DeonS Posted June 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2014 Yep...Roland is expensive...but SO worth it. Our story...we arrived in Australia beginning Feb this year. Hubby had done lots of research and had worked his Resume into what we understood was expected for Australian employers. For 6 weeks he applied and applied and applied and applied....I swear he spent almost every waking moment applying for jobs, customising cover letters for each job etc. In those 6 weeks, he had 1 call back which resulted in an interview. He did not get the job...lost out to someone with Australian experience.Finally we decided to "invest" in a professional resume. Roland was recommended by one of the big employment agencies. And I say invest, because it is an investment. You have spent all this money to get the visa...and then you aren't going to try and market yourself as best as you can? We bit the bullet and paid it...he did the resume, a cover letter and Linked In. WHAT A DIFFERENCE...from the moment he started using his new resume...he received call backs several times in a week. He had at least 3 different interviews every week. Some went to second interviews. Once his resume stood out...he managed to get the opportunity to have an interview and speak face to face to someone. After that his biggest problem was finding an employer who would take someone without Australian Experience. 6 weeks after getting his new resume, he was offered a job in Sydney. A good job, and we moved states for it.Fact is...the job market is tough at the moment. And people with Aussie experience definitely have the upper hand. Your Resume MUST stand out or it will be passed over...no matter how much you bring to the table. Roland doesn't make up stuff, he has a great way of putting down your strengths industry specific and the appearance of the cv is great aswell.I am not the only one that saw great results after Roland redid the resume. Toitjie would also be able to vouch for the difference it made, I am sure others will be able to aswell.Anyways...of course ultimately it is your decision. It is not set in stone that you won't get a job without a professional resume...but it certainly helps.As for renting...it can be tricky, but everyone manages to get a rental in the end. In the first couple of weeks you could stay in a Air Bnb room, or a self catering place. Just until you find a more permanent spot. Sometimes if you don't have a job you will need to put down 6 months rent in advance to secure the rental. But this is not always...depends on the Landlord.I have no idea about whether it would be possible to extend the visa. You could probably pose that question to the Department of Immigration.You can open a bank account from South Africa and even transfer money into it. But if you want to move that transferred money around you would need to appear at the branch in person to officially "activate" your bank account.Good luck with your plans.You have a golden ticket in your hands...something many of this forum would do anything to have BriD,Is there perhapd any way I can see the work Roland has done for you guys. If you can mail it to deon.scheepers@firstrand.co.za that would be fantastic!!The final price for Resume + Cover + LinkedIn is AUD580.00. Need to be sure bout this, have a few budgetary issues. See the price of a return ticket is about R12k and if I make the return flight flex it goes up to R16k.Also Roland is full 8 weeks waiting list. He gave me 2 other contacts....Thanks!Deon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chzaau Posted June 23, 2014 Report Share Posted June 23, 2014 Have your read the terms of the flex option as on Qantas I found no difference between what flex and normal was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeonS Posted June 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2014 Hi,No, I have not. In my mind the difference is that you can change the ticket without a severe penalty. I guess that is why it is more expensive.What id your take?RegardsDeon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chzaau Posted June 23, 2014 Report Share Posted June 23, 2014 (edited) Well just did a quick flight search for say end of July from Jhb to Sydney and return 2 weeks later.Price are sale R3150, semi-flex R 4190 and Flex R 6750.All 3 fares say that if you want to change the booking you pay ZAR 1,500 rands and a R350 service chage. So no advantage or difference.All 3 fares say if you want to change the name then you again pay R 1,500 and R 350 service charge. So no advantage again.Cancelation for sale you lost half the ticket cost and 350 rand service fee. For the other 2 you pay R 2000 and R 350 service fee.From what I could deduce the increased fare would allow you to earn more on the frequent flyer and also flight upgrades etc. Just shows you, don't assume anything, read the terms and conditions.Look at this http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/amadeus/minirules/ZAAUFLEXI_SUMMARY/index.html Edited June 23, 2014 by chzaau Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeonS Posted June 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2014 Well just did a quick flight search for say end of July from Jhb to Sydney and return 2 weeks later.Price are sale R3150, semi-flex R 4190 and Flex R 6750.All 3 fares say that if you want to change the booking you pay ZAR 1,500 rands and a R350 service chage. So no advantage or difference.All 3 fares say if you want to change the name then you again pay R 1,500 and R 350 service charge. So no advantage again.Cancelation for sale you lost half the ticket cost and 350 rand service fee. For the other 2 you pay R 2000 and R 350 service fee.From what I could deduce the increased fare would allow you to earn more on the frequent flyer and also flight upgrades etc. Just shows you, don't assume anything, read the terms and conditions.Look at this http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/amadeus/minirules/ZAAUFLEXI_SUMMARY/index.htmlAgreed, I am stumped, have no clue.Who is going to contact Qantas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeonS Posted July 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 Hi Guys,Trust you are all well.I am getting a bit uneasy. Have been applying for a lot of opportunities but basically nothing.If anybody knows of any data or business analyst related jobs, please I would love to have a job before landing there.CheersDeon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted July 29, 2014 Report Share Posted July 29, 2014 Hi DeonS,May I suggest something, and yes if you know me it will be direct...that's the way I am. You hold in your sweaty little hands a ticket that a lot of us will give *body parts* to have. It expires soon and I know that if it does, even if you apply again, your chances of getting it re-issued are quite slim, as you are viewed as having being given your chance. I don't know your position or style of living and don't presume to do so, but if you live like a lot of Saffers, there is scope of cost reduction. I mean that well, I fell into that category. If I were you, save some money (hard i know given the exchange rate) and just get over here. The market is tough, but if you get here, your chances of getting a job are almost guaranteed. Most companies these days are loathe to sponsor. I have a 457 that runs out in 60 days or so and there is almost nothing I would not do to have what you hold currently. Most forumites here would agree with me. I know its easy words and easy to just say come over, but man, my only regret about leaving SA was not having done it sooner. I came here to Aus with the clothes on my back and $6500, family in tow. With that I rented, got a car, put the kids in school and fed n watered us to the 1st paycheque. Granted we lived like peasants for those last 10 days (We ate pumpkin soup 8 days on the trot, I'm still cured!)Point is it is totally doable, you may have to dig deep though and show a bit of the legendary Saffer spine, but so what? That PR is precious, don't let it slip through your hands. There are many here who have heart rending tales. In the end the choice is always yours but if I may be so bold, mate, just get up and do it. See you Down Under soon I hope! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeonS Posted July 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2014 Hi DeonS,May I suggest something, and yes if you know me it will be direct...that's the way I am. You hold in your sweaty little hands a ticket that a lot of us will give *body parts* to have. It expires soon and I know that if it does, even if you apply again, your chances of getting it re-issued are quite slim, as you are viewed as having being given your chance. I don't know your position or style of living and don't presume to do so, but if you live like a lot of Saffers, there is scope of cost reduction. I mean that well, I fell into that category. If I were you, save some money (hard i know given the exchange rate) and just get over here. The market is tough, but if you get here, your chances of getting a job are almost guaranteed. Most companies these days are loathe to sponsor. I have a 457 that runs out in 60 days or so and there is almost nothing I would not do to have what you hold currently. Most forumites here would agree with me. I know its easy words and easy to just say come over, but man, my only regret about leaving SA was not having done it sooner. I came here to Aus with the clothes on my back and $6500, family in tow. With that I rented, got a car, put the kids in school and fed n watered us to the 1st paycheque. Granted we lived like peasants for those last 10 days (We ate pumpkin soup 8 days on the trot, I'm still cured!)Point is it is totally doable, you may have to dig deep though and show a bit of the legendary Saffer spine, but so what? That PR is precious, don't let it slip through your hands. There are many here who have heart rending tales. In the end the choice is always yours but if I may be so bold, mate, just get up and do it. See you Down Under soon I hope!Hi there SurferMan,Okay, Okay, fair enough I am in all fairness pedantic and have control issues. Thing is, I will be there on the 15th of January 2015....no doubt about that. What you say about a renewal is fairly concerning though, to the best of my knowledge, a residents return visa will be granted if you are in the country for 2 years or have a compelling reason.About the 457, how does this work. Will you be without a work visa in 60 days?To the contrary though, people speak out of their own perspective and generally have no idea what the other party is facing. I dont have AUD6,500 as yet. I need to sell a car and house and need to ship some animals and house goods over. Sure pure will could probably overcome this, but fear plays a part as well. This is the unknown at this time and at this stage i am clinging to some faith that I will be granted a work opportunity fairly soon....would just make me a heck of a lot more comfortable. That could also be part of the journey though, being uncomfortable.Anyway, we shall see how this goes...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronwyn&Co Posted July 29, 2014 Report Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) Deon how many jobs are in your field on Seek? Are you prepared to go into something different for a while? Can your wife earn an income in Aus? I think a work opportunity is fairly unlikely (maybe I am wrong?)It sounds like you are cautious, which is good, but if you only have a short time to make a decision, it sounds like you can't afford to delay.Luckily you have a PR visa which is really great. Don't take the decision lightly, but it's maybe time to hold hands and jump off the bridge...? Ps. I used to work for the same place you do, and they can 'smokkel with your kop' with all due respect, keeping you tied there with staff loans, working hellish hours, waiting for a promotion...? am I right? Edited July 29, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeonS Posted July 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2014 Deon how many jobs are in your field on Seek? Are you prepared to go into something different for a while? Can your wife earn an income in Aus?I think a work opportunity is fairly unlikely (maybe I am wrong?)It sounds like you are cautious, which is good, but if you only have a short time to make a decision, it sounds like you can't afford to delay.Luckily you have a PR visa which is really great. Don't take the decision lightly, but it's maybe time to hold hands and jump off the bridge...?Ps. I used to work for the same place you do, and they can 'smokkel with your kop' with all due respect, keeping you tied there with staff loans, working hellish hours, waiting for a promotion... am I right?Hi Bronwyn&Co,I am not hell bent on doing exactly the same thing as I do here, and will be totally willing to do whatever it takes. Seek has loads of jobs i do, but I cant seem to make a breakthrough right now. My worry, will this be at all better once I am there?If you say, luckily I have a PR visa, what in your experience are the chances of getting a residents return visa if you have been in the country for 2 years?Dont have a wife...or the means of earning extra cash through a partner.On the short time, as I mentioned, I will be there from 15 January 2015, so I am jumping....soon. Could possibly come earlier if there is some work....You are quite right with the company in question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronwyn&Co Posted July 29, 2014 Report Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) Well it is always going to be a risk, but if there are plenty of jobs I wouldn't be too worried. It is FAR easier to get a job when you can actually attend face to face interviews. You have several things in your favour. You can live super cheaply while you get set up, and you aren't tied down to school zones etc. ??? As long as you can live for a few months (4?) you should be fine. What is your alternative? Don't read too much into the lack of response on the job front. There are really only a few lucky people that get jobs before they go. It's truly not common unless you're in mining or very specialised.I'm sorry but I have no idea about the RR visa. Most people want to stay until they get citizenship, at least. Edited July 29, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nev Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 I deal with a lot of senior management at various companies and chatting to the ops manager from one of the bigger ones about it he told me that he wont offer anyone a job if they not in the country with a work rights visa in hand, he has just had too many issues where people want more time, need money for the move, cant produce papers when needed, visa issues...etcIt is just not worth the trouble, if there are any locals able to do the job he ignores foreign applications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heymanse Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) I dont have AUD6,500 as yet. I need to sell a car and house and need to ship some animals and house goods over.I don't know your circumstances but can only affirm what everyone else have mentioned - get here sooner rather than later. I notice that at least you did book a ticket to come in January 2015? May I ask why you purchased a return ticket though? With regards to your finances, again, not sure how long you've been in the job market so not sure what your pension fund would look like but have you considered that you will have access to that money when you have to resign from FNB and that you could use that money to survive until you can secure a job here in Aus? Would you make a profit from selling your house? Do you have furniture that you really want to have shipped over or would you rather buy new here? Would it not be better to sell your house now and maybe live in a rental until you need to take the flight - in that way saving on costs as a rental could maybe be cheaper than what your current payment on the house is (unless you own your house outright?)We sold our house at a time when the house market took a dive - didn't make a cent out of it. The only money we had, were our pension funds (18 years worth of mine and about 8 years worth for my husband) and believe me, not even that was able to carry us for very long. We learnt to really count our pennies and think twice before spending. With the money from our pension funds we had to pay for flight tickets for 4 adults and lived in serviced apartments for 6 weeks until my husband could land a job and also paid our deposit for our first rental. It wasn't the job my husband wanted but it was a starting point and he has had various others in the meantime but has now made a name for himself in the industry. He also didn't want to come over to Australia without first landing a job (he is a motor mechanic in trade - so it should've been fairly easy...right?) I booked our flights regardless while he continued to apply for jobs, but the only response he ever got was the "Please contact us when you are in Australia" message that everyone that has tried to do the same before, knows very well by now.All I can say is good luck with your search and I really hope that you find something before you arrive but if not, that you find something soon after landing. Might also be worth it to register with a few recruitment agencies so that they have your details on record. Edited July 30, 2014 by Heymanse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeonS Posted July 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 I deal with a lot of senior management at various companies and chatting to the ops manager from one of the bigger ones about it he told me that he wont offer anyone a job if they not in the country with a work rights visa in hand, he has just had too many issues where people want more time, need money for the move, cant produce papers when needed, visa issues...etcIt is just not worth the trouble, if there are any locals able to do the job he ignores foreign applications.@Nev, thanks Nev, this is indeed encouraging. On this topic, say I land In Melbourne, how would I go about getting a job from here. I am under the impression that going through an agent is tough in the sense that they don't easily relay the information of prospective employees to the company or business. How then is it different from applying from here, I have permanent residence regardless and can be there in a matter of hours.....@Heymanse, sure I have a pension of 9 years and some policies. Dont want to cancel the policy though and will be taxed heavily on the pension, but what the hell. I need to leave a portion of the pension behind in order to cover some house payments seeing as I can not let it go completely until I can sell it. This then leaves me with where I am now, saving my ass off with a potential bonus coming up the end of this month. I have about AUD2,000 saved up now, and should get a bit back on my car. So what I am saying is I am using this time to accumulate some funds up to the time when I arrive. I have the plane ticket bought though at about R20k.If anybody can help me understand the process of getting a job after arrival, I would appreciate this alot!Cheers guys 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heymanse Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 If anybody can help me understand the process of getting a job after arrival, I would appreciate this alot!Cheers guys Line up interviews with recruitment agents and make sure that you create a profile on Seek and that you are "visible" to employers on the site. Also make sure that your Resume and linkedin profile is updated to show that your location is Australia. And then just apply for as many jobs as possible. It has also been mentioned on this forum before that, once you are settled in an area, it won't go amiss if you can get involved with your community doing some volunteer work which you can then note on your Resume. You'll be surprised at how much weight that can carry when selecting a potential candidate. That is what worked for us and I know of a few friends that have also followed this route with success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronwyn&Co Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 Yeah when we had a business in Adelaide and we advertised a position, we would always get absolutley spammed with overseas CV's. People who had no experience in the role too, or people majorly overqualified. Like if we had a sales job we would get CV's from people in India with a Phd in something random...eventually you do not look at foreign CV's. there are thousands of desperate people. You probably have to get here and look for a job the old-fashioned way.I would also consider selling my house now, if it were me. You'll be lucky to get the money by January even if you sell soon.Life insurance is much cheaper in Australia. We wasted a lot of money keeping our policies going in SA, we should have just trfd everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 Many of the recruitment agencies we work with have a simple screening policy, you have to have the right to work and live in Australia and you have to be here before they will even look further than the cover page of your CV.I wish I could show people in South Africa what the job market here looks like in terms of applications. Every position that is advertised by the companies we work with is literally flooded with applications and the positions range from office admin, industrial and nursing to mid and senior level management positions. We had a company start using the Seek integration written into our software, we took the ads live last week Monday and since then the 4 positions advertised have gathered over 600 applications in 10 days and those are mid and senior level management positions.I don't want to scare you all off and make you give up before you even leave South Africa, I just want to give you all a balanced perspective. There are a lot of jobs available if you are prepared to go where the work is but to be in the running for those jobs you need to be here. You need to spend the time researching and formatting your CV and trolling job sites. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeonS Posted July 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 Many of the recruitment agencies we work with have a simple screening policy, you have to have the right to work and live in Australia and you have to be here before they will even look further than the cover page of your CV.I wish I could show people in South Africa what the job market here looks like in terms of applications. Every position that is advertised by the companies we work with is literally flooded with applications and the positions range from office admin, industrial and nursing to mid and senior level management positions.We had a company start using the Seek integration written into our software, we took the ads live last week Monday and since then the 4 positions advertised have gathered over 600 applications in 10 days and those are mid and senior level management positions.I don't want to scare you all off and make you give up before you even leave South Africa, I just want to give you all a balanced perspective. There are a lot of jobs available if you are prepared to go where the work is but to be in the running for those jobs you need to be here. You need to spend the time researching and formatting your CV and trolling job sites.Sho, this sounds heavy but interesting in the same vain. At least I do not feel so bad at this time knowing about this chaos and taking into account the few applications I have made.How do they ensure you are in Australia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 They look for an Aussie based address in your application/CV as well as local contact numbers, if they see +27 or 001127 or basically anything that isn't +61 or +64 (New Zealand) they tend to assume you are not in Australia. Email addresses with anything other than a .com or .com.au also tend to be ignored especially if you send your CV or application through with a .co.za email address. A dead give away is if you include a LinkedIn profile in you application/CV and the recruiter looks at it, they can see where you are based as shown in the small synopsis that appears next to your avatar. It's a bad idea to change your location to Australia on your LinkedIn profile before you actually arrive because if you do and an interested recruiter contacts you only to discover you are not in Australia you have already started on a bad footing with them because they consider that as dishonest and it will probably be a very short conversation.You may get one or two recruiters that will contact you for an interview but to get them to take a second look you need to blow their socks off with an impressive cover letter and CV or be in a really niche market with rare skills and extensive experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiermelk Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 I can concur with HadEnoughofJuju, I applied for probably a 100 jobs from SA and got like 3 call backs in 6 months. Once I landed in Sydney I had a job offer (contract) in the 3rd week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeonS Posted September 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Have you had your cv redone professionally? It made a huge difference to the response for my hubby. He also had a CV done and his Linked In Profile to match. He used Itouch Resume Solutions. A lot of forumites have used them with good results. Perhaps that could be something to try.Otherwise, the fact is that companies prefer it if you are already in the country...All the best!Hi there BriD,Long time no chat......How did you decide on Execumove, would you recommend them and what did you get?RegardsDeon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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