MetalToby

Thanks!

Hi all,

I've been in Australia now on a partner visa for just over a year. My wife is Australian so I am a permanent resident.

We are planning a trip back to the UK in October. Do I need to do anything with my visa for a 3 week trip to the UK? Or can I just come and go?

Thanks!

If you get the chance to work for a consultancy then take it.

My first job on Oz has been a consuiltancy. With that I've worked in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. This has been useful in making new contacts and seeing more of Australia.

You may get crappy work but its worth it if you are new to Australia.

This place has amazing stuff if you are able to go and look:

http://bungendorewoodworks.com.au/

We just did this for my son. As already mentioned just follow the guidance on the website. You complete an online form then print it and post the photos and old passport if required. Its really easy and the turn around was fast. We had to get new photos signed as his old passport was only baby pics.

Join https://www.meetup.com

This is where you will find meetups in Melbourne. They generally consist of presentations and networking. Go along to any software engineering meetups even if they are not exactly related to your skillset. Talk to people there and you may meet some recruiters. Meetup sponsors are often looking for people so speak to them. Everyone is always friendly and happy to talk so dont be shy.

You are best to target the banks as they are most likely to be using those technologies. It is quite narrow so it may take longer than usual to find work.

Dont expect much joy when applying remotley. I think they get so many speculative applications that they dont bother responding unless you are in the country.

If you are in the UK, I spoke to James Ballard at Robert Walters (look him up on linkedin) he was able to give me some advice and pass my details to their offices in Aus. Again, they didnt want to speak to me until I got here but the agent was good helpful once I arrived.

There is nothing specific about the Australian IT world to worry about, writing software is the same everywhere. You will obviously need to learn the specific domain you move into, but that is the same when moving jobs anywhere so dont worry about that.

Once you arrive make sure you join some meetups, recruiters often attend these looking for people.

Hope that helps

On 10/11/2017 at 10:27, Newstart said:

Hi guys,

I’d like to know some information for my husband about the demand for contractor PM’s in Sydney. Also the hourly rate?

Is there any chance he could get interviewed for a job ( say on skype) before he leaves or would he need to wait until he is in Australia first?

Background: my husband is a senior technical PM, scrum master, agile, has done pretty much every area of IT. He started many years ago as a Sys admin. He can code and do websites etc. He has also been a program manager and a release director. He has a lot of knowledge in the energy sector but also has done credit card processing and worked for the AAA and many other things I can’t recall. He isn’t too fussy about industry or role title as he picks up new technology very fast, it’s his passion.

I think due to his outgoing and jovial nature and hardworking ethic, Australian employers would love him. And I think he will love working with Aussies!  

Hi Newstart,

Take a look at Elabor8. They have offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. They are an awsome company who specialise in agile coaching of all sorts. I think they would be happy to talk to your husband before you arrive in Oz.

Hi all, a few thoughts from my job hunt....

We moved to Sydney in June and it took me about 4 weeks to find a job. I have a mainly Java dev and design background.

I just applied via the usual sites, Seek, LinkedIn and Indeed. 

I had a lot of rejections and also many companies never replied. Agents would often contact me sounding very keen, but then never rang back with anything concrete.

One difference to the UK is that agents wanted me to interview in person with them before putting me in front of their clients. In the UK I found that all I needed was a chat with an agent over the phone rather than face to face with them.

I think that you often get rejected/ignored if the recruiter doesn't recognise the companies you worked for in the UK. There also seems to be a lot of jobs filled via networking and contacts. 

I would say join some meetups and try to make some contacts when you attend. There are often recruiters at meetups looking for potential employees.

Dont give up, there are many companies who are not obsessed with Australian experience.