Billy

Friends,

I am planning for Working holiday Visa to Oz on coming Nov and i feel
confused about the process to get a job. Actually, I want to know
more about everything.... job availability/ accommodation/ living
cost...


Could you tell me more about your experience in Australia?

Thx a lot~

Billy Chan from Hong Kong.

mlbonner

Hi Billy

It depends on what sort of job you are after to how easy you will find it. The official reason for having a job is to support yourself, not further your career or make a lot of money. You are restricted to working six months, and a maximum of three months in any one job. Because of the time restrictions you will probably find it quite hard to find a "good" job as search, because few people will hire you for a longterm role. I worked for Ergon Energy (electricity), made enough money to support myself whilst I was out there, and it paid for a few trips (skiing, ayres rock, whitsundays dive course) as well.
If you're not too fussy, casual jobs are easy enough to find. Some areas are more seasonal than others, so its worth checking this out. When I got my visa a couple of years ago, the London AHC sent me a booklet with more info in it re. this.

If you're going to be in one place for more than a couple of weeks, I'd look into renting somewhere. Cheaper or comparable with a hostel, but with the added bonus of being a house (own room, more secure, more space, room in front of the tv!). These sorts of places are easy to come by, just check out Ad's in local papers/ hostels.


Everyones experiences are different, mine was really good. I've put in some links below for you to have a look at, might help.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinat...sia/australia/
http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/visiting_whm.htm
http://www.immi.gov.au/settle/index.htm

Cheers

Kathy

Hi Billy,

I had similar experience... used my working holiday visa travelling
and working in Oz last Oct..

Depends what kind of job you are looking for, there are different
channels (e.g. web, newspapers, backpacker magazines etc). I'm in IT
field, so I found seek.com.au and jobnet.com.au most helpful. For ppl
with working holiday visa, you can only work for 3 months in the 12
months and the money you earned is taxable. Short term work is kinda
hard to find, but depends on your luck.

For accommodation, you can try flatmates.com.au to look for flat
share. If you don't mind living in suburbs (commute time varies from
30-60mins to city), you can have a shareflat at ~AUD150-200 per week.
The living cost is about the same as in HK. If you have a job,
~AUD2000 a month (including rent, transport to work etc) should be
more than enough.

Life style in Oz is very different from HK, ppl are more laid back and
relax. No rushing all the time. In Nov/Dec, there are many flies and
mozzies in Oz because it's spring/summer there. You should prepare for
that.

Hope this help. Good luck and have a good trip.

kathy (also from hk)



[email protected] (Billy) wrote in message news:<[email protected]. com>...
    > Friends,
    >
    > I am planning for Working holiday Visa to Oz on coming Nov and i feel
    > confused about the process to get a job. Actually, I want to know
    > more about everything.... job availability/ accommodation/ living
    > cost...
    >
    >
    > Could you tell me more about your experience in Australia?
    >
    > Thx a lot~
    >
    > Billy Chan from Hong Kong.

claire edwards

Have fun and go with the flow. There were enough jobs around, depending what you want to do. Accommodation is available in most places, in the form of hostels (Good places to meet people) and static caravans, my suggestion is to buy yourself a lonely planet.

Beers good and cold too.

You'll love it!

Billy

Hi Kathy,

thx a lot!!! It is good to hear from u in HK too!
None of my friend join the WHV before. Also, when i try to ask for
more information from Sincerity Travel
學聯旅遊...they didn't call me back.

In my opinion, i strongly feel that the WHV will widen my horizon.
Although some of my friends believe that i am too risky to resign and
leave HK for 1 year, i am still going for it. Can you tell me about
your experience? Did you achieve anything which you think meaningful?

I had a couple more questions, could you give me some advise as well?
- i work in the IT field too....i won't expect i can have IT job all
the times , but i really worry if i get enough jobs during the year.
What kind of jobs did you have last year?
- did u join any preparation program ( e.g.
http://www.worktravelcompany.com.hk/) before you depart to Aust? Do u
think it is useful?
- Which cities did u stay? For how long?

Hope that i didn't bother you too much :)

Billy

Kathy

Hi Billy,

My experience in Oz is pretty good. I mostly stayed in Sydney (for 4
1/2 months), and travelled Gold Coast and Melbourne during holidays.
Everyone got a different situation. It happened to me I've quitted my
job and came across a company required tibco skill that I went to Oz
to try my luck in getting that job (although I didn't work for that
company at the end... long story...) I worked for a software company
as freelance web developer at last. When the job finished, I came back
HK in March.

I didn't plan to go to Oz before quitting my job. So, your friend
could be right in thinking it's risky to resign a job and leave for HK
for 1 year. After all, the economy is still bad in HK that you may
have difficulty to get a job when you are back from Oz. If I have a
job at that time, I might not think of doing that although I dun
regret now. Always prepare for the worst. :)

Applying WHV, you can do it online via Aust Embassy website
(www.australia.org.hk), remember to get chest x-ray report after you
apply. You don't need a travel agency to help. I didn't join any
preparation program. I checked the link and the program package you
mentioned. Well, HK$3800 for the things you get (most of the stuff you
can get it free or very little $$ in any backpacker hostel), I won't
think it worths.

I was very lucky in Oz that I can get a job very soon (the IT job
market - same as elsewhere is not doing good actually) and met good
people. The first 2 months is horrible to me because of the
flies/mozzies, home sick.. etc.. then I knew some good friends and
flatmates, life was much settled there. I have my PR grant which I
applied last dec. So, I'm planning to go back anytime...

Hard to say I archived something...but I feel good to know I can
survive somewhere other than hk...life is full of options...when you
have the courage to step out this small place, you realize the world
is very big...


kathy

[email protected] (Billy) wrote in message news:<[email protected]. com>...
    > Hi Kathy,
    >
    > thx a lot!!! It is good to hear from u in HK too!
    > None of my friend join the WHV before. Also, when i try to ask for
    > more information from Sincerity Travel
    > 學聯旅遊...they didn't call me back.
    >
    > In my opinion, i strongly feel that the WHV will widen my horizon.
    > Although some of my friends believe that i am too risky to resign and
    > leave HK for 1 year, i am still going for it. Can you tell me about
    > your experience? Did you achieve anything which you think meaningful?
    >
    > I had a couple more questions, could you give me some advise as well?
    > - i work in the IT field too....i won't expect i can have IT job all
    > the times , but i really worry if i get enough jobs during the year.
    > What kind of jobs did you have last year?
    > - did u join any preparation program ( e.g.
    > http://www.worktravelcompany.com.hk/) before you depart to Aust? Do u
    > think it is useful?
    > - Which cities did u stay? For how long?
    >
    > Hope that i didn't bother you too much :)
    >
    > Billy

neil&momo

Hi Billy,
We did a WHV in 2000. We had the best time ever. We went to all the major cities except Darwin. We travelled around in a campervan, stayed on Campsites between cities and rented chalets, apartments etc. whilst in the cities, it was fantastic.
There are lot's of agencies you can apply to and get casual Temp work, you just have to get out there and look. You can only work for a maximum of 3 months with 1 employer. You can find other employment again and again as long as you leave the job after 3 months.
We enrolled with ready Workforce, they are based in all the cities. You can apply once then just call into the office in each city and they will set you up with work there! I'm a nurse but work was a little slow over Easter in Gold Coast so I went to Ready they gave me work in a factory, was different but it brought the cash in! My husband was an engineer he did alot of work for Ready all labour work mind! He worked in Sydney, Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne. It's worth enrolling in case IT work dosen't come in!
Good Luck Marie

Billy

Kathy,

u applied for a PR too? How could you do that? :P

i agreed with ur last paragraph very much....the world is really big.
A few years ago, i went to USA to have summer course too which i
learnt really much. That's why i expect quite a lot from my WHV now.
In my mind, even i couldn't find IT job but only blue-collars
too...that's an experience.

Do you suggest me to start job hunting even though i am now in HK?
How about flat? Should i start it now, or stay in YHA for the first
few weeks?


Billy

Kathy

Hi Billy,

Yes. I applied the PR last dec as to give me an option to live
somewhere else. HK is good and my home town. I never think of moving
out this little beautiful place but you know, things are changing. I
really don't have the confident in spending rest of my life here. WHV
is good for you to know Oz better. Of course, I still love HK so much
though I am ready to move to Oz anytime. This is my personal
opinion/experience. You can find out your answer soon.

I'd suggest you to look at the job posting on seek.com.au and
jobnet.com.au to get an idea of the job market and what are the posts
in demand first. Try sending your resume to them and see their
response. Like some other people said, it is not just for building
your career path. If you can't find an IT job, experience something
else is good too. In Australia, ppl don't have much discrimination on
one's job (i guess it may because many ppl are immigrants and many
changed their profession after migration - ppl are more
understanding).

For accomodation, same as job, you can check the availability first.
Send email to tell the landlord/flatmate when you are planning to
arrive and see if one can have a room for you just in time. I was very
lucky that I can move to a nice apartment the second week I arrived
(the first week I lived in Central YHA) and had very good flatmates.
Have to see your luck.

Best wishes,
kathy

[email protected] (Billy) wrote in message news:<[email protected]. com>...
    > Kathy,
    >
    > u applied for a PR too? How could you do that? :P
    >
    > i agreed with ur last paragraph very much....the world is really big.
    > A few years ago, i went to USA to have summer course too which i
    > learnt really much. That's why i expect quite a lot from my WHV now.
    > In my mind, even i couldn't find IT job but only blue-collars
    > too...that's an experience.
    >
    > Do you suggest me to start job hunting even though i am now in HK?
    > How about flat? Should i start it now, or stay in YHA for the first
    > few weeks?
    >
    >
    > Billy

Billy

Kathy, thx for your opinion. It is good to share with you

i will visit the websites you suggested as much as possible~ The
daily work in my job is so exhausting now and don't have much time to
prepare for it. That's why i asked you so many questions. :P

Do you think it make a difference in accommodation (or any aspect) if
i go with my girlfriend as well? Or anything we need to pay extra
attention? We have similar thinking on WHV.

Billy

Billy

mlbonner,

i haven't set up my mind. When i decided to join the WHV early this
year, my very first target is to try sth. different. i.e. No IT job (
i was a techie). It is good to be a waiter/fruit picker......that's
experence!! Later then, i just wonder, can i have a longer goal for
it? Can i get a IT job out there, do sth. for my career, or in the
long run, get a PR too? (i know, that's not the aim for WHV).....

I am greedy....i hope the 1-year WHV could be broke even. What i
spend out there is from the jobs i have over there (no matter labour
work, or office work). On the other sides, i hope to learn diving,
skiing... :P

welcome for any advise~~~
thx all of you :)

Billy

Edwards,

Can you tell me more about the static caravans? I have no idea on it
at all. I do drive frequently in HK...but never outside the city.
I know i could drive in Oz if i got the international license, but i
have no idea on travelling with a caravan?

thx a lot

Billy

Billy

neil&momo

thx~ woo~u travelled around Oz~ how long did u stay in city?
Although i want to travel around Oz, i plan to stay in a city for a
couple of months at least....such that i really familiar with the
city. What do u think?

I really don't mind labour works, although i want to have a office job
as well.

for labour works.....it is sth. i won't expereice in the future ( i
hope so :P ). It is good to try~
for office job....i am more good at it, and maybe, i can have a bigger
insight for my future development

Tell me more~

thx a lot.
Billy

Kathy

Hi Billy,

I didn't go with my bf. So, I'm not sure how much difference it will
make to bring your gf with you. But certainly, if you two are very
much linked up, you should bring her with you. At least, this can save
you a lot of $$ on long distance calls. A spiritual support maybe
needed if so happen you encounter any trouble during the trip.

For accommodation, i did see room lets for couples. So, it shouldn't
be a problem. Check out the website and see what you can get.

Good luck,
kathy

[email protected] (Billy) wrote in message news:<[email protected]. com>...
    > Kathy, thx for your opinion. It is good to share with you
    >
    > i will visit the websites you suggested as much as possible~ The
    > daily work in my job is so exhausting now and don't have much time to
    > prepare for it. That's why i asked you so many questions. :P
    >
    > Do you think it make a difference in accommodation (or any aspect) if
    > i go with my girlfriend as well? Or anything we need to pay extra
    > attention? We have similar thinking on WHV.
    >
    > Billy

Billy

Hi Kathy,

yep, you are right, i checked it out at flatmates.com.au and there is
room for couple.
For some of the flats, the flatmates said my gf and i could share the
same room together. Say, if it is $100 per week, what i have to pay
is $100 for 2 person and + bills ( of coz, this is calculated in a
per person basis).

BTW, did you bring along a computer /notebook computer? Do you
suggest so? Is there any internet connection if i share a flat with
others in usual?

Billy