Day N Nite Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 A little background BSc in Mechanical Engineering (USA) 2009 MSc in Building Services Engineering with Sustainable Energy (UK) 2012 1.5 years experience as an engineer Skilled Migrant Subclass 175 Visa (Permanent residence) I arrived in Sydney in the middle of May on my own. I didn’t expect to hit the ground running in the first month, but after 4 months I am beginning to get worried. I have lost count of the amount of jobs I have applied for but I am pretty sure it’s over 50. I am limited in the types of jobs that I can apply for as I have very little experience and so I apply mostly to graduate positions. In the UK, when I applied for a position I knew I would at least get some sort of reply from the company. Over here it seems as if a response is optional. The excuses I like to tell myself are: 1. Most of the graduate schemes for my field are open in February and close in May. So my arrival was just a bad time. 2. It’s the election and things will pick up soon 3. Australia is now starting to feel the effects of global financial crisis and so people aren’t hiring. I thought that maybe I was just having bad luck but after taking a skillsmax course that is provided free of charge by the NSW government to new migrants, I really began to see how many more people are in my position. Each class has about 10 to 15 persons of many different nationalities and there were about 4 classes in total. I would say 75% of the people there were engineers looking for work and with far more experience than me. One guy I met is a sri lankan who studied in the UK and has 5 years UK experience as a site engineer, he has been here for 7 mths and still cannot find a job in his field. I was under the impression that Australia had a shortage of engineers but this doesn’t seem to be the case. I think the real problem is that there are too many skilled visa holders like myself and little to no jobs available. The last time i worked was in London from October to December 2012. (Am currently living off of those savings).I left the UK in January I have not worked for the entire 2013 and it’s not for a lack of trying. With 3 mths left in 2013, it looks like 2013 might just be a year of unemployment for me. Hopefully in the not too distant future i can look back on this year and have a good laugh............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyman Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 maybe they read your CV and think ,this guy is over qualified for this job ,once he gets his foot in the door he will be off to another job/firm........they could be worried about taking you on as they know once your employed you could have your pick of the jobs.......... it really annoyed me when i wanted to take a step back from intense welding ,some potential employers would not entertain me as i was obviously over qualified for the certain position but they seem to think i want a "fill in the time job while waiting for a better job to come along "...... maybe review your cv , don't tell them too much .......just get your foot in any door............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samdom1 Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 A little background BSc in Mechanical Engineering (USA) 2009 MSc in Building Services Engineering with Sustainable Energy (UK) 2012 1.5 years experience as an engineer Skilled Migrant Subclass 175 Visa (Permanent residence) I arrived in Sydney in the middle of May on my own. I didn’t expect to hit the ground running in the first month, but after 4 months I am beginning to get worried. I have lost count of the amount of jobs I have applied for but I am pretty sure it’s over 50. I am limited in the types of jobs that I can apply for as I have very little experience and so I apply mostly to graduate positions. In the UK, when I applied for a position I knew I would at least get some sort of reply from the company. Over here it seems as if a response is optional. The excuses I like to tell myself are: 1. Most of the graduate schemes for my field are open in February and close in May. So my arrival was just a bad time. 2. It’s the election and things will pick up soon 3. Australia is now starting to feel the effects of global financial crisis and so people aren’t hiring. I thought that maybe I was just having bad luck but after taking a skillsmax course that is provided free of charge by the NSW government to new migrants, I really began to see how many more people are in my position. Each class has about 10 to 15 persons of many different nationalities and there were about 4 classes in total. I would say 75% of the people there were engineers looking for work and with far more experience than me. One guy I met is a sri lankan who studied in the UK and has 5 years UK experience as a site engineer, he has been here for 7 mths and still cannot find a job in his field. I was under the impression that Australia had a shortage of engineers but this doesn’t seem to be the case. I think the real problem is that there are too many skilled visa holders like myself and little to no jobs available. The last time i worked was in London from October to December 2012. (Am currently living off of those savings).I left the UK in January I have not worked for the entire 2013 and it’s not for a lack of trying. With 3 mths left in 2013, it looks like 2013 might just be a year of unemployment for me. Hopefully in the not too distant future i can look back on this year and have a good laugh............ OK so what skills have you got that make you stand above the crowd could you get another position doing any thing in the mean time that might lead into an engineering position, I'm sorry if thats a daft question, its just that my hubby and I have talked about doing anything while we find what we really want, he'll be happy as a pizza delivery man to get him at least moving around looking for local positions? I'll be happy to work any shifts for an agency as long as its nursing.... Would knocking on some doors and offering your self for a free work trial be a possibility as your role is specialist?? Just a few thoughts, really hope your successful soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incata Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 DayNNite I really feel for you. We arrived in January and it has taken me until September to get a job. I start next week and the job I got was my 101st application. It is so tough out there right now. I can't offer any advice at all as nothing worked for me. I eventually got the job because they were paying far less than the market rate for the role and they could not get an Australian with the experience to accept a job at that salary. I just wish you the best of luck and hope that things turn a corner for you soon. Best wishes Incata Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 The advice i would offer is not to apply for grad roles, as these are going to be in high demand. Also, a lot of employers do not look at people that are not this years batch of new grads for their grad positions. Instead, start looking at just junior level roles. Also, dont be afraid of applying for roles that you havent got the experience for. A lot of employers will waive the experience criteria and offer training for the right person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 I notice you list your Qual's ahead of your experience, much like I do. It's always going to be harder when competing against potentially more experienced candidates. Just keep trying and i'm sure you will get a foot in the door soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBC Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 My husband is a structural engineer and we came out to Melbourne 2 years ago on a 457 as he was interviewed by his company via skype and then offered a position. We now have PR and he has almost 2 years experience - however, it seems that Australian engineering firms very much like people to have local experience. If you look on Seek many ads require at least 3 years and some even specify 3 years 'Melbourne' experience! It's a case of getting as many firms to look at your CV as possible and hoping for the best. We have also noticed a decline in the amount of positions advertised over the last 12 months so the economy does seem to have slowed down somewhat. My husband was a senior engineer in the UK, managed projects etc and has 10 years experience but many, many places still insist on this magical 3 years Australian experience. We just have to be patient, which is frustrating as he was never out of work in the UK and had his pick of jobs. It's worth noting that he got his current role by sending his CV to the company rather than applying for a specific role that was advertised. It might be worth compiling a list of companies in your area and sending your CV to all of them, you never know when the right person will take a look and get in touch. Best of luck - hope this wasn't too negative a response! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.