This is the second post on the migration topic! First post about some basic reasons to move did help me put a few points across, and some friends helped with their views as well on this page, as well the Facebook page.

One question that would be on top of every professional’s mind when they start thinking about Australia is would they get a decent job once they migrate. Let me try to put this in a FAQ form and hope it tries to address some questions. If there are more once I publish this post, I would keep adding to this list here.

Please note that this is personal opinion and not professional advice, so read it like its supposed to be read!

1. When should I start looking for jobs? (This is slightly different than applying for jobs)

Usually you would be doing your research before you even start the PR process formally, just to get a feel of what kind of jobs are usually advertised. Some websites that you can use are www.seek.com.au, Linkedin.com (my personal favorite), www.indeed.com.au and so on.. Some of these websites allow you to create alerts (daily/weekly/monthly) based on your search which is a good thing to do, just to keep yourself aware of whats happening. Also look for big recruitment firms and keep an eye on them. Some examples are Hays, Hudson, PeopleBank, Infopeople etc

2. When should I start applying for jobs?

Around the time when you about 3-4 months away from your travel to Australia. Some consultants (immigration agents) also recommend that you share applications for jobs/emails to recruiters/recruiter response as an evidence in addition to latest job postings while applying for state sponsorship. This is usually stage 2 for State Sponsored Visa types

3. What should be included in an application for the job? Should I apply on the website, or using emails? Should I follow-up on phone? Would a local address help?

Australian jobs need a crisp cover letter and this cover letter should ideally be written for the job you are applying and cannot be a generic paragraph about you. There are a lot of good guidelines available if you search it well enough!

I recommend that you should apply using emails (however there is no disadvantage if you applying using a website such as Seek or Indeed, there are automated emails anyway through those websites). Emails sent to recruiters should always be followed up with a call, usually right after you have sent an email to let them know that you have applied.  Always keep a track of who all you have been talking to. Probably make an excel file or a google sheet where you track : Job Title, Job Code, Recruiter Name, Recruiter Email, Recruiter Phone number (cell and landline), Date of Application, Date of first follow-up, Date of second follow-up and so on. This way you would always know if you have been in touch with a recruiter before, and save yourself the trouble of sending too many different applications to the same recruiters

Putting a local address in the CV helps, as that mostly means you are expected to be in Australia shortly. Don’t fake it, don’t lie! Its easy to catch!

4. What kind of responses can I expect when I apply without a PR?

It would be difficult to get a response from a recruiter if you are not a Permanent Resident yet. There is no reason why a recruiter would respond to your email or an application if you are not yet permitted to work in Australia. Some “good” recruiters might respond asking you to reach out to them once you have the Visa/Grant/PR if you have clearly written about your expected dates of arrival etc in the email sent out to them

5. What kind of responses can I expect when I apply once I have a PR?

Most recruiters would wait till  you are locally available to respond to you, unless you have been following up on email/ phone calls regularly. Most positions are to be filled immediately, and recruiters are busy finding candidates who can be interviewed in person, and quickly to fill the position. Its not usually possible for them to wait for you to arrive to Australia and then give an interview unless there is a clear travel plan, and it matches with the requirements of a position you applied for.

In my case, I was able to secure an interview, a couple of weeks before I was to travel to Sydney as the JD matched well with my experience and the recruiter was willing to give it a shot. An interview also happened, however I lost that job to someone who was locally present and immediately available

6. What positions should I target? Can I expect to move at the same profile or better as compared to my current role?

Look for all positions, including entry level profiles to see what is being asked for. Do not expect to be hired as a manager or in middle level management if you do not have a local experience. Securing something in consulting or individual contributor roles is relatively easier. Coming to Australia cannot be confused with a promotion or a better job! Its a move to a new country, and there is a bit of learning one needs before they settle in well. Don’t be surprised if you hear stories about people starting from scratch and then moving their way up again. I was personally prepared to do it, and looked for roles in BPOs, Process Coordination, etc. even though these are things that I would have done about 6-7 years ago in my career.

It would make it easier for you if you are ok with and are prepared to make a change in your career stream as well. From a consultant to a Business Analyst, from a HR Manager to a recruiter, from a Call Center Manager to a Senior Support Specialist and so on. It helps! If you are good, you would eventually get there, and faster than most of them around!

7. What should I prepare for? Certifications etc.

I have a mixed opinion about this. I am an ITIL Expert, and ITIL Trainer as well, and Prince2 Practitioner. These helped, however I got my first job in a relatively unrelated field. I started as a Senior Technical Business Analyst on a Cyber Security Project for a leading bank in Sydney. I could use my experience very well there, however the role was not necessarily what I would done if I was looking for my next break in India. Having said that, its still good to do a few certifications before you travel because some of these certifications improve  your knowledge and help address questions better in interview, and are generally cheaper to do in India. I know of someone who traveled from Australia to India on his annual vacations, and schedule training and examinations during that vacation.

8. I see so many job advertisements where I fit just fine, but I never got a response when I applied. Are these jobs even real?

Some of them are! And a significant percentage might just never get you a response. I remember getting responses in over 8 weeks time for a few jobs that I applied to, and these were just regret messages. At times candidates are already lined up at the time of jobs being advertised, the other times jobs are not taken off the websites (I remember applying for an year old posting at Hays, however that follow-up turned out to be one of the best things that happened to my job search, however more about that later)

What is important is applying, and follow-ups. It would atleast tell  you if the job is still hot or not, and you can focus on the next one! Remember that excel sheet that I talked about earlier! That would probably start filling up with a lot of Reds instead of Yellows and Greens, but you will eventually get there!

9. What will eventually get me a job?

Apply to the jobs that suit your needs, apply to even those ones which you are over-qualified for with a clear intent that you are happy to take it up if given an opportunity (if that catches the attention of a recruiter, they would definitely ask you if its ok for them to forward your CV to the hiring manager), have your CV tuned to what Australia needs (there are no clear standards here, however the fancy India CVs don’t really work here; tone it down, use practical words, write about your achievements, your overall experience and expertise, include your international experience), follow-up diligently, stay focused, and so on and on so forth! It is NOT easy, and luck does play a role in addition to your network, time of the year, your line of business, your local experience, your previous experience etc.

For the record it took me about 6 months to get my first offer, and then another 2 before I got the offer for a permanent role.  I had some freelance content development work for ITIL Intermediate training, a cleaning job at a primary school, and some amazing friends to keep me company in Canberra while I was going through my job hunt!

10. Should I wait for an offer/interview before I plan to move to Australia?

Totally your call. However, do remember that while you are waiting to secure an interview, there are people here in every city who are happy to meet recruiters at an hours notice, and meet the hiring manager next day if required. Having a PR, and then waiting in India has more disadvantages than advantages as far I see! Get here, get to the hunt right away, and keep about 6 months of survival money with you (both India and Australia; look at your EMIs, your kid’s school fees, any major expenses like policy premiums, car insurance renewals etc. in mind while planning). Will write a little more about the money needed to survive in a later post

11. What cities should I target?

If you have a state sponsored Visa, go by the state you are spend your first 2 years in. If you are not bound by that, look everywhere!

12. What should I do if I do not find a job I like?

A start is more important than a start in the job you “like”. Once you are in the system, you meet more people, professionals, and recruiters and can switch depending on the next opportunity that comes your way! In my opinion, waiting for that “dream” job is not really an option for everyone. At least it was not for me. I was getting really desperate when I was not able to secure anything for myself between September and March. Gave myself 6 more weeks to get into a good enough profile, and if that didn’t happen I was prepared to join any possible work that helped with the money, and that included casual part time jobs too

During the time when I was in Canberra I had picked up a 3 hr / day school cleaning job in the evenings. This paid enough to keep my weekly expenses taken care of (I came here alone while my family was still in India)

13. Is the timing of my move to Australia important?

It does play a role. The job market is really low during the months of November, December and January. So you might want to arrive here in January, and start around that time and be ready to give it  your best shot around February March (feedback from a friend who has been here for about 10 years) when the job market starts picking up. Another perspective to this is, that you come here in October, and start looking for both full time opportunities, and a part time casual opportunity to keep your expenses in order. This gives you a head start over people who come in January. Truth be told, it would take you a few months before you adjust to the country, place where you live and so on and so forth! However this also depends on a lot of other scenarios which could be different for different individuals

14. What are some of the key things to include in my CV?

I mentioned in above as well. A summary of your experience and expertise, your international experience, lines of business of clients you have worked for (Telco, Finance, Banks, Manufacturing, Training and so on), a table with your skills and level of expertise. In the details of your experience, focus on your achievements and don’t copy paste lengthy job descriptions. You should also be able to modify your CV to reflect the needs of a position you are applying for you. Restructure the bullet points, stress more on relevant projects and experience, and blah blah! There is enough available on the internet on how to shape your CV well for Australia

Do not have too many versions of your CV floating around. Keep these in control, and have proper version control on what you publish. For me, I had two key CVs, one highlighting my consulting experience including Business Analysis, and ITSM Governance, and second related to Process Operations, and Client Delivery Management. Both had similar content and summary, only formatted differently to suit consulting or operational/delivery roles.

15. How do I survive the first few months without a job?

Be prepared to take up casual part time jobs in electronic stores, restaurants, cleaning companies, bakeries, courier companies and so on! However do remember that its not a cake walk either, and you would have competition there too! There are enough casual job advertised daily on websites such as gumtree.com.au and mostly these are enough to keep your money flowing. However be careful when you decide the amount of time you want to spend working, and looking for a job. You would need time every day to call recruiters, scan for new positions etc. and if your casual job has an impact on that,  you need to rethink your strategy!

16. Can I move cities while looking for a job?

There is nothing that really stops you from that even if you are on a state sponsored Visa. I however highly recommend that this is taken up with the case officers/ points of contact for your PR before acted upon. I personally do not know of anyone who had an issue because of moving cities, however the case officers should be ok with closing your original file, and letting you go. In case  you are in Sydney, and want to go to Melbourne because you did not find a job here in Sydney is highly unlikely. The officers would want you to try harder!

17. Does networking help? How do I network once I am in Australia even though I do not know anyone?

Its an important part of the whole job hunting exercise in Australia. Hopefully you have good relationships with your ex. managers, ex. colleagues, and friends some of whom are either in Australia, or can connect you with someone in Australia. Don’t expect much though! It’s a very competitive market, and most people would like to keep their jobs secure before helping anyone out!

It is usually easier if you are referred to a recruiter through someone who is known to the recruiter. That way the recruiters would be happier to find time and look at your CV as compared to a cold call! I had a good experience when one of my ex. colleagues from IBM shared my CV with a local recruiter here, and again when I introduced a few friends to a recruiter who was talking to me! bottom line, it helps if you have good people skills! Too late to start learning though, if you have been an arse throughout 🙂

Assuming you don’t know many when you land in Australia, which was kind of the situation I was in, don’t worry! There are a lot of regular free events where you can meet professionals, e.g. SITMAN (look for Sydney IT Managers on LinkedIn), however don’t go around greeting people around with a copy of your CV.

18. Would a paid LinkedIn account help?

In my opinion it does. Let’s you write inmails to people you are not connected with, shows that you are keen to find a good role. All of that assuming that you have a good LinkedIn profile (has the right keywords, good references, complete information about your experience etc.). So if you haven’t bothered to look at your LinkedIn profile, this is probably a good time to start looking at it, and improving it.

19. Would a paid Skype number help?

Yes it does! Buy a number from Skype, and that would give you a local Australia number to put on your CV. This would also allow you to take calls if someone calls that number, and for  you to call recruiters. Its simpler and easier that way! Most recruiters would not call an international number, unless you are one of your kind! Which honestly speaking most of us are not!

20. Should I change my hours to align better with Australia business hours while applying for jobs?

Yes please! Once you have the PR, and you are actively applying for jobs (hopefully  not spamming the recruiters, and pissing them off), its good to start your day with Australia hours. Follow-up during morning hours. Its just something that I feel is better, no real solid reason for saying it though! Its just how I feel!

21. Can I send  you my CV to review? and help me clean it up? Will you help me make a cover letter?

No! I might not do justice to your profile. If you really believe your CV needs a big makeover find a professional on GumTree… That might help! Don’t pay 100% of the money in advance though. My CV got better over a period of time with a lot of feedback and comments from recruiters, and tweaking it to suit the job descriptions better! My God sent moment was when a senior recruiter from Hays decided to give time to review my CV, and help me build it from scratch. Her first reaction to my CV was, “With this CV you will never get a call in Australia!” No points for guessing that this happened after about 5 months of me being in Australia. No wonder I was not getting any calls!

Tip : A lot of recruiters would not be able to read through CVs in person because of the number of emails they get. Make sure you have articulated your strengths and keywords well in your CV and cover letter.

Tip 2 : Read about SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and consider  your CV like a web page in the world wide web of resumes. Figure out how your CV would come up on the top of the list if someone was searching for a key word!

22. What is a contractual role? How is it different from a permanent role?

A lot of roles in Australia are advertised as Contractual, which essentially means you would be hired for a fixed term contract or on a fixed contract or a rolling contract and then you might have to start hunting for a job again and the end of your contract. In most cases, if you have done well in your role, organizations are able to find you a position regularly. If not the same organization, your recruiter would be happy to find you a role in a different company. If that does not work either, you would go through a job hunt cycle again, however this time around it would be much easier for you to find a job!

Contracts are usually paid on a hourly or a daily rate card, and do not have any paid holidays or company benefits. This also means you would usually not go through an appraisal cycle (I really like that part about contractual jobs), and also that you would be paid slightly higher (at times upto 20% higher) than a permanent role (This is my favorite part about contracting). Contractual jobs usually have a 2 week notice before you are asked to leave, and permanent roles have about 4-6 weeks of notice. There are benefits to both, and at the end of the day, it comes to your choice, however you would be surprised to see how many people here are contractual workers, and by choice! Gives them better control over their professional lives! More on this later.

I started with a contract in my first Sydney job as Sr. Technical BA, before moving to a permanent role as a Principal Consultant. I made this switch because at this point I was looking for stability and my permanent role is with a company and team I have worked for earlier in the US and UK which means I do not have to build relationships from ground up! People know me, I know them and its just easier to work. How my current project is going on is a completely different story 🙂

I might explore contractual roles in future, once I feel more comfortable and stable in the Australia!

23. Anything else I should know?

Australia is a culturally different country than USA and UK, and especially India. It was a surprise to me too, and I used to think that because I have spent over 4 years in USA/UK and another 2+ working for clients in Nordics, it would be easy for me! No its not! I have struggled, however its getting better as I understand the environment better! There is nothing wrong or right about this place! Its just different!

Titles don’t mean much! I was a Senior Technical Business Analyst for a Bank working for their Cyber Security Project, and then I switched to my current company as a Principal Consultant. I am currently deployed as a Business Process Analyst for a Telco. A Business Analyst working with me has been working in the industry for over 20 years, has his own consulting company, and drives a two seat sports BMW. The other BA has worked for almost every major Telco in the country in the last 15 years and working as a contractor now. Another one of the contractors is relatively new with about 6 years into the grind! One of my SME’s is an amazingly knowledgeable person, and is currently reporting to someone who was his junior  in the last company! Bottom line is that it does not really matter here except for a few! You would end up doing a variety of activities, for a lot of different people, and as long as  your getting money every week, it should all be ok 🙂

Australia works on a weekly basis, Rents are paid weekly, Contractual Salaries are paid out weekly, Child Care Fees (which is freakishly high) is paid weekly, Travel cards are managed weekly and you are able to calculate most of your expenses weekly…

Phew! Didn’t realize this would be almost 4000 words, however this is 6+ months of learning in one post! Not surprised that it turned out to be a long post! If you have been able to read through the entire post, Thank You! And if you are at some point in your job search, Good Luck! It would happen, it just takes a while here at times!

Any more questions? Let me know in the comments and I would try to answer them! Just don’t send me CVs and Cover Letters to review please!

Post # 3 : Costs and expenses related with moving to Australia

Post # 4 : Speaking English 🙂