Finding a Job in Australia

[ColinRob]

Hi all,

 

I wanted to share some tips that I've gained from my own experience and also advice that has been passed on to me regarding finding a job in Australia. After sorting out our visas, I commenced the process of looking for job opportunities, with Sydney being our destination of choice. My idea was to secure a role before arriving. However, my enthusiasm was soon quelled after about six weeks of trying to apply to jobs and receiving automated responses with no interaction whatsoever.

I then turned to our forums here to get a better understanding of other people’s experiences and came across a post by Jane, a forum member. She gave me the contact details for Roland Coombes, a resume writer in Sydney, who helped me put together a strategy for applying. Here’s what I learned.

LinkedIn: From day one, I was told that my best friend would probably be LinkedIn and was given a strategy for reaching out to potential connections in Sydney. So, I spent the next month adding contacts and connections and reaching out to those connections to try and find potential opportunities. I started researching connections based on specific industries as well as recruiters I wanted to connect with. Within a couple of weeks, the dialogue started, and people were talking to me. Eventually, this would lead to interviews (and also a job offer).

Job Boards: There are about 7 or 8 major job boards in Australia. The biggest, by far, has to be Seek.com.au. Apparently, it's the go-to platform for most recruitment agencies and employers, but it’s also highly competitive. When I was first applying from overseas, my contact number had +27. The problem is this prefix immediately shows that I am applying from a different country. What I would soon learn is that recruiters immediately reject overseas applications (unless you are applying for a real niche type role). However, it's still worth trying, but expect lots of automated responses. The other big job boards are Adzuna (adzuna.com.au), Indeed (au.indeed.com), CareerOne (careerone.com.au), and Jora (au.jora.com).

 

Recruitment Agencies: During the initial stages, I reached out to quite a few different recruiters (Michael Page, Robert Walters, Hays, etc.) but got very little interaction other than thank you, and we will keep your details on file. I then used LinkedIn to connect with recruiters directly and opened dialogue that way (focusing on my niche). This generated much better results, and the communication was great.

Getting your Resume Redone: As mentioned before, I used Roland from itouch resumes writing services (he did an outstanding job, not just on my resume but also with his advice). He’s on this list of Top 5 Resume Writers in Australia. Looking back, I realize now how out of shape my resume was, and I would thoroughly recommend that you get a full review of your resume before you enter the open market. 

Know your Salary Level: This was interesting. At first, I was under the impression I would have to significantly reduce my salary to enter the Australian market. However, I soon found out that this strategy was wrong as employers could see that I was overqualified for the salary level I was asking, and were reluctant to employ me for junior roles. Only when I refined my search and focused on jobs that aligned with my skill set was I then able to be taken more seriously in the market. There were a number of sites offering free salary survey advice. I used https://www.michaelpage.com.au/salary-guide and https://www.hays.com.au/salary-guide.

 

Actually being in Sydney: Although I was finally able to secure a role in Sydney before arriving, from other expats I've spoken to, it sounds like all else fails, you may need to take the plunge and actually fly to Australia and physically be here for the job search process. From what I've learned, recruiters see overseas applications as a risk, and want to have candidates here and now ( which I do understand).

 

Finally...

I am so glad I made the move. It's a great lifestyle over here and fairly stressfree. However, the prices of apartment rental in obsurd! And cost of living is more expensive than back from.  Definitely make sure you factor this in when you are budgeting. If you are looking for prime locations around the main CBD areas or surrounding suburbs, be prepared to pay. 

 

 

 

I wanted to pass on the above, as SAA forum really helped me (especially on the Visa and relcoation info.). I was meaning to put this post up earlier in the year, but got sidetracked.

PM me if you want some more specific advice, happy to share.

 

All the best

Colin

 

 

 

 

[Aleku]

Just my 2 cents.

 

CV: I also re-did mine with Roland.

 

Recruiters: From my experience, AU is a recruiters market (at least in IT space).

I did not hear back from roles I sent applications to directly. But for every role a recruiter has called me about (that I have shown interest in), I have been able to at least get to the second or third round of interviews. So, like you said, it's worth working on your CV and getting it placed in the right places (Seek, LinkedIn) for visibility.

 

Location: I failed to get an offer offshore, but I had 2/3 face-to-face interviews the week I landed, all resulting from the groundwork I did while still in SA. So yes, always good to start the search early.

 

Salary: If/When you find a good recruiter, they will help you navigate the right salary/experience/role fit. I, too, tried to undercut myself initially, but the recruiter I was working with was able to negotiate +40k my initial timid ask.