.Net developer / programmer looking for a role in QLD, preferably Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Gold Coast...

[Avatar]

Hi,

 

My husband is looking for a permanent, full-time .Net developer position, mainly a back-end role. He has extensive experience in C# and also used to code using C++, and is quite flexible and can also code using other programming languages and technologies. He has experience in both Oracle and SQL Server databases. We have been in Australia for about 8 years now. We live in Tasmania but would like to relocate to QLD, mainly due to the weather.

 

Anyone know of available roles he could apply for? Please PM me with any possible roles. We have been applying via Seek and have had one or two interviews, but mostly we don't hear back from employers. I have been thinking of trying other States too, but we really would like to be in QLD and that was where we first landed.

 

Thanks.

[ChrisH]

I can put you in touch with an excellent recruiter.  Send me a PM with your husbands contact details and preferably a LinkedIn profile and I'll send it on.

[Avatar]

Thank you, Chris, I have sent you a PM. Much appreciated.

[Avatar]

Hello,

 

My husband is still looking for a C# developer role for an experienced programmer in Brisbane / Gold coast / Sunshine Coast area, if anyone knows of any companies that are hiring? We have been applying via Seek too, but so far without much success. My husband did speak to the person who Chris pointed us to, but that was for contract positions, and he would like a permanent role.

 

Thanks.

Edited September 10, 2018 by Avatar

[ShaunR]

On 9/10/2018 at 5:28 PM, Avatar said:

Hello,

 

My husband is still looking for a C# developer role for an experienced programmer in Brisbane / Gold coast / Sunshine Coast area, if anyone knows of any companies that are hiring? We have been applying via Seek too, but so far without much success. My husband did speak to the person who Chris pointed us to, but that was for contract positions, and he would like a permanent role.

 

Thanks.

 

 

Your husband can go for contract till he finds something permanent?

 

From my experience there is a lot more contract work available than permanent, usually when the developer is good they will offer perm. Another big reason for the contract positions is the maturity level of workers here vary vastly, hence they want to see first how you deliver before making you a permanent offer(most of the time). I had a "senior" BA working for me, his skills was maybe on par with a low mid level BA, then I have another BA who is mid level but is really on par with senior level.

 

Contractor also get paid a lot more so you can build a buffer is there is a month or so that you can go without work but that I've not heard much. Most Devs want to go contract because there is a lot of work out there plus you get paid a lot more.

 

There is plenty of contract work out here, take it. It is not like South Africa where you must have permanent job to think you safer from retrenchment. :-)

 

*** I am in Sydney, Brissie might be a bit tougher but the principle will stay the same.

 

My 10 cents because you do not get 2 cents anymore. :-)

[Avatar]

Thanks Shaun R. My husband has had two permanent roles of 8 years in total here in Australia. He prefers to work for one company and that is why he left Dialog though he liked the company and his first assignment, because of the moving around and the way they work there, even though that was a permanent role in a way. I realise there are many contracting roles out there, but it's just not something we want to try at this point in time. He has a permanent job and he doesn't have to get a contract role right now, it's just that I don't want to live in Tasmania anymore. So he will move for me, but for the right job only.  If he did spot a good contract role of a reasonable duration of time of say a couple of years then that would be different maybe. Thanks.

[ChrisH]

21 hours ago, Avatar said:

If he did spot a good contract role of a reasonable duration of time of say a couple of years then that would be different maybe

 

I doubt whether you'd find a contract longer than 6 months.  Most contractors I've worked with stay at the same company for 2+ years because their contracts just keep on getting renewed.

[ShaunR]

11 hours ago, ChrisH said:

 

I doubt whether you'd find a contract longer than 6 months.  Most contractors I've worked with stay at the same company for 2+ years because their contracts just keep on getting renewed.

 

Correct, but I also just give 6 months renewals for my contractors because they rarely commit for a year(s), it's is a big problem to keep team continuity.

[ottg]

I support what @ChrisH and @ShaunR said wrt contracting. Also, to minimise risk, often companies prefer contractors depending on their project development portfolio. When the long-term prospects start to look good they may approach their contractors to switch to full-time employees as it will benefit the employer. The problem is they dont know when it will be ok to do that.

 

If the competition for positions in his field is high then by just looking at Seek is not the most successful way. He needs 10 different strategies. The major advantage is that he has time on his hands and therefore can be selective.

 

Another approach is to look at the economic profile of suburbs/cities. Decide on those that offer more jobs that employees available. Pick say 5 suburbs and focus on suitable companies in those areas. Approach them directly.

Here is a great website that gives the profile of suburbs. For example, you will note that there are more residents on the Gold Coast than jobs but that will be different for other areas.

https://economy.id.com.au/gold-coast/Employment-capacity 

[Avatar]

Thanks ottg, and ChisH, and ShaunR, for the thoughts. I have seen from looking at Seek that there are contracting roles, but at the same time from what I have seen there seem to be many more permanent roles being advertised. I think it comes down to salary versus longevity and what each company is looking for. So while there may be many companies looking for contractors to do short term projects, there are just as many companies who actually prefer having in-house developers for the long term. I do know that many companies prefer contractors, but I also know that there are still many companies who like to retain staff and hire people permanently too. It comes down to lifestyle and choice and the culture of each company. When I was looking for a job I was told to volunteer first and then they can see if they like me; well, I wasn't impressed with that advice; I thought that was what probation periods were for.

Edited September 27, 2018 by Avatar

[Avatar]

Hello everyone on the forum, we are trying to move to Queensland from Tasmania. Please let me know if you or anyone you know in Queensland is looking for a permanent, experienced C# programmer (my husband), who can also program using C++ and other languages (a polyglot) and who enjoys more of a back end focus. He has worked with Oracle, SQL Server, Firebird databases, and also has done some work with Linux and remoting to hardware, and who sees programming as a hobby. One never knows, maybe someone on here will know someone who knows someone.

 

We will keep trying Seek and other avenues too. And as others have mentioned here, we may need to consider contract roles too, we just have never done that before because he has never been a contractor before. He did work at Dialog for a bit, and at Dialog one is a permanent employee who the company then sends out on assignment to contract at other companies, but one is still a permanent employee to Dialog (interesting model). Today an agent said she will send him a contract role of a year to consider so that is something for us to consider. One never knows. But where possible he is looking for a permanent role because he likes to work for one company; that is the type of person he is. Contracting doesn't suit everyone in my opinion. I have never worked in a contract role either and I also used to work in IT roles at a large Bank, though I used to work with lots of contractors there, and generally the only difference to permanent staff was that contractors earned a lot more and seemed less concerned with company politics and dynamics.

 

Thank you everyone.

Edited September 28, 2018 by Avatar

[ottg]

11 hours ago, Avatar said:

at Dialog one is a permanent employee who the company then sends out on assignment to contract at other companies, but one is still a permanent employee to Dialog (interesting model)

Most IT companies work like that. Dialog is a IT service provider employing contractors and therefore follows also a labour broker model.

If similar labour brokers don't have contracts available, they will keep the contractor for x months on the books and then make them redundant. Also, it is not unusual to find contractors with the same client for >10 years especially if its complex business systems that require continuous feature expansion/improvements.

Many clients prefer this model as you don't need to keep resources as full-time employees and cost is a capital expense as you can purchase labour. It has tax advantages.

Very few IT clients will do their own in-house, large-scale development, except for a few maintenance staff on the back-end. Most will contract their development out to reduce there own risk.

 

Further, I cannot help to observe desperation as it seems if it's you, instead of your husband, who is the driver behind this job seeking initiative. Just a reality check - as you have been on this forum for many years, you should know that very few forumites are in a position to mention job openings (not because they are unwilling but rather because they dont know). A few companies have internal job listings available and encourage employees to introduce prospects. Those are very far and in between which also implies that they will need to put their own reputation on the line for someone they don't know.  Even if they are project managers they will often work through their preferred labour brokers and often follow a rigid procurement process.

 

A better way and in order to help you best, give us a summary of all the different strategies you/him has tried, over what period and the results to date?

What else do you think you should try?

 

 

[Avatar]

ottg, thanks for your thoughts. It is good to be aware of some of the expected complexities that we haven't experienced yet.

Are there any forumites who know about a permanent C# .Net / C++ programming position in QLD that my husband could apply for through the normal channels? I have seen people hired by posting on this forum and am quite grateful that this "looking" section and the "offering" section exist on the saaustralia forum; we got the first Australian job from South Africa precisely because a forumite posted that Dialog was looking for people and that the hiring manager was visiting South Africa (we had PR already). We have found jobs before from a distance, and they were both permanent, so I know it is also possible to get a permanent IT position in Australia.

 

In our case, Dialog hired my husband as a full time, permanent employee who Dialog then sent on an assignment to another company. So what we found was that Dialog wasn't the same as other labor brokers out there; not sure if they use that model for everyone or just for a few people. I imagine that they continually upskill their workers to keep pace with changes in the market so they can keep using them, but I don't know for sure the ins and outs.

 

 I realise that many people prefer to be contractors and many companies follow that model and I wish them well if that is the way they work. But we are looking for a permanent role and I do know there are many permanent roles out there, especially in smaller companies with a small IT department. And if you knew how cold it was in Tasmania for much of the year you would be desperate to move back to QLD too, ha, ha. And one of my children starts High School next year and it would be best to move before then so he can be settled for those years.

 

Please let us know if anyone does know of a permanent IT role for a C# / C++ programmer in QLD.

 

If we don't find a job from a distance as we have done before then we may need to try another way to move, but we have children to consider and selling and buying a house, so I am not sure whether we will take that risk. I will ask people at my church too; it's amazing the contacts some people at my church seem to have all over Australia. Where there is a will, there is a way.

 

Thanks.

Edited September 29, 2018 by Avatar

[Avatar]

My husband is no longer looking for a job because he now has one. After a round of quite extensive interviews, a job offer came through. He had to first meet with the manager, and then he did a two hour technical test, then psychometrics, then police and visa checks. So we are hopefully moving to QLD soon. Now just to pack, sell, move...it feels like moving from South Africa all over again.

Edited November 1, 2018 by Avatar

[CharlesH]

@Avatar we're also moving to Brisbane soon.  I'm going on my own initially and the wife and kids will join me once the school term ends here in NSW.

It does feel like doing it all again - finding a suburb, a rental etc and having to move our stuff (luckily very little) and our dog.

[Avatar]

I hope it goes well for you CharlesH. It is stressful moving around and having to coordinate all the necessary things that go with that. We are actually moving to the Gold Coast, a bit away from the tourist attractions. I would have preferred Brisbane because we used to live there, but the Gold Coast is a good alternative, and I do love Tamborine Mountain that is a bit inland. Not sure where your job is but I really like the Kenmore area in Brisbane, the western suburbs. All the best for your move.