nicrock

We've been here 9 weeks now, 6 weeks in Burleigh Heads. My partner has had no problems getting work welding on the coast, his current job isn't the best but it pays the rent (just!) :curse:

I've been applying for jobs not stop with no luck whatsoever! I'm lucky if they even bother getting back to say I've not got an interview, each week I ring the jobs i've applied for to be told it's been filled or they'll get back to me......still waiting.....

I think my resume it up to the standard for the jobs i'm applying for, general admin/reception work/sales assistant - anything that's within bus distance from Burleigh cause I havn't got the car. It's so bloody frustrating and my ego is taking a serious bashing with all these rejections!

Has anyone suffered with the same problem? Or is it just me the Ozzies don't seem to like!

The Bloke

Do a search on the "search forum" and you will find that the answer to your question is that you don't have any Australian experience or qualifications, in what is generally an easy occupation to fill with local applicants. The responses that you get are not personal, as it even happens to Australians in 99.9% of cases. You need to just keep applying, even if you have to do hundreds of applications to get one interview. It is also well-known that in some cases, they (the employer) know who will get the position, before the position is advertised.
Also, although there is a skills shortage in Australia, there is also a shortage of positions available.

Fenton Beasley

Yes I had the same problem. I'm not sure if it's an Australian thing but you won't get much confirmation back unless they want you for an interview. I had to resort to agency work to get my foot in the door.

Good luck.

LAM

Welcome to Oz from a fellow pie eater

Good luck with the job hunting

sa2uk2oz

[
I think my resume it up to the standard for the jobs i'm applying for, general admin/reception work/sales assistant - anything that's within bus distance from Burleigh cause I havn't got the car. It's so bloody frustrating and my ego is taking a serious bashing with all these rejections!

Has anyone suffered with the same problem? Or is it just me the Ozzies don't seem to like! [/QUOTE]


If i were you i wouldn't make mention of the fact that you don't have a car to get to work.. and that you need to rely on public transport..
Have you tried any recruitment agencies? people we know have managed to get temp work through the agencies and once they have proved themselves seem to get offered more permanent positions..

Cheetah7

When you say that you are applying for general/admin/reception/sales assistant - this could be your problem - your resume might not be aimed at a specific market which could make your skills appear diluted.

It might be worth trying to do several resumes - each tailored to a different area. One for admin - make it only admin, big up your skills and write it as though you are the best admin person on the planet.

Register with an agency - Kelly Services I have found to be brilliant. Get your typing skills/data entry skills/Excel/Word tested, get a print out of the reports and put them in a folder attached to lots of copies of your new resume.

After a month or so of registering with agencies - many turned out to be crap, I was offered the job I have now and on the same day was offered several other jobs. Personally I think it was down to the way Kelly services taught me to adapt my resume.

Each and every interview I went to, I wore a suit - I had my references with me, even though they still emailed those people in the UK to check them out, it looked organised and gave a good general impression. I also had my UK police check with me - they didn't ask for this but as I hadn't been in Australia for very long, they still took copies.

But I would definitely suggest adapting your CV to suit different areas and start with admin.

When you register with a good agency, they should let you come into the office to use their training facilities so you can maintain your typing speeds and of course this reflects well on you as a potential employee.

Good luck and don't let it dent your ego, things take longer here in general but if you use your time wisely to brush up your skills, be patient and have your work folder in order to present to potential employers then you will get there.

Dorothy

Most excellent points, Sam. I did the same things and have had no trouble finding work. My resume is tailored to the type of role I'm looking for (medical admin with a focus on specific areas) and I've made sure to ask different referees for different types of roles I've applied for - i.e. When I applied to the Ophthalmology Clinic at RPH I used my referalls from various eye professionals I worked for prior to emigrating. When I applied to the cancer clinic I used the Oncologist I typed for as my reference, etc.

Scrawni 2

I am on the GC and it took me 4 mths to get a job. I adapted my resume and dressed accordingly but it still took ages. It comes down to the amount of people applying for the same positions, especially in my case.

I now have a job at Tafe but 176 applicants applied for it, I got shortlisted to the final 4, was turned down but a month later the new lady left and they rang me up out of the blue and asked me if I still wanted it.

My experiences with agencies on the GC have be crap, but that isn't to say that that will be the same for you, give it a go. Get yourself some Australian qualifications (feel free to pm me as I work in adult learning now and we run some excellent courses for those returning to work).

It does knock your confidence (I know). I decided to give myself a break for a couple of weeks because i got sick of it. Then hey presto, got a job

Mandy

Vash the Stampede

Seconded.

The primary barrier to employment during my first year in the UK was that old chestnut "No UK experience". It was used as a "trump card" to reject me for everything from basic office work to a job at Royal Mail. Even my transferable skills were ignored because "they weren't acquired in the UK".

No matter what I did or said, I knew the door would close as soon as they looked at my CV and said "We notice that you have no UK experience". If I hadn't done it, learned it or trained for it whilst in the UK, they just didn't want to know.

The only way to deal with this was to take a lousy job (£5 an hour office dogsbody, in my case) and stick at it for a while just to get some "UK experience" under my belt. Hey presto - I was suddenly employable!

sj oldfield

Be positive!! Something will crop up when you least expect it to!!!

PaulandNic

Welcome to the Gold Coast! The Gold Coast and Admin don't go together!

Nic has had EXACTLY the same problems and our advice to you would be to seek further north towards or possibly Brissie!

Nic has years and years of admin experience. She's worked for 3 UK banks, she's done payroll, she's worked for colleges and major retail companies in the admin dept.

She's applied for over 300 jobs since we arrived ... no joke! Probably 50 got back over the 2.5 years we've been here.

The recruitment agencies say that for every admin job advertised they will get 50+ applications and no matter how good your resume is, there will always be an Aussie applying too and need I say more!

She started a new job on Monday (loganholme) and is already looking for another! The company want you to work an extra 20 - 30 mins every other day for the fun of it, no overtime! ...

Believe me we know EXACTLY how you feel!

I've had murders with jobs too but have thankfully landed a real good job with very good prospects. Nic is till on the look!

We said today that if by the time we get citizenship (2 years), if we're not both sorted in our fields and relatively comfortable, then we're out of the Gold Coast and possibly gonna return to Blighty!

We have $2 in the bank, a heap of debt (again!! ... :curse and simply haven't come here to struggle!

The best of luck to you in your quest!

bridie

I know it's tough but hang in there

FWIW this isnt an isolated incidence - I've had friends over here in the West (Aussies and poms) who have had the same problem. I find it bizarre that people who even go for interviews quite often never hear a thing back - how hard is it to pick up a phone and say "sorry mate"?

My advice is stick at it and in the meantime try and meet some locals as very often it's not what you know but who

Good luck

PaulandNic

I forgot to add that bit. Yeah my daughter has got 3 jobs through friends ...

NOT admin tho!