Nervous about job search!!

[Kezzles]

Hi everyone

 

We are hoping to arrive in melbs early March pending my Bf 457 visa. I'm starting to get jittery about prospect of giving up my job here for no job! Im not scared of job hunting as i feel working in HR I think helps me with preparing my CV and interviews, however the thought of not having my own income and looking for work is daunting. I'm super excited about the move and thankful we have one salaryon arrival. Once 457 is granted I can start a proper job search and start networking. Guess in the meantime I'm looking for any tips for securing a job in HR as I've heard mixed views ranging from they will love my uk (London) experience to you won't get a job without Aussie experience. I'm a HR Business partner with ten years experience so I'm hoping someone will give me a chance!

 

Would love to hear from you if you've had to look for a job in Melbourne and how you've found it. Any advice top tips things to avoid would be massively appreciated!

 

Thanks

kez

[Petals]

At the present time I think it will take time to find a job. HR I am not sure what the job situation is like but there are lots of recruitment people around as its a popular occupation. I know the finance and lawyer jobs are a bit thin on the ground presently. I would look at Seek and Career One and see what jobs are around.

 

When you apply on line be prepared to not receive any response at all as they only respond if they are interested. Even when they are interested and you submit a resume it may be a HR person fishing and you may receive a response or not, they are not good at getting back to you.

 

I think they definitely do go for local experience and the visa you are going on is not a popular one with the locals. They are seen as taking jobs from locals.

 

I am not trying to put you off but its not easy lets put it that way and if it is easy for you then you are very lucky.

 

Join up with the Life in Victoria forum, many members have just arrived or been here for a short time and they will be able to help you with information which I have no idea about.

 

My experience is having lived here for a long long time and knowing that when I moved down from Sydney long ago it was not easy to get into the Vic work force, of course times have changed but there is a local preference in most things but I do not think its just Aus where this happens.

 

Good luck

[Kezzles]

Thanks for replying. I've got a contact in HR in melbs who has put me in touch with two HR agencies so once we get visa I'll sign up. My company have taken on lots of aussie hr staff without uk experience so let's hope it works for me!! We've made up our minds to go and lucky bf has good promotion to go to. Im worried as I've never been out of work and built up good career here so hoping I'll get lucky with some determination. HR is a big field and usually recruitment consultants are specialised in recruitment, I'm lucky I have generalist background so have wide range of experience. Fingers crossed.

[fifi69]

I don't know anything about HR but I have seen a lot of posts on here about how hard it is to break into over here and a lot different by the sound of it once you do get in.

 

Its a positive that you have a contact though...

 

I totally understand your concerns. I came here on OHs 457, leaving a quite specialised job in the NHS which I had done and loved for the past 11 years.

 

I just wasnt prepared for how hard it would be to start job hunting again after all that time...it had all changed so much, but at least with your experience you will be up on all what employers are looking for.

 

Another disadvantage could be the visa itself, a lot of companies just don't want to know once they find out your on a 457 especially after all the bad press it got last year.

 

As for the money side of things...OMG I hated not having my own money, the first time in life this has been the case. Hated it.

 

Sorry if that all sounds a bit negative, that's just my experience.

 

How did I get through it....after realising I wasn't going to get work in my field I had to spread my net a bit further, it did get to the stage of it coming down to having money and not the job itself. Sign up to as many agencies as poss, they are crap but you only need that one break, apply for anything you think you can do and may even slightly enjoy. Network as much as poss.

 

Ive done a few jobs now, none of them I had ever done before, learnt a lot of new stuff and have been quite pleased with myself at how well I've picked things up.

 

I really hope you get a HR post but for me it has come down to lifestyle over work. Ie I love living here so am willing to do other things to bring in the money. I had to learn to put closure on my old career, that's gone now. Gotta just do what it takes to enable us to have the good life here.

 

Its not an ideal situation by any means but on the whole the pros outweigh the cons....we basically all take a risk when coming to Oz as to wether it works out or not just you just need to ask yourself what you are willing to sacrifice for it.

[buzzy--bee]

We recently had an HR professional stay with us on her arrival in Melbourne - she had a job very quickly with a utility provider and then got another one a few weeks later with Telstra as it paid more. These were both contracts. I think if you have the right skills and experience, and on top of that, can convince the employer that you will fit in with the Australian workforce and the Australian way of working you will find it easier.

 

BB

[Kezzles]

Hi and thanks BB that's good to hear I'm sure I'll be fine last minute nerves I think!!

 

Thanks fifi for your reply. I hope I do continue with my HR career as I enjoy it and I know I'm good at it (not bragging but worked hard to get where I am) I'm open to try other things but don't know what else?! We shall see I'm hoping the whole 457 won't put off prospective employers as we plan to apply for PR after two years. I plan to network as much as poss but maybe more selective with agencies (advice from my hr contact in melbs) luckily my professional membership has now got a reciprocal agreement with Aussie HR one so I can now transfer my membership.

Cheers

kez

[Mark 1234]

Be prepared for 3 separate interviews per job applied for, plus an online test. As you say, get out there and network face-to-face, in my experience most jobs advertised on Seek have already been allocated, the company is just going through the motions. For 6 months, I applied for 5 jobs per day for my wife (highly experienced in management and HR) and didn't receive a single reply or interview. She eventually got a job through a friend of a friend, and never looked back. Good luck.

[Kezzles]

Thx mark hopefully it won't take as long as 6 months that must of been soul destroying! Glad your wife got a job in the ne though! I'm not even looking on SEek as I'd heard the jobs have almost certainly gone before you apply. Im planning to apply direct, make use of LinkedIn and two specialised hr agencies and networking as much as possible. If you don't mind me asking What kind go online tests did your wife have to do?

Cheers

kez

[Mark 1234]

I'm pretty sure it was this one http://www.onetest.com.au/home/Cognitive-Ability

The site has a test example at the bottom of the page.

[Kezzles]

I'm pretty sure it was this one http://www.onetest.com.au/home/Cognitive-Ability

The site has a test example at the bottom of the page.

 

Great thanks Mark, I'll log onto the lap top and take a look.

[Mumof2]

Hi kezzles

i know you have posted this some months back but I only came across this post recently and thought that as I am in HR and only in Melbourne 18 months that I would share my experience with you.

 

Just to give you a bit of background so you can get an idea of where I'm coming from.... Dh is an electrician and got state sponsored perm residency in jan 2012. We have 2 kids and moved to Melbourne purely for his work,or lack thereof, in Ireland. He came here in March 2012, he has immediate family here, and I came with the kids in sept 2012. I have worked in HR since finishing uni (degree and masters qualified) .. And I left a senior HR role as a HR manager in a pharmaceutical company in Ireland to move here as a family unit.

 

I did not look for work for the first few months so I could settle myself and the kids. At end nov 2012 I started looking on seek at suitable hr roles and I applied for about 5 and got called quickly for 2 interviews. One of the roles was for a permanent HR manager for a small company about 5 mins drive from where we lived so obviously this was my preferred option. I got offered the role and started end jan 2013 and was made permanent 6 months later. I know this is a very positive outcome but I read so many negative stories that I just thought it prudent to show that it is possible to be lucky and secure a good role quickly. I am well qualified and do have over 10 years hr experience in unionised environments so I knew I could transfer these skills easily to the Australian workplace. I am now a member of CAHRI (Australia's version of CIPD) so I think that's helpful to have on your resume as it shows your HR skills are recognised as being comparable to Australian Standards. I also do think that being a permanent resident certainly helped secure this role as most company's want someone who will stay a few years at least and some employers view 457 as too high risk as your dependent on your spouse/partners employer.

 

If you need any advise please don't hesitate to ask. You can pm if you like.

Be positive and believe in your abilities and that will translate in the interview. It's strange the way the system works here really , my husband was state sponsored for pr and we all came on his visa and he has found it next to impossible to get work here as an electrician, he's working in construction but more carpentry side of things, and I only came on his visa and got work in my field in a very short period of time.

 

Best of luck and enjoy the adventure

[Londongal76]

Surely if you've got plenty of blue chip multi-national company experience, and are on a PR visa, you should at least get a decent look in?

[Kezzles]

Hi kezzles

i know you have posted this some months back but I only came across this post recently and thought that as I am in HR and only in Melbourne 18 months that I would share my experience with you.

 

Just to give you a bit of background so you can get an idea of where I'm coming from.... Dh is an electrician and got state sponsored perm residency in jan 2012. We have 2 kids and moved to Melbourne purely for his work,or lack thereof, in Ireland. He came here in March 2012, he has immediate family here, and I came with the kids in sept 2012. I have worked in HR since finishing uni (degree and masters qualified) .. And I left a senior HR role as a HR manager in a pharmaceutical company in Ireland to move here as a family unit.

 

I did not look for work for the first few months so I could settle myself and the kids. At end nov 2012 I started looking on seek at suitable hr roles and I applied for about 5 and got called quickly for 2 interviews. One of the roles was for a permanent HR manager for a small company about 5 mins drive from where we lived so obviously this was my preferred option. I got offered the role and started end jan 2013 and was made permanent 6 months later. I know this is a very positive outcome but I read so many negative stories that I just thought it prudent to show that it is possible to be lucky and secure a good role quickly. I am well qualified and do have over 10 years hr experience in unionised environments so I knew I could transfer these skills easily to the Australian workplace. I am now a member of CAHRI (Australia's version of CIPD) so I think that's helpful to have on your resume as it shows your HR skills are recognised as being comparable to Australian Standards. I also do think that being a permanent resident certainly helped secure this role as most company's want someone who will stay a few years at least and some employers view 457 as too high risk as your dependent on your spouse/partners employer.

 

If you need any advise please don't hesitate to ask. You can pm if you like.

Be positive and believe in your abilities and that will translate in the interview. It's strange the way the system works here really , my husband was state sponsored for pr and we all came on his visa and he has found it next to impossible to get work here as an electrician, he's working in construction but more carpentry side of things, and I only came on his visa and got work in my field in a very short period of time.

 

Best of luck and enjoy the adventure

 

Hi

thanks so much for your reply! We actually booked our flights today and arrive 2 April!!!! I've sent my application to AHRI to transfer my CIPD membership over today. I've also got just over 10 years experience and for past two years I've worked at Transport for London which is highly unionised and a complex and sometimes challenging place to work. I'm hoping like you local employers will view my experience as transferable and give me a chance. As soon as my AHRI is confirmed ill do a couple of e-courses. We are on a 457 but will be applying for PR in two years. I will PM you as I've probably got a million questions thanks again Kez

[wolvesaussie]

Have to just take the leap of faith which u have now done. Pretty hard for both partners to have jobs lined up.

I got my job in advance girlfriend had to quit her teaching job to come with nothing. Most people on here warned against it as there were no teaching jobs. She got one tho is now in her third week is settling well is amazed how much nicer aussie kids are. Shes settled well made new friends its all gone smoothly .good luck

[Kezzles]

Cheers thanks!! Now we have visa and arrival date I can crack on and start my networking! Wish me luck!!!