thompi

Hi everyone,

Want to give you the story so far and then see what people can advise....

In 2009 I moved to Buderim (just north of Brisbane) with my wife and two boys who were 16 and 14. I had and still have a skilled migrant PR visa (I am a chartered management accountant).
I did not have a job lined up but felt confident of getting something and we had some savings.
We rented a place and got the two boys into a local school. We lasted 3 months and yes it was a bit pathetic but as I was not into a job straight away and we had the house rented out back in the UK we decided to knock it on the head and go back home.... we got the boys back into their old school and I got a job back in UK.

Roll forward 3 years to today and one of my sons is at Sheffield Uni 1st year on a 4 years course and my other son now 16 has decided 6th form is not for him. I have just been offered a compromise agreement with the firm I work for which will give me about 6 months salary.

Our PR visa runs out in August 2013 and i want to give it another go as I just cannot give up the dream of living in a warm climate with plenty of outdoor activities on your doorstep etc...........

Are their any of you out there that have suffered the same dilemma? I am 46 and worked as a finance director for many years, we have a good life here in the UK but i do not want to grow old here in the UK.I am aware that the chances of getting a similar role in Oz are unlikely but the idea of living out there still appeals...

Has anyone had similar experiences of going out coming home and then going back out?

Would loveto hear from you?

Bermudashorts

No experience of your situation, other than we are in the same occupation, but with six months salary behind you and a break inbetween jobs anyway, it sounds like there might never be a better time to give it another go.

RedT

My other half was a management accountant in the UK but wanted to change fields. Moving here has been the best thing for him, he's now a forensic accountant and loving it. If nothing else making one huge change gave him the impetus to make another which he wouldn't have done in London.

thompi

Thanks for the advice, I take it you live in Sydney and a UK trained accountnant? Can you give me an indication of the job market for CFO'S or Finance Managers?

Any advise would be appreciated.

goldchoccycoin

You may need to consider another location. Sunny Coast doesn't have the same volume of jobs as Brisbane or other larger towns and cities.

I'd live up there in a flash if I could get a similar job. As it is I'm on my way up there now for an extended long weekend!

Bermudashorts

Yes I am UK trained living in Sydney for the last 20 months.

So I am not really clear what level you are pitching yourself at, "CFO and Finance Manager" are poles apart in my world with it not being too difficult to get a "manager" title whereas of course CFO roles are finite. My world is big corporates, perhaps that the gap might be closer in small / medium companies?

I can best comment in my world of big companies and my sector is financial services. My level is the one lower than CFO, I sometimes get approached for CFO roles in smaller business units but the big CFO jobs are a stretch for me.

So CFO jobs (in big financial services companies), well it goes without saying that there are a lot fewer of them about versus in the UK. Opportunities one step below CFO are also pretty infrequent as far as I can tell. However there are also less candidates and I have found that UK, especially London financial services experience is highly valued.

At the lower finance manager level, there are jobs about but I think the market is competitive and is getting more competitive month by month, this is because a few of the big players are off-shoring and restructuring. Since the new year I have been INUNDATED with agents cold calling, sending me CVs and desperate to meet up with me. I am at the point where I need to take my linkedin profile down as they seem to be finding me through that.

My company has finance teams in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. It is often commented that it is very hard to find quality staff for senior roles in Brisbane, so whilst there are fewer opportunities in number, somebody with a good CV and the right background should be able to walk into a role there.

To sum up, again for my particular sector, I think the job market is competitive but I don't think it is as tough as it was in London a couple of years ago around the time I left.

quoll

And what will you do with your younger child? Kids have to be in education until 17 so he will have to go back to school in Aus. He will need year 12 in order to be in the least bit competitive in the workplace these days and that is going to take him 2 years - he has already missed some of year 11 even if he went straight in tomorrow. What was he planning to do in UK? Could he get an apprenticeship and you leave him there to finish it perhaps?

If you have a job where you are, can you afford to risk it all with the prospect of not finding a job (you didnt get one last time, what makes you think this time will be any different? The economic situation hasnt really improved since then).

thompi

Hi,

My sector is manufacturing and distribution I have worked for large US based companies in electrical and mechanical distribution and manufacturing.

I have worked as an FD for about 15 years so it would be hard for me to drop done to the level below that as I have been more involved in strategy and review of results and numbers as opposed to production of the management accounts etc....

I get the impression that at almost 47 I would find it very difficult to get a job at the same level with no Australian experience......

I am beginning to think that I should stay in UK and get a job as I could risk everything and end up having to use up our hard earned savings.

Ian.

thompi

Hi,

Yes good point he would like to go into the Police force and was planning on starting his a levels again in September at a local college.
I think if we went to Australia he would end up going to a college to do his A level equivalent, highers I think they call them?

Ian.

moneypenny20

If he's 16, he may as well get into a High School and do his final two years there. More chance of making friends his age. He'd then be able to apply for the police when he's 18. Not called highers here, they just graduate with as good an OP as possible.

quoll

Well, he has missed the boat for this year - almost 2 months of year 11 gone already and you obviously wont be arriving tomorrow. States are all different and he would either have missed some units which he would need for course completion or some of the examinable curriculum.

Police force entry is very competitive these days and they usually require some "life experience" before joining - it is rare to find a youngster just out of school or even just out of uni being accepted into the force although the states do differ - it's not as hard to get into NSW police as it is to get into AFP for example. He should look at bolstering his cv with other life experiences - DoE, cadets, volunteering etc

Different states have different names for their year 12 certs and, yes, his best bet would be to go back to school for the two years (two FULL years) but the older he gets the more difficult that becomes. He could do his year 12 at TAFE but generally TAFEs get lower scores than school studies - possibly because the cohort at TAFE are usually those who have bombed out at school in the first place.

He would be much better off to get his A levels but that doesnt allow for your time frame unless you leave him to finish his education.

Bermudashorts

Ok so I don't know anything about your sector first of all. I moved at age 40 and definitely didn't take a step back because I had no local experience. On the contrary I understand my international experience was a real plus and I sold it that way. I think my current job was a step up, more demanding, bigger team to manage etc.

thompi

Hi,

I read one of your threads talking about the 1st 6 months in Sydney and your husband finding a job as an accountant.
I would like to give Sydney a go but after the last attempt in 2009 to move to Brisbane I would like to secure a job before I went out. Do you think or does your hubby think it possible to get a job secrured in Sydney before we move out? We have skype and if an employer wanted to interview I would happly fly out for a period of time for interviews.
Looking back at your own experiences would you have got a job first before moving out?

Thanks for any advise you can give,

Ian & Sian.

jad n rich

L tried to apply for the police in QLD.

They want them to have a degree and/or life experience. Very competitive, it was at a police recruiting stand, the officers suggested 27 might be a better age

Customs, he wanted to do that too, OMG!! they reckon at least a 1000 applications for each job that comes up. BIL is in it, was police, got in years ago when it was obviously much easier.

thompi

Hi everyone,

Want to give you the story so far and then see what people can advise....

In 2009 I moved to Buderim (just north of Brisbane) with my wife and two boys who were 16 and 14 at the time. I had and still have a skilled migrant PR visa (I am an accountant).
I did not have a job lined up but felt confident of getting something and we had some savings. Looking back it was a bad choice of location as the commute to Brissy was a good hour plus and there was no industry up on the Sunshine Coast
We rented a place and got the two boys into a local school. We lasted 3 months and yes it was a bit pathetic but as I was not into a job straight away and we had the house rented out back in the UK we decided to knock it on the head and go back home....the main reason was to get the boys back into their old school in the September so that we did not mess up their education. Anyway, we got the boys back into their old school and I got a job back in UK.

Roll forward 3 years to today and one of my sons is at Sheffield Uni 1st year on a 4 years course and my other son now 16 has decided 6th form is not for him. I have just been offered a compromise agreement with the firm I work for which will give me about 6 months salary.

Our PR visa runs out in August 2013 and I want to give OZ another go as I just cannot give up the dream of living in a warm climate with plenty of outdoor activities on your doorstep etc...........

Are their any of you out there that have suffered the same dilemma? I am 46 and worked as a finance director for many years, we have a good life here in the UK but i do not want to grow old here in the UK. I am aware that the chances of getting a similar role in Oz are unlikely but the idea of living out there still appeals...

Has anyone had similar experiences of going out coming home and then going back out?

Would love to hear from you?