Nicholson_family

I just spoke to a finance recruitment agency in Sydney, and without wanting to depress anyone who's about to make the move, this is what he said.

He said the job market is particularly bad at the moment, the financial crisis has hit Sydney in particular in a big way this last month, he has seen a lot of people laid off in recent weeks and consequently there are a lot of high calibre candidates on the market looking for jobs.

So that's the bad news. The good news is that it's nearly Christmas.

Hellboy663

Well, that's the situation in most parts of the globe, not specifically just in Sydney.

carolinephillips

It is nearly Christmas in most parts of the globe???? Does that include non-Christian countries???

Geelong Gent

Is that local (Aussie) high calibre or international high calibre?

RCoight

I know in Melbourne some of the recruitment consultants I speak to have never been so busy with returning Aussies who have, in some cases, held a variety of senior positions overseas for some years.

I would expect that feature to be replicated in the Sydney market too.

To try and add some optimism to the otherwise-all-pervading doom and gloom, the same consultants are also telling me that there remain good opportunities for good candidates with strong academics and good work experience: ie the market is not entirely dead, certainly in Melbourne.

Bermudashorts

I am at early stages with my application and would be happy to wait for a year or more if it means the market is better over there by the time I go. But I got a fairly positive response from an agent that I emailed today in one of the big global companies. I am sure it is tough there like it is at home nevertheless.

The market here in Australia is quite competitive from a candidate perspective having said that though the top 10% in terms of experience and education are still highly sort after. The ACCA qualification is widely known here and shouldn't cause you any trouble. I think the market will be quite different in 8 months so it will be a better time to enter the market then. Perhaps when you get an arrival date fixed we could schedule a phone interview for before you arrive that way I can give you an updated market overview and we can start the ball rolling for before you land.

Nicholson_family

I met a few agencies when I was on my reccie in December. They can't predict what the economy is going to do and by the nature of their roles they have to be optimistic. Of course they'll tell you things will be better in 6 months but that's only optimism. Perhaps things will settle but the reality is that neither they nor you have any idea what is going to happen in 6 months time.

Realisitically you're never going to hear a recruitment agent tell you they can't help you, it would contradict their purpose, so you have to take their optimism with a pinch of salt and a view from reading the press and economists views. The agent quoting "the top 10% are still highly sought after" is quite an obvious statement, but when turned round it means that for 90% of candidates he's going to struggle to place you. Not what you want to hear.

IMO Australia isn't hit quite as hard as the UK from the recession in its industrial segments, but any banking and financial services areas are global businesses and have been hit just as hard. There are some jobs available, mainly natural turnover of jobs rather than new jobs being created, and of course the best candidates will get them. For the average candiate whether waiting a year will be advisable, who knows. The consensus would be that if you're in a good role currently you should stay there, it's the risk adverse approach. But on the other hand you could land a great role by moving now and the right opportunity being available.

A lot depends on your commitments and willingness to take the risk and perhaps not getting an ideal role. Things aren't going to get better quickly so even in one year's time things won't be much different, it takes longer than that for a global recession to turn round. But can you wait 3 years for an economic upturn before you move?

Bermudashorts

Well I didn't mean to suggest that the response I had was gospel or anything like that. I had read a lot of doom and gloom on a few threads around here, especially for ACCA's and just wanted to share another view of somebody on the ground in Australia. I has asked the agent for their thoughts on the current situation and my marketability as an ACCA. I saw no benefit to them of being falsely optimistic, especially as it was clear I was not in the country and in fact nowhere near it.

I started my accountancy training in 1992 at the height of the last major economic downturn. Three years later, the job market was absolutely booming for accountants. This wasn't an overnight thing, it got better gradually during those years. It will probably do the same this time, I don't think one necessarily needs to wait until the market is booming again.

That said, at this point it makes perfect sense to me not to go whilst job markets are very bad. The visa lasts five years so why not wait and get the timing right, or better anyway? Why go straight away and risk having to come back because there is no work available. So to the question, of course I can wait

Nicholson_family

Hi BS,
My question about waiting 3 years for the economy to sort itself out wasn't aimed specifically to you, it was a general comment. My point was really that 3 years is a long time and perhaps is outside the window of opportunity for some people. In that time the kids will grow up, or if you've not got kids situations change, parents get older or you will meet new people who might change the decision.

About the agents, the reply you got actually wasn't over optimistic and I think it was fair and balanced. As I said, them saying that demand is high for the top 10% actually means that for 90% the situation might be difficult, and so for an average candidate things might be quite sticky. And "..quite competitive from a candidate perspective" tells us that there's more candidates than jobs as we know.

Regards,