# Accountant in Melbourne- Jobs and interview process



## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

Hi everyone

Its been a while since I last logged on to check the forum (I would think its been approximately 3 months ) But in any case, just thought I would let people know of how its been having made the move and providing tips and inputs to the job search process, from whatever I have seen till now. 

Just to give you a background, I am an accountant by profession and got my visa grant in Sep 2013. I made the move to Melbourne in Feb 2014. I have been here for about 3 weeks and its been wonderful till now. The city is beautiful in so many ways, weather has been great without being too eratic and the people have been really kind. I came here alone and am planning to bring my wife, once I find a job and settle down. 

Which now brings us to the most important question- how is my job hunt going  well, actually its been going quite well, but I don't quite have the results yet to show for it, in terms of an offer on hand, but I believe that I am close to getting there. Within 3 weeks, I have been fortunate to land interviews with 3 different consultants and 2 different companies (1 company where I had worked earlier in India). Everyone has been telling me that my resume and profile is really good but really lacks the one thing which could give me that job- local market experience. Having gone through this process so far and speaking to consultants, I wanted to highlight some key points for you guys, some points being directly relevant to accountants:

a) You should answer behavioural questions with EXAMPLES. I can't stress the importance of examples enough here. A wise thing to do would be to think of real life situations and rehearse these in your head, speak them out aloud, so you know how you speak. Consultants just don't want to hear that you work well under pressure / stress. Tell them about how you dealt with a situation / project, which involved tight reporting timelines. 

b) Be ready to answer questions to check how you would culturally fit into the team. In all the interviews I have been to, I have faced many of these questions. Its not difficult to understand why these questions are being asked- you are someone from another country, so why should the employer go out of the way to get you, if there is someone else locally available. These questions hugely influence the outcome of the interview. For eg: How well do you work within a team? What are the positive aspects of your previous job and how would you bring this to help the new organisation? 

Recruiters and consultants focus on so many other things to see if the candidate can fit into the team like communication skills (HUGELY IMPORTANT) and the way you dress (for accountants, please make sure that you attend interviews wearing a nice suit and tie).

Be conservative while you dress up for an interview, nothing too flashy. Generally, whatever I have seen till now, black is the go to colour for most professionals. Apart from black, you should be ok with other darker shades of grey and blue. Men, please get suits in these colours. Trust me, it makes a difference.

Oh and another thing, be prepared to answer the most important question- Which Aussie football team do you support?  If you think I am kidding with this, I am not. This often comes up in few interviews. 

Another question that I keep getting asked in interviews- Why did I choose Australia and why Melbourne? Again, think of some of the positive things to say about these places and why you chose to migrate to Australia? Don't say anything negative like my life back in India sucked big time, so I wanted to go to another country. I have been asked this question by all recruiters and consultants, so please be sure to have some good answers for these.

c) Some other points- In your resume, if your name is too long and difficult to pronounce, please shorten it. I have been told that this helps to minimise resistance to overseas candidates. During interviews, speak SLOWLY and clearly. You don't want to be all fast and get the recruiter to ask you to repeat what you are saying. Again, what I have been told is that if you are asked to repeat yourself more than twice, then you can forget about going further in the interview process. Thats a big cross against your communication skills and the recruiters really look at this as on obstacle in getting work done from you.

If possible, try getting your resume written professionally by someone from the recruiting industry. This might be expensive but I found it to be totally worth it. Few of the consultants just called me, because of the quality of my resume, even though they did not have any clients to place me with. I managed to meet some of these consultants too. 

Wow, that's the longest post I have ever made on this forum. Hope you guys found it useful in one way or the other. I never did have this sort of guidance so just wanted to make sure that you guys are well prepared. 

Wishing everyone best of luck in their immigration, moving and job hunting process. If you have any questions, feel free to post and I will do my best in answering them. Please try and keep these questions as relevant as possible to job hunting. I am not really an immigration expert and I got an agent to work for me. But I will answer questions that I think I am capable of.

Cheers
Sreeram (Sree in Aussie )


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## SRS_2013 (Jan 9, 2014)

Hey..

this is a great post ..thank you Sree....

you have provided some great insights towards the interview process by sharing the general questions they normally ask to migrants like us...


keep more coming


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## Vikkki (Sep 5, 2012)

Sree, where did you get your professional resume done?


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

Vikkki said:


> Sree, where did you get your professional resume done?


Got it done through someone I met on LinkedIn. He charges about $350 and has experience recruiting for the accounting field.


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## in3deep (Feb 21, 2014)

i dont understand why recruiters keep harping abt local experience

if they want local experience, then why get accountants to migrate?


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

in3deep said:


> i dont understand why recruiters keep harping abt local experience
> 
> if they want local experience, then why get accountants to migrate?


In3deep, its frustrating given that accounting is largely the same in every part of the world. 

But an important thing that we need to understand from their point of view is whether the person is capable of integrating with the team and getting work done immediately. As I understand it, Australian employers want to make sure the person is capable of hitting the ground running immediately, without the need for any training.


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## nectar_s (Nov 3, 2012)

Hi Sre75,

I am curious to know about your educational background..and Aussie's expectations


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## csp1606 (Nov 6, 2013)

sre375 said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> Its been a while since I last logged on to check the forum (I would think its been approximately 3 months ) But in any case, just thought I would let people know of how its been having made the move and providing tips and inputs to the job search process, from whatever I have seen till now.
> 
> ...


Hello Sreeram,

I think lot of folks on this forum will really appreciate you taking time out and posting this message. 

You have touched upon a key topic of finding a job. I am sure along with me there are other folks who are curious to know what are the different sources through which you are getting these job interview calls.. I know most of us will go the route of job boards, linkedin, referrals, internal transfer and Recruitment firms... my real question is 

1. Besides the sources i mentioned are there any other options such as open house
2. Have you got question/rejections because of lack of local experience

Cheers,
CS


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

nectar_s said:


> Hi Sre75,
> 
> I am curious to know about your educational background..and Aussie's expectations


Hi nectar

I am a CA (from India). 

By expectations, I am assuming you want to know what kind of work I am looking for? If so, I am pretty open to the roles and profiles. I think one has to be a bit flexible to get the first break

Another very important I wanted to highlight is be prepared to start up from a lower level position. This is not a bad thing at all and won't affect your career. Sometimes you need to take a step back to take two steps forward. I had been encouraged to do this by a few consultants and contacts here. If you lack local experience, this is a great way to start- from a junior level. Once you prove yourself, you can make up the gap pretty soon.


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

csp1606 said:


> Hello Sreeram,
> 
> I think lot of folks on this forum will really appreciate you taking time out and posting this message.
> 
> ...


Hi CS

1) I don't think there are any other sources of hiring employees, other than the ones you already mentioned.

2) I get rejected only due to lack of local experience. Sometimes, consultants are honest enough to say so over the phone, others just drop an email saying we found other candidates who were able to match the requirements more closely.


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## nectar_s (Nov 3, 2012)

What i see from the forum is you have quick positive signs of interview calls - Are you a qualified accountant.. ?


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## csp1606 (Nov 6, 2013)

Thank you.. Please keep us posted on your experience and success stories.. Wishing you all luck and nothing less than success..

CS


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

nectar_s said:


> What i see from the forum is you have quick positive signs of interview calls - Are you a qualified accountant.. ?


Yeah I am a qualified accountant.


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

csp1606 said:


> Thank you.. Please keep us posted on your experience and success stories.. Wishing you all luck and nothing less than success..
> 
> CS


Thanks mate. Will keep you posted


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

Hey guys

I am thrilled to let you know that I managed to get an offer with a Logistics Company here. Starting from next Wednesday (12th). The role and package are both good and in a some ways, have exceeded my expectations. Feel a huge sense of relief, that I did not have to wait for too long for this opportunity.

The recruiter and agent did not have any issues with the lack of local experience in my CV. 

Wishing you all best of luck and success in your migration, job hunting and settlement plans. 

Cheers
Sree


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## nectar_s (Nov 3, 2012)

Thats really good news. Hearty Congratulations.. All the best for the future..

It was amazing ..


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## nectar_s (Nov 3, 2012)

Do keep us posted of local job market requirements and advise on meeting them as well. 

Do we really need to have professional qualification to get a job. I registered for CPA .


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

nectar_s said:


> Do keep us posted of local job market requirements and advise on meeting them as well.
> 
> Do we really need to have professional qualification to get a job. I registered for CPA .


If you are an Indian CA, that really helps from an experience stand point, since you can say you are an equivalent of CA in Australia. You can go ahead and register for Australian CPA, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll get a job. I have got a job without it as well and I know of a countless no.of people who have also secured a job with Indian CA.

All that counts is your experience, how you present yourself and communicate with the recruiters, the confidence you have in your abilities and being able to back yourself to get the job done.

The market is a bit soft now, but I am beginning to see and hear about a renewed optimism, after the new government came into power.


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## nectar_s (Nov 3, 2012)

sre375 said:


> If you are an Indian CA, that really helps from an experience stand point, since you can say you are an equivalent of CA in Australia. You can go ahead and register for Australian CPA, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll get a job. I have got a job without it as well and I know of a countless no.of people who have also secured a job with Indian CA.
> 
> All that counts is your experience, how you present yourself and communicate with the recruiters, the confidence you have in your abilities and being able to back yourself to get the job done.
> 
> The market is a bit soft now, but I am beginning to see and hear about a renewed optimism, after the new government came into power.


Your message inspires me. Thanks for sharing. 

Have you come across any situation to get an accountant job with employer sponsorship.. is it possible . my friend needs an advice.


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

nectar_s said:


> Your message inspires me. Thanks for sharing.
> 
> Have you come across any situation to get an accountant job with employer sponsorship.. is it possible . my friend needs an advice.


Sponsorship is extremely difficult, given that it is very expensive for companies to sponsor people outside Australia. Also, the Company would need to justify why it is looking for overseas candidates and why it believes that such skills are not available in Australia.


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## shradz (Sep 4, 2013)

Hey Sre,

Congratulations! The information on interviews was pretty good.


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## csp1606 (Nov 6, 2013)

Sree, Congrats!! This is really great news and definitely inspires lot of confidence.


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## Kiran S Raizada (Jun 25, 2013)

sre375 said:


> Hey guys
> 
> I am thrilled to let you know that I managed to get an offer with a Logistics Company here. Starting from next Wednesday (12th). The role and package are both good and in a some ways, have exceeded my expectations. Feel a huge sense of relief, that I did not have to wait for too long for this opportunity.
> 
> ...


Hi Sree
Will you please tell us ur skill set. 
Regards


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## neelarao (Oct 31, 2012)

Hi sre375,

Congratulations on getting a job and as well as starting this thread to post your experience.

Could you please share your experience with regards the interview? I wanted to know if Indian Accounting experience is enough to land a job in Australia, even if it is an entry level opening. 

Thanks,
Neela.


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## Australia1 (Apr 29, 2013)

Hi Sre375, Thank you for the detailed post and congratulation on your new job.

Any chance you can give us the list of recruiters that you went to and got help from? Did you use any online job seeking websites such as SEEK etc? Thank you and good luck.


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

neelarao said:


> Hi sre375,
> 
> Congratulations on getting a job and as well as starting this thread to post your experience.
> 
> ...


Hi

The first post that I made in this thread pretty much sums up my experience of the interview process here in Australia. Not very technical, more focused on how you'd be able to work within a team and fit into their culture. It would be really good if you are able to bring out practical examples of how you dealt with work within a team- dealing with success, conflicts, meeting deadlines etc etc.

Accounting experience gained outside AUstralia (in India or anywhere else), doesn't seem to be counted by many recruiters. They insist on having local work experience- which is a bit inexplicable, given that accounting is largely globalised now.


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

Australia1 said:


> Hi Sre375, Thank you for the detailed post and congratulation on your new job.
> 
> Any chance you can give us the list of recruiters that you went to and got help from? Did you use any online job seeking websites such as SEEK etc? Thank you and good luck.


Thanks mate. Yes, I met with recruiters from Four Quarters, Lawson Delaney, Ernst & Young and another direct Company. Keep applying through Seek. Make sure you have a good resume. Wish you luck.

Cheers


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

*First few days at work*

Well its been two days since I went to work. The workplace and people are great and very friendly. There is a lot of work, but people give you the flexibility to manage work they way you see fit, as long as you deliver on time. 

Still getting used to the environment and change in lifestyle. Takes me three hours to travel to work daily  But planning to move to another place, closer to office.


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## Jas4oz (Oct 3, 2013)

Thanks for the updates Sree. Very inspiring for us!


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## Australia1 (Apr 29, 2013)

sre375 said:


> Thanks mate. Yes, I met with recruiters from Four Quarters, Lawson Delaney, Ernst & Young and another direct Company. Keep applying through Seek. Make sure you have a good resume. Wish you luck.
> 
> Cheers


Thanks Sre. Read ur first post again to realize that d communication skill and a good cv are the keys.


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## Kiran S Raizada (Jun 25, 2013)

Kiran S Raizada said:


> Hi Sree
> Will you please tell us ur skill set.
> Regards


Hi there
My husband is a CA from India and has 7 years experience with Big4. He is into External audit but he couldn't score any interview so far. I guess for audit line you have to be a CPA. Now changing his area of expertise makes his experience zero. Thats why I asked you about your skills set to ensure if you are into general accounting or taxation or audit. Pls help.
Thanks


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

Kiran S Raizada said:


> Hi there
> My husband is a CA from India and has 7 years experience with Big4. He is into External audit but he couldn't score any interview so far. I guess for audit line you have to be a CPA. Now changing his area of expertise makes his experience zero. Thats why I asked you about your skills set to ensure if you are into general accounting or taxation or audit. Pls help.
> Thanks


Hey

Sorry for the delay in replying. I guess the Big 4 are hiring for their audit teams here in Melbourne. Did he look for suitable roles on the careers page of the Big 4? I am sure I came across a few vacancies in PwC. 

I am not into audit, I have more experience in financial analysis and M&A.


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

Australia1 said:


> Thanks Sre. Read ur first post again to realize that d communication skill and a good cv are the keys.


Absolutely mate. The way we present ourselves is very important. We all have skills and know how to get the job done. But its how we communicate within a team and how we get along with the others in the Company that are viewed importantly by recruiters.


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## nectar_s (Nov 3, 2012)

i am posting this query for my friend. 

Is IELTS required for CPA/IPA if he is just going for Qualifications assessment. 
Please advice


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

nectar_s said:


> i am posting this query for my friend.
> 
> Is IELTS required for CPA/IPA if he is just going for Qualifications assessment.
> Please advice


Yes IELTS is mandatory for that also. You need an IELTS for a positive skills assessment. It is also required by DIPB, when they allot a case officer, to go through your case.


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## nectar_s (Nov 3, 2012)

sre375 said:


> Yes IELTS is mandatory for that also. You need an IELTS for a positive skills assessment. It is also required by DIPB, when they allot a case officer, to go through your case.


Thanks for responding..but what i understand is skilled asessment is different from qualification assessment.so if we go for skilled assessment that time is it not enough to produce ielts.. Correct me if my understanding is wrong?


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

nectar_s said:


> Thanks for responding..but what i understand is skilled asessment is different from qualification assessment.so if we go for skilled assessment that time is it not enough to produce ielts.. Correct me if my understanding is wrong?


I am a little confused with what you are asked me. But let me clarify that IELTS is mandatory to get a positive skills assessment. Without it, you won't be able to get through.


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## nectar_s (Nov 3, 2012)

I think what you said is correct. What i meant in earlier post is suppose we are going to get only qualification assessed, so is ielts needed becos he is not going to get his skills assessed now. But i believe we need ielts even for checking qualification matching to aus standards.


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## Huss81 (May 17, 2013)

Hi Sree...

In your first post you mentioned that its not much of technical. However, do they ask the candidates to give any written tests or something? Also, if you don't mind could you let all know the position that you secured your first job for?

Thanks.


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

Huss81 said:


> Hi Sree...
> 
> In your first post you mentioned that its not much of technical. However, do they ask the candidates to give any written tests or something? Also, if you don't mind could you let all know the position that you secured your first job for?
> 
> Thanks.


Well that depends on a lot of things- what your background is, where you have worked before, what roles you have handled etc.

In my case, I had extensive Big 4 experience. Generally, people from Big 4 are highly regarded here in Australia and their technical competence is understood to be at a level where you are able to think on your own and handle work independently, with minimal direction.

I wasn't asked to give any written tests. Recruiters assess your technical skills from high level questions they ask. Eg: Have you worked on financial models before? If you haven't, then you won't be able to answer the questions that relate to financial modelling. 

Having said that, you should obviously brush up on the technical concepts and skills that you applied in your earlier work. Be confident when you talk to recruiters. If they ask you something that you are not aware of, tell them the truth. When I was asked whether I was good at SQL and stuff, I honestly told them that I hadn't learnt that in the roles before, but was open to learning them on the job, if the opportunity so provides.


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## Jas4oz (Oct 3, 2013)

Great tips Sree!


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## Kiran S Raizada (Jun 25, 2013)

sre375 said:


> Hey
> 
> Sorry for the delay in replying. I guess the Big 4 are hiring for their audit teams here in Melbourne. Did he look for suitable roles on the careers page of the Big 4? I am sure I came across a few vacancies in PwC.
> 
> I am not into audit, I have more experience in financial analysis and M&A.


A BIG thanks Sree.


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

Happy everyone is finding these useful


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

*Couple of other things*

Few other things that I forgot to mention in my first post:

a) When you arrive and get yourself a sim card, remember to setup a voice mail box for your phone number. This is important as quite a few recruiters who call you, and if you miss their call, would leave a voice mail, which you can listen to later. I believe that the recruiters will not call you again, once you miss their call. So listen to their message and call them back on the number they left in the message.

b) Remember one very important thing, every phone conversation & meeting you have with the recruiter is all part of the interview process and will influence the outcome of the job application. If you happen to get the recruiter to answer your phone and view your resume on his screen, try and use this opportunity to impress him with your communication and talk about how your background fits into the job profile (bring in the key words listed in the job advert). 

If you miss the first call with the recruiter and you get his message, go back to the job advert before calling the recruiter and look at the role and its key words / requirements, so that these are at the top of your head when you speak to them.


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## sre375 (Feb 18, 2013)

If you guys don't find any luck applying for permanent roles with agents, try looking for contract roles (withing accounting) for 3-6 months. Employers may generally these to permanent roles, as this allows them an opportunity to see how you work and if you do well, there is an opportunity to make it a permanent role. 

Also try applying with employers directly, instead of applying through consultants. Having spoken to few consultants, the feedback I got is that they have a strict condition to make sure that all candidates referred to their client have some local work experience. Look at applydirect.com.au- this site has all the jobs advertised by the employers directly.


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## ridhi2715 (Sep 18, 2015)

sre375 said:


> If you guys don't find any luck applying for permanent roles with agents, try looking for contract roles (withing accounting) for 3-6 months. Employers may generally these to permanent roles, as this allows them an opportunity to see how you work and if you do well, there is an opportunity to make it a permanent role.
> 
> Also try applying with employers directly, instead of applying through consultants. Having spoken to few consultants, the feedback I got is that they have a strict condition to make sure that all candidates referred to their client have some local work experience. Look at applydirect.com.au- this site has all the jobs advertised by the employers directly.


Hi Sree
How are you buddy?? Its really very long time you haven't updated anything in your thread. Like any new immigrant, I also need your advices. I am too an Indian CA looking for a job, having ten years of experience out of which 7 years in big4 and rest in industry. I want to know if you have Aussie reference on your resume in your initial days?? What if one doesn't have that?


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## CaptainT (Sep 23, 2015)

Hi Sree,

Thank you for your very informative topic.

In the mean time, I am struggling to find a job, though I have 2 years experiences in Accounting which I gained during my 485 visa.

However, I have to spent one more than 1 years taking care of my son after having him in 2014 and working on my PR during 2015. I just got my PR granted on December 2015.

I believe my disadvantage for finding a job is that 1 year gap. Do you have any advice for me?
Are you happy looking at my CV and giving some suggestion?

Thanks in advance and looking forward to your reply. 

June


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