MSGuy

Hi,

It's been 2 weeks since I arrived in Canberra and so far so good except the fact that 95% of IT jobs require the dreaded security clearance :fr

Has anyone had similar experience in Canberra lately? If so please share.

Cheers

Big Galah

Yep, that's why I moved to Sydney. That was after 4 months of nothing in Canberra and a job after a week looking in Sydney. (There may have been an element of right place right time TBH.)

Two weeks is still early days though.

MSGuy

Hi Big,

Thank you for sharing your experience and yup 2 weeks still very fresh. Were you also sponsored by the ACT? If so, did you move to Syd with ACT consent?

HTH

Thanks and cheers.

Big Galah

Nope, Aussie partner, she had family there. And it was 2004/05, so not recent. But I had a temporary visa and that ruled out a lot.

MSGuy

Thanks Big...anyone else who's new in ACT?

HelenTD

Look for paulry.

paulry

You rang?

Hi MSGuy,

Firstly, welcome to Canberra! If I remember correctly you were jumping through all the ACT sponsorship hoops at the same time as I was. Good to see that you also made it here in the end.

Securing a job is tough here. I've been looking since February and there is either not a very good match skillset wise, or citizenship requirement. Even my wife is finding it difficult to get a decent job and she has an incredibly good CV, etc. The good news is I hear that this is a good time to be looking for work here. Its the beginning of the new financial year soon so lots more vacancies are said to become known at this time. Are you all sorted with everything else (accomodation, car, etc)? The settlement service has been next to useless for us in fact they set us back a bit but that's another story. All you can do is circulate your CV around as many agencies as you can and keep on plugging at it. Feel free to PM me if you need any help with anything.

Cheers,

Paul

quoll

One of my friends has been working short term contracts for years and said that she has been surprised at how much harder it was for her to get her latest contract than she has ever found before - she is in project management - but she has citizenship so has a wider pool to swim in. She muttered something about big organizations not being prepared to start new projects because of the Qld flooding and its aftermath (cant quite follow the logic of that for Canberra jobs but it sounded reasonable when she said it LOL).

I think it probably is a case of putting your CV out there with agencies and seeing what crops up and being prepared to take anything that is on offer, even if it is well below your expectations, because it is far easier to get a job if you have a job.

MSGuy

Hi Paulry,

Yup I remember you well..when I look back and think about the SS process wow...we made it and it's so nice to hear from you It's really good to be in Canberra

I took my time to arrive in Canberra because I got an offer in Dubai, UAE and was there for about 2 years.

So I'm here now and found accommodation in Belconnen. Got myself a car and a GPS as I didn't have the slightest idea of the directions. lol. Did the basics like medicare, tax, ...etc.

I revamped my cv and started applying. I too have a pretty ok cv with little over 10 years in IT but...boy..security clearance...thats definitely a challenge for every new migrant. But fingers crossed for you, me and everyone.

PM me your details ..I will contact you.We can meet up for a coffee some time.

Cheers

Big Bob

Guys even I was looking for job in and around Canberra...each of them had special requirement " Security Clearance " and "Australian Citizen"...I have just applied SS for Canberra and I am already scared to death.... All jobs directly or indirectly are government projects. They pay you pretty well... and with my experience and skills I was easily getting an average of 100K -140K but that security clearance thing is killing me... May I ask you all a single question... If after getting my sponsorship from ACT can I study my Masters in Engineering for 2 years at ANU (lols) and then move to some other state...do you think that as a problem... Surveys and all that stuff... because I am already looking for alternatives...God help me...5% chance...I am sure its not a cakewalk like Syd or Mel...
God help new PR Canberrans ...
regards
Big Bob

paulry

Your PM facilty is disabled so I couldn'tr send you a PM. Msg'd you through Karma instead.

paulry

The good news is today there's 28 vacancies in the whole of Australia for the skill set that I arrived here with. The bad news is not one of them is in Canberra.

Bermudashorts

Do you think you might try another state Paulry? It's not like you haven't given this a fair crack of the whip. Sounds a nightmare.

foha2012

Hi all,

I have also applied for ACT sponsorship and if everything went according to the plan, we might end up in Canberra job market sometime in mid 2012.

@Paulry, what about the prospects of setting up a small IT business ? And what about all those private companies already providing IT services to Govt. clients, Aren't they hiring?

A requirement for state sponsorship is that one has to stay in the sponsoring state for 2 years. I am concerned, how am I gonna support my family if I can't find a job and can't leave ACT !

Cheers,

TAA

paulry

I probably could but am reluctant to because the kids are settling nicely in and we like it here. I'm adding the skills that I need so soon there'll be jobs that I can apply for. Wifey has a couple of interviews lined up. I have to say that with her background I'm astonished that she hasn't been snapped up yet.