hi,

my situation is the following: I have PR, however for the moment I am not in Australia, but in my home country (Hungary)
the qualifications that I have can't help secure a job (I work in the law business)
given this situation, would it be reasonable to hope to find a job in hospitality or retail (or anything that doesn't require any certificates - trades, or diploma, i mean unqualified or semi-qualified jobs such as factories, drive a cab) and to survive on this?
also, I don't have any experience in any of these fields, my English is 7.5 on IELTS, so I would say pretty good, although I am not a native speaker
if I were to come to Melbourne, do you think there would be jobs available for somebody in my position? or is it like the local market is already suffocated by unskilled workers?

thx

Hate to be negative but there are very few jobs that don't require certificates, Australia do like their licences and certificates. Also there are a great many people out of work who are applying for this sort of work whilst being highly qualified for other stuff and who aren't getting in.

How do you know you won't get work in your profession? How did you get PR?

I have been working in Human Resources at the time when I applied for PR
I have visited Australia a few years ago in 2008, found it very nice, but I said I should give another chance in my home country
therefore when i returned i started a business in a completely different field (online shop), but unfortunately things didn't go well
so that now I am unemployed, no business, not too many job in my country
still i have some saving and I am wondering if I can make it in Australia from jobs such as waiting tables or in retail (supermarkets)

I would not be moving over with the intention of finding work in either of those two examples. You'd think they'd be easy to get into but believe me, in 10 months of looking for any sort of work at all including both of those, and getting knock back after knock back, I might as well be looking to be a surgeon with no experience.

So then how do people survive in Australia? I mean, I suppose it's not like everyone is PhD or MBA or anything like this. And all the emigrants, do they all come loaded with cash, enough to survive for X years until the crisis is gone, spend it in Australia, and then return? Should I understand that unless you have a highly specialized skill in need on the Australian market, one should forget about moving to Australia? Because, when I visited Australia in 2008, there were many backpackers who seemed they were supporting themselves from the occasional work they could find. Did things change quite that much?

They struggle or they are lucky. Australia in 2012 is a vastly different country financially/economically than it was in 2008.

It is pretty scary what you are saying, and I hope you are wrong; if you can't get a job in a supermarket or waiting tables in a big city such as melbourne or sydney, then you must come with over 10K AUD to survive in the first few months, and after that, what happens if you don't get lucky, how can you struggle if you don't have any income?

Perth may be a bit different. I have met some Ethiopian refugees in an organization I volunteer and those willing to do any work (some of it pretty tough and hard labour, such as warehouses) have been doing okay, even with very basic English. If you are ready to do anything then I would say there is plenty of work in Perth. Also, most of the cabs I have used in Perth the driver is almost always Indian and on a student visa/bridging visa - so for a PR it may not be too hard. Good luck.

if you would have 6-9 months to qualify, what would you qualify in? I was thinking about doing a hairdressing course in my home country, but I am not sure if I could use it in Australia.

When does your PR visa expire? You said you were here in 2008, so I would assume it's only valid for another year tops. You have to make a decision. Either come to Australia and try to make a go of things or stay where you are and try to make a go of things.

Trying to qualify for a whole new career in 9 months is a crazy proposition. Hairdressing takes at least a couple of years of training and unless it's a lifelong dream I would suggest you forget it. It's very hard, poorly paid (usually), and there are plenty of unemployed hairdressers out there too.

You got your visa because you worked in HR. Why can you not look for jobs in HR?

If you are unemployed where you are, but have some savings, then why not give it a go and just see how you get on. Get a return ticket though.

I agree with bermundashorts. Give it a go, what have you got to loose? It isn't that much different from 2008. It was pretty hard to get unskilled jobs then too (supermarkets etc like to employ younger people who they can pay less). If you want to work you will find work.

Oh so that's my problem, I don't really want to work. I wish someone would have told me that a year ago, I wouldn't have bothered applying for 100+ jobs

It's always a useful piece of advice that isn't it!

Come on over here Pen. We've got 2 full time permanent jobs going ATM. One closes tomorrow and the other in August. Our dep't will also likely be looking for a 4 month temp to cover me if I take the secondment I've been offered. (just need to make up my mind in the next 2 hours whether to take it )