# Our journey contd...post settling down and getting a job!!



## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

Time again to write a post here and giving back to forum!

Well, I have written a post about my journey from India to Oz, but this one is about post landing and settling down. If you are interested in knowing things from beginning, go to my previous post.

This post is about some tips and tricks and how you can plan to get a job!!
For those who don’t know me, I am from India. I have around 7 years of total work experience and around 5 years in IT. I am software test professional who was managing a test team from end to end. That is from recruiting team members to salary appraisals, bonus, other stuff and everything in between including actual testing!

After around 1 and a half month’s struggle, I finally managed to get a job here in Sydney and that too in my field only! Last one and a half month had been a roller coaster ride for me with a mixed bag of emotions like fear, frustration, anger, excitement, happiness and what not!!

We (my wife and me) landed in Sydney on August, 20 – 2012 and after settling down in terms of getting rented home, TFN, Medicare card and other stuff we started our job hunt from August, 24 – 2012 (Friday), but since here you can’t expect much happening on Friday, we practically started our job hunt from August, 27 – 2012. My wife is a developer with 7 years of development experience and she cracked her first job in 3 wks time (lucky her!!). I finally grabbed a job yesterday. I have 2 offer letters with me and an option to choose from the two!! 

Instead of wasting your time, I am directly coming to point :focus:. Below is a list of things that we learned from our experience and we thought of sharing with you all, hoping it will be helpful to some of you as well.

•	First and foremost don’t send the same resume/cv for all jobs. Job hunting in Sydney is itself a full time job. For each job that you are applying, modify your resume to fit the requirements (but please don’t lie) If you have done what the job posting is asking for, modify your resume to match the requirements!!:ranger:
•	Don’t rely on single source of application. I mean don’t rely only on seek.com.au You can use other job boards and if come to know about direct employers it’s best to apply directly to employer (you can try snipey.com as well, it posts jobs directly from employers as well)
•	Use linkedin as well for job hunt
•	Till the time you are applying and waiting for interviews to happen, prepare yourself. Don’t waste time. Promise yourself that if I get an interview call, I will be so prepared that I’ll be selected for sure. (I applied to many job postings, but I was not getting any calls for interview. So I promised myself that even if I get one chance of interview, I’ll never let it go. I just appeared for 2 interviews and I have offer letter from both employers!! My last interview lasted for 8 hours!! Yes you read it correct, 8 hours! The next day I got the offer letter!! And you will not believe, I will also be paid for my interview day!! As I spent my full day there!!)
•	Maintain a list of positions you are applying on, be it excel file, word file or whatever but you should be able to keep a track of postings where you have applied
•	As mentioned in first point, since you will modify your resume for each job you are applying, keep a copy of same for your reference as well. What I used to do is had a main resume template. For each job that I applied, I saved a copy of the main template and modified according to job posting. Rename the copy of resume so that you can easily track it. I followed the following naming convention
Resume_PositionAppliedFor_Reference_jobposteddate_agencyname
Example
Resume_TestAnalyst_seek_20Sept_hays
Resume_SrTestAnalyst_Careerone_22Sept_peoplesbank
•	Wherever possible, follow up. The best is by calling them and if not, you can send an email. When I maintained the excel of jobs I was applying, I was also writing down the contact person’s name and contact details if it was given in job posting and used to call them or email them after applying(the next day). Also keep a track of follows you are doing, say when you called you got voicemail, so give a call after sometime or next day and things like that (but you have a maintain a balance between being professional and not sounding too desperate)
•	Reach out to as many people as you know and tell them frankly that you are looking for a job and if he/she can help you. You never know how and when things can click (I got a message from this forum’s member about my web development business, because I mentioned in my post that I develop websites as well!!)
•	This is the most difficult one, but never loose hope (I lost it, but thanks to my wife, my mom & expat forum members (for their kind words on my last post) who were always there to support me when I was down)
•	Plan things in advance. Say if you are carrying money enough to support yourself for 3 months, at least try for 2.5 months to get job in your field and if that’s not working then only look for Woolies, coles or other such jobs (last week, one of my known person got me a job to work in a warehouse @ 18/hr and I was so frustrated with not getting job, that I accepted the offer, but then my wife told not to start that one and focus on my field job for next 2 wks and if that’s not working then look after such job. And great thanks to her, I didn’t start that job!)

I think this is more than enough for this post. I’ll write another post soon with some more tips and tricks ( and forgive me if I can’t write a post soon, because I am starting my job from Monday so I may be bit occupied with that, but I will write for sure!)

All the best to all of you for your job hunt. Feel free to reach me for any questions you may have and I would be more than happy to help out (if I can!)
*
DISCLAIMER:* The points above are purely from my experience and it might or might not work for you as is, so use your understanding. This is just for reference. I don’t want anybody to be mis-directed because of my experience.

Regards,
Nixy


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## ravikanthg (Jun 24, 2012)

First of all congratulations on your offers. Thanks for such a valuable post Mate.
I have got my grant on 2nd October and from then onward s, I started applying for jobs..

So is it advised to apply for job from India? Do we get calls if we stay in India and apply for jobs in AU?


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

ravikanthg said:


> First of all congratulations on your offers. Thanks for such a valuable post Mate.
> I have got my grant on 2nd October and from then onward s, I started applying for jobs..
> 
> So is it advised to apply for job from India? Do we get calls if we stay in India and apply for jobs in AU?


hi ravikanthg,

First of all congratulations for your grant. Welcome to Australia.

To to your question about applying jobs from India, there is no harm and no cost associated to it, but per my experience, unless you are super lucky you will not get response from job posters. They want candidates to be physically present here!

So, all the very best for your job hunt and don't hesitate to contact me if you need further information.

By the way, when are you planning to flying to Oz?

Regards,
nixy


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## SandyBR (Dec 29, 2011)

Wonderful post....It motivates other forum members...
All the very best for your job


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## ravikanthg (Jun 24, 2012)

Hi Nixy, Thanks for the quick response... I am planning to fly in Jan.

I am right now working for a product company as a consultant... so trying to get an internal transfer as well...

Just while responding to your post, got a call from a consultancy in AU.. that lady spoke to me about my availability and my telephonicn interview is scheduled for Tuesday...

So lets hope for the best mate..

Wish me luck...


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## reachsvinoth (Jun 9, 2012)

All the best.. You will surely get thru!!!!


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## ravikanthg (Jun 24, 2012)

Thanks mate...


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

ravikanthg...all the very best..I am sure..you will get through it..All the best again and nothing better if you can have something in hand before you land..Lucky u..!!


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## ravikanthg (Jun 24, 2012)

Thanks mate... your words make me feel confident...  thanks again....


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## tryingaustralia (Sep 2, 2011)

coolnixy said:


> ....


nixy, there are some posts you read, and want to say a huge thank you... this is one of them.... huge :grouphug: to you!!

n yeah thanks for caring enough to post your experiences!


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

ravikanthg said:


> Thanks mate... your words make me feel confident...  thanks again....


Just keep us posted with your progress..we'll be happy to know your success story!! (By we, I meant the forum). All the best again..


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## chsridevi (Dec 22, 2011)

coolnixy said:


> Just keep us posted with your progress..we'll be happy to know your success story!! (By we, I meant the forum). All the best again..


Congrats coolnixy. Thanks for the post. We really need your inputs. Such stories give us more emotional support.

Congrats Ravikanth for the first call. Lucky to get one being in India. BTW into with technology you are?


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## ravikanthg (Jun 24, 2012)

I am in to Webcenter consulting. this is a Oracle middle ware product includes app server and B2B integration.


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## ravikanthg (Jun 24, 2012)

Sure Coolnixy. I will update the thread with my job trials and other info that I can post.


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## escaflowne (Sep 26, 2012)

hearty congrats Coolnixy....... 8 hours job interview  ...... i am also in Software testing field ... i am in to telecom domain.... can you please tell me what is how is jobs market for Software Testers... what they are specifically looking for ... which tools are in demand....


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## bangalg (Apr 22, 2009)

Congratulations coolnixy... Well done!


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## hello420 (Apr 13, 2012)

Congrats....All the best.

8 hours? Mind sharing how it went? What they asked and so on? It will help us forum members to get an idea of what to expect.

The interview process I hear is different from that in India. In India they ask from A-Z of the field and then give you work in area 1-2. At least this is my experience. Did they ask you to actually implement something? Or was it just about your work done in past? Are they very specific?

Sorry for so many questions.


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

@ escaflowne - Glad to know you are in telecom domain. I have seen a few openings on seek that asks particularly about telecom domain. In terms of tool, I have seen mostly people asking for QTP and selenium.

@ hello420 - About 8 hrs interview. I signed a document saying I won't share details of the stuff that I did on that day, I'd like to respect that and not share the real stuff (Sorry friends, but trust me, I did what I am saying). But things were around my resume with several rounds some including actual working on some live project. They just digged what I mentioned in resume (but since I had actually done everything, I was @ ease)
Hope this helps!!

All the best everyone who's trying their luck.

Cheers,
Nixy


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## monty83 (Oct 5, 2012)

Hi Nixy,

I am waiting for my VISA for get finalized, just one thiong is it neccesary to show the full funds as mentioned in webiste and we fill in form it is 30K+ AUD.... i mean i have enough to spent 3 motnhs with my wife n infant....

rgds
,monty


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## SGAus (Mar 20, 2012)

Congrats on your job. I am also software testing. R u into manual testing or automation. Did you get the job in Melbourne or in Sydney.



coolnixy said:


> @ escaflowne - Glad to know you are in telecom domain. I have seen a few openings on seek that asks particularly about telecom domain. In terms of tool, I have seen mostly people asking for QTP and selenium.
> 
> @ hello420 - About 8 hrs interview. I signed a document saying I won't share details of the stuff that I did on that day, I'd like to respect that and not share the real stuff (Sorry friends, but trust me, I did what I am saying). But things were around my resume with several rounds some including actual working on some live project. They just digged what I mentioned in resume (but since I had actually done everything, I was @ ease)
> Hope this helps!!
> ...


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## shubo2012 (Feb 18, 2012)

Wow Coolnixy...

Congratulations for getting job... Way to go mate

Thankfully, I didn't have to wait that long... 

Great Work...

Cheers


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## vicaussie (Sep 28, 2012)

coolnixy said:


> Time again to write a post here and giving back to forum!
> 
> Well, I have written a post about my journey from India to Oz, but this one is about post landing and settling down. If you are interested in knowing things from beginning, go to
> .
> ...


Thanks for the invaluable info coolnixy, this is very useful....glad 2 hv another indxpat to share his experiences.... I have a query though...did u apply for jobs before going to Oz...if yes, what was the response ?

Cheers !!
vicaussie


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

monty83 said:


> Hi Nixy,
> 
> I am waiting for my VISA for get finalized, just one thiong is it neccesary to show the full funds as mentioned in webiste and we fill in form it is 30K+ AUD.... i mean i have enough to spent 3 motnhs with my wife n infant....
> 
> ...


Hi Monty,

I am sorry, but I will not be in a position to respond to your query as I don't have any idea on that and I don't want to pass misleading information. My visa was PR and we didn't have to show any funds..I am not sure which visa type you are applying..But some senior forum member might be able to help..

My wishes are with you..

Thanks,
Nixy


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

SGAus said:


> Congrats on your job. I am also software testing. R u into manual testing or automation. Did you get the job in Melbourne or in Sydney.


Hi SGAus,

I am into both manual and automation testing..but here the demand is more of automation..

I am based in Sydney and so is my job..

Thanks,
Nixy


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

shubo2012 said:


> Wow Coolnixy...
> 
> Congratulations for getting job... Way to go mate
> 
> ...


Thanks Shubo2012... Agreed, way to go!!

Glad to know that you didn't have to wait that long..

Nixy


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

vicaussie said:


> Thanks for the invaluable info coolnixy, this is very useful....glad 2 hv another indxpat to share his experiences.... I have a query though...did u apply for jobs before going to Oz...if yes, what was the response ?
> 
> Cheers !!
> vicaussie


Hi vicaussie,

Great to know that our experience is useful to you folks..will always try to help as much as possible from my end...

I started applying when I was in India, but the response was not positive. I didn't get any response while i was in India..but there is no harm in applying while you are in India.

All the best,
Nixy


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## vicaussie (Sep 28, 2012)

coolnixy said:


> Hi vicaussie,
> 
> Great to know that our experience is useful to you folks..will always try to help as much as possible from my end...
> 
> ...


jst for my info, did u submit all ur degree n work ex papers to ACS for skill n relevant skilled occ. assessment...I am a chem. engr with 6+ wrk.ex in design (Oil&Gas) for which EA is the assessing body...from wat i gather...they ask for a whole lot of docs...esp. company ref letter outlining job profile n so on....afaik..most indian cos. letters (offer,appt or exp.) dont give details on the job responsibilities other than job title.....how did u handle these things

Thanks
vicaussie


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## karmur2012 (Mar 16, 2012)

ravikanthg said:


> Hi Nixy, Thanks for the quick response... I am planning to fly in Jan.
> 
> I am right now working for a product company as a consultant... so trying to get an internal transfer as well...
> 
> ...


What is your area of specialization?


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## speedyv9 (Aug 9, 2012)

Phenomenal Nixy. You are an inspiration to many

Good luck for a fabulous career!


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## daindivin (Jan 17, 2012)

coolnixy said:


> Hi vicaussie,
> 
> Great to know that our experience is useful to you folks..will always try to help as much as possible from my end...
> 
> ...


Congrats!! Nixy :clap2:....i just dream about the day i will drop a similar post... a quick one..did you carry all your original educational/professional documents with you..and did they ask to see it?


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## monty83 (Oct 5, 2012)

Thanks nixy, just see if any one will help me with the same....thanks once again


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## melbourne (Sep 6, 2011)

ravikanthg said:


> Hi Nixy, Thanks for the quick response... I am planning to fly in Jan.
> 
> I am right now working for a product company as a consultant... so trying to get an internal transfer as well...
> 
> ...


All the best mate.

2 small questions:
1. Did you get an OZ phone no. for applying from India. Or you mentioned an India no. only?
2. Did the consultant ask you about your planned date to land in OZ?

I really wish you luck. 

-Melbourne


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## hello420 (Apr 13, 2012)

coolnixy said:


> @ hello420 - About 8 hrs interview. I signed a document saying I won't share details of the stuff that I did on that day, I'd like to respect that and not share the real stuff (Sorry friends, but trust me, I did what I am saying). But things were around my resume with several rounds some including actual working on some live project. They just digged what I mentioned in resume (but since I had actually done everything, I was @ ease)
> Hope this helps!!
> 
> All the best everyone who's trying their luck.
> ...


Nixy few more questions. 
How is the salary there? Do they give due weightage to the past experience?

From what I have heard from my friends there is that the usual salary band is between 80K and 100k. Is this the same salary which the Austrailian freshers get there?


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## Sukhoi (Jun 23, 2012)

Congrats Dude! Thanks for taking your time off for such a detailed post. Were you asked to provide any references, local or offshore?


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## Elekter (Mar 3, 2012)

I have this question - when I have looked the ads about IT jobs (salaries) and read what would be the average costs in AU, then I have calculated that even if only one person in the family gets an IT job then you already live quite well. 
As your wife got a job and you were still very nervous about not getting the job so quickly - do I misunderstand that if one person have a job then you can survive well enough? Even more, my calculations are done for the family of four - we are coming with 2 children and as I have understood you do not have any children, so one salary should be enough.


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## ponsil7174 (Jan 25, 2012)

coolnixy said:


> Time again to write a post here and giving back to forum!
> 
> Well, I have written a post about my journey from India to Oz, but this one is about post landing and settling down. If you are interested in knowing things from beginning, go to my previous post.
> 
> ...


Well done mate, thanks for posting this....


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## chsridevi (Dec 22, 2011)

hello420 said:


> Nixy few more questions.
> How is the salary there? Do they give due weightage to the past experience?
> 
> From what I have heard from my friends there is that the usual salary band is between 80K and 100k. Is this the same salary which the Austrailian freshers get there?


Nice question hello420, I would also like to know information about this. Nixy, do the experience really count here for salary other than the difference in role and responsibilities. I worked in US and CANADA earlier and the pay is same for both 3 years 6 years exp full time permanent employees. I have seen that mostly the pay band changes from Project lead. Is it the same in Australia too?


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## Aussie RC (Apr 24, 2011)

thanks Nixy!!!! your post is really helpful.


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

vicaussie said:


> jst for my info, did u submit all ur degree n work ex papers to ACS for skill n relevant skilled occ. assessment...I am a chem. engr with 6+ wrk.ex in design (Oil&Gas) for which EA is the assessing body...from wat i gather...they ask for a whole lot of docs...esp. company ref letter outlining job profile n so on....afaik..most indian cos. letters (offer,appt or exp.) dont give details on the job responsibilities other than job title.....how did u handle these things
> 
> Thanks
> vicaussie


 
hi vicaussie,

We did send everything they asked for. Only for current job, I sent a self declaration saying that I am reluctant to approach my current employer to get exp letter and then got one signed from my lead and sent that across. Hope this answers your question.

Nixy


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

speedyv9 said:


> Phenomenal Nixy. You are an inspiration to many
> 
> Good luck for a fabulous career!


Thanks mate..I am glad to hear that I am inspiration to many 

Thanks for your wishes and wishing you the same. I also wish that you too share your success story with forum members soon. All the very best.

Nixy


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

daindivin said:


> Congrats!! Nixy :clap2:....i just dream about the day i will drop a similar post... a quick one..did you carry all your original educational/professional documents with you..and did they ask to see it?


Hi daindivin..

I wish you all the best and I am pretty sure that you will share your success story soon!! and all forum members will :clap2: for you...

To your question about carrying educational/professional documents, yes I did carry every little thing with me, rather I also carried 5 sets of photocopies for each document..but my current company didn't ask for anything..But I would suggest to all that don't take chance and carry all docs with you..

Nixy


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

hello420 said:


> Nixy few more questions.
> How is the salary there? Do they give due weightage to the past experience?
> 
> From what I have heard from my friends there is that the usual salary band is between 80K and 100k. Is this the same salary which the Austrailian freshers get there?




Hi hello420,

They gave much weightage on my past experience and what I have done so far and their questions were around the same..

Salary range is depending on your experience and what you can prove in Interview..

Nixy


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

Sukhoi said:


> Congrats Dude! Thanks for taking your time off for such a detailed post. Were you asked to provide any references, local or offshore?


Thanks Sukhoi,

They didn't ask me anything about my exp letter or educational letters or reference...I think my interview was enough... ..But I already had 2 good Australian reference... 

Hope this answers your question.

Nixy


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

Elekter said:


> I have this question - when I have looked the ads about IT jobs (salaries) and read what would be the average costs in AU, then I have calculated that even if only one person in the family gets an IT job then you already live quite well.
> As your wife got a job and you were still very nervous about not getting the job so quickly - do I misunderstand that if one person have a job then you can survive well enough? Even more, my calculations are done for the family of four - we are coming with 2 children and as I have understood you do not have any children, so one salary should be enough.


Hi Elekter..

Depending on your salary and what kind of life style you have..It is possible to survive on one's salary...but we are here to make money...if one is earning and we are just spending everything and not saving much...it doesn't make sense..correct? So I was a bit frustrated about not getting job.... But if you are making a handsome salary you will be able to run a family of 4 without any extra income..but then your savings would be bit lesser nothing else..

Nixy


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

chsridevi said:


> Nice question hello420, I would also like to know information about this. Nixy, do the experience really count here for salary other than the difference in role and responsibilities. I worked in US and CANADA earlier and the pay is same for both 3 years 6 years exp full time permanent employees. I have seen that mostly the pay band changes from Project lead. Is it the same in Australia too?


Based on my personal experience, I can say that your past experience can help you fetch a job..but then salary depends on how your local experience...Like I had very good past experience..but then I was not offered the same role straightaway...

Nixy


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## chsridevi (Dec 22, 2011)

coolnixy said:


> Based on my personal experience, I can say that your past experience can help you fetch a job..but then salary depends on how your local experience...Like I had very good past experience..but then I was not offered the same role straightaway...
> 
> Nixy


Thanks Nixy!! hmm..I guess there is a hard way ahead


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## mukund (Oct 9, 2012)

Congrats Coolnixy for the job and thanks for the useful insights. I have PR and will be relocating in Feb as market usually picks up at that time. 4 yrs exp dev in Java/J2EE/BigData/machine-learning||6 months local exp in IT||MS Comp. Sc. from Aus||staying in India since 3+ yrs.

Few queries:
-How is the market for Java/J2EE/BigData in Aus currently? 
-Did you try to apply for jobs in other cities? 
-Do they dig really deep into the the work that you have done in the past? I mean are the interviews going to be tough or If you know what you've written in ur CV you are good to go?

Appreciate your help.

Thanks


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## PriyankaN (Oct 8, 2012)

Nixy,

Thanks a lot for the post. It was very encouraging to me and am sure for everyone else as well!

We are about to file PR for australia next month and will take almost a year to get everything processed. Ours is a long way to go. 

Just one quick question :- How did you manage to get Australian references for your CV? Do you know people there? My husband has USA and UK onsite experience as a s/w engg. And I havent worked abroad....I am a CA and I work here. 

Thanks!

PN


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## daindivin (Jan 17, 2012)

coolnixy said:


> Hi daindivin..
> 
> I wish you all the best and I am pretty sure that you will share your success story soon!! and all forum members will :clap2: for you...
> 
> ...


thanks


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## skjworld (Jul 1, 2011)

Hi Nixy,

Hearty Congrats and all the best for your new job.

I jst hv couple of queries:
1. With your post it looked like you had Test Lead/Test Mgr position, so here what kind of role we can expect? Senior role?
2. I have more than 4+ years of Testing exp so what kind of salary i can expect in cities like Sydney and Melbourne. 

Thanks,
Skj


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## skjworld (Jul 1, 2011)

Hi Nixy,

Hearty Congrats and all the best for your new job.

I jst hv couple of queries:
1. With your post it looked like you had Test Lead/Test Mgr position, so here what kind of role we can expect? Senior role?
2. I have more than 4+ years of Testing exp so what kind of salary i can expect in cities like Sydney and Melbourne. 

Thanks,
Skj


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

skjworld said:


> Hi Nixy,
> 
> Hearty Congrats and all the best for your new job.
> 
> ...


Hi Skj,

I was a test lead in India, but here we don't get directly senior roles (unless u r super lucky) I got a role of Test Analyst.

In terms of Salary, you will get as per your experience and your interview and whether its a contract role or a permanent role.

Thanks,
Nixy


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

PriyankaN said:


> Nixy,
> 
> Thanks a lot for the post. It was very encouraging to me and am sure for everyone else as well!
> 
> ...


Hey PN,

First of all thanks for your kind words and good to know my post was encouraging. 

All the best for your visa process...

To answer your question, if you have some local references its good, but if you don't have that's okay as well. You can politely tell that you don't have any and give some senior persons reference from India. 

In my case, I had 2 of my high profile Australian clients who were ready to refer me when needed. One of them being an Australian celebrity (trust me I am not kidding). However the references were NOT needed in my case..

Thanks,
Nixy


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## skjworld (Jul 1, 2011)

Thanks alot for your reply Nixy.


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## auslover (May 7, 2012)

coolnixy said:


> Time again to write a post here and giving back to forum!
> 
> Well, I have written a post about my journey from India to Oz, but this one is about post landing and settling down. If you are interested in knowing things from beginning, go to my previous post.
> 
> ...


hey coolnixy, 

that you very much for your guidence to us!!!

I am planning for mid December and i am single .
lets see how the journey turns up for me.


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## goingtooz (Aug 24, 2012)

Hi coolnixy,

Congratulations dude for your settlement in the jobs - to you and Chahat :clap2:

Really thanks a lot for your posts as they are superb for providing info like people who are going to arrive OZ in near future.

We have got our 190 visa grant on Oct 17th and initially I am planning to reach OZ alone with friends in Feb 2013 while family planning to arrive in the month of May.
As ours is a state sponsorship need to stay in Adelaide.

I think the job search is not that easy in Adelaide then in sydney or in Melb. I am systems business Analyst by profession and I am currently seeing few job posts like 10-12 per week in Adelaide. Not sure whether I will be able to get a job before my family's arrival That would be a real problem if I do not. Just sharing my situation with you.

All the best mate. Thanks again.


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## samdeking (Jun 14, 2012)

coolnixy said:


> Time again to write a post here and giving back to forum!
> 
> Well, I have written a post about my journey from India to Oz, but this one is about post landing and settling down. If you are interested in knowing things from beginning, go to my previous post.
> 
> ...


Congrats coolnixy,

I have been following your posts keenly so far as I was going through my PR process .. I got my grant in October 2012 and have been contemplating few things since then!
1. The Australian job market right now is at its all time low with a lot of lay offs and off-shoring of IT jobs. Is that correct?
2. How difficult is it to land a job in Australia for off-shore candidates given the current situation? I have around 7+ years of international experience as a developer, BA/presales and business development manager. Public profile on Linked In - Santosh Mitra - India | LinkedIn
3. I intend to move mid-March 2013 to Sydney and have kind of blocked my tickets but am open to push it to a later date if things are moving slow. Is there any chance of the market improving post Jan 2013?
4. I still haven't quit my current job but planning to do so by next month so that I get enough time before I move. Is that a good decision?
5. I have started looking actively on Linked In, SEEK, CareerOne, Paxus and Indeed. Any other pointers there?

Appreciate any help here to make my decision making easier!
Please do connect on Linked In

Cheers!
SaM


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## Megha09 (Dec 16, 2012)

Congratulations! Your posts are making me confident.Thanks.I would attribute your success to your positive attitude


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## zakavath_sydney (Dec 28, 2012)

Hi Nixy,
I feel this is one of the best threads when it comes to technical aspects of job hunting & preparing for our self.

Well, I think I am in the same area as yours: Since I am also in testing: having an experience of 9Yrs in total: and my wife working at development side.

We are still waiting for the grant to happen, meanwhile could you advice me the format of testing & developemnt CVs, current job market & the skills or tools in demand? 

Your first post was really worth it & lot to learn & understand from it. Thanks very much.


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

zakavath_sydney said:


> Hi Nixy,
> I feel this is one of the best threads when it comes to technical aspects of job hunting & preparing for our self.
> 
> Well, I think I am in the same area as yours: Since I am also in testing: having an experience of 9Yrs in total: and my wife working at development side.
> ...


Hi,

Glad to know that you feel that this thread is a good one..

All the very best for your future and I am sure, you will be granted a job soon..

W.R.T CVs there is no sure shot formula...but its different from India. Here instead of elaborating on your skill set, you have to mention more about your achievements, this will in turn tell the employer that you achieved xyz because of abc skill set.

Also I used CV tips as a reference point mentioned on seek.

Per my knowledge, the job market is a bit sluggish, but that doesn't matter. Because as such each of us is looking for one job only, so if our experience is good enough, I don't see a problem in grabbing a job. I know now its easier for me to say that, but this the fact. Eventually everyone gets job. For someone it might take just 2 wks to grab it and for other it might be 2 months. The key is don't get frustrated, keep giving your best and you will surely get the best..

All the very best

I presume that the information I provided will be of some help to you. And let me know if you need further information.

Cheers,
Nixy


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

zakavath_sydney said:


> Hi Nixy,
> I feel this is one of the best threads when it comes to technical aspects of job hunting & preparing for our self.
> 
> Well, I think I am in the same area as yours: Since I am also in testing: having an experience of 9Yrs in total: and my wife working at development side.
> ...


And sorry, I forget to respond to your query about skills and tools in demand. It would be good if you have some experience in automation testing. And if you know the basics of automation, switching tools won't be an issue. Here mostly the market is in Financial domain testing OR mobile space (this is purely my observation and I have no statistics to prove it)

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Nixy


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## Aditi (Nov 8, 2011)

Yet another informative post on job hunting. Thanks a lot!!

Best!
A




coolnixy said:


> Time again to write a post here and giving back to forum!
> 
> Well, I have written a post about my journey from India to Oz, but this one is about post landing and settling down. If you are interested in knowing things from beginning, go to my previous post.
> 
> ...


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## Prashanthik (Jan 10, 2013)

Hi Coolnixy,

Congrats on getting a job. I wanted your advice reg job oppurtunities.

I had applied for NSW state sponsorship on Jan 7th 2013 as a Developer programmer.
I am still waiting for their approval.
Firstly,below are my husbands(Ramkumar) and my skillset.
Prashanthi:

3.6 years of expereince in implementation and maintenance of Dotnet applications.
Dotnet skills-ADO DotNET, Advanced DotNET, ASP DotNET, CSharp Programming, Dot Net MVC3, Entity Framework, Ajax,WCF services,LINQ.

Ramkumar:

7 years of experience in Software Testing (Banking and credit Cards domain).
Currently managing a team.
Expertise in VisionPLUS (credit card product) 
Good Knowledge in Lending, Core and Margin Lending modules
Good knowledge in QTP.
Preparation of test strategy, test plan, test approach, test scenarios, test cases, test scripts.
Providing project Estimations,assigning tasks for the sub-ordinates, Defect reporting and tracking

Questions:
1.Scope of dotnet and testing jobs with the above skill set in Sydney?
2.My husband has expereicne on manual testing.meanwhile should he learn some tools like QTP.Would that be helpful?
3.Which consulatncies have u applied for?
4.How much salary should we expect?

Thanks.


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## theonlyme (Oct 7, 2012)

Very informative post on job hunting. Thanks a ton CoolNixy !!


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## kanmaj10 (Sep 29, 2012)

coolnixy said:


> Hi Skj,
> 
> I was a test lead in India, but here we don't get directly senior roles (unless u r super lucky) I got a role of Test Analyst.
> 
> ...


Hi Nixy,

First of all , I can't stress enough , how helpful your experiences has been in planning my trip.
I needed some information on how you managed your finances during the move.
Did you setup an australian bank account from India and then transfer money worth 3 months expenses ? How much should be a average expense amount per month for a family of husband, wife and 2 yr kid. I am estimating about 2200 AUD including everything. Are there any other major expenses . Did you feel the need to buy a car immediately after reaching or was everything at walking distance in Strathfield. Any words of wisdom on which bank account to choose?


Keep sharing your story and very soon we will have a collection which can challenge the "Hitchhikers guide ...to the .." 
Thanks again !!


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## expatkukku (Feb 12, 2013)

Congratulations for job


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

Prashanthik said:


> Hi Coolnixy,
> 
> Congrats on getting a job. I wanted your advice reg job oppurtunities.
> 
> ...


Hi,

Sorry for the delay in responding..I was bit occupied with some personal stuff..(house hunting and stuff..thinking to write a post on that as well, if people want it)

Anyways, great to know that you have applied for state sponsorship and I hope you will get approval soon.

My response to your questions in-line in blue


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

kanmaj10 said:


> Hi Nixy,
> 
> First of all , I can't stress enough , how helpful your experiences has been in planning my trip.
> I needed some information on how you managed your finances during the move.
> ...


Hey,

I am really glad to know that my posts are helpful to the community. I am also happy to know my experience is helping you plan your journey..All the very best mate..

As I mentioned in my previous response to this thread, I might write my journey to house hunting in Sydney (if people are really interested)

To answer your question, I didn't have had any Australian account when I was in India (I doubt if you can open a bank account here in Australia, not being physically present here!)

Frankly speaking, I and my wife, just got Rs converted to AUD and brought all in cash.. 

About bank accounts, there are good banks here..like Common Wealth Bank, WestPac, NAB etc.... You can choose any one based on your need...You can walking to any of these banks branches and have a chat with them as to what you need and decide what you want..I presume, NAB is offering a FREE bank account, no monthly charges and no minimum balance..You can confirm once you reach here...


To your question on avg monthly expense, I have repeated a few times, that expenses are all based on your lifestyle..

Like if you are planning to have your own unit leased @400 - 450/wk it will be around 1800/month. Then you will have gas, electricty and what not...
So initially it would be advisable to look for a place in sharing to reduce the costs..
But then there is a question of privacy when you are living in shared accommodation..

Also I am not sure about the expenses of a kid, so I can't comment on that..

I have not bought a car till date ( planning to buy one ) The place where we live in strathfield, things are pretty close so I didn't buy a car yet. But as I mentioned things are based on your lifestyle..Getting a car as soon as you land, might add up to your expenses..Makes sense?

I think I have written enough...so all the best and lemme know if there is anything I can help you with...

Thanks,
Nixy


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## Tas Burrfoot (Aug 4, 2012)

Pls do share about your house hunting adventure...

Thanks!


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## johnchacks (Feb 27, 2013)

Hi Nixy,

Congrats for this motivating thread to others.. So much of info.. i been new to this forum, for a quiet while due to a second thought of landing without a job in Auz retained me and my wife for applying for visa. Reading through ur experiance, Im just want to put my plan back n track..We had a fear of not landing to the right job ..required more advice frm u..if u dont mind..

Regards
John






Well, I have written a post about my journey from India to Oz, but this one is about post landing and settling down. If you are interested in knowing things from beginning, go to my previous post.

This post is about some tips and tricks and how you can plan to get a job!!
For those who don’t know me, I am from India. I have around 7 years of total work experience and around 5 years in IT. I am software test professional who was managing a test team from end to end. That is from recruiting team members to salary appraisals, bonus, other stuff and everything in between including actual testing!

After around 1 and a half month’s struggle, I finally managed to get a job here in Sydney and that too in my field only! Last one and a half month had been a roller coaster ride for me with a mixed bag of emotions like fear, frustration, anger, excitement, happiness and what not!!

We (my wife and me) landed in Sydney on August, 20 – 2012 and after settling down in terms of getting rented home, TFN, Medicare card and other stuff we started our job hunt from August, 24 – 2012 (Friday), but since here you can’t expect much happening on Friday, we practically started our job hunt from August, 27 – 2012. My wife is a developer with 7 years of development experience and she cracked her first job in 3 wks time (lucky her!!). I finally grabbed a job yesterday. I have 2 offer letters with me and an option to choose from the two!! 

Instead of wasting your time, I am directly coming to point :focus:. Below is a list of things that we learned from our experience and we thought of sharing with you all, hoping it will be helpful to some of you as well.

•	First and foremost don’t send the same resume/cv for all jobs. Job hunting in Sydney is itself a full time job. For each job that you are applying, modify your resume to fit the requirements (but please don’t lie) If you have done what the job posting is asking for, modify your resume to match the requirements!!:ranger:
•	Don’t rely on single source of application. I mean don’t rely only on seek.com.au You can use other job boards and if come to know about direct employers it’s best to apply directly to employer (you can try snipey.com as well, it posts jobs directly from employers as well)
•	Use linkedin as well for job hunt
•	Till the time you are applying and waiting for interviews to happen, prepare yourself. Don’t waste time. Promise yourself that if I get an interview call, I will be so prepared that I’ll be selected for sure. (I applied to many job postings, but I was not getting any calls for interview. So I promised myself that even if I get one chance of interview, I’ll never let it go. I just appeared for 2 interviews and I have offer letter from both employers!! My last interview lasted for 8 hours!! Yes you read it correct, 8 hours! The next day I got the offer letter!! And you will not believe, I will also be paid for my interview day!! As I spent my full day there!!)
•	Maintain a list of positions you are applying on, be it excel file, word file or whatever but you should be able to keep a track of postings where you have applied
•	As mentioned in first point, since you will modify your resume for each job you are applying, keep a copy of same for your reference as well. What I used to do is had a main resume template. For each job that I applied, I saved a copy of the main template and modified according to job posting. Rename the copy of resume so that you can easily track it. I followed the following naming convention
Resume_PositionAppliedFor_Reference_jobposteddate_agencyname
Example
Resume_TestAnalyst_seek_20Sept_hays
Resume_SrTestAnalyst_Careerone_22Sept_peoplesbank
•	Wherever possible, follow up. The best is by calling them and if not, you can send an email. When I maintained the excel of jobs I was applying, I was also writing down the contact person’s name and contact details if it was given in job posting and used to call them or email them after applying(the next day). Also keep a track of follows you are doing, say when you called you got voicemail, so give a call after sometime or next day and things like that (but you have a maintain a balance between being professional and not sounding too desperate)
•	Reach out to as many people as you know and tell them frankly that you are looking for a job and if he/she can help you. You never know how and when things can click (I got a message from this forum’s member about my web development business, because I mentioned in my post that I develop websites as well!!)
•	This is the most difficult one, but never loose hope (I lost it, but thanks to my wife, my mom & expat forum members (for their kind words on my last post) who were always there to support me when I was down)
•	Plan things in advance. Say if you are carrying money enough to support yourself for 3 months, at least try for 2.5 months to get job in your field and if that’s not working then only look for Woolies, coles or other such jobs (last week, one of my known person got me a job to work in a warehouse @ 18/hr and I was so frustrated with not getting job, that I accepted the offer, but then my wife told not to start that one and focus on my field job for next 2 wks and if that’s not working then look after such job. And great thanks to her, I didn’t start that job!)

I think this is more than enough for this post. I’ll write another post soon with some more tips and tricks ( and forgive me if I can’t write a post soon, because I am starting my job from Monday so I may be bit occupied with that, but I will write for sure!)

All the best to all of you for your job hunt. Feel free to reach me for any questions you may have and I would be more than happy to help out (if I can!)
*
DISCLAIMER:* The points above are purely from my experience and it might or might not work for you as is, so use your understanding. This is just for reference. I don’t want anybody to be mis-directed because of my experience.

Regards,
Nixy[/QUOTE]


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

*Don't loose hope is the moral of the story *

Hey John,

I am not a philosopher, but would just like to say that its okay to be defeated by the actual condition rather than being defeated just by our thought. I can't guarantee that you will get a job straightaway, but one thing is for sure, if you try really hard, you will surely get a job..But if you just think that I will not get a job and never try then by no means you will get a job...

I understand that people always try to calculate risk before leaving their existing good job and stuff, but the fact is that success always lies outside your comfort zone...

So buck up mate and give it a try, if you succeed, awesome, if you fail you will have satisfaction that at least I tried and flunked..

All the very best..

N



johnchacks said:


> Hi Nixy,
> 
> Congrats for this motivating thread to others.. So much of info.. i been new to this forum, for a quiet while due to a second thought of landing without a job in Auz retained me and my wife for applying for visa. Reading through ur experiance, Im just want to put my plan back n track..We had a fear of not landing to the right job ..required more advice frm u..if u dont mind..
> 
> ...


[/QUOTE]


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## MechIndia (Mar 7, 2013)

Thanks.
That is one good detailed post.
And like the CV record bit.


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## monty83 (Oct 5, 2012)

coolnixy said:


> Hey,
> 
> I am really glad to know that my posts are helpful to the community. I am also happy to know my experience is helping you plan your journey..All the very best mate..
> 
> ...


Hi nixy,

nice to read your threads n experience...its motivating...i have just got my visa grant VISA 489 regional sponsored and planning to move to perth (city mandurah) WA by august... i have big question in my minde ..can u give any tips on how to find temporary accomodation in the initial days till i get a job n go for confirm place....i will be accompanied by my wife n infant...We decided to land together and to win the new phase of life...
how mcuh cash we can take in hand in AUD or else will my indian nri account will work there i have debit card to withdraw money...what do u suggest...


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