Foot in the door required!!

[Ed Nic Robinson]

We (wife and 2 kids 5yrs and 1yr old) emigrated in September last year to Melbourne on a skilled migration visa(my wife was the main applicant as an early years teacher). I am a Civil engineer with 18 years of experience(contracting) in the UK working up from a site engineer to an assistant construction manager with Amec and then VolkerStevin. I have applied for up to sixty jobs in the Melbourne area and a number country wide and had 1 interview for a site engineers role (i appreciate that i am going to have to start further down the ladder to gain experience and i am willing to do so). My patience is wearing thin and our savings are being eaten up, I am confident in my own ability but just need the foot in the door/chance. Prior to this post this is what i have done to gain employment whilst being here:

Obtained white card, visited numerous agencies ,door knocking on construction companies, re written my resume and had it professionally reviewed, obtained my abn number.

I have gained some short term work, labouring on various small sites, where i have met some useful contacts but none of these have come to anything and i don't want to waste my experience in the engineering sector to become a labourer(not that there is anything wrong with that).Feedback that i am receiving is that the construction industry is very quiet and there are candidates with more Victorian/Australian experience than me. I am now looking in all Australia for employment. We gave ourselves 2 years to see if this move was for us at this rate its looking like 12 months and we will be home due to financial reasons. Everyone that we have met, the social networking, the people couldn't have been more helpful and we really want to stay, but.......

[Paul1Perth]

Good idea to look all over Aus Ed. One place may be dead and others booming. You might get lucky and get FIFO position and be able to stay where you are. At least you are giving it your best shot. Hope something turns up mate.

[Rupert]

One change in strategy I would recommend, is not to sell yourself short. You say you appreciate you need to start down the ladder, I don't know why so many migrants say that or similar, I think it is self perpetuating and makes it look like you don't believe in yourself. Personally I never took any notice of that advice, which I only heard on immigration forums anyway, and I also never believe the Australian experience thing, which again personally I only ever heard on immigration forums.

 

So just a suggestion, as your current strategy is not working, is to market yourself more positively and no, don't assume you have to take a backwards step. I never assumed that and accordingly never did. And don't take Australian experience comments to heart, it is just a fob off line like "other candidates more closely matched our requirements blah blah".

[Ed Nic Robinson]

One change in strategy I would recommend, is not to sell yourself short. You say you appreciate you need to start down the ladder, I don't know why so many migrants say that or similar, I think it is self perpetuating and makes it look like you don't believe in yourself. Personally I never took any notice of that advice, which I only heard on immigration forums anyway, and I also never believe the Australian experience thing, which again personally I only ever heard on immigration forums.

 

So just a suggestion, as your current strategy is not working, is to market yourself more positively and no, don't assume you have to take a backwards step. I never assumed that and accordingly never did. And don't take Australian experience comments to heart, it is just a fob off line like "other candidates more closely matched our requirements blah blah".

 

Perhaps i didn't make myself clear, I have applied for a lot of positions equivalent to the role I left, at this stage I require a job and wouldn't mind taking a lower position to get me working.

[akiralx]

Yes, sadly Victoria is the worst state to be unemployed in except Tasmania, if applicants/vacancy figures are used.

[VERYSTORMY]

The vacancy rate for engineers is down 47% on this period last year

[pablo]

Always surprises me some of the occupations that can find it hard to gain employment,Teachers too,i thought they'd be screaming for Engineers,my own job,Bricklaying and the like it wouldn't surprise me though tbh,was talking to a bricky in Adelaide the other month and his words to me where "if you're working over there(UK)i wouldn't bother coming"

That was only one opinion of course,made me think a bit though

[VERYSTORMY]

Brickies in Perth are doing well Pablo

[Paul1Perth]

Brickies in Perth are doing well Pablo

 

Depends what you call doing well. I don't know any that are out of work for sure but I've heard some of the going rates aren't too good. A good brickie would be doing OK though, they get a lot of work by word of mouth and the good ones are in demand and get more money. I have a friend who's a site boss and a carpenter who fills me in about the rates.

 

Compared to what FIFO workers and what you would have been earning VS it's not fantastic money though. Easily comparable with what a brickie would be on in the UK I would have thought though.

[VERYSTORMY]

Paul, total earned i do ok. But actually by the hour you would be surprised. Like most FIFO jobs the money seems good, but you are working a heck of a lot of hours. I was at my desk at 4am this morning. I will be here till maybe 7pm tonight. Thats a normal day, 7 days a week, 7 weeks at a time. Add in i am living in a tent, living and working in an environment with a lot of health hazards - we have had more cases of malaria this year than i can count and although you can take the pills to prevent, they cause serious health problems over long term use. Money is not that great

 

The money is also droping like a stone for what i do. I would be lucky now to get 6 figures in a new job.

[Paul1Perth]

Paul, total earned i do ok. But actually by the hour you would be surprised. Like most FIFO jobs the money seems good, but you are working a heck of a lot of hours. I was at my desk at 4am this morning. I will be here till maybe 7pm tonight. Thats a normal day, 7 days a week, 7 weeks at a time. Add in i am living in a tent, living and working in an environment with a lot of health hazards - we have had more cases of malaria this year than i can count and although you can take the pills to prevent, they cause serious health problems over long term use. Money is not that great

 

The money is also droping like a stone for what i do. I would be lucky now to get 6 figures in a new job.

 

I know what you mean VS. I wouldn't fancy your job for whatever you are on mate. My son works FIFO in Port Hedland. It suits him, week on week off, nights/days, Qantas points by the thousand, he still lives at home on his week off so no real outgoings and saves up for big holidays. He's just got back from 3 weeks in the US, is talking about squeezing another US trip in with a friend before he goes to tomorrowland in Belgium again. As you say though if you break his salary down to an hourly rate it's not that good. My wife was surprised to find out he's on about the same as her as a nurse. I thnk it's the allowances that make it sound OK.

 

He could earn a lot more if he worked for FMG as a sparkie and did 3 on one off, they are on about $160,000. He's thinking about it as he knows a few people who could probably get him a start. It's a balancing act though. Think he'll stay where he is for the time being.

 

Looks like a 6 figure salary is going to be enough to get you in the new tax bracket that Abbott is going to bring in come the budget.:sad:

[VERYSTORMY]

Probably not for long. I am going to give the game up.

 

Looking to start my own food business. Meeting some people when i get back to sort the detail out and then will launch when i am on a 4 week break and take some annual leave as well. Have done a lot of market testing and am confident we can make a living from it. But not 6 figures, but enough to have a good life

[Paul1Perth]

Probably not for long. I am going to give the game up.

 

Looking to start my own food business. Meeting some people when i get back to sort the detail out and then will launch when i am on a 4 week break and take some annual leave as well. Have done a lot of market testing and am confident we can make a living from it. But not 6 figures, but enough to have a good life

 

Good luck with the venture VS. I know you love your food and even if it means putting in a lot of hours when you start up as long as you are enjoying it is the main thing. I've always thought that being a musician in a band would have been awesome. Never got round to giving it a good go though.

 

You'll have to let the people on here know what you are up to when you start off. Got to be better than flying to a fro to Africa. Good luck.:cool:

[VERYSTORMY]

Dont worry i will be letting people know - i am hoping some will be customers!

[JelenaNS]

We (wife and 2 kids 5yrs and 1yr old) emigrated in September last year to Melbourne on a skilled migration visa(my wife was the main applicant as an early years teacher). I am a Civil engineer with 18 years of experience(contracting) in the UK working up from a site engineer to an assistant construction manager with Amec and then VolkerStevin. I have applied for up to sixty jobs in the Melbourne area and a number country wide and had 1 interview for a site engineers role (i appreciate that i am going to have to start further down the ladder to gain experience and i am willing to do so). My patience is wearing thin and our savings are being eaten up, I am confident in my own ability but just need the foot in the door/chance. Prior to this post this is what i have done to gain employment whilst being here:

Obtained white card, visited numerous agencies ,door knocking on construction companies, re written my resume and had it professionally reviewed, obtained my abn number.

I have gained some short term work, labouring on various small sites, where i have met some useful contacts but none of these have come to anything and i don't want to waste my experience in the engineering sector to become a labourer(not that there is anything wrong with that).Feedback that i am receiving is that the construction industry is very quiet and there are candidates with more Victorian/Australian experience than me. I am now looking in all Australia for employment. We gave ourselves 2 years to see if this move was for us at this rate its looking like 12 months and we will be home due to financial reasons. Everyone that we have met, the social networking, the people couldn't have been more helpful and we really want to stay, but.......

 

Same story with us. My husband is a civil engineer and he was the main applicant.He has 8+ years experience on roads and highways construction, prior to coming to Australia he worked in FiFO roles in north Africa for 2,5 years.We were saving that money for migration and after a careful research we decided Australia as they advertised that engineers are in great demand.Also there are a lots of jobs advertised and the argument that start applying after coming here was reasonable.So we came and now it's been just a year-with one interview and no job.He did the same things in order to get a job, had professionally written resume, sending off to companies, applying to jobs, made some contacts (like you are he is now working as a laborer), and no success.To be clear, as someone might say if his English is good enough as we are coming from a non English country, he mostly worked in international teams where all correspondence was held in english and passed IELTS with 8.5 overall mark.Now he is still working as a laborer and I am doing some part time work, so financially we have just enough to make ends meet, and he is thinking again doing FIFO, anywhere, as here in Australia seems that the market is really struggling and as migrants from a developing country he will be always at the end of the line for any job.So...we are in the same boat. See some people on here are doing FIFO, any advice appreciate.