jmcmsg

Hi,

Basically i'm looking for a bit of advice from you all which have moved or are moving in the next few months.

Where to start, okay..

I'm 22 y/o male whos graduated with a Bachelors in Accountancy and has 3 months hands on experience within an Accounts Assistant position. Invoice processing, CHAPs BACs payment runs, bank/statement reconciliations etc

Looking to move to Australia initially for 6-12 months and would be staying in Melbourne, Mount Eliza area with family. I would be looking to work while im there within an Accounting / Finance position.

What im basically looking for is information regarding the current job market particularly in Melbourne for Accounting/Finance jobs, where and when would i be able to apply for these positions? Has anyone came across agencies who can help, if so what are they? and how long the application process for a working holiday visa usually takes?

This is all still very much in the planning stages, but i have wanted to do this since a very young age and only know have i been able to proceed with this.

I would appreciate anyones opinions/views and advice regarding this big step i hope to be taking shortly.

And sorry if i have posted this to wrong forum.

Regards
John

Sue

Hi John,

I am in the US so can't help with you question, but just wanted to pop by and welcome you to the forum. I hope you enjoy your stay with us.

Sue

Smartinis

Hi John,

Welcome, coming on a WHV could affect the type of position you could apply for (or at least get). We actually live in Mornington about 10 minutes from Mt Eliza, its very nice there but very small but I think you may be lucky to find work locally, unless you want the usual unskilled supermarket type work and even that could be tricky at the moment. Frankston is the nearest largest town, but most of the work is probably up in the CBD. Thats about an hour from Frankston by train or car. Frankston is about 10 minutes from Mt Eliza.

I don't really know but on a WHV I doubt whether you will be able to secure work before you arrive, so it may well be a question of getting here and seeing whats about. If you want to work locally then the local paper is a good place to start especially for temporary or part time work.

Are your family already here? If so I'd ask them to perhaps ask around amongst their friends and neighbours as its often not what you know as who you know over here. Melbourne has a large corporate financial market, most of the big banks work out of melbourne, but saying that I'm not sure they are employing many new staff at present, and are out sourcing a lot of jobs to India. Try websites such as www.careerone.com.au and www.seek.com.au, but many people have said that they can't get a response from employers until they get here.

Good luck with your search and your visit.

jmcmsg

Hi,

Thanks for replying. I was doing some further research this morning and theres a skills persons visa i believe but again i feel i would still be in the same boat, having to wait until i arrive before i can start looking and applying for jobs.

I've popped an email over to my family in Mt Eliza, as with the time difference it can be hard trying to get in touch at unsociable hours.

BUt seriously, thanks for the info and i will start looking for these websites and set up a covering letter accordingly.

Thanks.
John,

jozzy

Hi John,

Just stumbled upon your post and thought I could maybe provide some useful info to you.

(bit of background info) I just turned 23 moved over here to Melbourne with the parents in February. I was actually born here but have lived in Scotland ever since. I decided to make the move hoping for a better way of life; lifestyle, weather, and opportunities.

Having shipped everything over etc things were quite good for a month, it just felt like I was on holidays. A month past so I started looking for work, (graduated last year with BA in Design) mostly using google, career sites and asking family already located here. The area I want to get into is quite competitive (product design).

So after trying and trying I have sort of given up for the moment and have managed to secure a relatively well paid job as a department manager in a supermarket. I have been here for about 5 months now (only just started working in the last 6 weeks) and yeah things aren't the pretty picture that we all think.

I have moved from the north of Scotland and it has been a bit of a culture shock as well with so many different nationalities living here. The general day to day living feels more expensive than what it is in the UK, I guess it doesn't help that i still go about converting everything in my head back to £'s.

I also bought myself a car to get me from A to B which I don't think I could do without in this place. Buying a car over here is a bit more expensive for what you are getting, fuel and insurance I find cheap, (yay!) however I have managed to clock up a number of speeding fines due to the amount of (hidden) cameras here and lack of allowance for creeping over the limit (boo!).

On a positive note everyone you meet comes across as being very pleasant (apart from when they are in there cars) and the inner city is a really nice place for just hanging out, eating, drinking or partying it up.

To sum up on how I feel about the move over here at the moment I feel like I have been on a really long holiday and just want to move back "home". Hopefully I haven't put you off totally, it is a great place and I believe that, I could just need a bit more time getting use to it all. My main suggestion would be to secure a job over in the UK first before you head over but I know that is easier said than done.

Give me a shout if you need to know anything more,

Sean.

jmcmsg

Hi Sean,

I'm to also from Scotland, central belt.

The info you've gave has been great. I dont expect it to be easy, like yourself ive got my family over there putting the word around to see whats what in area. I've also signed up for a few agencies, HAY's being one of them as there London offices liase with their counter parts in Sydney and try to secure a couple of interviews for when i arrive in Australia. I shall see what happens with them.

At the end of the day its the country and diverse culture that i want to go for, the job situation is just a means for me to live so like yourself i'd accept pretty much anything until that ideal job comes along.

I do appreciate your views on your experience of the transition though.

Not so good about the driving and speeding fines, whats the public transport like? I also have that problem of creeping over the limit unknowinly (whoops)

My parents spent 5 weeks in Australia back in 2006 and they are behind me 110% to make the move, on a tempory basis 12months but if i settle down nicely id be looking to make it pernament. They just fell in love with the country and i must say Australias always presented a certain degree of facination for me.

The social scene in Melbourne you'd say that good aswell?

Thanks for the info and heads up tho.
Good luck in your new job and you never know i might drop you another message in a couple of weeks for a job at your store

John.

ShawnMcCrea

Jozzy any chance I can get your email addy for a few design questions as I cant personal message you as you dont have enough posts on here yet to be able to allow that feature.

Just dont want to hijack the thread but I have a BA in Design as well and had a few questions about over there.

jozzy

yeah unless you are the best and have had at least 5 years experience in the business it is a difficult area to get into. The way things are at the moment its who you know not what you know that counts.

wongstonn

Hi

Accounting/Finance is currently an employers market. My wife, who does GL work in Mt Eliza for Peninsula Health recently did candidate selection from an AP role and had literally 170 applicants - part driven by people entering the market following redundancy, and partly because the Mornington Peninsula has a lot of peopled that would prefer to work local and not commute further into the Melbourne metro area. The job isn't even all that well paying.

I'm not finance, I'm technology project management in the CBD. Receruitment in the last few months has had a deluge of highly qualified people applying for roles - the kind I would not get a whiff of two years ago.

So don't lose hope, but it is a competitive market out there.

Neil

jmcmsg

Thanks Neil,

Ive started applying for positions now but still awaiting to hear back but im thinking the best thing i can do is get over there and get applying and see whats what.. at the very least i will look at the first two months as a holiday more than anything.

John.

ShawnMcCrea

Hmm interesting, not yet 5 years experience and as most people still growing and not at the top of my game. It is similar here all the time that its who you know and now what you know that does count.

Thanks though, was hoping there were design jobs a plenty haha.

BackAgain

John - it is very, very slow in Melbourne at the moment - nothing happening in the finance sector, hundreds of applications for every job. Employers, which is great for Australia, seem to be much keener on recruiting Australians and some have stopped (NAB) accepting anyone but PR & Citizens from even applying. The number of finance jobs on eFinancial has fallen from about 10 pages to 2 pages, and honestly most of these are not real jobs, i.e. already filled or have not got headcount approval yet. You would need lots of experience in the exact section of banking/accounting that you are applying for. The situation is not great in Sydney but a lot better, I appreciate that you have family down here, but unless they can help you find a job you'd be better in Sydney. Having said that it has picked up a bit in the last month, but still very slow. Good Luck!!