November vs January IT job hunting

[vitchie]

Hi all

 

I am busy trying to make the tough decision of when to move across. We are planning for my wife and kids to go over on 29 December. We are just not sure if I should go at the same time or if I should go a bit earlier, like +- 7 November. If I go earlier I will return for Christmas with the family and then join my wife and kids on a flight to Sydney on the 29th of December.

 

Friends of ours in Sydney offered that we could stay with them for a month, but a full month might be a tight squeeze for 4 adults and 5 kids in 1 house.

 

Pro's and cons:

Leave alone November:

• Less of a burden and less crowded in the house
• More employment opportunities than in January
• Get a rental for January

 

All leave together January:

• Save an additional R50 000 being employed slightly longer in SA (This would be absorbed quickly if I don't find a job in January)

 

So basically my choice will be made based on chances of quick employment. What do you all think, will I have a better chance landing a job within 1 month if I arrive 7 November vs trying to land a job in 1 month arriving 29 December considering the holiday period? 

Edited August 24, 2016 by vitchie

[TashyL]

Hi Vitchie,

 

Just sharing my experience to add to all the great guidance you already got ☺️

I am a Business Analyst and was able to secure employment within one month after arriving. We arrived on 23 Feb and my first day at work was 23 March! Also coming into a good time for new projects etc....

 

The company received my CV when I was still in SA so applying before hand came in handy I guess. I was given some really good advice on this forum some time back and decided to go with Feb. School started 27 Jan and I only put my daughter into school once I secured rent as we needed to prove we were residents of the area. 

 

The he forum members who shared their experience also spoke of the cost of coming in school holidays as you would need to entertain the kids who could get bored (probably not relevant in your case ifbyourbfriebds have kids).

 

My kids Hubby and I spent about 2 months  with my family?  our rental had a 4 week waiting period. Four of us staying in one room was not comfy but was such a big help and savings too. 

 

I am not sure what you do, but if you want I can PM you my companies name...it's one that does not care if you don't have "Aussie" experience so you may want to keep an eye out for future roles that may be applicable to your skills. 

 

All the the best with this decision.

 

 

[dlmonnink]

On 30/08/2016 at 7:09 PM, vitchie said:

 

Thanks TashyL, I would really appreciate it. I am a .NET Developer / Technical Team Lead.

 

If you're any good you will have no problems. Just like everywhere else in the world the market is flooded with developers here but most are no good. I landed on 21 March in the evening and the next morning (22nd) I had an interview and that afternoon a job offer. You may have to take your level a notch or 2 down and expected pay grade but once you have some experience you will be back on top. I was a .Net Architect (for whatever that's worth) where my SA employer effectively wanted me to run their whole business (development, sales, admin staff) while they left SA and now I'm a dev reporting to some other dude. I don't regret it though!

 

If you are coming to Melbourne then msg me and I'll put you in contact with some SA recruiters that have been working here in their own recruitment business for the last 16 years. Also post your CV on South Africans Living in Melbourne group on FB, that's how I got my job.

 

One other thing. If you are a developer, when posting say you are a developer - too many people posting that they work in IT which means absolutely zero. You could be a Telkom Support person (read "useless") or a top dog software developer. Both are "in IT", except one is useless and the other isn't. It makes a huge difference.

[RYLC]

There have been a lot of posts on this topic over the years and the advice is to arrive mid January at the earliest.  Most of Australia is on leave and businesses only get back up to speed after Australia Day which is 26 January.  You will only get frustrated with no response to resumes for those first 3 weeks of the year.  Also it's hot and kids are under foot.  Schools go back after Australia Day (sometimes as late as first week of February) too so really the best timing is late January.

[vitchie]

Thanks RYLC, and how are the prospects between 7 Nov and end of the year?

Edited August 24, 2016 by vitchie

[RYLC]

Hit and miss depending on your industry.  You MIGHT get lucky but that's a lot of money to gamble on "lucky". Lots of businesses are winding up for the year before the holidays and holding off on new staff until the new year.  I'd bet on January over November any day but that's without knowing your industry.  We arrived in March and it was perfect for us.  Businesses were back in January, had set their budgets / projects for the new year and were ready to employ people. Yes people want their kids here in time to start school but in reality new kids arrive at our school all the time.

 

Also do a walk through of the scenario: you come in November, you are lucky enough to get something, they want you to start straight away.  Now you leave your wife to have Christmas alone, pack and finalise things in RSA alone and then travel solo with kids.  You might be thinking that you could take time off to fetch your family but what if the company says no.  You won't have any leave accrued anyway. 

 

And to be industry specific for example: teachers would do well to arrive at the beginning of 3rd term because the bulk of advertising and interviewing happens in 3rd term.  It is also the term with the most opportunities for relief teaching to get a taste of Oz schools and become known to them. 

[Mel-B]

We came in mid Feb - statistically one of the best times for IT... and it took 6 months to get a position. So I don't know what to say to you - You might just be lucky or not.

 

We planned and planned and planned and we actually had to wing most of this journey towards the end. So go with your gut - you won't be wrong or right either way. Before Feb chances are slim to find employment (and yet many do) - but that time used to settle in and get used to everything is valuable too!

[vitchie]

Thanks for the info Mel-B. I'm starting to see this thing too about the planning. Think I'm driving myself nuts due to too much planning.

[CyberJoe]

Well, I will definitely post of my experience here since it could help you decide. We will land in Sydney on 6 September where the job search will start in all earnest. I am in the ICT cyber security field (CISSP, CEH, degree, etc) and searching from this side has not paid off yet.

[vitchie]

Thanks CyberJoe, looking forward to your story. Good luck!

 

This article makes me want to land a job even more before I land there: http://www.australiaforum.com/information/jobs/people-with-jobs-arranged-before-arrival-find-living-in-australia-more-positive.html

[JoleneB]

On 8/24/2016 at 11:43 AM, RYLC said:

Hit and miss depending on your industry.  You MIGHT get lucky but that's a lot of money to gamble on "lucky". Lots of businesses are winding up for the year before the holidays and holding off on new staff until the new year.  I'd bet on January over November any day but that's without knowing your industry.  We arrived in March and it was perfect for us.  Businesses were back in January, had set their budgets / projects for the new year and were ready to employ people. Yes people want their kids here in time to start school but in reality new kids arrive at our school all the time.

 

Also do a walk through of the scenario: you come in November, you are lucky enough to get something, they want you to start straight away.  Now you leave your wife to have Christmas alone, pack and finalise things in RSA alone and then travel solo with kids.  You might be thinking that you could take time off to fetch your family but what if the company says no.  You won't have any leave accrued anyway. 

 

And to be industry specific for example: teachers would do well to arrive at the beginning of 3rd term because the bulk of advertising and interviewing happens in 3rd term.  It is also the term with the most opportunities for relief teaching to get a taste of Oz schools and become known to them. 

 

Thanks for advice @RYLC

 

My husband is in the IT industry. At the moment we have decided to apply for jobs from SA. If that doesn't bear fruit before the end of the year we will start the job hunting process in January.

[SurferMan]

Almost no chance of hooking up IT work in November mate, come in Mid-Jan.

 

 

[vitchie]

Thanks all for the feedback. I have decided that I'll try and land something from South Africa, if that fails I will go 29 December and have a 2 week holiday at our friends in Sydney and then start job hunting.

[blung]

Hey, for what it's worth moving here is hard to do, if u can secure work before uprooting then that is one less thing to worry about. I'm in IT and was able to secure work via a Skype interview and then flying out for a 2nd interview. As disheartening as applying for 100s of jobs is, it can payoff and did for us. Good luck

[vitchie]

Thanks, yeah I definitely think having a job, albeit a crappy one, is better than the uncertainty of landing unemployed. 

[vitchie]

3 minutes ago, TashyL said:

Hi Vitchie,

 

Just sharing my experience to add to all the great guidance you already got ☺️

I am a Business Analyst and was able to secure employment within one month after arriving. We arrived on 23 Feb and my first day at work was 23 March! Also coming into a good time for new projects etc....

 

The company received my CV when I was still in SA so applying before hand came in handy I guess. I was given some really good advice on this forum some time back and decided to go with Feb. School started 27 Jan and I only put my daughter into school once I secured rent as we needed to prove we were residents of the area. 

 

The he forum members who shared their experience also spoke of the cost of coming in school holidays as you would need to entertain the kids who could get bored (probably not relevant in your case ifbyourbfriebds have kids).

 

My kids Hubby and I spent about 2 months  with my family?  our rental had a 4 week waiting period. Four of us staying in one room was not comfy but was such a big help and savings too. 

 

I am not sure what you do, but if you want I can PM you my companies name...it's one that does not care if you don't have "Aussie" experience so you may want to keep an eye out for future roles that may be applicable to your skills. 

 

All the the best with this decision.

 

 

 

Thanks TashyL, I would really appreciate it. I am a .NET Developer / Technical Team Lead.

[vitchie]

Thanks, that makes quite a bit of sense.

 

 

[Fidjet]

On 06/09/2016 at 5:05 AM, dlmonnink said:

If you are coming to Melbourne then msg me and I'll put you in contact with some SA recruiters that have been working here in their own recruitment business for the last 16 years. 

Hi (after 3 times fighting with auto correct I'll skip the whole name thing, sorry)

 

We are still in the very early stages of applying for our PR visa, but the plan is to move to Melbourne late this year or early next year, and after reading this and a couple other posts we are leaning to Jan/Feb.

 

I know this is too soon to start looking, but while I have your post open I'll ask. My husband is in IT ;-) a Software Engineer, do you mind sending us the contacts you mentioned above. 

Edited February 18, 2017 by Fidjet

[RedPanda]

People generally agree that the whole country shuts down around Christmas, so perhaps early in the new year is better than late in the old year. (Hope you get those contacts)

[dlmonnink]

On 18/02/2017 at 5:34 PM, Fidjet said:

Hi (after 3 times fighting with auto correct I'll skip the whole name thing, sorry)

 

We are still in the very early stages of applying for our PR visa, but the plan is to move to Melbourne late this year or early next year, and after reading this and a couple other posts we are leaning to Jan/Feb.

 

I know this is too soon to start looking, but while I have your post open I'll ask. My husband is in IT ;-) a Software Engineer, do you mind sending us the contacts you mentioned above. 

 

Hey

 

Get in contact with the ladies at http://www.placingheads.com.au/

 

Getting here Jan/Feb is a quiet time but at the company I am at now they have been spending Jan/Feb accessing how much work there is coming in and have hired 2 people so it can be a blessing or a curse. After you have landed your first job the recruiters will harrass you just like in SA. They have the exact same problem here as what they had in SA, many job openings for developers and not enough QUALITY developers to fill the spots. If you husband is truly good at what he does then getting a job should not be too much of a problem. I luckily managed to get a job the day after I landed and managed to secure a job for my brother before him arriving.

 

Join and participate with the people on Facebook in groups such as South Africans living in Melbourne or similar, they can be valuable for support, answering questions or getting leads for jobs.

 

As an extra thing worth noting is you may have heard of the secret recruitment or whatever it is called. I have seen this first hand as my boss refuses to deal with recruiters as he doesn't want to pay recruitment fees and hence he mostly interview/hires from word of mouth. If you have friends/family who are willing to vouch for you it may be your best way in to some places.

Edited February 21, 2017 by dlmonnink

[Fidjet]

Thanks, we will get hold of them.