Appointments with recruitment companies on LSD trip

[kangaroo]

Hallo everyone

My parents and I will be visiting Australia on an LSD trip from 28 June until 13 July 2006. While the LSD trip's main purpose is experiencing and observing Australia for ourselves in terms of lifestyle, culture and everyday living, I thought of perhaps also contacting a few recruitment agencies in advance to possibly set up meetings while I am in Oz with a view to (hopefully!) organising employment in Oz.

I am a 29-year old copywriter with four years' experience in the advertising industry. Ideally, if at all possible, I am looking for an employer to sponsor me on one of the following visas:

1) Temporary Business (long stay) visa (Subclass 457)

2) Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (Subclass 856)

3) Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) (Subclass 857)

Even though the 457 visa is technically a temporary visa, there is a possibility of having the 457 visa changed to a permanent 856 visa after two years, should the employer be willing to sponsor me permanently at that stage.

Regarding personal circumstances, I meet all requirements in terms of immigration (excellent health, 29 years of age, character (clear police record), postgraduate tertiary qualifications from university, four years' working experience as Copywriter and Communications Specialist, and excellent command of the English language.) I am single (never married) and have no dependants. While I have no family in Australia at present, my sister and her husband are also in the process of emigrating from South Africa to Australia (on the Skilled Independent – subclass 136 – visa).

The only reason I myself am not applying on the Skilled Independent (subclass 136) visa for permanent residence in Australia, is the fact that my nominated profession (copywriter – ASCO code 2534-19) on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) is awarded 50 points. My total points score, taking into account language, work experience, qualifications, character etc., thus comes to 110, while the Skilled Independent (136) visa requires 120 points.

My ultimate goal and desire is to work and live in Australia permanently. Finding an employer who is able to sponsor me on one of the above-mentioned visas is my first step towards achieving this goal.

..... , and there you have my whole life story (almost!)....my main question is: has anybody else set up arrangements with recruitment agencies on an LSD trip before, and, if yes, can you offer any advice or recommendations?

Looks like we'll be visiting Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide so far on our LSD trip.

Thanks for 'listening' - I look forward to hearing from anyone who can offer feedback!

[Ajay]

Hi Kangaroo,

I work in the industry, so can maybe offer some insight. Generally speaking, sponsored jobs are pretty hard to come by - and probably more so through agencies. My feeling is that you will have much more success if you find out who the major players are in your field and contact them directly. They will have a far better understanding of the value that you bring and can measure that value against a potential sponsorship. If possible, try to arrange to meet with them while you are out here. I wouldn't bother with agencies at this stage - if you don't know when / how you will be getting here, they will not be particularly interested....sounds harsh, but remember that recruiters are paid based on how many placements they make, so they generally choose the sure-fire candidates as they represent easier money.

Look on the big job sites - www.seek.com.au; www.mycareer.com.au; www.careerone.com.au and apply for everything being advertised that suits your skills and requirement (try looking under employers only first off and then include jobs being advertised by recruiters as well) - ignore the bit about needing to have the right to work - this is how many people have secured a sponsored position.

I hope this helps you - feel free to post any more questions on employment here or under the employment section, or else PM me if you want more detailed info.

Cheers

Ajay

[Caroline]

Kangaroo

I understand that jobs are easier to find in the coastal 'cities' but just in case:

-you only need 110 points if you find a job in a low population growth area. Maybe that would give you more options? DIMIA gives the postal codes for the areas that are considered 'low population'-You can always ignore if not relevant:

"The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) is designed to help employers in regional or low population growth areas of Australia, who are unable to fill skilled vacancies from the Australian labour market.

See: Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme"

Good luck

[JohanK]

Hi

All I can say is if you are going to Oz on a visitors visa on your LSD trip just don’t take a CV/Resume with you on paper, if customs find that on you whilst you are entering the country on a visitors visa only they will send you back on the next flight to SA.

When we went on our LSD trip I posted my Resume on a FTP site and once we were in Oz I downloaded the Resume as I needed it. But if you enter the country on a no work visitor’s visa and they find that on you your whole trip will be a bit of a stuff up.

[kangaroo]

Thank you Ajay, Caroline and JohanK!

Ajay, thanks for the honest, very valuable feedback - I can completely understand the recruitment agencies' reluctance to consider candidates who do not already have PR status. Will contact advertising agencies directly (via Australia's yellow pages and business directories), apply to the employers' direct ads on the websites you've mentioned....and who knows? Maybe, just maybe, someone in Australia requires a copywriter with my skills set! Have to stay positive!

Caroline, thanks for the RSMS info - I've previously researched the possibility of the SIR visa (Skilled Independent Regional visa), which is usually the temporary visa one gets before the permanent Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa. You are 100% correct in terms of 110 points making one eligible for this visa. The only catch is that SIR/RSMS sponsorships in my field (advertising/marketing/publishing/communications) seem to be scarce (if at all available). One immigration agent advised me that the chances of finding work in my field on this visa (SIR) to be quite small. There are also a myriad of visa conditions with regard to SIR, which make one quite vulnerable. The industry is such that most companies are located in the bigger cities (non-regional areas). I myself would not mind AT ALL to live and work in one of the smaller, regional areas. Will most definitely keep my eyes open with regard to regional Australia in any case. It's maybe a good idea for me to also contact advertising agencies in these areas directly, as Ajay suggests.

JohanK, thanks for the very important tip. Have read somewhere else as well that one shouldn't take a CV/resumé on a visitor's visa. Will take your good advice and even mail my CV/resumé to myself on a Google Mail address, so that I can download it only when in Oz.

Liza