# Finally got a job



## Hunter85 (Dec 5, 2013)

Hello dear friends,

I have been away from this forum for a long time but I was busy trying to move to Australia.

So I am not sure if anyone is still active in this forum from my era of visa applications so let me start by introducing myself.

I am a Turkish/Cypriot IT Security specialist with more than 7 years of experience in industry. I have worked in Turkey, Romania and Czech Republic for well-known global companies and finally decided to move to Australia with my girl friend.

We arrived here on 8th of January and enjoyed 1-2 weeks of summer vacation in rainy Melbourne. During 3rd week of our arrival we decided that we need to start applying for some jobs and letting the recruiters know that we are available on the market.

First of all we realized that it was a good move to come here first and than start looking for a job. You may ask why??? I have read a lot of threads in this forum for 2 years and I was aware that just applying for jobs from seek.com.au or linkedin is not enough!!!
You need to call the recruiter right after or at the most in 2 days. Recruiters here are lazy, you need to push them :boxing:

So make sure you include a cover letter stating that you have a Permanent Residence, you are currently in Australia (preferably close to CBD of your city) and you have a good understanding of what the job is actually asking for.

***Very very important thing***
You might have 10000000 different kind of skill sets or just a handful technologies with very deep understanding, recruiters dont care what you are capable of unless it is related to job which they are advertising. So you need to create a new CV for every job you are going to apply for and mention specifically the tasks, projects etc... which are essential to that job. On top of that also include even more details in your cover letter.

Now with that said this is not enough... Remember you need to call the recruiter and start explaining your CV to him while keeping in mind that he only needs to know how close your previous experience is to the jobs which you are applying for. (Tell them staff like, Ohhh you mentioned I need python scripting skills for this job, I have been scripting for 3 years in various projects OR ohhh you noted that I need **** certificate for this position, if you can go to second page of my CV you will see that I already have it...

Changing career path or even slight moves are almost impossible here (unless your employer wants you to). So if they need a IT Operations Manager but your job title is IT Project manager, the chances are really low for you. Apply for vacancies which are at least 90% related to your previous job. 50% is not enough.

I would like to give you a small example from my girl friend's experience since I helped her prepare all her CVs.

We almost applied 100 jobs for her. (She worked in Finance/Accounting and Business Analyst positions before), since she had lots of experience from different domains, we only included what that job was asking for in her resumes. For example, if the job description mentioned : Accounts Payable/Receivable, payment runs, payrolls : We havent even included a tiny detail regarding her Business Analyst skills (like process mapping etc...), these things can be later mentioned on phone interview or other steps of the interview.

So dont flood your recruiter with unnecessary information but to tell you the truth, here they just put your cv into a specialized application which filters key words and if successful the recruiter will have a look at your cv.

My girl friend was a little bit luckier than me and had 4-5 interviews and started her first job today.

Me on the other hand aimed a little bit higher and with the help of networking (friends who have friends in Australia) managed to secure a job and will be starting in 2 weeks.

So, the situation here is difficult but if you are prepared and if you have the skill sets than you can secure a job but you need to work for it.

So I advise all the PR holders which are yet to come here : Go to seek.com.au and search for jobs which are related to your skill set, look what they need? and if you need to develop your skills further than stay a little bit more in your homeland and come here prepared.

For IT security I must say that the jobs here are a little bit different than what I had in Europe. I was working in Operations (so a lot of technical staff) but here they look for Risk Management or Assessment Management kinda positions. Luckily I was able to mention them in my CV (because I also worked closely to risk managers) and didnt even mention my key skills like firewall event/flow analysis IDS/IPS or other network security related skills.

And most importantly have someone get your referred (someone from Australia), it is the easiest way to find a job.


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## dragoman (Mar 29, 2013)

Congrats Hunter85 .. this is great news & thanks for a detailed analysis on job hunting & current market scenario.

Dragoman


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## nicemathan (May 29, 2013)

Congratz Hunter... All the best for the job and may you shine well in all your ventures.


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## nikdh (Jan 10, 2015)

Thank you for a detailed post. Can you also mention if one can get benefit from doing a certification.
I have experience in cloud services but if I also have a certification for the same, will it add weight?

In my current company if you have experience in a field, certifications are not given much value as they are considered easily achievable.


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## idreamofoz (Oct 8, 2014)

Hunter85 said:


> Hello dear friends,
> 
> I have been away from this forum for a long time but I was busy trying to move to Australia.
> 
> ...


Congrats Hunter and thank you for the insightful post. Surely a helpful one.

Thanks


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

Hunter85 said:


> Hello dear friends,
> 
> I have been away from this forum for a long time but I was busy trying to move to Australia.
> 
> ...


Very insightful post, but I'd appreciate it if you could clarify a couple of things for me:-

1) From what I have heard from a good friend who has been in Melbourne for around 3 years, a lot of employers now prefer the candidate to be 'currently employed'. So if someone has to quit their present job and move to Oz, that means he is obviously 'unemployed' at that point and may often become grounds for CV rejection. So he suggests that I should start applying for jobs from overseas so that i still fit the category of 'currently employed', and then let the employer/recruiter know that I'm willing to move on short notice (within 2 weeks) if things work out and they want a face to face interview. What is your opinion about this?
2) Is it necessary to create different CVs AND cover letters for each job applied, or is it sufficient to have custom cover letters but standard CVs for different jobs? 

I'm yet to get the grant, but I'm trying to complete as much ground as possible before I make the move. Kindly advice.


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## queensland (Oct 29, 2014)

Congratulation, mate!


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## Hunter85 (Dec 5, 2013)

nikdh said:


> Thank you for a detailed post. Can you also mention if one can get benefit from doing a certification.
> I have experience in cloud services but if I also have a certification for the same, will it add weight?
> 
> In my current company if you have experience in a field, certifications are not given much value as they are considered easily achievable.


Certifications matters here a lot, all the recruiters were primarily asking what certificates I currently hold but dont be fooled, not all of them are well rewarded, go to seek.com.au and find out which certificates they ask for your field. For example I have Comptia Security+ which I thought it will help me here a lot but they dont even know this certification. For IT security they are interested in CISSP and ITIL

I have seen several network security and network related jobs and all of them require CCNP and to my understanding all microsoft certificates are wellcomed


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## Hunter85 (Dec 5, 2013)

funkyzoom said:


> Very insightful post, but I'd appreciate it if you could clarify a couple of things for me:-
> 
> 1) From what I have heard from a good friend who has been in Melbourne for around 3 years, a lot of employers now prefer the candidate to be 'currently employed'. So if someone has to quit their present job and move to Oz, that means he is obviously 'unemployed' at that point and may often become grounds for CV rejection. So he suggests that I should start applying for jobs from overseas so that i still fit the category of 'currently employed', and then let the employer/recruiter know that I'm willing to move on short notice (within 2 weeks) if things work out and they want a face to face interview. What is your opinion about this?
> 2) Is it necessary to create different CVs AND cover letters for each job applied, or is it sufficient to have custom cover letters but standard CVs for different jobs?
> ...


I must say I really dont agree with your friends advise. Even though I knew applying from overseas will not help me with anything, I too applied for apx. 1 month while I was in Prague and guess what I didnt event receive notification for " Sorry to inform you that we found stronger candidates and you are not short listed"

The first question in every job application forms I was filling was related to where I currently live, most of the application forms didnt even allow me to select another country 

And the first 2 questions when a recruiter called me were : 1. Do you have a PR 2. Are currently in Melbourne 3. Can we meet tomorrow or this week to discuss opportunities...

I had several applications for several recruitment agencies and all of them wanted to have a face to face interview before sending my CV over to their client (it was same for my girl friend also).

For the CV, yes it is necessary to create different CVs and cover letters for each application and cover 90% of what they mention in their job description in your CV and cover letter. You can simply ignore me and create 1 CV and 1 cover letter but after 2-3 weeks you will realize that nobody is contacting you....

Just forget everything you know about recruitment from your origin because this is another country and nothing is similar here. With every CV you send which is not specifically created for that application, you will loose your chance of getting an offer.

Let me tell you 1 experience which i had. For 1 position I just sent a generic cv of mine and waited for 2 weeks (it was covering nearly 60% of what they required). After no response I re-edited my cv to match exactly what was written on that job description and guess what? I got a call in 10 minutes. I am not kidding!! So how much you work for securing your job, that fast you will get it.


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## funkyzoom (Nov 4, 2014)

Hunter85 said:


> I must say I really dont agree with your friends advise. Even though I knew applying from overseas will not help me with anything, I too applied for apx. 1 month while I was in Prague and guess what I didnt event receive notification for " Sorry to inform you that we found stronger candidates and you are not short listed"
> 
> The first question in every job application forms I was filling was related to where I currently live, most of the application forms didnt even allow me to select another country
> 
> ...


Thanks for the detailed response! But what you mentioned regarding being onshore, is with respect to recruiters, right? I really do not intend to take that route, and would rather apply directly to the employer. Moreover, my plan is to not even apply online (either directly or through recruiters) for several months, and only try through references. Not that I know a ton of people in OZ, but I do know a few and I suppose I can try to build a network. I mean....you did mention in your initial post that going through references is the best possible way to seek a job in Oz. Not saying every reference will land me a job interview, but that would at least make employers read my CV. Since I'm currently employed, I'm not really in a hurry to move. 

Regarding the CV.....I really appreciate your advice, and I suppose it shouldn't be a problem creating custom CVs based on the job description. But would it be an issue if the CV matches the job description by around 90%, but also contains some details not relevant to that job? I mean.....as long as the CV matches the job description, any additional skills mentioned should either be a bonus or shouldn't matter, right? So I was considering creating custom CVs, but still including skills not related to the job. Would this be fine?


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## aashish (Jan 2, 2015)

Hey Hunter,

Congratulations on getting the job dude


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## sivakumar s s (Sep 8, 2014)

Big big applause to you mate :clap2:

you proved your lane: migration purpose.

When there is a will there is a way.

and last but not least 


Many many hearty congratulations to you and your girl friend:first:


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## sivakumar s s (Sep 8, 2014)

Hunter85 said:


> Hello dear friends,
> 
> I have been away from this forum for a long time but I was busy trying to move to Australia.
> 
> ...


Mate, one point I would like to add:

Also need to update tasks in your *LinkedIn *profile for the particular job, because some companies do refer LinkedIn in oz.


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## syedmal (Feb 12, 2014)

Congratulations on getting a job!!... All the best, do keep posting your experiences


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## Gaut (Oct 13, 2014)

Thanks for the great hints Hunter85.
All the best for the future.


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## shorefisher (Nov 11, 2014)

Nice Post Mate, may all people who are struggling read your post and also everyone should write their success stories to motivate each other and make world a better place to live...Take Care


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## izykvision0 (Nov 9, 2014)

@hunter85,

Congrats on ur new job.

Pls i will like u to shed more light on a few questions..

1) As d main applicant does my spouse(dependant) need to get a skills assessment done in order to secure a job in Oz?

2) In regards to making a job fit CV, dont recruiters / employers make reference to skills assessment CV or even ones skills assessment in general?

3) What about the barrier of local experience, how did u deal with that or does skills cover this lapse?

Thanks so much.


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## InaToAus (Mar 20, 2013)

Hi Hunter,

Same boat here, I'm in IT Security with diverse other skills in my belt (consulting, application management, banking electronic system, Risk Management certification, etc). Planning to fly for good on July this year to Sydney. 

Would you mind to share with me your job description in a bit detail? I would love to map my CV to the job situation there, and yours might show me some light.

Thank you in advance.


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## sivakumar s s (Sep 8, 2014)

InaToAus said:


> Hi Hunter,
> 
> Same boat here, I'm in IT Security with diverse other skills in my belt (consulting, application management, banking electronic system, Risk Management certification, etc). Planning to fly for good on July this year to Sydney.
> 
> ...


Its too early for you to make CV according to the jobs....

Start it before 15 days to go.......

But during this ample time, improve or learn niche skills according to the market


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## sivakumar s s (Sep 8, 2014)

izykvision0 said:


> @hunter85,
> 
> Congrats on ur new job.
> 
> ...


1. not required
2. Skill assessment is mostly for VISA purpose. Employers look for Residents (Citizen or PR )
3. Neutral accent is needed. learn cutting edge technology or niche skills for your field


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## izykvision0 (Nov 9, 2014)

@sivakumar.

Thanks a lot.


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## sid.sami (Jan 27, 2014)

Hi Hunter,
Hearty Congrats on securing a job  I am soooo glad to read your post, I am moving to Canberra in 5 days and anxiety is at peak...but your post is a ray of hope for all of us who are planning to go and look for a job. Thank you for sharing the guidelines, much appreciated.
Just keeping my fingers crossed that I get lucky to secure a job soon,
Good Luck to all forum members,
Regards,
Sid.


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## slvicky (Sep 3, 2013)

sivakumar s s said:


> 1. not required
> 2. Skill assessment is mostly for VISA purpose. Employers look for Residents (Citizen or PR )
> 3. Neutral accent is needed. learn cutting edge technology or niche skills for your field


Hi Mate,
So you think there is less chances for TR holders (subclass 489 provisional visa) in terms of jobs???

I'm little bit worried about this because few threads mentioning the same. Anyone got some idea???


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## deeparashmin (Dec 21, 2014)

Well just wanted to share something. This forum is like a game and the threads are like levels. We struggle (well some do it easily) to cross each level and with the help of the active member who are like code crackers help us cross one level and move ahead to another.
Similarly this level of getting a job is a major task for those who have crossed the level of getting the grant. 
I am sure this group will be of a major help and support to all who have reached OZ and are finding a job out there right now.

Thanks to Hunter for creating this group.


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## Sandy J (Aug 1, 2013)

Congrats Hunter


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## vinaycj81 (Feb 6, 2013)

*Vinay*

Congrats Hunter


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## sivakumar s s (Sep 8, 2014)

slvicky said:


> Hi Mate,
> So you think there is less chances for TR holders (subclass 489 provisional visa) in terms of jobs???
> 
> I'm little bit worried about this because few threads mentioning the same. Anyone got some idea???



No job market will be the same.

Again it depends on company to company & field to field.


In fact 489's have better opportunity in Contract/casual jobs.......

since it is a provisional visa and we are liable to that particular region, one can do any job irrespect of your nominated occupation


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## sivakumar s s (Sep 8, 2014)

deeparashmin said:


> Well just wanted to share something. This forum is like a game and the threads are like levels. We struggle (well some do it easily) to cross each level and with the help of the active member who are like code crackers help us cross one level and move ahead to another.
> Similarly this level of getting a job is a major task for those who have crossed the level of getting the grant.
> I am sure this group will be of a major help and support to all who have reached OZ and are finding a job out there right now.
> 
> Thanks to Hunter for creating this group.


Good DeepaRashmin,:second:

I like your spirit.

soon you will be addicted to the forum......


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## kingcantona7 (Jan 12, 2014)

late to the forum..congrats hunter, have a great time down under


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## Hunter85 (Dec 5, 2013)

Sorry about replying late but I was busy enjoying nice weather in Melbourne 

so lets come to your questions

1) As d main applicant does my spouse(dependant) need to get a skills assessment done in order to secure a job in Oz?

My girl friend didnt have any skill assessment and non of the recruiters asked for any kind of assessment 

2) In regards to making a job fit CV, dont recruiters / employers make reference to skills assessment CV or even ones skills assessment in general?

I believe both recruiters and employers dont even know what skill assessment is, people here have really little knowladge about permanent residence because so small number of people have it and most of the people i talked to were shocked that I was able to obtain it from overseas. (PR is something really big here and not everybody has it)

3) What about the barrier of local experience, how did u deal with that or does skills cover this lapse?

Well for me that was never an issue, probably local experience is more of an issue if you are in accounting, sales, procurement or maybe some management positions. Since IT security is solely based on knowledge and experience all recruiters and employers were satisfied with my skils.



izykvision0 said:


> @hunter85,
> 
> Congrats on ur new job.
> 
> ...


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## Hunter85 (Dec 5, 2013)

InaToAus said:


> Hi Hunter,
> 
> Same boat here, I'm in IT Security with diverse other skills in my belt (consulting, application management, banking electronic system, Risk Management certification, etc). Planning to fly for good on July this year to Sydney.
> 
> ...


Well let me try to clarify 1 thing which I mentioned in my iniital post.

It doesnt matter if you are applying from seek.com.au or lineding, most of the job posts will take you to companies or recruiters web-site to create an account and upload all necessary documents to their hosts. During registration it is mandatory to put where do you live and since most of the companies use the same web-based .NET tool, it is not allowing you to choose somewhere other than Australian cities.

I am not really satisfied with the number of successfull stories of overseas employment and I honestly feel it is almost close to 0% to find a job from your home country.

Think about it, if I am here and you are in India and I happen to provide them an australian address as well as an australian phone number, who would they call first?


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## 2013 (Sep 16, 2013)

I would say, 5-10 % chances getting a job from India. I have seen couple of cases where people got skype interviews, and contract before landing. 
It depends on your skill set and the company hiring you. consultants will reject you for sure, but there are chances while applying directly.


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## nishma2006 (Mar 14, 2015)

slvicky said:


> Hi Mate,
> So you think there is less chances for TR holders (subclass 489 provisional visa) in terms of jobs???
> 
> I'm little bit worried about this because few threads mentioning the same. Anyone got some idea???


Hi slvicky,

From what I have learned , and heard from my friends over there, there is no such thing as less chances for 489 visa. But I have seen some vacancies ask only citizen and Pr holders. But only a handful. All of my friends went there through 489 and secured a job within one-two months. 

What state did you apply for? I applied to NT last week and waiting their reply. Are you still in Sri Lanka. Thats where I am from too. 

Nishantha


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## slvicky (Sep 3, 2013)

nishma2006 said:


> Hi slvicky,
> 
> From what I have learned , and heard from my friends over there, there is no such thing as less chances for 489 visa. But I have seen some vacancies ask only citizen and Pr holders. But only a handful. All of my friends went there through 489 and secured a job within one-two months.
> 
> ...


Great to hear that..

I applied for VIC. My cousin living there. I went through some jobs sites & found that there are plenty of Java jobs in Melbourne. Hopefully, able secure a job within 1-2 months :fingerscrossed:


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## slvicky (Sep 3, 2013)

nishma2006 said:


> Hi slvicky,
> 
> From what I have learned , and heard from my friends over there, there is no such thing as less chances for 489 visa. But I have seen some vacancies ask only citizen and Pr holders. But only a handful. All of my friends went there through 489 and secured a job within one-two months.
> 
> ...


Currently I'm working in UAE. Hope to go SL once I receive the visa


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## nishma2006 (Mar 14, 2015)

Great! I think you will get your visa around June. There is nothing to worry. But prepare yourself do whatever coming on your way until you get your job. There are lot of Sri Lankans in Melbourne I guess. Will keep in touch. thanks!!


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## Danav_Singh (Sep 1, 2014)

slvicky said:


> Great to hear that..
> 
> I applied for VIC. My cousin living there. I went through some jobs sites & found that there are plenty of Java jobs in Melbourne. Hopefully, able secure a job within 1-2 months :fingerscrossed:


Mate...just a word of caution. Never get tricked by number of jobs advertisments on job portal in Australia. You will know about it once you start applying for it... same job is posted by 50 different consultants. Reality from ground zero is People are struggling to find IT jobs in melbourne...
Prepare well and dont be overconfident...best of luck


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## sivakumar s s (Sep 8, 2014)

2013 said:


> I would say, 5-10 % chances getting a job from India. I have seen couple of cases where people got skype interviews, and contract before landing.
> It depends on your skill set and the company hiring you. consultants will reject you for sure, but there are chances while applying directly.


not 5- 10 % chances.....


Say 0- 0.1% chances...

For each job plenty of resumes are available in local itself, we need it from offshore.


Once landed, you will the job scenario and the process.....


Keep sometime 3-4 months to settle in desired job. In meantime take any job whatever comes in the way........
Local experience is much important here....... Also Local RECOMMENDATION or reference.....


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## slvicky (Sep 3, 2013)

Danav_Singh said:


> Mate...just a word of caution. Never get tricked by number of jobs advertisments on job portal in Australia. You will know about it once you start applying for it... same job is posted by 50 different consultants. Reality from ground zero is People are struggling to find IT jobs in melbourne...
> Prepare well and dont be overconfident...best of luck


Yes exactly. btw im not overconfident 
My plan is to try some job opening related to my fields in first few months. If that fails try any full time job since I have to complete at least one year to apply for PR


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## sivakumar s s (Sep 8, 2014)

Danav_Singh said:


> Mate...just a word of caution. Never get tricked by number of jobs advertisments on job portal in Australia. You will know about it once you start applying for it... same job is posted by 50 different consultants. Reality from ground zero is People are struggling to find IT jobs in melbourne...
> Prepare well and dont be overconfident...best of luck


100 % true....... They are posting fakely to collect resumes....

ofcourse, whenever an opening comes 100 of applications shortlisted randomly and few interview calls and one or two position filled....


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## evangelist (Oct 5, 2014)

Danav_Singh said:


> Mate...just a word of caution. Never get tricked by number of jobs advertisments on job portal in Australia. You will know about it once you start applying for it... same job is posted by 50 different consultants. Reality from ground zero is People are struggling to find IT jobs in melbourne...
> Prepare well and dont be overconfident...best of luck


Thanks for the important note.
In general, can we assume that if diac is issuing 'n' visa invitations for an occupation in a year, there would be 'n' unfulfilled job positions in Oz? In other words, the occupation ceilings reflect the current state of demand in the job market.


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## Danav_Singh (Sep 1, 2014)

evangelist said:


> Thanks for the important note.
> In general, can we assume that if diac is issuing 'n' visa invitations for an occupation in a year, there would be 'n' unfulfilled job positions in Oz? In other words, the occupation ceilings reflect the current state of demand in the job market.


Not at all....immigration is the one of the 3 major business in Australia and it has nothing to do with current state of demand.
Oz govt earns $3 billion every year from immigration and they badly needs this money. Youth unemployment in victoria reaches highest rates since the 90's. Its now at 14.6% so definately immigration has nothing to do with job demand.

Www.theage.com.au/victoria/youth-un...hest-rates-since-the-90s-20150311-141ce5.html


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## slvicky (Sep 3, 2013)

Danav_Singh said:


> Not at all....immigration is the one of the 3 major business in Australia and it has nothing to do with current state of demand.
> Oz govt earns $3 billion every year from immigration and they badly needs this money. Youth unemployment in victoria reaches highest rates since the 90's. Its now at 14.6% so definately immigration has nothing to do with job demand.
> 
> Youth unemployment in Victoria reaches highest rates since the '90s


Seems like finding a job for the first time is much harder than most of us thought :confused2:


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## Danav_Singh (Sep 1, 2014)

slvicky said:


> Seems like finding a job for the first time is much harder than most of us thought :confused2:


Not really....sharpen your skills,add more certification in your kitty and build solid network instead of just applying jobs online.


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## evangelist (Oct 5, 2014)

If so, then why all the fuss about SOL , CSOL, occupation based ceilings, state sponsorship,etc? If minting money is the primary objective, why even have above restrictions?!


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## FIFA_World_Cup_fan (Apr 25, 2014)

Hunter85 said:


> Hello dear friends,
> 
> I have been away from this forum for a long time but I was busy trying to move to Australia.
> 
> ...



Congrats !!


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