Re: IT - Australian Experience - Yes, required!
 

Hi b!k3r,

Your post was making sense to me until your line above. ;) One client requests it and the whole of brisbane is like that? All of Australia? :confused_smile: :confused: :rofl:

Re: IT - Australian Experience - Yes, required!
 

I know mate, you're right. That was written out of anger and frustration. I'll take it back :o

Cheers
B!K3R

Re: IT - Australian Experience - Yes, required!
 

Agree. It's as bad as the UK - and that's really bad.

Re: IT - Australian Experience - Yes, required!
 

Keep applying.....soon you will get the job. :)

Re: IT - Australian Experience - Yes, required!
 

Ain't that the truth.

Re: IT - Australian Experience - Yes, required!
 

The little contact I've had so far hasn't inspired me with confidence.

Emails full of typos and contradictory information (getting their "do"s and "don't"s mixed, so you are not sure which answer is correct) really don't help.

What also doesn't help is the high turnaround of staff in agency jobs. So the contact you had 3 months ago and explained everything to and had a rapport with has now left.

Least I've had one re-contact me about my ETA date etc. and provide a bit of information.

In an ideal world I'd get offered a job, with relocation costs and an HSV thrown in as a company car.

Re: IT - Australian Experience - Yes, required!
 

Thanks mate, I won't give up so soon :D

Cheers
B!K3R

Re: IT - Australian Experience - Yes, required!
 

I am sure she is from candle ICT

CHEERS

Re: IT - Australian Experience - Yes, required!
 

Good luck with that!

Thought I'd relate the small recent experience I've had of the IT jobs market in Aus. For background I'm contracting at a fairly senior technical level, 20 years experience, industry certs, experience in Investment Banking, Defence, Telecoms Govt etc. I also have current Australian Experience, at a senior level with a very high profile Australian multinational.

I was lucky enough to get a contract before arriving, this was partially due to a personal contact in the agency and involved 6 separate interviews/tests (2 x phone, 2 x video and 2 x technical exams about 3 hours each). Getting the contract took a total of about 10 weeks.

When my contract was up for renewal the process dragged out so I started looking around, I'm currently in Sydney but looked at all states, I found several opportunities and every time I submitted a CV I got a call back same day and did a few phone interviews.

There where two roles which I was attracted to, many just couldn't match my current pay. One of the ones I pursued required experience in a particular software product (which is not widely used in Aus). I used to work for the product vendor as a specialist in it, have 5+ years in depth knowledge of it, hold the vendor cert and implemented it in a large number of major companies. They listed about 8 other technical requirements and unusually I could demonstrate experience in every one (usually I find its about 60-75%), after completing a lengthy application doc and being told by the agency I was the only one they where putting forward I waited for 2 weeks and, nothing - they didn't ask me to interview, I was surprised on that one!

The other role I was interested in, did interview me, it seemed to go well and the guy said "I'll be the one showing you round" and "would you be OK to start on a particular date", and several other buying signals, technically I was a good fit (not as good as the other). They said they'd let me know within a week, I never heard back from them, which I found discourteous, I'm fine if they found a better candiate but its disruptive when you never hear one way or the other. The agent said he had no direct contact with them, only via HR and they never came back with even a comment. Eventually the agent said maybe the role had been cancelled.

I was in process with a couple of others but my contract renewal came through and I decided to stay where I am.

My conclusion is that there seems plenty of vacancies but in large organisations the hiring process here seems to take a lot longer and can be pretty opaque.

Re: IT - Australian Experience - Yes, required!
 

I'm sure you came across a clueless recruitment consultant. Not hard :D In my experience (4 years IT in Brissie after UK), overseas experience is valued - however, the Brisbane market is very small - and who you know can often be more important than what you know - also had fellow IT consultants who were engaged over more qualified candidates - because they were less experienced and seen as less likely to rock the boat/show fellow workers up! It is a strange market at times, but plenty of decent employers in Brisbane - I'm sure you'll find one

Re: IT - Australian Experience - Yes, required!
 

Aye, it's really about who you know I find ... and settling for a short-term contract is great for building up a network.

Bridge-burning when it all goes sour is also not to be recommended due to the size of the market and how quickly word spreads ... doesn't stop me occasionally though :D

Re: IT - Australian Experience - Yes, required!
 

Experience is not required otherwise non of us would get work - but that experience, as Vim says, might be a short contract - which might be lucrative after all.

IT is an easy game sometimes - and the agents got me a job in a day last time. I am not quite sure how many of us would find jobs without them - I don't plan to conduct a leaflet drop in a business park as someone suggested or look in a paper for 4 positions. Linkedin might be a way forward.

For many middle-ranking positions if it's really hard to get a role then there is something on the CV putting people off - and it might not just be your name as our Indian developers are all in work. In fact we know people with huge communication problems who we would not hire who are still apparently employable.

Re: IT - Australian Experience - Yes, required!
 

Good posts, I have to agree with you guys. Now, that I am more rational and had a few developments (:D) since I wrote this post, I feel the following is true...

On the whole recruiters don't see you as a human being looking for a job and a potential candidate but only as a possible money making opportunity. Having said that, I believe that there are a few which are decent. I am yet to meet one though :)

Regarding the importance of Australian experience.... obviously its always a bonus, but I think if a person is truly skilled, has some good experience, good English communication and open minded, then there is a big chance of landing a job since many HR people value these.

So, in general, I think its a mix of things. Have to say I met different people wanting and requesting different things.

Bottom line....keep trying until the right opportunity/person comes along :D

Cheers
B!K3R

Re: IT - Australian Experience - Yes, required!
 

My last recruiter was a good guy actually, he has since quit to work in finance ... he must have met some tall dark stranger at the crossroads in the intervening time.