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.