Joanna82

Thanks! Was this fairly recently?

Hi all, I couldn’t find a definite answer on this question, can I leave the country in between applying for citizenship and sitting the test / getting approved? I know I have to be onshore for the approval, but does this include the waiting period? Thanks!

I did my assessment with AASW in 2012 so this might not be current but the requirements for AASW membership and a positive skill assessment are identical. If she has a 3 year degree and less than 3 years experience she most likely wont receive a positive assessment. AASW membership does not seem important to get jobs in my experience.

59k a year comes to around $900 a week, less if that number includes super. $390 in rent + utilities will eat half of that. You will need at least one car, public transport isnt really an option down the coast if you have family. Deduct school fees, food etc. and you will have very little left. You will be able to survive but honestly you will be scraping for every dollar in my opinion.

Sorry for the rant, but seriously? I just spend 75 minutes filling out a rental application, and of course as we are applying as a couple we get to do it all over again for applicant number two. I get that you ask for proof of income and employment as well as rental references. But two reference letters on top of that? The name, address and phone number of the company I worked for in 2005? Copies of license, passport, credit AND medicare card to reach 100 points? My Visa application was less detailed than this. And the best part... it does not even guarantee you a lease. :arghh:

Try AirBnB or the like for something short term.

Mate, you write about your job and money. Sure these things are important, but have you been to Australia before and know what to expect? As to the salary, 160k AUD are roughly 140K USD, so if you currently live an expensive part of the country you'll do ok.

Actually it is not confusing at all. You apply for your invitation letter online through any of the numerous service providers. This costs around 10-20 USD. I used http://www.vietnamvisacheap.net/. You then receive the invitation letter via email. Once you land in Vietnam you will need the letter, 2 passport pictures and 45 USD in cash to get the actual visa. Alternatively, get your visa beforehand through the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia.

If it is not for a specific position you applied for the recruiter will go through your cv/background to get a deeper understanding of what you have done and what you are looking for. Relax, this is more of a friendly chat than an interview. Make sure you let him/her know what you want and not want to do as to not waste time later on. This is also a good time to ask about how to improve your resume and taylor it for the Australian market. Best of luck!

The 100% correct way: Get someone to attend on your behalf, if you don't know anyone put an ad on gumtree. Otherwise: Call them up and ask for the code, unless the inspection is by appointment only this should be the least of your problems. Actually getting the contract approved without being present will be much more difficult. Not that I would recommend signing a long term lease without seeing the property.

It makes sense from my experience. We had the situation a couple of times that we needed to hire a temp within a day or two, which pretty much means the recruiters search their candidate database for the right keywords and start sending over CV's within the hour. Not enough time to actually put out and ad.

Or it means the job isn't real and they are just stocking up on CV's. Just observe how many of these job openings show up on Seek at the exact same time each week (even if that day is a public holiday).

I have no idea how representative this is but we (ASX listed retailer) use JDE and just spend a huge chunk of money on upgrades. From what the developers say this doesnt seem uncommon and judging by their salaries they are in high demand (or everybody else has moved on to SAP :smile: )

Hi, my reporting Manager has resigned and I am thinking about asking for a reference letter before he leaves the company as this is my first job in Australia. Is this common practice or do you usually only get a standard letter from HR confirming position, dates of employment etc. and for the rest use verbal references? And how would I go about using a reference that is no longer with the company (feels a bit weird listing a private email and phone number)? Any advice is greatly appreciated, thank you in advance!

From my experience references are usually checked via email or phone. The lazy ones send out a template to be filled out, others simply call up the referee. Good point.