# A few pointers for job seekers



## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

I see so many people here being really worried about job opportunities in Australia. I got the opportunity to discuss this matter with a good friend of mine, who has been in Oz since a couple of years, over the phone today. And he had some really interesting things to say about this. The following points were mentioned by him, which I'm sharing for the benefit of this community. He said these mainly with respect to ICT related jobs, but I suppose it holds good for others as well.

1) Australian employers expect the CV to be in a particular format, which is quite different compared to most other countries. Most of them are very particular about this, and CVs not following this format are usually filtered out my automated software. So before applying for jobs (whether from Australia or overseas), ensure that your CV is in the proper format. Take the help of paid resume writers if you must. And not to mention, a well written cover letter is mandatory. Also, ensure that you clearly mention that you hold a Visa which allows you to work in Australia, on your cover letter. 

2) Obtain an Australian Skype number, and mention it on your CV as your primary contact number. You can also mention your local number as the secondary number, if you wish. Many Australian employers are willing to call candidates overseas for at least the initial discussion, if not a telephonic interview, as long as the candidate has provided a local number. 

3) Avoid mentioning a non-Australian address on your CV. Some automated filters are designed to filter out every CV that does not have an Australian address mentioned. Of course, you are not deciding them because if you get a call, you obviously need to mention that you are currently offshore. The first step is to get past the automated filters. Once you get a call, you can at least try to reason with them or highlight your skills. 

4) A lot of people are quite worried about the 'local experience' aspect. It is widely believed that Australian employers always prefer candidates having local Australian work experience over those having overseas experience. While this may be true for certain specific types of jobs which involves sound knowledge of the Australian work culture, it is not always the case in general. It is usually the recruiters who insist on local experience, but not the employers. So you would be much better off applying directly to employers, rather than going through recruiters or head hunters. Of course, there are exceptions as always so some employers may be hell bent on hiring candidates with local experience. 

5) Vendor certifications (such as those from Cisco, Oracle, Microsoft etc.)give you an edge over non-certified candidates, and Australian employers do give higher priority to them. So consider getting yourself certified before applying for jobs.

6) Do not shy away from contract or temporary jobs. Most contract jobs actually pay higher than permanent jobs. Don't be too picky about your first job. Contract or permanent, just go for it as long as it corresponds to your qualification and experience. Also, you may actually have to settle for a designation one level lower than what you have currently. 

7) A lot of employers these days seem to prefer candidates who are 'currently employed'. So if you plan to quit your job and move to Oz, then you obviously fall under the 'unemployed' category until you secure a job. This might prevent you from getting job interviews. So in this aspect, it may actually be better to apply from overseas, while you are still employed. You can just let them know that you didn't want gaps in your employment so you're willing to move to Oz immediately if an interview is scheduled there. 

8) The notice period of several months is a big problem, especially for those in India because most companies have a notice period of around 3 months. In Australia, usually the employers aren't willing to wait for more than 2 weeks for you to join, and in the best case may allow you 4 weeks. If you present company offers buyout facility, then this issue can be circumvented. Just mention on your cover letter that you can join within 2 weeks, and if you get a call, tell them that you are currently employed but can be relived immediately. If you do get a job offer, simply resign from your current job, buyout the notice period, and move to Oz immediately. I know this can be difficult and expensive, but it is still a viable option for many people instead of just moving to oz and hunting for jobs. 

9) Try to do most of the groundwork in your home country before moving to Oz. It may be a bit unrealistic to to actually expect to have an Australian job offer while being overseas (although it is by no means impossible), but you can still try to complete a few rounds of interview over Skype, or at the very least, schedule a couple of face to face interviews which you can attend in person after moving. Moving to Australia and THEN starting to hunt for jobs should only be used as last resort. 

10) The vast majority of positions in Australia are filled through networking. So make sure you get hold of EVERY acquaintance of yours in Australia, build connections on LinkedIn, and do WHATEVER it takes to develop a reasonably strong network in Australia before you move there. 

I hope these tips would benefit the members of this great community with their job search. Please note, I don't claim responsibility for the effectiveness (or the lack of it) of these tips. I haven't even obtained my Visa yet. These are the tips provided by my good friend who knows a lot more than many of us here. Kindly refrain from unnecessary sarcasm or flaming, in case you find these tips useless or inadequate.


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## rajkonds (Feb 28, 2014)

Very useful tips. Thanks


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

rajkonds said:


> Very useful tips. Thanks


You're most welcome!


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## blak3 (Dec 31, 2012)

great post man!


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## virusme (Feb 3, 2015)

funkyzoom said:


> in case you find these tips useless or inadequate.



Sounds fine to me.

Is this friend of your currently working in his chosen profession? If it has worked for him, I don't see any reason why it should not work for anyone else.


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

virusme said:


> Sounds fine to me.
> 
> Is this friend of your currently working in his chosen profession? If it has worked for him, I don't see any reason why it should not work for anyone else.


Yeah, he is. He had 3 years of experience and then completed his masters' from Australia, before taking up a job in Melbourne in October last year. But then, he says that a masters' degree isn't really valued a lot over bachelor's degree, so it shouldn't matter much.

Also, he says that he has seen a lot of professionals getting jobs within a couple of weeks of moving to Oz, and some even land offers while overseas.


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

blak3 said:


> great post man!


Thanks for the appreciation!


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## mgmg (Aug 26, 2014)

Thanks. I would like to ask your advise How did you prepare your PTE ? Your result is cool.


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## mandaralawani (Mar 23, 2014)

Thanks a lot for this post, very helpful for people planning our move soon and looking for a job..


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

mgmg said:


> Thanks. I would like to ask your advise How did you prepare your PTE ? Your result is cool.


Oh...I'm extremely sorry, I suppose you had sent me a private message regarding this. I received way too many messages yesterday, so I forgot to reply. My apologies.

I had already put in a ton of efforts preparing for IELTS, and I had just 1 weeks' time after I got my ILETS results, to prepare for PTE-A.
I purchased this book 'Official Guide to PTE Academic', which contained test taking strategies. It also included a CD, which provided 3 complete practice tests with answer keys.
These are the only resources I used for preparation.


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## r_saraj (Oct 31, 2013)

Thanks a lot... very useful info!


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## pc101 (Dec 17, 2014)

Thanks a lot man! This is very encouraging and useful for people planning to move...


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

pc101 said:


> Thanks a lot man! This is very encouraging and useful for people planning to move...


Hope they help you!


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## atmahesh (Apr 9, 2014)

thanks for the post.


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## virusme (Feb 3, 2015)

funkyzoom said:


> Yeah, he is. He had 3 years of experience and then completed his masters' from Australia, before taking up a job in Melbourne in October last year. But then, he says that a masters' degree isn't really valued a lot over bachelor's degree, so it shouldn't matter much.
> 
> Also, he says that he has seen a lot of professionals getting jobs within a couple of weeks of moving to Oz, and some even land offers while overseas.


"Welcome to the land of plenty where men roar and women thunder"!


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## virusme (Feb 3, 2015)

virusme said:


> "Welcome to the land of plenty where men roar and women thunder"!


Just so that ppl don't get confused.

The original goes like this:

" We come from the land of plenty, where men roar and women thunder"

I changed "We come from" to "Welcome to"


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## kalukuri (Sep 28, 2013)

Its very scary to land in unknown world without a job.The pointers you have provided are very helpful. I was just googling out if this kind of approach works or not. and your post has boosted me up. 

Recently, I lodged visa application on 7/Feb. Planning to brush up my skills while my visa is under processing. 

Please update this thread of your findings.


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

kalukuri said:


> Its very scary to land in unknown world without a job.The pointers you have provided are very helpful. I was just googling out if this kind of approach works or not. and your post has boosted me up.
> 
> Recently, I lodged visa application on 7/Feb. Planning to brush up my skills while my visa is under processing.
> 
> Please update this thread of your findings.


So did Google throw up a few results which agree with at least some of the points I mentioned?


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## kalukuri (Sep 28, 2013)

Yes it did. Most of them are landed with one or two f2f interviews scheduled for landing. But not recently.


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

kalukuri said:


> Yes it did. Most of them are landed with one or two f2f interviews scheduled for landing. But not recently.


Hmmm....another mistake people do, is to either go for the wrong state nomination for their occupation, or even with an independent Visa they try in the wrong states. Forgot to add this in my first post.


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## kalukuri (Sep 28, 2013)

Hmm.. you might be correct. Are you relying on seek, indeed job sites to understand the state that suits you?

In that case for software engineer Sydney is the best. but cost wise i prefer Melbourne which is not too bad. Anyhow, if the offshore search clicks then I dont have fav state. Any thoughts on this.


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

kalukuri said:


> Hmm.. you might be correct. Are you relying on seek, indeed job sites to understand the state that suits you?
> 
> In that case for software engineer Sydney is the best. but cost wise i prefer Melbourne which is not too bad. Anyhow, if the offshore search clicks then I dont have fav state. Any thoughts on this.


Yes you are right, Sydney is the best for software professionals. It is way ahead of every other state in terms of the number of opportunities. But it is extremely expensive. I want to avoid Sydney, unless I end up with an offer or at least a few rounds of interviews completed while offshore. Otherwise, if I move to Sydney without a job, then to survive there I'll probably have to keep selling one body part every month until I get a job. 

Melbourne is pretty decent too, in terms of job opportunities for IT professionals. The cost of living is not that high. And in the past few months, opportunities for software engineers have popped up in Perth, so I'm seriously considering it as well.

So in short, my top priorities would be Melbourne or Perth, followed by Sydney. It would be pointless to consider any other state or city for IT jobs. ACT/Canberra are probably the worst in this regard, and only a complete fool would even consider searching for an IT job there. Most jobs there are government jobs, and only Australian citizens are eligible to apply for those (which rules out Permanent Residents). Of course, if I'm able to land a job or complete some rounds of interview from offshore, then I have no preference. 

To be frank, I'm quite certain that I won't budge from India until I have at least a couple of interviews scheduled in Oz. It is too scary to be stuck all alone in a foreign country with no job. I don't mind if it takes a long time, but I'm sticking to this plan, no matter what.


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## kalukuri (Sep 28, 2013)

I totally agree with you. what is your specialization?


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

kalukuri said:


> I totally agree with you. what is your specialization?


I'm a software developer working on Microsoft .NET, with over 4 years of experience. What about you?


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## Analyst23 (Nov 30, 2014)

funkyzoom said:


> Yes you are right, Sydney is the best for software professionals. It is way ahead of every other state in terms of the number of opportunities. But it is extremely expensive. I want to avoid Sydney, unless I end up with an offer or at least a few rounds of interviews completed while offshore. Otherwise, if I move to Sydney without a job, then to survive there I'll probably have to keep selling one body part every month until I get a job.
> 
> Melbourne is pretty decent too, in terms of job opportunities for IT professionals. The cost of living is not that high. And in the past few months, opportunities for software engineers have popped up in Perth, so I'm seriously considering it as well.
> 
> ...


Awesome study. looking forward to hear more from you.


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

Analyst23 said:


> Awesome study. looking forward to hear more from you.


Thank you! I've responded to your PM.


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## Tuttu (Apr 6, 2014)

funkyzoom said:


> But then, he says that a masters' degree isn't really valued a lot over bachelor's degree, so it shouldn't matter much.


Mate..you have no idea how encouraging your pointers are. Thanks a ton for boosting my confidence. 

Regarding the quote about qualification, mine is Diploma (Polytechnic, 10+3yrs) and I am worried about my chances with that. Could you please inquire challenges for me and preparation I should go through . Thanks in advance.


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

Tuttu said:


> Mate..you have no idea how encouraging your pointers are. Thanks a ton for boosting my confidence.
> 
> Regarding the quote about qualification, mine is Diploma (Polytechnic, 10+3yrs) and I am worried about my chances with that. Could you please inquire challenges for me and preparation I should go through . Thanks in advance.


Sure, will do that!


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## Tuttu (Apr 6, 2014)

funkyzoom said:


> Sure, will do that!


Mate.. Got any clues for me!?


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

Tuttu said:


> Mate.. Got any clues for me!?


I did speak to my friend regarding your specific case. He personally has no idea about it, so he has emailed an acquaintance of his who has similar qualifications as you, but is in Australia since 6 years and is now a citizen. Once I get a response form my friend, I'll update you.


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## Tuttu (Apr 6, 2014)

funkyzoom said:


> I did speak to my friend regarding your specific case. He personally has no idea about it, so he has emailed an acquaintance of his who has similar qualifications as you, but is in Australia since 6 years and is now a citizen. Once I get a response form my friend, I'll update you.


Thanks Mate.. Appreciate it..


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## sweetchillies1989 (Feb 26, 2014)

Hi,

Thanks a lot for the valuable inputs. I have a doubt regarding medicals. I am now here on a students visa and I have started the PR. Are the medicals different from Student Medicals? It has not been 6 months since my student medicals, hence the confusion


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## pataus (Mar 11, 2014)

@funkyzoom : Good info.

Btw, how did you search the jobs, for which you had received replies? I know, there are websites for job search, but do you remember which one did you use in those specific instances? 
Also, did you use a professional service for CV preparation?


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## FIFA_World_Cup_fan (Apr 25, 2014)

*good post*



funkyzoom said:


> I see so many people here being really worried about job opportunities in Australia. I got the opportunity to discuss this matter with a good friend of mine, who has been in Oz since a couple of years, over the phone today. And he had some really interesting things to say about this. The following points were mentioned by him, which I'm sharing for the benefit of this community. He said these mainly with respect to ICT related jobs, but I suppose it holds good for others as well.
> 
> 1) Australian employers expect the CV to be in a particular format, which is quite different compared to most other countries. Most of them are very particular about this, and CVs not following this format are usually filtered out my automated software. So before applying for jobs (whether from Australia or overseas), ensure that your CV is in the proper format. Take the help of paid resume writers if you must. And not to mention, a well written cover letter is mandatory. Also, ensure that you clearly mention that you hold a Visa which allows you to work in Australia, on your cover letter.
> 
> ...




Hi FunkyZoom mate -

Very Good and useful info shared by U.
Thanks a lot ..... Keep posting here - for the benefit of all of us .... t c


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

FIFA_World_Cup_fan said:


> Hi FunkyZoom mate -
> 
> Very Good and useful info shared by U.
> Thanks a lot ..... Keep posting here - for the benefit of all of us .... t c


Thanks for your appreciation! I'll definitely keep posting such stuff!


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## evangelist (Oct 5, 2014)

This is a very pertinent thread. Those who've alredy moved to Oz and secured jobs could post their experience in job hunting, and useful tips.


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## rj1975 (Apr 19, 2013)

Hi,

Thanks @funkyzoom for publishing the useful details. Much appreciated. Are you aware of any professional service for resume preparation?

Many Thanks


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## Bimz (Oct 8, 2015)

*Australia CV and Cover letter Format*

hi All,

Would anyone be kind enough to share the Cover letter and CV format that Australian employers prefer. would be great if the sample is for an IT industry candidate

Thanks!


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