# Initial entry + job hunt + experiance



## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

After quitting my work in Bangalore, I decided to spend some quality time with my parents. 2 weeks after, booked an oneway ticket to Melbourne with Singapore Airlines (30K Rs). Booked my short stay at youth hostel @ 30AUD per night. Also arranged for “Skybus” from airport to hostel thr there webpage. Since I was not sure about allowed luggage weight, I packed 2 bags with 20Kgs each. One was must to have and another bag containing good to have items. 26th May, SG guys allowed 40Kgs at the check-in. Flight was half empty and service was good. I planned to spend some time in Singapore so had opted for night flight from Singapore to Melbourne (Airbus 380). Got on-arrival visitor visa at Singapore at no extra cost. Took the metro to city, met my friend & did some shopping. (Electronics are cheap here compared to Oz). lane: Got the GST refund at the airport. Free internet at the airport was good. Landed in Melbourne @ 8 AM. Travel from airport to hostel was quick and incident free. After 3days, I shift to my friends place for a month. Public transport is very good when compared to India. Metcard is confusing; mykey is the best options now. 
Liked Melbourne, started the job hunt. Used to see at least one new job posting for Solaris Unix admin every day, thought it would be easy to get a job. But I was wrong, without local experience none of the company’s entertained my resume (9 years solid Solaris exp.) Recruitment agents were getting excited about my profile, but that was not the case with the client. Reformatted my resume, so that the first page of the CV gives quick overview of my profile. Gave 2 Face-to-Face interviews and 1 telephonic interview, got an offer from only one. I took it. It took me 2 months to find a job!!!!
After staying with my friend for 1 month, I moved to a furnished studio apartment right in CDB for 280$ per week. Lease is for 6 months and 1 month’s bond. I found it to be economical since I will be saving at travel and eating-out. 
Since I have leaved around the world 
•	Central library membership – advantages are.. It is free, free internet/wifi, scanner is free, get to borrow book/dvd, print/photocopy is priced at minimal 20C per page.
•	VicRoad – India licenses (if in English) is valid for 6 months. Else you need to have international license. Make sure your name in passport and Indian license matches else you need to get a letter from locale RTO stating that it is the same person. Conversion of license consists of 3 parts. 2 computer based exams and 1 driver test. Based on the test center drive test slot has a waiting period of 1 to 2 months. If you book all 3 exams with a single transaction it would cost around 87.20$ (u can have all 3 exams on the same day or spread it across different dates). But separate transaction for each exam will cost more. They also need address proof (bank statement will do). Here most of people use driving license has their primary ID card. Getting a driving license conversion is a pain. If the name format in your passport doesn’t match with that in your driving license then you need to get a letter from your local RTO. More details are @ IHC visa information - Australia - India Drivers Licence Verification 
•	TFN can be done online. You will not get the number online but will be sent to a local address. It would take max 28days. If you didn’t get the letter, you can call them and ask for you TFN. To change the address again you need to show them address proof.
•	Internet is not cheap compared to India. But if you have a 3G phone you could get a prepaid data SIM and use it with your laptop has modem. Else free wifi is available at MacDonald or central library. I am using 3G from 3 with 2G @ 30$ per month. VOIP call using laptop on 3G is good. But video thr skype was not good (network issue)
• You can get Lebara prepaid SIM for making oversea/local calls. For India it is 5C per min + 25C flagfall.
•	If you plan to stay outside the CBD and like to visit the city once in a while “Mykey” is a good option. It saves money and you don’t need to figure out which ticket to buy. 
•	You can get True copy certification at local Police station for free. POST & Pharmacy may charge sometime. 
•	I used Skybus for my airport to hostel transport. Booked it online & had the printout handy. Good service.
•	Coles is the cheapest supermarket to buys stuff. 7/11 is a rip-off.
• I booked Singapore Airline one-way for 30K Rs online. Call center support were not aware of 40Kg allowance for first time immigrants. I went to airport with 2 x 20Kg baggage. I was allowed 40Kg at check-in. But my wife who started yesterday was allowed only 20Kg. Alternate economical method is to get it through Indian POST. They charge 5,000Rs for 20Kg. Condition apply. 
•	Oz PR will get 4 days visitor visa on arrival in Singapore if you have a valid outbound ticket.
•	There is a baggage room at Singapore airport for minimal cost.
•	Electronic items are cheap in Singapore compare to Oz land. GST refund can be availed at Singapore airport (need to have the GST refund receipt). 
•	Ambulance is not covered under medicare, better to get covered Ambulance Victoria | Melbourne & Rural Victoria's Ambulance Service - Ambulance Victoria
•	I will opt for private medical insurance once I get me first salary $$$$, it will save tax & time at hospital. 
•	Attire for all the interviews was Suit with a tie.


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## Gaurav (Oct 29, 2009)

Toooooo Good Avinash, :clap2:
Please keep posting in this thread, as and when u get time 
Wish u best of the best luck in job hunt. :clap2::clap2::clap2:

*NB:and help us when we arrive there *


avinash said:


> After quitting my work in Bangalore, I decided to spend some quality time with my parents. 2 weeks after, booked an oneway ticket to Melbourne with Singapore Airlines (30K Rs). Booked my short stay at youth hostel @ 30AUD per night. Also arranged for “Skybus” from airport to hostel thr there webpage. Since I was not sure about allowed luggage weight, I packed 2 bags with 20Kgs each. One was must to have and another bag containing good to have items. 26th May, SG guys allowed 40Kgs at the check-in. Flight was half empty and service was good. I planned to spend some time in Singapore so had opted for night flight from Singapore to Melbourne (Airbus 380). Got on-arrival visitor visa at Singapore at no extra cost. Took the metro to city, met my friend & did some shopping. (Electronics are cheap here compared to Oz). lane: Got the GST refund at the airport. Free internet at the airport was good. Landed in Melbourne @ 8 AM. Travel from airport to hostel was quick and incident free. After 3days, I shift to my friends place for a month. Public transport is very good when compared to India. Metcard is confusing; mykey is the best options now.
> Liked Melbourne, started the job hunt. Used to see at least one new job posting for Solaris Unix admin every day, thought it would be easy to get a job. But I was wrong, without local experience none of the company’s entertained my resume (9 years solid Solaris exp.) Recruitment agents were getting excited about my profile, but that was not the case with the client. Reformatted my resume, so that the first page of the CV gives quick overview of my profile. Gave 2 Face-to-Face interviews and 1 telephonic interview, got an offer from only one. I took it. It took me 2 months to find a job!!!!
> After staying with my friend for 1 month, I moved to a furnished studio apartment right in CDB for 280$ per week. Lease is for 6 months and 1 month’s bond. I found it to be economical since I will be saving at travel and eating-out.
> Since I have leaved around the world
> ...


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## ozsolz (Jul 10, 2009)

Excellent information Avinash and Conrats for the Job. Looking for few more information about the job interview.
1)Was your face to face interview with the client or with consultant? , what job site you used to search job there?
2) Was the interview technical or behavioural?
3) Did they asked to submit all the details from the previous employment, like resignation letter, relieving letter etc..

Regards...


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## Ozaspirant (Jun 27, 2009)

Congratulations Avinash!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .....It helped us a lot and I am glad that things went fine with you.......Good Luck


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## aarav (Jul 14, 2009)

Thanks for the post avinash..extremely helpful..


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## himanshi (Apr 4, 2010)

Congratulations Avinash!!! Really helpful info!!! Thanks!!


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## navendum (Mar 9, 2010)

Hey! Pal,

That's shows you being a great pal. All will remember you for your great help.

Keep it up like that

Best Wishes

Cheerio!!!
:ranger:




avinash said:


> After quitting my work in Bangalore, I decided to spend some quality time with my parents. 2 weeks after, booked an oneway ticket to Melbourne with Singapore Airlines (30K Rs). Booked my short stay at youth hostel @ 30AUD per night. Also arranged for “Skybus” from airport to hostel thr there webpage. Since I was not sure about allowed luggage weight, I packed 2 bags with 20Kgs each. One was must to have and another bag containing good to have items. 26th May, SG guys allowed 40Kgs at the check-in. Flight was half empty and service was good. I planned to spend some time in Singapore so had opted for night flight from Singapore to Melbourne (Airbus 380). Got on-arrival visitor visa at Singapore at no extra cost. Took the metro to city, met my friend & did some shopping. (Electronics are cheap here compared to Oz). lane: Got the GST refund at the airport. Free internet at the airport was good. Landed in Melbourne @ 8 AM. Travel from airport to hostel was quick and incident free. After 3days, I shift to my friends place for a month. Public transport is very good when compared to India. Metcard is confusing; mykey is the best options now.
> Liked Melbourne, started the job hunt. Used to see at least one new job posting for Solaris Unix admin every day, thought it would be easy to get a job. But I was wrong, without local experience none of the company’s entertained my resume (9 years solid Solaris exp.) Recruitment agents were getting excited about my profile, but that was not the case with the client. Reformatted my resume, so that the first page of the CV gives quick overview of my profile. Gave 2 Face-to-Face interviews and 1 telephonic interview, got an offer from only one. I took it. It took me 2 months to find a job!!!!
> After staying with my friend for 1 month, I moved to a furnished studio apartment right in CDB for 280$ per week. Lease is for 6 months and 1 month’s bond. I found it to be economical since I will be saving at travel and eating-out.
> Since I have leaved around the world
> ...


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## navendum (Mar 9, 2010)

Hey!,

By the way, may i know which visa did you apply for immigration?

:clap2:Best Wishes:clap2:

Cheerio!!!
:ranger:





avinash said:


> After quitting my work in Bangalore, I decided to spend some quality time with my parents. 2 weeks after, booked an oneway ticket to Melbourne with Singapore Airlines (30K Rs). Booked my short stay at youth hostel @ 30AUD per night. Also arranged for “Skybus” from airport to hostel thr there webpage. Since I was not sure about allowed luggage weight, I packed 2 bags with 20Kgs each. One was must to have and another bag containing good to have items. 26th May, SG guys allowed 40Kgs at the check-in. Flight was half empty and service was good. I planned to spend some time in Singapore so had opted for night flight from Singapore to Melbourne (Airbus 380). Got on-arrival visitor visa at Singapore at no extra cost. Took the metro to city, met my friend & did some shopping. (Electronics are cheap here compared to Oz). lane: Got the GST refund at the airport. Free internet at the airport was good. Landed in Melbourne @ 8 AM. Travel from airport to hostel was quick and incident free. After 3days, I shift to my friends place for a month. Public transport is very good when compared to India. Metcard is confusing; mykey is the best options now.
> Liked Melbourne, started the job hunt. Used to see at least one new job posting for Solaris Unix admin every day, thought it would be easy to get a job. But I was wrong, without local experience none of the company’s entertained my resume (9 years solid Solaris exp.) Recruitment agents were getting excited about my profile, but that was not the case with the client. Reformatted my resume, so that the first page of the CV gives quick overview of my profile. Gave 2 Face-to-Face interviews and 1 telephonic interview, got an offer from only one. I took it. It took me 2 months to find a job!!!!
> After staying with my friend for 1 month, I moved to a furnished studio apartment right in CDB for 280$ per week. Lease is for 6 months and 1 month’s bond. I found it to be economical since I will be saving at travel and eating-out.
> Since I have leaved around the world
> ...


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

Will try my best to help you guys when you reach Melbourne. Plz drop me a PM. 

I have joined a consultant company thr which I am deputed a client’s place.
First round was with the manager (FF), second one was logical thinking (3hr written) 3rd was technical (telephonic) and 4th was with client (thr phone from consultant office). They didn’t ask for any previous employment letters. I have my LinkedIn profile up-to-date along with recommendation from most of my previous companies. Consultant asked me for the referral (oral) I gave them two local contacts with whom I had worked with before. 
Since I didn’t had local experience I had to reduce my rates 10% less than market. 


Visa was 175.


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## navendum (Mar 9, 2010)

Hey! Pal,


Thanks a lot for your information

Best Wishes

Cheerio!!!
:ranger:



avinash said:


> Will try my best to help you guys when you reach Melbourne. Plz drop me a PM.
> 
> I have joined a consultant company thr which I am deputed a client’s place.
> First round was with the manager (FF), second one was logical thinking (3hr written) 3rd was technical (telephonic) and 4th was with client (thr phone from consultant office). They didn’t ask for any previous employment letters. I have my LinkedIn profile up-to-date along with recommendation from most of my previous companies. Consultant asked me for the referral (oral) I gave them two local contacts with whom I had worked with before.
> ...


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## mr.india (Jul 28, 2009)

avinash said:


> After quitting my work in Bangalore, I decided to spend some quality time with my parents. 2 weeks after, booked an oneway ticket to Melbourne with Singapore Airlines (30K Rs). Booked my short stay at youth hostel @ 30AUD ...........
> .............
> .............
> .............
> •	Attire for all the interviews was Suit with a tie.


Hey thanks and congrats Avinash..for getting job.. your post was very helpful specially for people like us who are making their initial entry in a month's time. 

Keep sending updates and good luck..
Randhir Singh


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## aussieland (Oct 14, 2008)

thanks avinash....helpful post..
can u plz describe abit more about the 3 rounds of interview?


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

1) Manager was marketing the company. I got questions about my background & my future plans. No technical questions were asked.
2)Logical thinking was fun to do. I cant explain the questions. I think cool mind should help to crack this type of exam. Questions contained all the details about how to answer the question.!!!!
3) Technical was not much detailed it was for like 15mins. Basic day-to-day problem faced .etc .. etc..


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## balajiradhika (Jun 29, 2009)

avinash said:


> Will try my best to help you guys when you reach Melbourne. Plz drop me a PM.
> 
> I have joined a consultant company thr which I am deputed a client’s place.
> First round was with the manager (FF), second one was logical thinking (3hr written) 3rd was technical (telephonic) and 4th was with client (thr phone from consultant office). They didn’t ask for any previous employment letters. I have my LinkedIn profile up-to-date along with recommendation from most of my previous companies. Consultant asked me for the referral (oral) I gave them two local contacts with whom I had worked with before.
> ...


Thanks for the interesting post. I am going to India on 06 Aug 2010 for 176 Visa stamping and shall start from Delhi on 30 Aug 2010. I am intrigued by your 40 kg baggage information. I too would like to use this facility (Singapore Airlines). Please advice how to go about it.

Thanks and regards

Balajiradhika


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

balajiradhika said:


> Thanks for the interesting post. I am going to India on 06 Aug 2010 for 176 Visa stamping and shall start from Delhi on 30 Aug 2010. I am intrigued by your 40 kg baggage information. I too would like to use this facility (Singapore Airlines). Please advice how to go about it.
> 
> Thanks and regards
> 
> Balajiradhika


I did my ticket booking online. It was a one-way ticket. May be if you consult a travell agent he could confirm you a ticket with 40Kg. Singapore airlines call-center(Bangalore) is the worst that I have interacted with. If travel agent is not able to help you, then next best option is to book the ticket yourself and carry two luggage with "must have" & "good to have" stuff separate. In case if they dont allow at check-in you could return it back to the send-off party and get it sent thr India Post for 5000Rs


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## kingrulzuk (Jan 19, 2010)

Congratulations Avinash!!! Really helpful info!!! Thanks a lot


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## aussieland (Oct 14, 2008)

avinash said:


> 1) Manager was marketing the company. I got questions about my background & my future plans. No technical questions were asked.
> 2)Logical thinking was fun to do. I cant explain the questions. I think cool mind should help to crack this type of exam. Questions contained all the details about how to answer the question.!!!!
> 3) Technical was not much detailed it was for like 15mins. Basic day-to-day problem faced .etc .. etc..


thanks for the useful info...


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## MaddyS (Jun 24, 2010)

hey Avinash, 

congratulations...and now enjoy work!!!!

and thanks a lot for all the useful information you have posted. 

based on your experience, how much more easier or difficult is for a person with local experience?


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## shafaqat309 (Apr 7, 2009)

avinash said:


> I did my ticket booking online. It was a one-way ticket. May be if you consult a travell agent he could confirm you a ticket with 40Kg. Singapore airlines call-center(Bangalore) is the worst that I have interacted with. If travel agent is not able to help you, then next best option is to book the ticket yourself and carry two luggage with "must have" & "good to have" stuff separate. In case if they dont allow at check-in you could return it back to the send-off party and get it sent thr India Post for 5000Rs


Do you see practically social grouping sites like linkedin etc helps in getting job?


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## ikhan (May 28, 2010)

avinash said:


> I did my ticket booking online. It was a one-way ticket. May be if you consult a travell agent he could confirm you a ticket with 40Kg. Singapore airlines call-center(Bangalore) is the worst that I have interacted with. If travel agent is not able to help you, then next best option is to book the ticket yourself and carry two luggage with "must have" & "good to have" stuff separate. In case if they dont allow at check-in you could return it back to the send-off party and get it sent thr India Post for 5000Rs



Hi Avinash,
Congratulations...
Hi, i want to know the JOb mkts for J2ee/Java..Is there good opng in OZ for 4+ yrs india exp.


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## sriikanth (May 23, 2009)

avinash said:


> After quitting my work in Bangalore, I decided to spend some quality time with my parents. 2 weeks after....
> 
> 
> 
> Fantastic Avinash you are a darling ....thanks for the post.


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## sunilphilip14 (Dec 13, 2009)

thanks a ton avinash...this kind of real-life experience is what people are looking for..


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## 10mct (Jul 12, 2010)

Best real life experience seen so far in the forum...


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## sgopi (Jan 15, 2010)

*Congrats*

Congrats ..That was very useful


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

thanks for sharing avinash


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## neo_leo (Jan 29, 2010)

thanks avinash...


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## RishiRiddhi (Jun 19, 2010)

avinash said:


> After quitting my work in Bangalore, I decided to spend some quality time with my parents. 2 weeks after, booked an oneway ticket to Melbourne with Singapore Airlines (30K Rs). Booked my short stay at youth hostel @ 30AUD per night. Also arranged for “Skybus” from airport to hostel thr there webpage. Since I was not sure about allowed luggage weight, I packed 2 bags with 20Kgs each. One was must to have and another bag containing good to have items. 26th May, SG guys allowed 40Kgs at the check-in. Flight was half empty and service was good. I planned to spend some time in Singapore so had opted for night flight from Singapore to Melbourne (Airbus 380). Got on-arrival visitor visa at Singapore at no extra cost. Took the metro to city, met my friend & did some shopping. (Electronics are cheap here compared to Oz). lane: Got the GST refund at the airport. Free internet at the airport was good. Landed in Melbourne @ 8 AM. Travel from airport to hostel was quick and incident free. After 3days, I shift to my friends place for a month. Public transport is very good when compared to India. Metcard is confusing; mykey is the best options now.
> Liked Melbourne, started the job hunt. Used to see at least one new job posting for Solaris Unix admin every day, thought it would be easy to get a job. But I was wrong, without local experience none of the company’s entertained my resume (9 years solid Solaris exp.) Recruitment agents were getting excited about my profile, but that was not the case with the client. Reformatted my resume, so that the first page of the CV gives quick overview of my profile. Gave 2 Face-to-Face interviews and 1 telephonic interview, got an offer from only one. I took it. It took me 2 months to find a job!!!!
> After staying with my friend for 1 month, I moved to a furnished studio apartment right in CDB for 280$ per week. Lease is for 6 months and 1 month’s bond. I found it to be economical since I will be saving at travel and eating-out.
> Since I have leaved around the world
> ...


Hi Avinash.. 

Congratulations for your job and excellent information. Thanks.

Just curious to know few more things:
How you would rate Indian Grocery item cost there? Any suggestion about carrying any grocery item more / less based on availability or price comparison. 
Did you face any typical problem at custom about things you carried? 
Were you required to do any process to get your initial entry validated?
Metcard and Mykey - Can you share some more idea like cost, validity etc on this? 
How did you handle the LOCAL EXPERIENCE issue? 
Can you share a little idea about the salary break up offered to you? i.e. what are and % of the generic deductions? Any benefits offered?

Keep writing.

Enjoy the Life..


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## era7bd (Nov 30, 2009)

avinash said:


> After quitting my work in Bangalore, I decided to spend some quality time with my parents. 2 weeks after, booked an oneway ticket to Melbourne with Singapore Airlines (30K Rs). Booked my short stay at youth hostel @ 30AUD per night. Also arranged for “Skybus” from airport to hostel thr there webpage. Since I was not sure about allowed luggage weight, I packed 2 bags with 20Kgs each. One was must to have and another bag containing good to have items. 26th May, SG guys allowed 40Kgs at the check-in. Flight was half empty and service was good. I planned to spend some time in Singapore so had opted for night flight from Singapore to Melbourne (Airbus 380). Got on-arrival visitor visa at Singapore at no extra cost. Took the metro to city, met my friend & did some shopping. (Electronics are cheap here compared to Oz). lane: Got the GST refund at the airport. Free internet at the airport was good. Landed in Melbourne @ 8 AM. Travel from airport to hostel was quick and incident free. After 3days, I shift to my friends place for a month. Public transport is very good when compared to India. Metcard is confusing; mykey is the best options now.
> Liked Melbourne, started the job hunt. Used to see at least one new job posting for Solaris Unix admin every day, thought it would be easy to get a job. But I was wrong, without local experience none of the company’s entertained my resume (9 years solid Solaris exp.) Recruitment agents were getting excited about my profile, but that was not the case with the client. Reformatted my resume, so that the first page of the CV gives quick overview of my profile. Gave 2 Face-to-Face interviews and 1 telephonic interview, got an offer from only one. I took it. It took me 2 months to find a job!!!!
> After staying with my friend for 1 month, I moved to a furnished studio apartment right in CDB for 280$ per week. Lease is for 6 months and 1 month’s bond. I found it to be economical since I will be saving at travel and eating-out.
> Since I have leaved around the world
> ...



Congratulation. It's your great success...............................

Thanks for your informative information


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

RishiRiddhi said:


> Hi Avinash..
> 
> Congratulations for your job and excellent information. Thanks.
> 
> ...


You can find quit a few Indian Grocery's here. Main problem I found with them are most of the items are expired or very old!!!! But You get every item that is available in India.

Dandenong is called little India.

If you convert $$$ to Rs you will see everything over priced. Even I was in that X40 Rs mode when I arrived, but trying to come-out of that mode.

Best I can suggest is get something that is homemade and not available in market.

You need to declare those items on arrival. Customs will ask few question & then decide to allow or not.

Nothing special about "Initial entry validation" just a rubber stamp from imm guys saying your new life starts now. 

Mykey webpage has all the details.

The company that I joined was not looking for "local experience"

Only super + salary + Travel nothing else.


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

All, Thank you very much for your wishes.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

avinash
to be frank, india isnt cheap anymore.. these days tomato a kig is 40-60 INR, for a kilo of rice it is anything between 80-110 INR, vegetables here are not cheap. u do get the cheap ones but if u want quality, one has to pay for it..


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## sunilphilip14 (Dec 13, 2009)

anj1976 said:


> avinash
> to be frank, india isnt cheap anymore.. these days tomato a kig is 40-60 INR, for a kilo of rice it is anything between 80-110 INR, vegetables here are not cheap. u do get the cheap ones but if u want quality, one has to pay for it..


i agree with anj.. singapore is pretty famous for the high cost of living.. but when i compare most of the thing i buy nowadays.. its way too costly in india now.. when we compare the earning:spending ratio, its getting tougher in india..


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## subbaram81 (Oct 26, 2009)

Avinash,

That was a quite useful and informational post for all the people planning to land in Oz.
Thanks a lot.


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## aarav (Jul 14, 2009)

I agree to anj..i feel india has become very expensive specially in a city like bombay and bangalore..its so expensive..starting from petrol,food products,cleaning products,maids everything its shooted up ..i stayed in dubai for a couple of years and came back to india and was shocked with the change..


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## joeman (Apr 19, 2009)

Funny !!!

I just started work and I had an indian colleague who work in Finance department and wanted to go back to india to get a job there as the opportunity are brighter there.

He told me after a while working in melbourne, you cant go far if you are minority group here. 

The company I work in fired all the IT staff (most are indians) and hired more local aussie staff to get the system up and running. 

This indian pal dont want to talk about the history but i can see the not everything is as good as what you hear or read in this forum.

Again I want to remind indian migrant not to always recommend your own friends into the work force, the local aussie will always feel threathen and dont like it when group of similar migrant gather together. 

To be honest, when i had a face to face talk with the local aussie, they dont really like indians in generally although I share with this local aussie that there are different kind of indians. 

Local aussie dont travel a lot overseas and so they tend to form an impression when a migrant comes in and does things that make everything looks bad. 

For avinash case, he is very very very fortunate to get a job within 2 months and most likely is just a contract job, there are more migrants out there who are still without a job and most work in petrol stations just to get by.


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## urk (Aug 4, 2010)

Avinash, is your job permanent or contract...

Forums members, do really life is so miserable for Indians migrating to Australia as per the views provided by joeman.


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## Ozaspirant (Jun 27, 2009)

joeman said:


> Funny !!!
> 
> I just started work and I had an indian colleague who work in Finance department and wanted to go back to india to get a job there as the opportunity are brighter there.
> 
> ...



Errrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!................This is not so good news


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

urk said:


> Avinash, is your job permanent or contract...
> 
> Forums members, do really life is so miserable for Indians migrating to Australia as per the views provided by joeman.


Permanent


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

joeman said:


> Funny !!!
> 
> I just started work and I had an indian colleague who work in Finance department and wanted to go back to india to get a job there as the opportunity are brighter there.
> 
> ...



I am not sure, just too new in Oz land to comment on this. But what I know is that in my team there are people from all region/race , and my company policy is very strict on racial discrimination. 

Regarding the job interviews your profile has to match there requirement. Company's don't entertain over or below qualification. For me the only missing thing was local experience.


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## joeman (Apr 19, 2009)

avinash said:


> I am not sure, just too new in Oz land to comment on this. But what I know is that in my team there are people from all region/race , and my company policy is very strict on racial discrimination.
> 
> Regarding the job interviews your profile has to match there requirement. Company's don't entertain over or below qualification. For me the only missing thing was local experience.


Aussie laws are strict on discrimination but local Aussie already know how to skirt around this...you will know as you go into the work force longer..I am also a minority and I havce seen that in my office..it is just that I choose to ignore it as I just want to do my work and go back home with my family...however I know in the longer run, it is not going to get me anyway...since i am already in my 30s, I choose to focus on family more than my career..a job is just a job..just get it done and after 5pm, it my family time....

You are indeed very lucky to land a perm job, just look around at petrol stations and taxi drivers, there are many indian doing these jobs...

Today, I was fixing citrix client machine and a guy just pop behind me and ask if I was recruiting anyone and I shake my head and say I am just a worker...THIS IS MELBOURNE...jobs are not easy to get !!! We can always tell our success but there are the real scenario out there we must tell others too..


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

*5 months in Oz & 3 month at work.*

Life has been good. Love the work environment. Weather has been good. 
Any Unix sys admins looking for a job with 5+ year exp & having a PR, contact me. No sponsership.


----------



## navendum (Mar 9, 2010)

Hi Avinash,

I appreciate your concern for the forum members. I'm a an Oracle DBA , working as a Sr. Business Analyst in one of the biggest company in INDIA, i.e RELIANCE INDUSTRIES LIMITED and I'm looking for an employer who can hire me on work visa. If you can help in this, then kindly let me know.

I look forward to hearing from you soon...

Thanks Buddy
NavenduM



avinash said:


> Life has been good. Love the work environment. Weather has been good.
> Any Unix sys admins looking for a job with 5+ year exp & having a PR, contact me. No sponsership.


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## ozsolz (Jul 10, 2009)

avinash said:


> Life has been good. Love the work environment. Weather has been good.
> Any Unix sys admins looking for a job with 5+ year exp & having a PR, contact me. No sponsership.


Hi Avinash, Its great hearing from you again..I never seen any forum member coming back and posting a job offer here and if everyone does that most of the migrants will land up with some sort of job..I send you a PM , let me give a try.


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## urk (Aug 4, 2010)

Hi Avinash,

I am java/j2ee guy... please let me know for any opportunities in Melbourne (by any chance).

I really appreciate you for trying to help other expats rather than pushing them back in their courage/hope... 

Cheers,
rk


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## ikhan (May 28, 2010)

Hi Avinash,


I am java/j2ee +6 yrs exp ( India+UAE) currently in sydney having PR, .. please let me know for any opportunities in Sydney.

Ikhan


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## devibon (Nov 24, 2008)

Hi Avinash,

You are just great nice guy. I've hardly seen any one like you sharing personal experiences. Congratulations for your achievement! Good going.

Devi


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

navendum said:


> Hi Avinash,
> 
> I appreciate your concern for the forum members. I'm a an Oracle DBA , working as a Sr. Business Analyst in one of the biggest company in INDIA, i.e RELIANCE INDUSTRIES LIMITED and I'm looking for an employer who can hire me on work visa. If you can help in this, then kindly let me know.
> 
> ...


PM me your resume, will see if there is any opening in our company.


----------



## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

ikhan said:


> Hi Avinash,
> 
> 
> I am java/j2ee +6 yrs exp ( India+UAE) currently in sydney having PR, .. please let me know for any opportunities in Sydney.
> ...


I have no clue about java/j2ee sorry guys.


----------



## tippu_kumar (Feb 8, 2009)

Avinash, 

That's a detailed post with so much useful information.

Wish you have a good time at Mel.

Tippu


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## rameshrk (Oct 31, 2010)

Hi Avinash,

I was reading through all your experiences . Awesome. Great.
Thanks for posting much-needed informartion.
Regards
Ramesh


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## rameshrk (Oct 31, 2010)

*Re:Funny*

Hi Joeman,

Can you please tell us in which you work and your nature of work. That will help us a lot particularly to expect the hard things. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Regards
Ramesh





joeman said:


> Funny !!!
> 
> I just started work and I had an indian colleague who work in Finance department and wanted to go back to india to get a job there as the opportunity are brighter there.
> 
> ...


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

*new Passport + Vic Road + Justice of Peace*

Had applied for new passport with name split to "Given name" and "Surname" (Vic Road was not ready to give me a test without this correction)
It took 1 month for the Indian consulate to send me the new passport along with the old passport. 
Since I have a digital India DL (Smart card), I am told that I don't need to get letter from local RTO & Consulate for the DL verification.
Will take the driving exam before this month end.

FYI Justice of Peace is a free service rendered by authorized citizens. 

Statutory Declaration form can be obtained free of cost at the Police station and most of the time there is an office who is also a JP to help you with the validation.

HTH


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## joeman (Apr 19, 2009)

Hi,

I am into IT Project Management, IT Implementation and IT operations. 

Skills: PMP, MSCE, ITIL, CCNA
Industry: Finance, Education and Pharmecutical
Experience : 12 years in IT, implement projects up to US$5 million 


First of all, let me clarify, each person have different level of experience in securing a job. My experience is similar to many average migrants. We came here with 2 luggages and send out as many resume as we can. We do get calls but there were no follow up from agents after the interview, we feel kind of "what going on ?" and then you call the agent and was told that someone has filled the job. 

This is a very common scenario migrants will all go through unless you have lot of money to bring here to tie over or you have friends or relatives to help you through. On average, spend no more than 1/3 of your saving on rental and have more for raining days. Bring at least AU$20K here to tie over at least 6 months. 


Well, I have met up with a forum member here who is into HR resourcing and he has shed with me about the economy and about jobs here. There are jobs but not all jobs will be given to migrants unless your skillset is super in demand and it will be easier if you come on sponorship.

Based on what he told me that there will be more contract jobs in the future compare to perm job and there is an estimate 160,000 migrants coming into Australia every year. On top of that, you have lots of people who comes here with other type of visas and they are also competing with us. There are also a lot of students who are bridging visa to get a job. and not to forget, there are many refugees here too who will eventually will also look for jobs. I know that there is at least 1000 Burmese families who came here to Australia because I am a volunteer at one of the not for profit organisation to issue out computers to their home.

My advice is for you to buy a 1 month ticket and come here and experience the life here. Have a fixed budget to work out like $20 a day and see if you can survive on that for food, transport etc and start to go for job hunt as well. At least you can get to see if this country is for you but I have to cautious that a tourist experience is different from a migrant experience because you have a ticket back home and a job but a migrant who give up everything to come here is subjected to a lot of stress as money will be tight...

But one day, you will get a job, some of my indian colleague got a good job after 1 year here, it may be not ideal but they bear the hardship for their kids' future.

That is why I find it strange that some forum members boast that they are working in their local countries in BIG companies and MNC with big status and still want to come here. I think this person won't last long here because he "married" his job status to who he in and in Australia, your job don't determine who you are, Australian look at you and who you are in person and not because of your job title.

In Australia, 70% of the companies are small to medium enterprise and is unlike Singapore or maybe India with big MNC coming in and people secure jobs like managers etc and they feel that they should also be a manager here in Australia. You have to remember that you are a migrant here and "a begger has no chooser", so disconnect your job status and throw away some pride to accept any job. 

Remember that you are here because you want your children to have a better future..and then you can bear through all the hardship.

There are not many people in this forum who will write of their hardship...everybody want to tell of their good side and maybe because we are Asian, we tend to hide the pain of our journey. 

Why dont you just come and ask any asian migrants to share with you their stories and I am sure you will be more prepare to come the next time when you get your PR and know what to expect...





rameshrk said:


> Hi Joeman,
> 
> Can you please tell us in which you work and your nature of work. That will help us a lot particularly to expect the hard things. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
> 
> ...


----------



## rameshrk (Oct 31, 2010)

*Thanks*

Hi Joeman,

That was a wonderful mail. It tells the pragmatic side of life for a migrant. This will help to a great extent in preparing ourselves before start the run there. Thanks a lot.

Regards
Ramesh


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## Raks (Dec 16, 2010)

I was planning to apply for Aus PR....I have 6 year Java/J2EE work ex which I found, is not suitable/demanding/exiting after exploring different threads in ExpatForum and other sources. 

Here in India I can get at least 25 job calls a day and can get a new job in max 10 days in any big MNC. For this profile you can easily get 2000 to 2200 USD/month permanent job with stability, job satisfaction. With this money you can afford own house/servants/car/good child education/car driver and various other things.

Now after exploring job situation in Aus, leaving my current job for getting a job in Aus is completely *NO NO*. I would like to wait for suitable opportunity to work in US/UK/Aus through Indian company then blindly leaving stable job for Aus dreams.:ranger:


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## Raks (Dec 16, 2010)

I would like to put one of my finding here that it is easier for IT Prof. to get job in US/UK then Aus....Still if you are trying for Aus, I would recommend to search a sponser first then to leave your stable job....if Aus really need you i.e your profile you will get calls.

This is what happened with me in 2006-7 I used to get lots of calls from Singapore for job once I uploaded CV on sg job sites and got few offers also. But now condition is not same I get calls but no offer. It all depends on your profile and demand in market.

I have spent 100s of hours and all my links to analyze and now I feel I sould not leave my stable job for Aus job dreem. Its totally a lottery right now. 

Second view is that it is, in my view, easier to get a opportunity here in India for a Aus client then getting a suitable job in Aus.


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## joeman (Apr 19, 2009)

HI all,

Well, after struggling for a few months on contract basis, I finally found a permanent job and have moved on. I find that my new place is more Aussie culture than the old place that I am in but I am thankful for my first job "local experience" that help me secure the 2nd job. 

My old job doesnt reflect the Aussie culture even though it was run by an Aussie boss. The person who took over my old job was an Indian nationality migrant and he was tell me he was asking half the pay I was getting and he was really desperate as he needed a job badly as he couldnt find a job for some months. 

Somehow along the conversation with people strugling for jobs, I also found that there are a hugh populations refuges here in Australia as Australia is obligated under United Nation obligations to accept a number of refuges and help them assimilated into the country. The law is tough now to get a visa for refugees but eventually, these people and their chidren will be competing with you or your children for jobs. 

On top of these, students studying here are also trying to get bridging visa and also willingly to do any jobs. To add to this, Australia allows 160,000 migrants to come in every year. 

Many migrants from China comes in with bag of money to buy properties and prices are all time high now. 

The indian guy who took over my job drop his dignity and pride and accept the pay. He told me that he came with 2 bags thinking he can secure a job and BANG !!! he met with reality, cost of living are high, money keeps on going out and no money coming into his pocket...his confidence drop and he just fight for any crumbs and jobs that come along....


I wish him the best to take this job as a stepping stone and move on....BUT...

Are you willing to take this road ????


----------



## sriikanth (May 23, 2009)

joeman said:


> HI all,
> 
> Well, after struggling for a few months on contract basis, I finally found a permanent job and have moved on. I find that my new place is more Aussie culture than the old place that I am in but I am thankful for my first job "local experience" that help me secure the 2nd job.
> 
> ...




That guy is a hard working guy and a survivor ... try to save his mobile number and call him after a year or two he will be earning more than you...


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## mr.india (Jul 28, 2009)

Wow.. everything in in the world changes, except this man... I am surprised, how can someone so negative in life.. well good luck man.


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## joeman (Apr 19, 2009)

LOL...to me it doesn't matter who is earning more...this indian guy took over my job that used to be a contract placement and the Aussie boss recruited him in as causal employee and pay him so much lesser...

I just wish this indian guy the best because I hope he can be converted to contract role or perm if the company can secure more business 


Anyway, for me, this is my past, I am happy to move forward... 

For me, the point I am pointing out is that as a migrant, you may have to swallow your pride and take some other form of jobs but for those who never understand what a migrant goes through because you never been in this path before, you will never understand what I write and think all these are negative saga...I wish you the best too....



sriikanth said:


> That guy is a hard working guy and a survivor ... try to save his mobile number and call him after a year or two he will be earning more than you...


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

*IT + Training + Certification.*

IT related training and certifications are very expensive here, compare to India. If you have the time and money, would suggest to get hold of few certifications before heading to Oz land.

Few recognized IT system side certifications ITIL, PRINCE2, VMWARE, REDHAT, TOGAF etc....

Update : 5 months into my first Oz job, my view about my work environment has changed a lot. There is lot of fun, no stress or competition. People are very helpful. Team weekly lunch and meeting are even more fun. Just loving it here 

Looking forward to salary hike, building a new house and get a car.


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## joeman (Apr 19, 2009)

Avinash,

I think you are lucky to land up in a good company and probably a mid size to large company cos you are having good time. 

Some migrants like myself never get into this big company because we lack local experience and hence take up any offer in small company and in my first case, a doggie small Aussie company.

I now end up in a large NGO similar to UNICEF and am very happy that I can do IT support related to helping refugees and projects for green technology I can say for sure that this is the sort of dream job that a migrant can land up because of the good Aussie positive culture I am experience.


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## jagadeesha (May 20, 2010)

Thanks a lot Avinash and Joe
It is a great Experience and useful information... it has both sides of our life… sweet and sour
I am waiting for Vic SS(2231-79 Oracle & SQL DBA)…. Hoping for +ve reply from Victoria 
Anyone applied for SS with same skill set ?


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## Zenji (May 24, 2009)

Avinash I also moved here and am happy as. Glad to see you have also moved and are living the dream - welcome brother!

Dennis


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## manisha (Oct 6, 2009)

good post avinash and all the best with your aussie relocation!!!

manisha


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## anphyfrancis (Dec 27, 2010)

That was a nice write up.
My husband has more or less had a similar experience.
He is in Sydney on PR(subclass 175)
you mentioned about your wife traveling.
Curious to know what visa she is on.I am applying for my spouse visa next week and would really be grateful if you can shed any light on it.


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

anphyfrancis said:


> That was a nice write up.
> My husband has more or less had a similar experience.
> He is in Sydney on PR(subclass 175)
> you mentioned about your wife traveling.
> Curious to know what visa she is on.I am applying for my spouse visa next week and would really be grateful if you can shed any light on it.


She was part of my PR application along with my daughter.


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## Arun2121 (Jan 2, 2011)

Dear Avinash and Joeman,

Thanks for the great info's. Will be moving in to Perth soon.


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## devibon (Nov 24, 2008)

avinash said:


> IT related training and certifications are very expensive here, compare to India. If you have the time and money, would suggest to get hold of few certifications before heading to Oz land.
> 
> Few recognized IT system side certifications ITIL, PRINCE2, VMWARE, REDHAT, TOGAF etc....
> 
> ...


Hi Avinash,

Thanks for the info. Your postings are very helpful. In case you have an idea could you please shed some light on the SAP Functional Job market in Oz.

Thanks in advance.
Devi


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## 10mct (Jul 12, 2010)

avinash said:


> ...Few recognized IT system side certifications ITIL, *PRINCE2*, VMWARE, REDHAT, TOGAF etc.... .....


thanks avinash for the wonderful post.
Congrats for your achievemnt  .
Just wanted to share this additional observation that i have regarding the au-market (i may be wrong).
Have been following the AU-IT news since quite time. seems there is / there will be shortage of datacentre and system support - Technical people. That ofcourse will mean a lot of openings for the Experienced and techie-administrators like you.


BTW- you have mentioned prince2 does that mean that prince2 is more recognised than PMP??


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

I am not sure about PMP, but prince2 is in demand here.


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

devibon said:


> Hi Avinash,
> 
> Thanks for the info. Your postings are very helpful. In case you have an idea could you please shed some light on the SAP Functional Job market in Oz.
> 
> ...


I have no idea.


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## Dhawal (Oct 29, 2010)

avinash said:


> After quitting my work in Bangalore, I decided to spend some quality time with my parents. 2 weeks after, booked an oneway ticket to Melbourne with Singapore Airlines (30K Rs). Booked my short stay at youth hostel @ 30AUD per night. Also arranged for “Skybus” from airport to hostel thr there webpage. Since I was not sure about allowed luggage weight, I packed 2 bags with 20Kgs each. One was must to have and another bag containing good to have items. 26th May, SG guys allowed 40Kgs at the check-in. Flight was half empty and service was good. I planned to spend some time in Singapore so had opted for night flight from Singapore to Melbourne (Airbus 380). Got on-arrival visitor visa at Singapore at no extra cost. Took the metro to city, met my friend & did some shopping. (Electronics are cheap here compared to Oz). lane: Got the GST refund at the airport. Free internet at the airport was good. Landed in Melbourne @ 8 AM. Travel from airport to hostel was quick and incident free. After 3days, I shift to my friends place for a month. Public transport is very good when compared to India. Metcard is confusing; mykey is the best options now.
> Liked Melbourne, started the job hunt. Used to see at least one new job posting for Solaris Unix admin every day, thought it would be easy to get a job. But I was wrong, without local experience none of the company’s entertained my resume (9 years solid Solaris exp.) Recruitment agents were getting excited about my profile, but that was not the case with the client. Reformatted my resume, so that the first page of the CV gives quick overview of my profile. Gave 2 Face-to-Face interviews and 1 telephonic interview, got an offer from only one. I took it. It took me 2 months to find a job!!!!
> After staying with my friend for 1 month, I moved to a furnished studio apartment right in CDB for 280$ per week. Lease is for 6 months and 1 month’s bond. I found it to be economical since I will be saving at travel and eating-out.
> Since I have leaved around the world
> ...





Hi Avinash,
Congrats for getting the visa.........and getting settled in Aus.......But did you anticipate getting the visa grant so fast?How come the whole process took just 4-5 months? Do you see any specific reason that expedited the process that you would like to share?

BR/Dhawal.


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

Dhawal, I never thought that I will be in Australia in the year 2010 itself. It was may be fate or luck. If I am not wrong avg time for the visa process was 6 months for all the Dec 2009 applications. Lot of applications submitted in the month of Nov 2009 to Feb 2010 was processed very fast. 

It is import to give some time for the visa application and plan accordingly. Till the visa is approved, it feels like it is the most diff stage, but I have seen so many people who got the visa approved without any hiccups. Yaa agree, approval time varies but at the end most of them got visa. I have not seen an application rejected/re-applied in this forum!!! Touchwood everyone in this forum has got a visa or will get a visa. 

Like I mentioned before it is very important to be well prepared for Oz job market, and groom yourself to stand out from the crowd. More skilled you have, better the chances of job offer with nice pay. It is very expensive to upgrade your skill in Oz compare to India.


All the best with your application.


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## Dhawal (Oct 29, 2010)

avinash said:


> Dhawal, I never thought that I will be in Australia in the year 2010 itself. It was may be fate or luck. If I am not wrong avg time for the visa process was 6 months for all the Dec 2009 applications. Lot of applications submitted in the month of Nov 2009 to Feb 2010 was processed very fast.
> 
> It is import to give some time for the visa application and plan accordingly. Till the visa is approved, it feels like it is the most diff stage, but I have seen so many people who got the visa approved without any hiccups. Yaa agree, approval time varies but at the end most of them got visa. I have not seen an application rejected/re-applied in this forum!!! Touchwood everyone in this forum has got a visa or will get a visa.
> 
> ...


Hi Avinash,
Thanks a lot.......My application was lodged on 22nd Nov and waiting for the CO to be appointed.....
The wait is definitely a long agonising one..........


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

Online shopping rocks  saved 25% on what retail chains quote. Cheap Bargains : Welcome to Cheap Bargains is one of them.

For cotton mattress , I recommend Futon Plus

ebay and gumtree is also good.

HTH


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

noted


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## ckrags (Jan 21, 2011)

*Bangalore*

Avinash,I am from Bangalore, got the PR visa in Sept 2010.
I am currently employed in Bangalore , a very good job, leading a team on NET.
I plan to come to Melbourne in Feb just to satisfy my first entry requirement.
Is there any apartments/hotels in Melbourne with economical fares near CBD?
Please let me know.


----------



## ckrags (Jan 21, 2011)

*Help in Melbourne*

Avinash, I would also appreciate if someone from India can accomodate me for a week (ofcourse paid accomodation)?
Please let me know.

Thanks,
Raghavendra


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

Right now I stay 30min from CBD, in a 3bhk alone. U can stay with me if u want. PM me if u need more info. My family is visting Blr for a month. 

HTHT



ckrags said:


> Avinash, I would also appreciate if someone from India can accomodate me for a week (ofcourse paid accomodation)?
> Please let me know.
> 
> Thanks,
> Raghavendra


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## ckrags (Jan 21, 2011)

*Melb Stay*

Thanks Avinash ! That would be great !
How do I PM you?:confused2:


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

hi ck, you can not pm since you have just 3 posts


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## ckrags (Jan 21, 2011)

Thanks for the info


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## ckrags (Jan 21, 2011)

*NET scenario*

Any idea about the NET scenario in Melbourne.


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## ckrags (Jan 21, 2011)

*Wonderful job*

BTW, thanks for all your info and helping all the new bies like me, you are doing a wonderful job !


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

Check your PM, it should be in the top right corner of the webpage.


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## mello (Nov 15, 2010)

Avinash, you are very lucky to get job within 2 months. We have been here for 4 months and still can't get someone to give us the opportunity. The local experience requirements are affecting us. We knew we have to apply for lower entry positions but that also can't get us face-to-face interviews  Like you, we quit jobs thinking it will be easy to get jobs here since there's 10-20 postings everyday.

Personally I think Woolworths are cheaper than Coles. We rented a small studio in CBD as well so that we can save on transport. We travelled around using the free City Tram mostly.

Now wishing for someone to look beyond the local experience requirement and give us the opportunity. Pray, pray, pray


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## vlavinia (Feb 8, 2011)

Avinash, well i think it is ppll like you that gives others hope... Thank you!! In search of a better life.

Joeman, it feels like you are reflecting the sentiments that are very true and alive in Singapore. Racism still exist in every part of world and well Australia is very much like Singapore in that respect. Can you imagine how much our fore fathers suffered in Singapore when they migrated?!!?

I got my PR in 2009, I have been job hunting from Singapore for a year now but no luck, my friends tell me that it is easier that if I am there in person. I am in the technical support sector of IT and am hoping that I might get have better luck when I get there, my aunt lives in Melbourne so I'm not completely on my own.

If you think you can do it, than you can do it. It is all in the attitude!!! All the best to all the migrants and future migrants!!


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

If anyone is looking to relocate there home appliances before they land for first time in Australia, then you can have your items moved to temporarily storage (e.g Storage King - Simple Storage Solutions ) later retrieve it from them. I have not used this service, just that I saw this shop on my way to work. Hope it helps people with no initial home address in Australia.


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## Cini (Jan 24, 2011)

Hi Avinash,

Really appreciate the useful points that you have provided till now though this forum regarding the job hunt ..

Any idea about the testing opportunities in Aus?
We are having 175 skilled Visa and planning to come to Melbourne by May 
.I've been working in the IT field for more than 9 years and for the last 3 years I have been involved in software testing/QA .I have experience in testing mainframe as well as web applications (manual testing).From seek, I observed that there aren't much openings in the manual testing area..Any info that you could provide regarding testing openings out there would be of great help...



avinash said:


> IT related training and certifications are very expensive here, compare to India. If you have the time and money, would suggest to get hold of few certifications before heading to Oz land.
> 
> Few recognized IT system side certifications ITIL, PRINCE2, VMWARE, REDHAT, TOGAF etc....
> 
> ...


----------



## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

Hi Chini,

I am not sure about the QA IT market right now, seek.com.au should give you an rough idea.

Until unless you have some solid reason to come to Melbourne, would suggest Sydney for better IT market.

HTH


----------



## Cini (Jan 24, 2011)

Ya..I have been looking through jobs in seek for testing jobs..
I am coming there with family -my spouse and kid...
My spouse is in marketing field (seems a tough area to get job there)
and we chose Melbourne considering the fact that the living expense for the family would be lesser when compared to Sydney during the initial period and also we have some relatives/friends at Melbourne who could help us out in our initial struggle..




avinash said:


> Hi Chini,
> 
> I am not sure about the QA IT market right now, seek.com.au should give you an rough idea.
> 
> ...


----------



## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

If you have relatives / friends in Mel, it is the best thing you can do to come here.
You should be able to manage.
All the best.


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## Mohan Babu (Feb 27, 2011)

Hi Avinash, 

I am planning to process my PR. Could you please suggest me a better way of doing it. Will it good if i do it on my own or through a consultant. 

Thanks
Mohan


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

Hi Mohan,

I have no idea about your application, so I am not in a position to give a recommendation.


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## SlimNeo (Jan 18, 2011)

Hi Avinash,
can you please comment on below profile beased on your exp to get a job out there 

Java expert with hand full of Certifications from SUN.
2 years of local exp in Top IT company in Aus as a deputed emp form India.
Reference from local employees from above local IT firm.
6 years total exp in MNC


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

SlimNeo said:


> Hi Avinash,
> can you please comment on below profile beased on your exp to get a job out there
> 
> Java expert with hand full of Certifications from SUN.
> ...



Profile looks good. Shouldn't have much problem in getting job here in Oz.


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2011)

avinash said:


> Profile looks good. Shouldn't have much problem in getting job here in Oz.


What about this: http://www.expatforum.com/expats/au...living-australia/71895-jobs-disappearing.html ????


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

ausimmi said:


> What about this: http://www.expatforum.com/expats/au...living-australia/71895-jobs-disappearing.html ????


Looks like an isolated case.


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## amit1981 (Jun 18, 2009)

Thanks Avinash for valuable info.


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

Finally got my FULL Oz driving license.


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## devibon (Nov 24, 2008)

avinash said:


> Finally got my FULL Oz driving license.


Congrats! Must be a great achievement. How many attempts?? :eyebrows::eyebrows::eyebrows:


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

3 times, which is sad.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

awesome, congratulations .. i am coming over for a small lil treat.. dont expect much


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

hahahaha, you are more than welcome.


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

Expat forum app for iPhone is good. Thumbsup. .


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## uroojs (Mar 24, 2011)

Congrats !!!


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

uroojs said:


> Congrats !!!


Thx

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


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## aussieland (Oct 14, 2008)

avinash said:


> Expat forum app for iPhone is good. Thumbsup. .


its really good...but just a small probs..that every time i need to traverse thru the same homepage to the last watched thread..


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

aussieland said:


> its really good...but just a small probs..that every time i need to traverse thru the same homepage to the last watched thread..


Shortcut is "current" & "previous viewed" tab

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


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## tcscivic12 (Jul 2, 2008)

Thanks for the information. Really gives an idead of what to look forward to when moving.


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

tcscivic12 said:


> Thanks for the information. Really gives an idead of what to look forward to when moving.


My pleasure.


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

*AUSPOST’s prepaid C5 envelop.*

Cheapest mode of sending document to India is AUSPOST’s prepaid C5 envelop.


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## vijip (May 8, 2011)

Hi Avinash,

Thanks for the helpful information. Extremely good.

:clap2:


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## iNinjaN (Feb 14, 2011)

Yup it's one the good apps seen for iPhone 

-Ninja- :ranger:


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## ckrags (Jan 21, 2011)

*Job urgently required*

Hi,

I am an .NET and SharePoint expert(11 years total IT exp) with OZ PR till 2015, completed the initial entry in Feb 2011 and came back to bangalore, still no job, contacted some consultants, but nothing prospective.. Can anyone suggest me some agents/tips?

Thanks,
Raghavendra


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## Dhawal (Oct 29, 2010)

ckrags said:


> Why didnt you try to find a job from Aus itself? What made to come back to bangalore?Normally i hear that even if you have a PR in hand employers wont entertain you unless you are personally present in OZ to take the intreview...
> I think your tips and how you go about getting a job will definitely help lot of other people who are planning to make the move to Aus....Plesae do keep us posted about your updates about the job hunt...


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

Melbourne weather past 4 days : sunny and raining with temperature below 10. Sunglasses + umbrella along with skull cap at the same time.


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## iNinjaN (Feb 14, 2011)

avinash said:


> Melbourne weather past 4 days : sunny and raining with temperature below 10. Sunglasses + umbrella along with skull cap at the same time.


Typical Melbourne!!! Just dying to be back on it's streets, love it 

-Ninja- :ranger:


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

whats a skull cap?


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## Dhawal (Oct 29, 2010)

anj1976 said:


> Hi anjali,
> skull cap is just like a monkey cap round in shape and just covers the skull and the ears...you can google for more info...


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## twister292 (Mar 25, 2011)

Dhawal said:


> anj1976 said:
> 
> 
> > Hi anjali,
> ...


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## shilpa2892 (May 27, 2011)

hi Avinash

I am from India. I have 5 years of IT experience in j2EE technology and have my plans to shift to Australia. Although i have initial thoughts of shifting, i am not very sure about the current job market in australia. I have worked in melbourne as a deputed employee for 9 months from 2008 to 2009. I am not sure how much helpful this exeperience would be. Can you please advice me how easy it would be to find a job? are there any good consultancies which can help me in emigration and then job search?


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

shilpa2892 said:


> hi Avinash
> 
> I am from India. I have 5 years of IT experience in j2EE technology and have my plans to shift to Australia. Although i have initial thoughts of shifting, i am not very sure about the current job market in australia. I have worked in melbourne as a deputed employee for 9 months from 2008 to 2009. I am not sure how much helpful this exeperience would be. Can you please advice me how easy it would be to find a job? are there any good consultancies which can help me in emigration and then job search?


Sorry about the delay, it is very diff to say how the job market will be when you land in Australia. It is all about calculated risk and the actual intent of relocating to Australia. For few it has been very easy to find job and for few it is been very diff. I have not found an agent who can help with the job here. People whom I have met here say, Initial days and initial job is difficult, but once you have you foot in the door, there is no looking back. 

My suggestion would be for you to apply for the skill assessment and then take one step at a time. If your case is complicated I would suggest get help of a consultant for skill assessment and then do the visa stuff yourself. 

Hope that helps

Good luck.


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## Fordy (Jun 19, 2011)

That is in great detail. I wanted to know how did you manage the ACS requirements fr getting letters from the employers(which in india - very hard to get) for showing the experience. Any pointers would be helpful for a newbie. Thanks


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## Gaurav (Oct 29, 2009)

avinash said:


> Sorry about the delay, it is very diff to say how the job market will be when you land in Australia. It is all about calculated risk and the actual intent of relocating to Australia. For few it has been very easy to find job and for few it is been very diff. I have not found an agent who can help with the job here. People whom I have met here say, Initial days and initial job is difficult, but once you have you foot in the door, there is no looking back.
> 
> My suggestion would be for you to apply for the skill assessment and then take one step at a time. If your case is complicated I would suggest get help of a consultant for skill assessment and then do the visa stuff yourself.
> 
> ...


Hi Avinash,
I have been granted visa and now comes the most difficult part - FINDING THE FIRST JOB.
Any tips dude???? :clap2:


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

satyamusti said:


> That is in great detail. I wanted to know how did you manage the ACS requirements fr getting letters from the employers(which in india - very hard to get) for showing the experience. Any pointers would be helpful for a newbie. Thanks


I was not able to get the letter from current company (at that time) all other were happy to oblige. I prepared an affidavit for the last one. 

1) Bank statement showing salary deposit for 4 years
2) Income Tax returns for 4 to 5 years
3) And some solid IT related certification 

will help a lot with the ACS.


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

Gaurav said:


> Hi Avinash,
> I have been granted visa and now comes the most difficult part - FINDING THE FIRST JOB.
> Any tips dude???? :clap2:


Required : Good resume, Handful of certification, confidence and lot of patience. 
Tools : Linkedin and seek 

Congrats on the visa.:clap2:


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## devibon (Nov 24, 2008)

avinash said:


> Finally got my FULL Oz driving license.


Hi Avinash, for practical test do we need to have our own car or just they provide one.

BTW when you got Driving license from Vic Roads, is it valid through out Australia or every state has their own Driving License policy?


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

devibon said:


> Hi Avinash, for practical test do we need to have our own car or just they provide one.
> 
> BTW when you got Driving license from Vic Roads, is it valid through out Australia or every state has their own Driving License policy?


Need to get your own drive or take help of a driving school (approx. 150AUD which include a 1hr class around vicroad office, with detailed explanation about few places/traps where lot of candidates fail) .

If the car is from driving school, front left seat is occupied by the instructor and left rear is occupied by the inspector. Instructor will have access to an extra brake for which there will be beep fitted. Before the test is started instructor has to activate the beep upon inspectors instruction. During the test if the instructor utters a single word or applies break (beep is emitted) test is immediate fail. 

If any other car (own/rented etc..) it needs to meet the requirement mentioned in the vicroad page (that is road worthiness & should have parking breaks at the hand level like suggested in the page. Please note few cars come with parking break integrated with the foot break). If the car is not valid, then test is failed and there is no refund. Also other than inspector and the candidate no one else is allowed in the car, in this case.

Each state has their own driving license. if moving from one state to another you can have the driving license transferred according to the instructions mentioned in each states portal. No need to take the exam once again.

It is very much important to have the latest residence address updated on the driving license since it is one of the primary identity card in Oz land. It is free of charge and can be done online. New address sticker will be sent to new address.

Hope that helps.


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## devibon (Nov 24, 2008)

avinash said:


> Need to get your own drive or take help of a driving school (approx. 150AUD which include a 1hr class around vicroad office, with detailed explanation about few places/traps where lot of candidates fail) .
> 
> If the car is from driving school, front left seat is occupied by the instructor and left rear is occupied by the inspector. Instructor will have access to an extra brake for which there will be beep fitted. Before the test is started instructor has to activate the beep upon inspectors instruction. During the test if the instructor utters a single word or applies break (beep is emitted) test is immediate fail.
> 
> ...


Thanks Avinash. Very useful information.


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## mr.india (Jul 28, 2009)

Thanks Avinash for valuable information.


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

itz my pleasure to share information here


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

driving license posts scare the hell out of me.. we finalised a car today, hopefully should have it by teh weekend or next week. toyota camry, 2000 make, done 100k Kms. 6000 AUD. husband went with a friend, he knows a lot about cars, he inspected it and suggested we go for it, worth it, his words


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## Dhawal (Oct 29, 2010)

avinash said:


> Thanks avinash for sharing such valuable info..


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

You are welcome.


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## ajaypatil (Oct 12, 2010)

Hi Avinash,

My friends profile is as follows:
"ITIL Foundation V3 certified professional with more than 7.5 years of IT experience with various phases of software development life cycle (SDLC) like Analysis, Design, Development, Testing, Implementation, Maintenance of applications using UNIX, Linux, CGI, Perl, Oracle PL/SQL, Shell Scripting which includes around 2 years of onsite work experience in USA "

1) what is probability of getting job for him in Melbourne ?
2) what is the avg salary he / she can expect for such profile ?

Thanks,
Ajay


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

1) what is probability of getting job for him in Melbourne ?
100% will get job, how long it will take to get the first break is diff to say.

2) what is the avg salary he / she can expect for such profile ?
Seek webpage has the details about salary, make it 10 to 20% less for first job w.r.t market.


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## ajaypatil (Oct 12, 2010)

Thanks Avinash , I am also have similar profile , do you think learning unix, lunix ADMIN skills will add value to this profile ? 
At job I am not getting exposure to learn admin stuff.I am planning to join some training institute and plan to spend 50k -70k Rs for that ....Do you think it will be a good idea (in order to increase to chances of getting job in Aus ) ?



avinash said:


> 1) what is probability of getting job for him in Melbourne ?
> 100% will get job, how long it will take to get the first break is diff to say.
> 
> 2) what is the avg salary he / she can expect for such profile ?
> Seek webpage has the details about salary, make it 10 to 20% less for first job w.r.t market.


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## cowboy (Oct 22, 2009)

Thanks, Avinash. Reading your thread of experiences has been inspirational. I am a Solaris admin with 15 years experience in the US, ITIL Foundation certificate, and soon a CISSP (studying now). My PR visa is spousal visa (100). Right now, my wife is employed in the US, but we're planning to move back when her job here finishes. It's good to know that there are good jobs, and your advice about reformatting the CV, and dropping the rates to 10-20% below market are very helpful.

Cheers.


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

You r welcome.


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## DS3 (May 13, 2010)

Hi Avinash,

I am on a SRS visa for the state of SA. Now SA {Adelaide} has a lot few jobs as compared to Sydney and Melbourne. So would you happen to know what are the chances for a person from a general skilled field {have procurement exp of 9 years} to get a job? Most of the jobs wherein Indians manage to get their jobs are sadly only for IT personnel. I have already made my initial entry 06 months back and have only 03 months to decide before i make the final move. Please be kind enough to give your advice.


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

I am not sure of Adelaide, in whole it is important to get first break than getting the dream job. What I recon is have some backup(finance) & make the move, see how market takes u in couple of weeks. You can always bank on odd jobs, where there is lot of demand.

Initial days( up to one year) will be difficult. After that you will have whole lot of option at your disposal. 

All the best mate.


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## DS3 (May 13, 2010)

avinash said:


> I am not sure of Adelaide, in whole it is important to get first break than getting the dream job. What I recon is have some backup(finance) & make the move, see how market takes u in couple of weeks. You can always bank on odd jobs, where there is lot of demand.
> 
> Initial days( up to one year) will be difficult. After that you will have whole lot of option at your disposal.
> 
> All the best mate.



Hi Avinash,

Thanks for the ultra prompt reply. Oh one year is not that bad a time since am making the move for my kid and it will go by in a jiffy. In fact am even prepared for the worst case scenario. If i have to do odd jobs for 02 years till i get my PR, and just in case i dont get anything concrete for those 02 years, will getting a PR make it easier to get a job in my field?Also once PR is acquired will i still have to pay international fees for some courses or will i be charged at local rates?


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

Once PR, local rates and Fee aid applies. Please check with school.

I am not sure what will be the PR requirement after 2 years  , but positive side you will figure out a way. Once you have the foot in the door, it is lot easy to sustain.


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## DS3 (May 13, 2010)

avinash said:


> Once PR, local rates and Fee aid applies. Please check with school.
> 
> I am not sure what will be the PR requirement after 2 years  , but positive side you will figure out a way. Once you have the foot in the door, it is lot easy to sustain.


Hi,

Are you saying the PR rules may change in the future? I thought once we were in it doesnt really matter if the rules change. As of now I have TR and it says that we have to spend 02 years in OZ and 01 year of work. After completing this if i apply for PR if the rules change can it still affect me?


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## priyadheeraj (Feb 4, 2011)

Hi Avinash,

Reading your blog was just wondering when you all guys say about the odd jobs what kind of the jobs are these.

I am travelling with two kids aged 12 and 7 and they have to be sent to school as soon we get admission adn settle for accomodation so job i guess would be after these two. However wish to have an idea on these so called odd jobs.

Also how much amount you think is required at the minimum to run the household with a rented accomodation.

i intend to stay in Peramatta.

Thanks


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## Gaurav (Oct 29, 2009)

avinash said:


> I am not sure of Adelaide, in whole it is important to get first break than getting the dream job. What I recon is have some backup(finance) & make the move, see how market takes u in couple of weeks. You can always bank on odd jobs, where there is lot of demand.
> 
> Initial days( up to one year) will be difficult. After that you will have whole lot of option at your disposal.
> 
> All the best mate.


Even I am interested what are those ADD JOBS and how they are IN DEMAND????
Pls explain......:juggle::juggle::juggle::juggle:

M planning to move in Jan 2012 as initial entry date is upto 24th May for me. Pls advice


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

DS3 said:


> Hi,
> 
> Are you saying the PR rules may change in the future? I thought once we were in it doesnt really matter if the rules change. As of now I have TR and it says that we have to spend 02 years in OZ and 01 year of work. After completing this if i apply for PR if the rules change can it still affect me?


My bad, I have no idea about your visa process. Have no idea about SRS , TR etc. 
I have not kept myself up-to-date on the current visa rules.


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## avinash (Feb 2, 2010)

Job that doesn't require special skillset/training. Job's at supermarket , AUSPOST, etc Since min payment is 14 - 17AUD per hour, it is good enough to meet basic needs.


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## sachinarora83 (Jul 6, 2011)

Hi Avinash- You are just great in helping people out...Thanks...
I am a new bee in this group...and was wondering if you can throw some insight on accountants life as well...am sure, thier must be lot around u...I intend to come to mel in 1st week of sept...I am a Indian CA wirh ~ 4 Years work ex...any advice is most welcome...


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## pubdv (Nov 25, 2011)

Hi Priya

I am in the process of getting SS for VIC and if all goes well shall plan to leave to AUS in 2012, i am also in similar situation as you are i have kids aged 8 and 4.I want to check if you were able to find good schools for them? If yes i think it would be really helpful for me if you share the information.

Thanks in advance.




priyadheeraj said:


> Hi Avinash,
> 
> Reading your blog was just wondering when you all guys say about the odd jobs what kind of the jobs are these.
> 
> ...


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## corriesue (Dec 19, 2011)

Hello Avinash,

Congratulations! and thank you for sharing this information with us. I am planning to work in Australia soon. Hoping to get a work and live there.


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## priyadheeraj (Feb 4, 2011)

Hi,

Please note in Australia you have schools which are Government or private. The Government or Public schools can be normal public schools or selective.

Basis the age of your kids the elder one would go for the Primary though am not quite sure for the younger one and he may be small for attending school in 2012. 
The admissions into schools is not at all a problem, as admissions are basis the local catchment area, also on google please check sites providing the rating of schools in victoria in melbourne and then may be you can try finding house in the school catchment area basis your preference. Most of the schools have the map of the local catchment area.

I live in Sydney and we took house on rent in the catchment area of public school. However, keep in mind basis the school the rentals may go little high.

Do let me know in case you need any further informatiob.

Wish you all the best.

Regards,
Priya


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## Sindebad77 (Oct 19, 2011)

If you plan to stay outside the CBD and like to visit the city once in a while “Mykey” is a good option. It saves money and you don’t need to figure out which ticket to buy. 
• You can get True copy certification at local Police station for free. POST & Pharmacy may charge sometime.


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## Ush79 (Jul 26, 2012)

*Schools in Sydney*

Hi Priya,

I'll be moving over to Sydney in the next few months and have a 6 year old who will have to start school.

And idea of some good public schools in the Hornsby area also do they take admissions any time of the year? I don't want my daughter to miss out just because we never covered all our bases.

Thank
Ush


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## priyadheeraj (Feb 4, 2011)

Hi Ush,

I have shifted to Melbourne now.

However, please note admission in schools is not a problem. If you are a PR and looking for admission into a public school please note all schools follow the catchment area so if you house is in the catchment area of scholl the school has to give admission.

As for Hornsby as a location is concerned I do not have any idea of this area as I was staying in some other suburb.

Let me know in case I could be of any help.

Regards,
Priya


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## priyadheeraj (Feb 4, 2011)

Hi,

I am not in Melbourne, saw your post just today. Please note admissions in Australia in public schools atleast what my experience shows in VIC and NSW is bases the school catchment area, and most of the houses would fall in one or the other catchment areas in case you want to send your kid to some specifc school you can do research on bettereducation.com.au.

Let me know in case I could be of any help.

Priya


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## Ush79 (Jul 26, 2012)

Hi,

Thanks for the prompt reply. Yes we have PR so thats cool. As long as she gets admission, thats my only concern. 

And yep i've also been using tht site so thanks one again.

Regards
Ush


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## priyadheeraj (Feb 4, 2011)

Hi Ush,

Wish you all the very best.

Regards,
Priya


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## aj34321 (Mar 30, 2012)

Hey Avinash, Congrats and all the best dude...
Nice detailed explanation which really helps people like us who are planning to migrate.


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## bangalg (Apr 22, 2009)

Please take a look at the discussion below. Should give you a good perspective on the Australian IT Job market- but discussion is WA region oriented. Still it has some useful insights...

http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?v...=group_most_popular-0-b-ttl&goback=.gmp_41910


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## Engi (Apr 10, 2012)

Seniors: Achin, anj

Is it advised to pay a professional for a solid cover letter or is it do able by yourself?

If so, any recommendations which would be helpful in Australian market.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

do it yourself, google it, there are so many examples available, why spend on people because you might want to change the letter for a few jobs, if not everyone of them.


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## Ush79 (Jul 26, 2012)

Hi Anjali,

Its excellent the advice you give and its lovely to know someone out there to help.
It is now confirmed we will be moving to Melbourne and for this reason can you advice the best areas to reside in near the University with good government primary education as my daughter is six and will need to start school. 

Thanks
Ush


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## Ush79 (Jul 26, 2012)

Hi Anjali,

Its excellent the advice you give and its lovely to know someone out there to help.
It is now confirmed we will be moving to Melbourne and for this reason can you advice the best areas to reside in near the University with good government primary education as my daughter is six and will need to start school. 

Thanks
Ush


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