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.

Hi, this is more of a general question: I have been working for the same company since arriving in Australia. I'm thinking about changing employers, my new employer would most likely want at least two references before offering a contract (at least thats how it went with my current job). Now, ideally I would use people from my current work instead of trying to go back and use referees that are overseas and that I haven't worked for in a long time. How do I best go about the whole situation? If I say I'm leaving and ask my boss to be my reference, there is a very small chance he might try to slip in something negative as a way of "getting back" at me for quitting. My performance reviews have been nothing but outstanding, but you never know and that worries me as I could end up with no job at all. Any insights, please share :biggrin:

I dont have the answer to your other questions but I don't think studying towards CPA makes you eligible for a student visa.

You base this on responses from recruiters without having a single actual offer or even having been to an interview. Big difference in my opinion.

Nothing against you personally blossom79, but I am not sure that's true. Going from no visa to full working rights through a bridging visa is by no means automatic.

Having taken a couple myself I wouldn't say they are extremely hard but be prepared. Some of the questions are asking pretty irrelevant things from the study manuals so make sure you go through them carefully. Also check what percentage you need to pass, it differs from exam to exam.

Regional work isn't enough, it has to be "specific" as well, aka farming, mining or construction.

It depends on the doctor/clinic you go to. Places that see a lot of visa cases (UK for example) are mostly e health, others not so much.

Just book a fully refundable one way to New Zealand or somewhere in Asia, shouldn't cost you more than maybe a few dollars booking fee.

Your question has already been answered multiple times. You don't need to get your degree assessed to claim points.

You say your masters degree is from a recognized UK University - you should be fine. Didn't you need a Bsc. to get your Masters? Where is that from?