Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

All

I have got my positive ACS assesment and I am preparing to submit my 175 with DIAC.. hope to submit it in another 10 days. next i hv to start my job hunt... i hv 8 yrs of experience in microsoft .net domain. Can some one guide me how to search for an IT job in australia online.... i hv tried in some of the australian job search websites.. but not getting much of response.. is there any specific sites that i need to look for ??

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

To be honest you are unlikely to get any response from agencies or employers until you have your visa and have moved to Australia.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

I tried this from the UK, even when I had my Permanent Residency, but the agencies are not interested until you can come in and meet with them. Unlike the UK, each agency that has put me forward for a role has wanted to meet me first.

Also, a few agencies have suggested that I look for a "lesser" role to get my first australian experience and reference. I have had 7 interviews in the last 6 weeks, and have ended up in a lesser paying role than I wanted, but its a start.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

get your VISA first & move to OZ...that is the first thing you must concentrate on..after that you can search for a job.

without a VISA no body is interested even thinking of giving you a job.

cheers,
peaceboy:eek:

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

I have the same problem; while I am waiting to get everything in order for my 175 visa, I thought I would try to find sponsorship for a 457 visa, so I nust have sent out literally hundreds of applications.

Most of the time I never even got a respone, or I got the generic "thank you for applying, will let you know" response, and then never heard a word again. I did, however, receive quite a few personal responses as well, mostly in cases where I applied directly to a company as opposed to applying via an online ad . Anyway, the response pretty much always was: "we really like you on paper, you have good experience, good qualifications and good references. If you were already in Australia, with a legal visa that would allow you to work, we would have at least invided you for an interview. Seen as though you are not in Australia, sorry but no go."

So it seems both you and I will bot have to take everybody's advice, get our visas and get on a plane.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

By the way how is the IT market these days in OZ as compared to other countries like UK/USA etc. Moreover which tools & technologies are hot?

Regards
Malik

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

Hey Mark,

What are your skills? I have sent a post today about my job hunting and I am willing to enrol in a " lesser" role, I have 7+ years experience in IT Project Management, Project Management Officer and several qualifications including SAP and a IELTS score of 8.0. As I have worked a lot with 1st and 2nd level support for the applications I have managed/gathered reqs I created a CV and cover letter stating this experience and have been applying for IT support positions.

I am in Sydney in a post graduate degree and have had little or no reply from the jobs I submitted for at seek, mycareer and jobserve.

Any help would be welcome.

Thanks in advance,

Ranerio Vieira

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

Pietie,

Would you mind telling more about the companies you submitted these applications and got some feedback?

Regards,

Ranerio Vieira

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

So you are currently studying for a Post Grad degree? So does this mean you are not looking for full time work?

All I can suggest is keep plugging away. things are very quiet at the minute and there are a lot of people looking for work.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

Keep it up. Jan and early Feb are very quiet as Australia is in summer holiday mode.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

I work for one of the largest employers of IT staff in Australia. We are currently in total lockdown as far as new recruits are concerned... NOTHING is 'hot' at the moment.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

Mark, I am attending a post graduate degree, a PhD at UTS, that's right. But I would like to work while attending the degree, it's a research only degree so I don't have much commitment of my hours to classes, but from the few responses I have had when I submitted my qualifications, is that they either would need to go on a contract for 3 months or more and/or to be available more than 20 hours a week.

I would not mind engaging in a 457 sponsored position, and it's been strange to be to be out of work for 4 months, since I have been always able to work even in a country with no "shortage of IT skills", namely Brazil, and my qualifications were always highly regarded.

I am attaching my experience/qualifications.

I have been looking since I arrived here, but with more effort since November, because my classes finished on November 14 and I can work with no hours restriction until my classes start again on March, but no success.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

Quite sad to hear that, I have been looking for a position for the past 2 months or so, and I have 7+ years experience in IT , and mostly staff roles (Project Management Officer, Strategic Planning, CMMi consultant) and also Business Analyst. I hold a post graduate degree in Software Process Improvement and a large number of industry qualifications (SAP, ORACLE PL/SQL, ORACLE QUERIES, PMBOK) but it did not seem to help so far.

Thanks for the update.

Ranerio Vieira

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

As others have said, if you are in the UK don't bother registering or contacting any recruitment agents they won't give you the time of day until you are actually in Oz and available to attend interviews/start work.

When you get here register with all the search engines - Seek, jobsjobsjobs, jobserve, mycareer etc - and send your cv to recruitment companies.

Don't be disheartened if you don't get any response, even an acknowledgment, it seems to be pretty normal to ignore you unless they have roles that you are an exact fit for. Same goes for any jobs you might actually apply for. In the main, you will not receive any acknowledgment of your application nor any notification that you've been unsuccessful.

It is extremely quiet at the moment due to it being the Christmas/Summer holidays plus the global economic recession (oooh I said the 'r' word). Things don't usually pick up until late Jan-early Feb apparently.

I've been job hunting since the start of November and am still looking.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

Why do you think "NOTHING is 'hot' at the moment", is it because of the Holiday Season in AUS or because of the Global Slowdown?

Regards,

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

go to seek.com.au and just look on there, loads of IT jobs normally, its a bit quiet at the minute with christmas but check after and you will find something there

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

Hi ranerio

I see you are in the programming side of IT, I'm more of a router/server/networking guy, so your circumstances might be different from mine.

There are a few things you need to keep in mind about my job search:

1. I gave up on the idea to secure a 457 sponsor around June or July, well before the global economic slowdown. I’m kind of torn between Adelaide and Melbourne as to where I would like to settle, so I looked mostly at jobs in those 2 cities. At the time I could go onto Seek, and find about 20 pages+ of potential jobs that my experience and qualifications would have been suitable for in either city. As a matter of interest I just looked at Seek again, for Melbourne I found only 3 pages, and for Adelaide only 8 jobs, so it seems that the economy has definitely had a negative effect on the job market. As someone else mentioned, I reckon the festive season isn’t contusive either.
2. I also applied to technical support/technician jobs, just to cover all the bases. I actually started out as a technician before I moved onto networks, and even though the company I work for now has 2 full-time technicians on staff, they mostly run around like crazy headless chickens, so if I have nothing to do I’ll jump in and help them out, so I have the necessary experience to work as a techie also.
3. Your student visa that limits you to 20 working hours a week is definitely hampering you.

Anyway, onto the job search. The key is volume; I must have sent out literally 100’s, if not over a 1000, applications and resumes, and in most cases I never got any feedback whatsoever. The responses I did get was definitely in the minority.

I applied to anything on Seek, etc. that seemed suitable. I also looked for the nig recruitment companies that advertised a lot of positions, and contacted them directly, making it clear that I was willing to settle anywhere in Australia that suitable employment could be found. I found Peoplebank to be especially helpful.

I also searched for companies that advertised the services that I was qualified for, for instance searching on Google for Cisco partners in Australia, and contacting them directly. It helps if you do some research on the company, and if possible, find out who the person responsible is for hiring new employees and contact that person directly. Fortunately for you, you are in Australia already, so maybe phone some companies and set up an appointment with that person, and then state your case in a face-to-face meeting.

The bottom line is: volume, volume, volume.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

Both.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

I work for a Global outsourcer, supplying IT services to almost every part of the Aus economy. Without exception all our clients have cancelled or postponed work that was in the pipeline. The company, to its credit, is trying really hard to retain its current workforce and avoid layoffs. One of the results of that is, unless a job comes up that is considered absolutely critical to a contract, that job will be filled internally, even by people who do not have the right skills.... and only as an absolute last resort would the job be filled by a new starter. There are close to 5000 people working for my company in Oz. That's a good size chunk of the Oz IT workforce. If its happening to us, its happening to everybody.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

It's the global slowdown. We have just had a round of redundancies in the last 2 weeks where I work and I expect we will have another in the first quater of 2009. Unsurprisingly banking and finance seems to be getting hit quite hard at the moment but the rest of the economy will tank early to mid next year. Hold on to your hat's its going to be a bumpy ride.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

Hi,

For any experienced .Net or Java programmers looking in this thread, my company is still hiring.

http://www.icsmultimedia.com.au/eng/news.html

We're in Hobart and you need to have a visa.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

Pietie,

thanks for your detailed message.

I am not exactly in the programming side of IT, more to the management/planning side of it, and some part of the business oriented IT such as requirements gathering and draft of contracts and Function Point Analysis for contracting software factories.

As most of my experience is dealing with either clients or team members, I have tailored a CV and a cover letter for help desk/ support positions, and I have been applying for those positions as well, but no success either.

Student visa: Yes, that's the point of looking for a company that would like to sponsor a 457 . Just asked for feedback on a position I got an unsuccessful response and he said it was because my visa is not suitable.

I will try your advice on the company profiling and submitting to them.

Thanks a lot for the advice!

Regards
Ranerio Vieira

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

My OH landed a job in Adelaide within 2 weeks of landing. He identified 3 or 4 agencies rather than targeting all of them. That way he could make sure no-one put him forward for the same job twice. He also went for coffee with every agency bod so that he was not just a piece of paper or an email but a real person. It also gave him the opportunity to talk to them about all the possibilities.

He had 3 interviews and got the third. He would have got the second but the slowdown meant that they put a recruitment freeze on the day after his interview. Yes, it's a step down in terms of the work he is doing. Financially the money is on a par with what he was earning in the UK. Stress-wise he's having a ball.

And that's in sleepy old Adelaide. He's still being approached by agencies wanting to put him forward for things even though he's not calling them on a weekly basis now. He obviously made an impression!

PS he was a Team Leader and does Oracle, SAP and Unix. Now in a pure Unix role.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

I have only contacted a handful of agencies while still here in the UK but the feedback I have has been good so far. I am not from a development role but am stuck some where between Service Analysis, VOIP support and Network support at the moment.

I would be more than happy to settle back in to a field based techies role for a while and there seems to be a few of these kicking about.

One thing is for sure, there is a lot more IT related contracts kicking about in OZ than there is here in the UK.

I am seeing far to many of my friends getting their contracts terminated early.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

Wow, amazing how quick! I worked as team leader and Project Management officer most of the time, and have qualifications in Oracle and SAP, besides PMBOK and those. Currently in Sydney, but having no reply from agencies.

Attended an appointment with a recruiter interested in helping me out , but did not find many others with interest. This one has been nice , but unfortunately nothing so far.

Congratulations for you two :)

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

I am seeing that here in Melbourne for the techie roles (especially in the Banks). All of the guys who have been on rolling contracts for the last few years are now finding that the recruiters that used to chase them are now not returning their calls.
Glad I am permanent at the moment.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

:huh: That kinda worries me, cos I am moving out to Perth very soon, and although to many people have said I shouldnt worry about it, including agencies, I am still worried. But its far to late for me to turn back now :thumbsup:

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

We've stopped the contracts of a couple of SAP people and someone else will probably get the axe in the new year. Cash for new projects is only available if it generates cash.

Our product is piling up in warehouses. Our customers are cutting back and dropping orders. The only good bit of news I have seen is that Sinosteel is seeing some renewed demand which will give a silver lining for WA and the coking coal mines.

I am glad I went from contract to perm at the start of the year.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

Just to add to the mix I'm here in Brisbane trying to find an IT role too. I was a Network Manager in a Technical College in the UK and I am getting told I am not suitable even for desktop support roles which is very worrying and only two days ago I got a phone call from an agency that I had applied through for a role with, and they told me they didn't bother submitting my application because I wasn't known to the employer and I wasn't Australian :mad:

What do we have to do to get an IT role anyone know???

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

Thats bad, I would have gone nuts if some one told me thats the reason they didnt put me forward. IT is an international skill, its the same the world over, certifications, exams, everything are the same.
:curse:

Do you have any industry certifications or is it all experience, I have spent the last 6 months getting all the certs I can just to make sure I have a bit more of a chance.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

I must admit I was close to losing it but then I bet they all talk to each other and then its gonna be even harder.

As to certs I have some but I am doing more

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

Thats very true, I have lost my temper with 2 of the big agencies in the UK and my usual weekly phone calls from various people slowly stopped coming in.

One of them, tried to take me to court, I took on a contract that wasnt anything like described and walked out. They tried to make me pay £3k for training, that I never got or needed and damages. My solicitor wrote them a letter asking them for proof and we never heard from them again.

So your right its worth bitin your lip and just getting on with it.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

I feel for you as I went through exactly that when I came here first in '02.
Although I had about 10 years solid experience in network manager/network administrator roles, I got hammered with the 'but you have never worked in Australia before' line.

It took me a couple of months to find a job and I took a systems engineer role which involved shocking hours and bad pay. It did motivate me over the next year to study for the certifications which I had not bothered to sit in the previous decade (even though I had the knowledge) as it had never been an issue in Ireland.
Once I picked up my CCNP/CCSA/MCSE in the first year, I quit that awful job and had no problem getting a good role after that.
My experience was that unlike Ireland, where the focus was on results rather than having local experience/certifications, Australia was very certifications focused when I was looking for my first job. Once I had a years local experience under my belt and I had picked those certs up (which simply validated my skills), it made an amazing difference.

I am in Melbourne, but I know it is a little tougher for IT work in Brisbane.

Stick with it - it will get better !

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

2002 was pretty crap for IT jobs. I got a contract role then through contacts and was made permanent at that company. An agent put it to me that in an employers market that certs can distinguish two equally qualified techos.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

Unfortunately, given all of the recent layoffs I have seen here in Melbourne in IT and the shutdown of so many projects that were in the pipeline, I think 2009 is shaping up be similar to the crap year I first encountered in 2002.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

9 year old girl becomes microsoft certified proffesional

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008/12/9_...ssional-2.html


No wonder all the jobs go to india !!

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

I was always told the only difference between contract & permanent is 2 weeks extra notice.

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

On paper yes, but in practice, when it comes to cost cutting time in large corporates, not renewing contract staff is a much, much simpler task for HR than retrenching a permanent employee ;-)

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

There's another difference: an employee needs to be in work for the whole year to earn a year's wage but a contractor doesn't.

It's easy to proclaim that contractors are first to be let go, and there may be some truth to this in some circumstances, but the reality is that in these times, when big banks and the like are announcing redundancies in the thousands, there's no real security however you are employed.

As a contractor, I've outsurvived lots of employees at some of the places I've worked but I've also been let go myself. If you are very good at what you do, you can do very well at contracting.

- CDM

Re: Help needed in Getting a IT Job
 

True, very true. I never intended the point to be any way related to job security though. That concept absolutely went out the window with our parents generation :lol: