Originally Posted by thompi

Thanks, you make a good point, from what experience I have from talking to agencies about CFO and FD opportunities in OZ I continually get the response "yes mate you have great experience in Europe and the UK but your up against blokes that have had all your 26 years experience but in Oz so who would you pick if you were the employer deciding who to give a senior position to............. the Ozzie ofcourse"

I also think I can earn alot more in the UK than Oz from now through to say 55 which is when I would like to hang my boots up!

Thanks for making things just that bit clearer for me.

Originally Posted by Dumbledore

Hi there

I also work in your profession at a similar level to BermudaShorts.
I've recently pinged back to Sydney from NZ. After going back for 2 years, I found I really missed Sydney plus career opportunities much better and wide ranging than in Auckland. Do I feel a bit of an idiot for not working out we should stat in Oz before going through all the hassle of going back to NZ ? Yes. However my view is that life's too short and If you're not happy living where you are and can back track then you should.

I've been lucky that my old employer found some short term contract work for me to do for 3.5 months and I've been able to doss at a friend's place.
I'm now in the market looking for longer term work before husband comes over.

My advice / feedback is :-

1. Everyone is saying the market is " sluggish" and slow however there ARE jobs around and if you are a good candidate you just need to preserve. Roles up to $130k are quite prolific; the $130k-$200k band slow and aboe $200k very quiet. You may well need to lower your salary expectations and drop
down a level to get the Australian experience you need; then start moving back up the ladder once you have that and the market s more buoyant.

2. IMHO, the big cities -meaning Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane - are the best places to look for work. Adelaide, cairns, Darwin are very regional. Perth is fairly buoyant at the moment but very isolated from anywhere else.

3. Forget trying to sort out a job before coming over. I tried to do that from NZ and it's a complete waste of time. Even though I emphasised that I was willing I fly over for interviews -which is totally doable in a day - no-one wanted to know. Plus most of the agencies won't even forward you for a role they've advertised until you've registered with them first (just to make sure you are not an axe murderer).

4. You might want to consider looking at getting a reciprocal qualification to what you have in UK. If you are CA it's very easy to get Australian membership also ( think you just need some referees). Similarly you might want to look into CPA. Or do a PRINCE 2 project management practitioner course - fairly straightforward and can be done online - which will enhance your marketability for doing more project and consultant type roles.

5. Be prepared it may take you quite some time to find a role if you are in the $200k+ senior level bracket. My old boss -Sydney born & bred - took 5 months to find a new role as a Group Financial Controller after being made redundant.

6. The reality -and probably "safest" way of coming back is for you to come over first and find a job, before the rest of the family come to. I don't know if your wife works but if she stayed in the UK & only moved once you had work, it would take some of the pressure off and mean you would always

Good luck !

Originally Posted by Bermudashorts

I also think Ozzieeagle makes an excellent point. In fact a couple of them.

But I think what you have been told above about CFO / FD opportunities is complete guff and I think I have alluded to this on your earlier thread.

It is quite the opposite to any reaction I have received, I have only found UK experience to be extremely highly regarded. My Group CFO (an Australian) recently commented to me on that exact situation you have mentioned and he said that somebody who had spent all their career working in Australia could not hope to compete with my CV.

I think if you try again, you should head for Melbourne or Sydney. Definitely not the Gold Coast if you are looking for the big FD / CFO roles and not doing the books and tax returns of local enterprise, I think that is why you had issues last time.

I also found that there was not that much interest in my CV before I got here, however I landed my current job on my visa validation trip (of three weeks), when the company felt sure that I was serious about moving because I was sat in front of them. The market is competitive and I do think you would need to be here.