do i need to change my accent to get a job in australia
#61
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: do i need to change my accent to get a job in australia
They can't be screening too hard as I work with a lot of Asians who strictly speaking don't get put in front of clients, and don't necessarily get heard first time elsewhere.
All good though.
You'd have to have a really strong accent for it to effect you...
All good though.
You'd have to have a really strong accent for it to effect you...
#63
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 4,555
Re: do i need to change my accent to get a job in australia
You need connections. It is not what you know but who you know.
hey guys,
i have just arrived to melbourne and since my arrival i have been hearing different sorts of thing from different ppl but i really came across this really absurd thing that i would need to change my accent to australian, in order to get a job over here.
i thought language is just a medium of communication.
surely my accent is different because i am originally from Pakistan and i cannot simply change it.
regards,
Asad
i have just arrived to melbourne and since my arrival i have been hearing different sorts of thing from different ppl but i really came across this really absurd thing that i would need to change my accent to australian, in order to get a job over here.
i thought language is just a medium of communication.
surely my accent is different because i am originally from Pakistan and i cannot simply change it.
regards,
Asad
#65
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 4,555
Re: do i need to change my accent to get a job in australia
Getting a local reputation increases job/income opportunities and local references are king. Half the jobs here I have got through connections. The hidden job market is worth targeting and accounts for half the job market and increases for senior positions.
#67
Re: do i need to change my accent to get a job in australia
And I am just saying that I have personally not experienced this. I have not witnessed it much either. I think it is just one of those things that people trot out. Not sure what your "sneaky" emoticon is about..
#68
Home and Happy
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Keep true friends and puppets close, trust no-one else...
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Re: do i need to change my accent to get a job in australia
#69
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Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,603
Re: do i need to change my accent to get a job in australia
What I mean is without those contacts..... well they might be enjoying full time sunshine.
#70
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 4,555
Re: do i need to change my accent to get a job in australia
Spot on Pollyana.
The nature of the hidden market is that unless you are in it you will be blissfully unaware of it.
The nature of the hidden market is that unless you are in it you will be blissfully unaware of it.
It definitely does happen over here - may happen back home too, I can't comment on that. I think here its more prevalent on some fields than others though, hence some of more evidence of it. IvanM is (I think!) in the IT field, where I also have friends who have frequently got positions through contacts and introductions, rather than through positions being advertised. Bermudashorts, maybe your field just relies more on interviews, proven history etc? Just cos you haven't experienced it personally doesn't mean it doesn't happen - and its been mentioned on here too often to deny its existence
#71
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Re: do i need to change my accent to get a job in australia
When we first arrived in Brisbane I got a job purely because a friend recommended me, there is a very tight circle in some areas of work.
#72
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 14,040
Re: do i need to change my accent to get a job in australia
I've only ever had one job by a blind interview process. By that I mean it came through an agent with interviews by people I've never met. Everyone other job has been through people I know. Both UK and Oz - 20 years of working. Just saying
#73
Re: do i need to change my accent to get a job in australia
It definitely does happen over here - may happen back home too, I can't comment on that. I think here its more prevalent on some fields than others though, hence some of more evidence of it. IvanM is (I think!) in the IT field, where I also have friends who have frequently got positions through contacts and introductions, rather than through positions being advertised. Bermudashorts, maybe your field just relies more on interviews, proven history etc? Just cos you haven't experienced it personally doesn't mean it doesn't happen - and its been mentioned on here too often to deny its existence
Considering that the thread was started by somebody not in Australia yet and presumably does not have any contacts, I was trying to offer some words of comfort that it is not the case across the board that getting a job depends on who you know.
#74
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Joined: Oct 2008
Location: Brisvegas
Posts: 460
Re: do i need to change my accent to get a job in australia
IT in Brisbane is a relationship based marketplace. My last two jobs were down to people 'putting a word in' - Sure I can do the jobs standing on my head, but that's probably the case for a large proportion of the hundreds of applicants for every job I go for. My experience is that nepotism is rife here, the market is very very small. I hate it, and wish it was based on a competency approach - witnessed in the UK (and also I believe from friends more the case in Melbourne) I've got great skills and don't mind being turned down for roles where I'm not the most suitable candidate, but suitability for the roles here never seems to be a primary selection factor. I know one particularly corrupt CIO getting mates into a not for profit for huge $$ - No application or selection process required. I believe it's a conflict of interest and a dreadful waste of public money. I read a recent poll where 38% of QLders think it's OK for friends and family to be offered public positions. No it isn't. It's corrupt and unethical. I don't anticipate staying long enough in Brisbane to see anything like a level playing field introduced.
#75
Re: do i need to change my accent to get a job in australia
And I wouldn't care how fancy their shirt was.