ItchyFeet76

Petal, have you considered getting in touch with a recruitment agent who specialises in your husband's field of work? They do take a considerable fee from the client (the employer) but they work hard to get you the right job with the right package. We're currently using one to try and get my husband sponsorship for a 457 (he's in IT Security).

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I've heard of PlanIT - maybe this is whom he meant? I recall seeing some jobs by them on Seek last year...

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@Briggs0102 Did you say you're in IT security? What do you do, exactly (if you don't mind my asking)? My husband is seeking 457 sponsorship and the recruiters have expressed lots of interest in him thus far, saying that there's a big market for penetration testers, particularly ones with CREST.

Cheers,

I-F

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Completely agree. I've recruited various IT contractors in my role as a project manager and probably one of the things I'm least interested in is what certification they have. At the end of the day, if you're sitting in front of me I'm going to assume your skills and experience are adequate and it's all much of a muchness when comparing one person with another. You can have as many bits of paper as you like, but as an employer you need to prove to me that you can actually do this job, not sit in a classroom. The main factor I look for in a candidate (assuming their CV is acceptable) is would this person fit in with my team dynamic? The second one would be things like will this person make my life easier or harder? Do they have a personality? Can they express themselves? Do they need a lot of prompting or hand holding? Do I trust them? And most importantly, do they actually look like they want this job? If you can demonstrate that to me you'll shine in an interview. I wouldn't bother to ask you loads of technical questions to try to catch you out as I don't want to recruit someone who's learned something by rote. Perhaps the best answer I've heard in an interview to a technical question was from an Oracle developer who was asked what he'd do in a pretty complex technical scenario. "Dunno", he replied. "I'd go and Google it probably". He got the job.

Hi Petkula, are you able to give an insight into the current IT security industry in Vic (Melbourne area), please? My husband is a penetration tester /Senior Security Consultant and will be looking for sponsorship next spring (by which time we hope to have saved up enough to make the trip). He has his Crest CCT / CTL / OSCP, etc. and a few years' experience working for one of the world's largest pen-testing companies (actually more like 5 years in security but ACS knocked off a couple years for his lack of degree). His background has always been computers (hardware - i.e. sys admin, etc.) so he's got a broad knowledge of most things but specialises in security (currently learning mobile hacking).

We've had recruiters get in touch with him but one has said there are very few companies in Vic willing to sponsor a 457, which is rather concerning as this is our only route in.

Thanks in advance,

I-F

If you keep retaking it and do better in some bits (eg reading) but worse in others (eg listening), can you amalgamate the results from old and new tests (picking out the best) and, if not, does the most recent test result cancel out the previous one...?

Thanks.

Glad to hear your husband found work quickly, Antigone :-)

Has anyone heard anything about the lay-offs from BAE Systems Detica (not sure how recent?) flooding the IT market with jobseekers...? Think my oh may have some competition on his hands... :eek:

hi, target these companies. http://www.crestaustralia.org/approved.html. when hiring pen testers i wont use firms not on the list.

Hi there Arrumac, thanks for your suggestion. I actually think hubby's already tried a few of those companies (submitted CV, anyway) but not heard anything back yet. Even the agent who assured us pen testers were / are in demand has been verging on the lackadaisical recently. Is this the Australian way or should we take it personally?! Our friend got offered a job (whilst in Oz), returned to the UK, chased up the contract and they never even replied (despite weeks of emailing them). We then found out (through another agent) that the guy who 'hired' him had actually left the company and nobody had bothered to tell him (our friend)! Really hope we don't end up in a similar situation...

May I ask what line of work you're in, please (you said you only used Crest-approved firms)? Would you perhaps have any contacts in this field (apologies for the cheek!)...? :notworthy:

Cheers :-)

Are there any security specialists / penetration testers out there? My oh is hoping to secure sponsorship (or an intra-company transfer) but, as seems to be the case with so many other people (from what I've read on here), most of the jobs on SEEK seems to have been advertised for the past 6 months and are continually repeated!

Cheers, I-F :-)

Hello again Andy, thanks for persevering with my question - sorry I didn't clarify my situation in the first post! So what would happen to our private pensions from the UK if we were to go to Oz, gain PR and stay out there until retirement...? Surely we'd still get them (minus inflation) as we've paid into them??!

Jolly pleased that the Aus super isn't taxed - do you think this is likely to change at some point...? (the UK state pension IS taxed, isn't it? And presumably would be taxed on UK rates or Aus rates?).

Thanks again and sorry to reply with more questions!

Thanks for clarifying that, Andrew. Our situation is this:- we're hoping to come out on a 457 but eventually convert it to PR. My husband will (hopefully) be earning around the $120k mark, and I'm a full-time mum. So, based on $120k (which would obviously go up over the years with inflation) we'd get just $2.5k p.a. between the two of us? And if / when I return to work, would we still get £2.5k between the two of us...?

Presumably the superannuation to which the employer contributes would come to us regardless of salary, but minus tax (at whatever rate he would pay on his usual salary, I guess)? And any UK employer pension would come to us minus UK tax or Oz tax? (and would not rise in line with inflation...?). Would we still get a UK state pension?

Sorry for adding more questions!

Thanks in advance of your reply,

I-F :-)

Please excuse my ignorance but is an Age Pension the equivalent of the UK State Pension? So if you earn / have earned over $67k per couple, you won't get it? Presumably you would still get your super though...??

Thanks in advance for the clarification on this.

I-F

Hi there,

We have a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso (7-seater), 2.0L Diesel "Exclusive" model (top model) with air-con, climate control, electric tinted windows / mirrors, rear parking sensors, mileage: 36k, 59 reg (Sep 2009). Cost £9k.

From Leicester to either Melbourne or Perth (not decided yet!).

Thanks,

I-F :-)