Legal career advice

[Haze9229]

Hi, my partner is being sponsored on a 457 visa and we are heading to Sydney in September. I am a Law graduate and have been working as a Legal Assistant for the past year in the UK.

 

I am yet to find a job and was looking for any advice in the legal sector. Based on my situation do you think it would be difficult to secure a similar role in Sydney? And where do I start when I get there?

 

I have contacted an employment agency which is active in both the UK and Oz to get started but any other advice would be much appreciated!

 

Thanks

 

Hazel

[Flake]

Hi, my partner is being sponsored on a 457 visa and we are heading to Sydney in September. I am a Law graduate and have been working as a Legal Assistant for the past year in the UK.

 

I am yet to find a job and was looking for any advice in the legal sector. Based on my situation do you think it would be difficult to secure a similar role in Sydney? And where do I start when I get there?

 

I have contacted an employment agency which is active in both the UK and Oz to get started but any other advice would be much appreciated!

 

Thanks

 

Hazel

 

Hi Hazel,

 

I cant offer any specific advice I'm afraid, but one thing that has been suggested is that LinkedIn is a solid place to start for advertising yourself.

 

My husband works in Corporate insurance and finds LinkedIn an ideal tool for job applications and profiling yourself internationally.

 

Another website to use is seek.com.au - you will find all relevant job opportunities there and can create a profile for yourself for recruiters to find.

 

Good luck in the move, hope it goes smoothly and you settle in quickly! :-)

[Haze9229]

Thanks Flake! Much appreciated.

 

I've got my profile going on Seek but will have to wait until I arrive until those individual vacancies can be pursued. There seems to be plenty of opportunities similar to my current role, I suppose I'll just have to wait and see as to whether my UK based experience is enough! As for LinkedIn, I'll have to check it out as I'm not familiar with how it all works - Thanks for the tip

 

I suppose it's finally sinking in that my partner is all lined up and I will be technically unemployed for the first time - scary stuff but exciting prospects too!

 

Thanks again,

 

Hazel

[Flake]

Thanks Flake! Much appreciated.

 

I've got my profile going on Seek but will have to wait until I arrive until those individual vacancies can be pursued. There seems to be plenty of opportunities similar to my current role, I suppose I'll just have to wait and see as to whether my UK based experience is enough! As for LinkedIn, I'll have to check it out as I'm not familiar with how it all works - Thanks for the tip

 

I suppose it's finally sinking in that my partner is all lined up and I will be technically unemployed for the first time - scary stuff but exciting prospects too!

 

Thanks again,

 

Hazel

 

 

you're welcome! :-)

 

your UK experience will stand you in good stead, I'm sure you will have no issue securing work, just have to make sure you put yourself out there with recruiters and do lots of online applications! It can be tedious but I reckon you will have no problem!

 

Good of luck with the move, such an exciting time!

[louisella]

Hi Hazel

 

I'm not sure what the situation is for Legal Assistants however certainly for UK qualified lawyers, you need to do extra units / experience to be admitted to practice in Australia. It might be worth you checking to see you if you need to do anything similar for the role you're looking to do

 

This might help (although it may be more centred on Laywers rather than Assistants but worth a look to see if there's anything you think may help):

http://www.lpab.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lpab/legalprofession_index.html

 

Good luck with the move!

[Daveyboy]

Hi, my partner is being sponsored on a 457 visa and we are heading to Sydney in September. I am a Law graduate and have been working as a Legal Assistant for the past year in the UK.

 

I am yet to find a job and was looking for any advice in the legal sector. Based on my situation do you think it would be difficult to secure a similar role in Sydney? And where do I start when I get there?

 

I have contacted an employment agency which is active in both the UK and Oz to get started but any other advice would be much appreciated!

 

Thanks

 

Hazel

 

Hi Hazel

 

I can't offer any specific advice on legal sector either but I think Sydney is the place in Oz you will have least trouble finding work as a new immigrant. Generally the attitude to people who have worked in the UK is positive. I was in Adelaide for a while and work was very hard to get into, they look to hire people with local experience first. I got a temp job but the status and responsibility (and therefore relative pay) was lower than what I did at home. I got a job in Sydney without even being there or having any real Australian experience - the job was at the same level I undertook back home.

 

I would do what you are doing - make contact with the agencies so they know when you are arriving and try and set up a meeting in your first week in Sydney. I would also do some research into large employers based in Sydney and approach them directly. Most of them these days you will be able to register on the careers section of their website and be on their 'talent pool'. I know this almost goes without saying but invest time in bringing up the quality of your CV to as higher standard as possible.

 

I would also contact the NSW immigration department - they often run job search skills training for GSM visa holders. The people that run these will give you an insight into the local labour market and good tips on your job search strategy.

 

Cheers

 

Dave