share with you what I experienced last week. As I mentioned in my previous.... ah, 'manual' it seemed at the end!!! anyways, the first thing every day I do is logging onto my emails, check for and interview requests, checking any job notifications from indeed, seek, etc. answer any jobs that I can and then I go onto my studies, music, later walks on the beach, sundowners, oops sorry nearly got lost, got a bit off track there, not difficult in this beautiful land.....okay, so then the day is over! Well, last Friday I got a message from Sonru! Never heard of this before so I opened it up and read it, it seems a company that I had applied for a position had shortlisted me and was now asking if I would be willing to do a recorded interview! After doing all my usual, google search, checking the URL, stream searches of the words in the message, as well as asking my son if he heard of this company, etc. Everything that came up was that this was a real, legitimate company! So basically how they work is offer companies the option to record interviews over the internet! I didn't mind so much that they wanted to record my interview, the part I was uncomfortable with was the idea that I had to give them permission to gain access to my computer webcam, I really didn't like this idea!! You see I'm one of those neurotic people that am always worried someone is accessing my stuff and recording my every move to target me for whatever!!! I mean how many times I've had conversations about a subject and then suddenly these adverts start popping up on my news feeds!!! I mean really!!!! (I think Africa made me this way!!!) Anyways, they seemed all good, but just as a precaution, I opened and operated everything through FireFox, which I actually don't use normally, removing it after the interview, you know, just in case...... there's me again just being weird!! Ha Ha!! So how it works is, once everything is set and they have done all the checks on your system, they offer you a practice round, and you can continue with the practice, repeating it over and over until you feel comfortable enough to go onto the interview. So there's a question on the center of your screen, it displays two timers, one to give you time to read and think about what the questions are asking and time enough to plan your answer, the second timer is the one that actually records the answer you give, so you can see how much time you have to answer each question. You have a button at the bottom of the screen if you feel the time given on either of the timers is too long you can click the button and it ends the timer for that question, and moves onto the next question and so on. On the practice round you can review your answer video to check your face is visible, its in the center of the screen, what you look like, do you need makeup, what part of your clothing is showing, there's no background stuff you don't want strangers to see (your open cupboard with all your underwear hanging out!!!) The practice round had only two questions but the main interview had nine! Once you start the main interview, it takes around 20 minutes to complete, you are not able to redo or review the recording, so you need to make sure you are comfortable with the method before starting. Once the nine questions are done, the screen thanks you, says Goodbye, bids you a wonderful day, and closes down!! I mean this is so new age technology for us 50'sh people from Africa, well for me that is for sure!!! You know the more I think about it the more I wonder if this a good thing or not?? So it's good in that it was really nice to be able to do an interview in the comfort of my own home, in comfortable clothes in a familiar environment, there was no dressing up to the nines, wearing jackets in this hot weather! No checking maps, routes, parking, traffic flow! No sitting in waiting rooms, nervous as anything, drinking coffee they forgot you said no sugar, but trying to appear calm, meeting your interviewer, sitting behind a huge intimidating desk and checking out her body language trying to mirror her and create a positive rapport. The list I can think of is endless, however, having no rapport to mirror and continue answering I found out is something that's really hard to do. Sorry, I'm just one of those people who believe in the old fashioned human connection being important in our interactions... I guess also as I am a life coach, this obviously plays down my street! Another event to add on to my first experiences here in the land of Australia, my new home!!!! I'm still waiting to hear the results, so in the meantime, let me stop now, not another manual she screamed!!!!! Wishing you all a wonderful rest of your day!!! until we chat again........... 🌴🌴😂😂🌴🌴 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maz Posted April 11, 2019 Report Share Posted April 11, 2019 @Elza That just sounds so weird - I have heard of telephone and skype interviews but what you just experienced that is a whole other level. I too prefer a face to face I always feel that even though I am being interviewed they are too by me to see if I would like working with them. Love reading these posts in here so please keep them coming. You giving me hope especially on the work front. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elna57 Posted April 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2019 @Elza Thanks for your post buddy. You made me laugh a lot. Last year in Nov I thought that I landed a casual job and after a few unanswered emails and phone calls that did not get returned, I eventually gave up in January and wrote them off. Then 2 weeks ago I received a phone call from another lady at the same company and I started working for them. The hours are few and the work is a lot but they allocate a certain time per job and that is it. Anyway, I reckon it is a foot in the "formal" door and aussie experience. So I worked 3 days this week on a job that should have only taken at most a day and a half including travel time. But what the heck, it is a job and perhaps I may get more hours to work later on and I can do shifts when I want so even when I do find another job, I can still do this in my spare time. I really enjoy the work though, it involves a little bit of cleaning and merchandising products. So, that is my little bit of good news. Hoping to have some big good news as well soon but in the meantime, I will enjoy my jobsearching and my casual job. You ladies have yourselves a fantastic weekend! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefans Posted April 13, 2019 Report Share Posted April 13, 2019 https://www.asset.edu.au/careers-in-security/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elna57 Posted April 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2019 @Elza When I did an online course to obtain my RSG, I had to submit a whole lot of answers via video as well. It was very stressful because I am very camera shy and one is only allowed a certain time frame to complete the online video. I suppose it is the new way of doing these courses and we will have to get used to it. I am convinced that the assessors have to be brilliant because of all the accents they have to try decipher on top of everything else. 😆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elna57 Posted April 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2019 @stefans Thank you so much. Certainly is something worthwhile to look into. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elna57 Posted April 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2019 A little bit more of the good news. So, I e-mailed the company with which I got the casual job and just advised them that at the moment I am available for more work and I got 9 more shifts to do. I also got my first "official" aussie payslip for a very small amount but it means the world to me that I am on an official payroll. Thank you all so very much for your support and encouragement. I could not have done any of it without you. Keep faith ànd do whatever you have to do and eventually we will all end up doing what we were meant to do regardless of what we had in mind. Have a blessed Easter everyone.! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maz Posted April 23, 2019 Report Share Posted April 23, 2019 (edited) On 4/13/2019 at 11:53 PM, Elna57 said: @Elna57 It was very stressful because I am very camera shy Hard to believe you look very confident in your profile photo Edited April 24, 2019 by Maz 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elna57 Posted April 27, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2019 @Maz😆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefans Posted May 9, 2019 Report Share Posted May 9, 2019 https://www.seek.com.au/career-advice/ask-sabina-how-to-combat-age-discrimination-in-your-job-search?tracking=EMC-SAU-eDM-CVisNewsletterQ4-19841&utm_campaign=CeDMVisQ412205&utm_source=SEEK&utm_medium=eDM&utm_content=AskSabinaActive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onthemove Posted May 9, 2019 Report Share Posted May 9, 2019 Hello to old roomies 😀 Thanks for your link @stefans I’m going through all of that “redirecting” aka age discrimination. Very difficult to hide one’s age particularly on recruitment sites, company careers sites etc when your date of birth and dates worked at previous jobs have become mandatory fields. As for the phone/video interview, that’s a whole different ball game. Getting better at formulating the cover letters despite those being my latest pet-hate. Lol. In the meantime I’m looking at baby/child sitting - have an Employee Working with Children Check Card and doing my first aid course on Monday. Joined a non-profit organization as a volunteer and as soon as my Aus driver licence is 6 months old, I’m thinking of becoming an UBER driver. Fingers crossed my plan comes together. Hopefully then I’ll be able to settle down and enjoy. Job hunting has proven exhausting and demoralizing for me. Take care everyone 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefans Posted May 10, 2019 Report Share Posted May 10, 2019 @Onthemove https://uberpeople.net/threads/first-quarter-bas-statement-completed.207563/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onthemove Posted May 10, 2019 Report Share Posted May 10, 2019 @stefans oh noooo 🥺😲 can’t seem to win thank you for sharing - need to seriously rethink this 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefans Posted May 10, 2019 Report Share Posted May 10, 2019 @Onthemove https://jobs.avisbudgetgroupcareers.com/vacancy/find/results/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onthemove Posted May 10, 2019 Report Share Posted May 10, 2019 Thanks a lot @stefans I’ll definitely look into this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefans Posted May 10, 2019 Report Share Posted May 10, 2019 @Onthemove https://au.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=93b5cd443ca4e5be&from=rje&rgtk=1dafqkcs327uq800&utm_campaign=recommended_job_alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jobseeker_emails https://au.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=32d6b3bc463e6e41&from=rje&rgtk=1dafqkcs327uq800&utm_campaign=recommended_job_alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jobseeker_emails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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