How to write a cover letter/email to a farm needing harvest workers

[saren]

In order to secure a job picking fruit in Australia, what kind of email (or letter) should an interested applicant send the orchard, or farm? Let's assume working hostels, and door to door, or cold calls are not an option, and email, or labour hire firms are the only methods available, what should be said in the letter, picking fruit doesn't normally need a CV, or any credentials, so how can an applicant stand out, a photo obviously, in case they want to see if you have the body/muscle to do harvest work, and probably a cover letter introduction, what kind of qualities are they looking for in pickers? Thanks

[Jacaranda]

I would just write a cover email/letter stating you are looking for work in that field (excuse the pun lol)and that you are hardworking,reliable,fit and healthy!(assuming you are!)and when you can start and for how long you might be available.Have you looked at Australian Job Search?They usually advertise on there for seasonal staff,so you can go through an agency or direct?Good luck.

[digitalis]

Saren, with the greatest of respect you are overthinking all this. Just get out to Oz, affiliate yourself with either a hostel with links to the farm or backpackers that work there and take it from there. Most of the farms have well used channels (usually the hostels) and will tend to point you in that direction if you ring to enquire anyway.

 

Didn't you say you were too old to get a 2nd year? In which case why would you want to do farmwork, it's kind of like a neccesary evil for the 2nd year.

[saren]

Yes i just realized that today, i actually don't want to do farmwork, i am considering it as last option in case the dream job doesn't come through, and you are right i am not eligible for 2nd year, i'd much rather have a job working as a shop assistant in an art gallery, or something like that. The reason i asked about emailing people is because i don't want to sleep at hostels at all when i am in Australia, i want to couchsurf, helpexchange, and wwoof in exchange for accomodation. Since im not a customer of the working hostel, do you think they'd still help me find a harvest job, in case i needed one. I will always ask backpackers, but since I am not staying at hostels, i am not going to meet a lot of them, last time i was in Oz, i only met up with 5 backpackers in the 2 1/2 months i was there.

[Skani]

In order to secure a job picking fruit in Australia, what kind of email (or letter) should an interested applicant send the orchard, or farm?

 

I would be gobsmacked if this method secured a job at all. Most are far too busy to be dealing with correspondence - that is why they deal with labour hire firms and working hostels. It's not a selection process like a permanent job.

They want you to be in the area, available to start shortly, and willing to work. That's all.

[Jacaranda]

Yes i just realized that today, i actually don't want to do farmwork, i am considering it as last option in case the dream job doesn't come through, and you are right i am not eligible for 2nd year, i'd much rather have a job working as a shop assistant in an art gallery, or something like that. The reason i asked about emailing people is because i don't want to sleep at hostels at all when i am in Australia, i want to couchsurf, helpexchange, and wwoof in exchange for accomodation. Since im not a customer of the working hostel, do you think they'd still help me find a harvest job, in case i needed one. I will always ask backpackers, but since I am not staying at hostels, i am not going to meet a lot of them, last time i was in Oz, i only met up with 5 backpackers in the 2 1/2 months i was there.

If seasonal work is your last resort,you should'nt be worrying about that right now!Sorry I thought you were already in Oz!:cute:Yeah don't sweat it!If you do have to go down that road,its no biggie finding/getting work.

[PositivePixie]

If you have to rely on harvest work, you're pretty much screwed to be honest. And the thought of emails or letters is just a complete non-starter. The harvest labour office, you just get yourself there, fill in a form, and report when it opens (8.30am ish) each morning to sign on, then they contact you later in the day when there is work. Any farmer will completely ignore any letter or email, unless its from a specific job advert (usually on gumtree) and then they will only contact the first person who contacted them to offer them the job. There isn't any 'standing out' or anything, just the first monkey who applies gets the job.

 

With regards to the 'being screwed' comment, that's because most harvest work only pays contact (ie per fruit picked etc) and the rate is so low that most people can only pick x amount, which ends up being less than min. wage really. You may be very very lucky and get a per hour harvest role, but that is very luck indeed, and not something to count on. We need money quite seriously at the moment and are doing harvest work, and quickly realising that it won't really help us out (its a very long story, with specific circumstances as to why we need to raise funds, having a time limit on it) - it will pay for our food, and perhaps a couple of extra hundred left over when we leave in a few weeks, if we are very lucky and get work everyday, but thats all (and we are free camping, so no accommodation costs in that).

 

They always need (from what we have seen on our travels) chefs/kitchenhands, barristas, cafe people, and 'poverty desperate' jobs (ie cold calling sales, chuggers etc) in the big cities, so you can get jobs doing that if nothing else, and all of those will pay a lot better than harvest work, with the exception of commission only roles - but don't take those, make sure you get a base rate + commission if you are desperate enough to do cold calling etc roles....a few weeks work history in a cafe or bar back 'home' will be a very good investment for a job here in Oz (they all want 2 years experience at least), if you cannot get a role in a gallery etc, however tbh, jobs aren't that hard to get here really, not compared to the UK at any rate.....you just have to keep slugging away at the applications game (first person to apply gets the job is a very very common thing we have seen here in a whole raft of roles)

 

Good luck and enjoy, once you get here it will all make sense...

[digitalis]

If you have to rely on harvest work, you're pretty much screwed to be honest. And the thought of emails or letters is just a complete non-starter. The harvest labour office, you just get yourself there, fill in a form, and report when it opens (8.30am ish) each morning to sign on, then they contact you later in the day when there is work. Any farmer will completely ignore any letter or email, unless its from a specific job advert (usually on gumtree) and then they will only contact the first person who contacted them to offer them the job. There isn't any 'standing out' or anything, just the first monkey who applies gets the job.

 

With regards to the 'being screwed' comment, that's because most harvest work only pays contact (ie per fruit picked etc) and the rate is so low that most people can only pick x amount, which ends up being less than min. wage really. You may be very very lucky and get a per hour harvest role, but that is very luck indeed, and not something to count on. We need money quite seriously at the moment and are doing harvest work, and quickly realising that it won't really help us out (its a very long story, with specific circumstances as to why we need to raise funds, having a time limit on it) - it will pay for our food, and perhaps a couple of extra hundred left over when we leave in a few weeks, if we are very lucky and get work everyday, but thats all (and we are free camping, so no accommodation costs in that).

 

They always need (from what we have seen on our travels) chefs/kitchenhands, barristas, cafe people, and 'poverty desperate' jobs (ie cold calling sales, chuggers etc) in the big cities, so you can get jobs doing that if nothing else, and all of those will pay a lot better than harvest work, with the exception of commission only roles - but don't take those, make sure you get a base rate + commission if you are desperate enough to do cold calling etc roles....a few weeks work history in a cafe or bar back 'home' will be a very good investment for a job here in Oz (they all want 2 years experience at least), if you cannot get a role in a gallery etc, however tbh, jobs aren't that hard to get here really, not compared to the UK at any rate.....you just have to keep slugging away at the applications game (first person to apply gets the job is a very very common thing we have seen here in a whole raft of roles)

 

Good luck and enjoy, once you get here it will all make sense...

 

Brilliant post. Sums up the working situ for backpackers to a t.

 

In a nutshell, harvest work is essentially slave labour and frankly most who undertake it end up calling in loans from friends or family in order to get their 3 months out of the way. At the grand old age of 29, this was one of the reasons I decided against doing picking work. Bit long in the tooth to be earning $200 a week (as my mate was picking lemons) plus having to pay for accom and transport on top. Unfortunately this isn't the exception, although granted errs on the worse case scenario. Another one is you end up working for the farmer from hell. That is more common, trust me. I have met very few backpackers in 9 months who enjoyed their regional work, and DIAC wonder why so many backpackers try blagging it.

 

Also agree on the first come first served for job applications. Another thing that will help you massively is having a car. You will be about 2/10 good minority if you have a car which is one of the reasons I am remaining in Perth as opposed to heading East as I have my own transport here which makes you massively more employable.

 

Remember above all that almost all backpackers here realise after a few weeks that you need to be something of a blagger to get a job. Everyone else is doing it. Don't be TOO honest. No one else is, frankly or if they are they soon learn not to be. Case in point, I know of a 21 German guy that did a small tiling job for the hostel owner here in Perth, then all of a sudden was applying for jobs as a fully qualified tiler! In the same hostel there was an English guy doing the same thing but with plumbing. That type of thing is very common and to be honest takes the piss as backpackers have a terrible reputation generally for being bullshit artists.

 

The bottomg line is, due to the recession in the Eurozone there are LOADS of backpackers here all of whom need money. Canada has the right idea IMO, limiting the spaces to 5,000 a year. There must be that many in Perth alone.

[saren]

I agree, i don't actually want to do harvest work, but since so many backpackers do it, i thought maybe it was lucrative or something like that, i can see now i was wrong, i won't do it for a few dollars, i am looking only for lucrative work if it doesn't exist, i'd rather have a regular job, which pays more per hour, with less physical damage (to the body). However i don't have 2 years experience in any job over the past 5 years, in fact i haven't had a real job for over 5 years. I want to work rural, to avoid the competition, but i don't like the idea of working in a roadhouse.