nixonb

I’m about to fly off to Sydney from Belfast so i thought I would do a little guide/ diary about how things have been going and what I have learned so far.

Why i’m going
I decided to go as after I finished my masters degree I found that even though I had a great range of experience and was able to find plenty of temporary work, I wasn’t happy about the wage I was getting and often felt kinda dissatisfied at the work I was doing. Some of my relatives had went over to Sydney and were having a great time so I thought I might give it a try.

Visa
I did spend a long time looking for the right visa and was advised by a cousin to apply for the skilled visa as I have post graduate qualifications but I was daunted by the seemingly complicated application process for the skilled visa - which does seem to be focused on Engineers, so I settled with the Working Holiday Visa which I got for around £151 online.

Travel Arrangements
Initially I spent a lot of time looking at flights on the internet and the cheapest I found were in the region of £700 for flights around the April/May period (I started looking around January). I was advised by a friend who is there already to try a company called STA travel, so I went to their office (I would recommend the office over the website) and managed to get flights in May, a bank account and a tax code all for £600, which I think is quite a good deal. They also offered to sort out my Visa for me but as I had already sorted that bit out I didn't need that service, but if they do that as well as the flights and bank account I'd imagine it is a good deal too.

Accommodation
I had looked quite a bit at different Hostels but I was then offered a room by a close relative in Sydney so accommodation has turned out quite well so far, although I plan to try and flat share when I get a steady job.

Money
This one has been quite tough for me, I tended to have a lot of bills ( car, phone, graduate loan, rent etc) so saving money has been difficult, added to that I have been trying to wipe out as many of my debts as possible so I will possibly be only travelling with around £600/700 to begin with. The lack of money i’ll be travelling with leads me onto my next priority – finding work...

Finding Work
First thing I would say is that the recruitment process in Sydney in quite different to that in Belfast. Your CV will need to be completely overhauled for a start – it will have to form a basis for further adjustment. For each job you apply for you will HAVE to customise your CV to match the exact skills, CV bombing several jobs each day with the same CV just results in no replies and frustration for yourself. Despite this approach I was initially getting no feedback, merely rejections. So I then got hold of an Australian address I could out on my CV and then paid a company called amaysim to get me an Australian phone number and then put both on my CV to give the impression I was already in Syndey. This did result in being asked to go in to get registered for several agencies but no direct references to possible work. I did some hunting on forums across the web and found one guy who mentioned that often these companies will have an issue with Working Holiday Visa applicants and indeed emigrants of any kind due to issues of acclimatising, possible language barriers, differing qualifications, no Australian references, and of course cultural differences. I also heard that men shouldn’t bother applying for PA or secretary work.

So I deleted my Nationality off my CV (Irish/British – i’m from Northern Ireland) and made sure to check up on the Australian equivalents to my educational achievements (i included both), what also turned out quite well was that my uncle owns his own business and he offered to give me a reference and was even doing some work in Sydney – So was then able to put down that I worked for his company in Sydney, but had returned to Belfast for a while to complete some work. – I would point out that I have actually worked for him before.

Arriving
Well I fly out at the end of the month so I’ll update this post when I fly out and arrive to let you all know how that is going.

Conclusions:
Travel, funds and accommodation are unlikely to be major issues for anyone – the main stumbling block is prospectively employment as emigrants are at an instant disadvantage as I get the impression that our CVs/Cover letters are dropped the moment they see any possible issues with Visas etc. Im sure someone will think that I have been a little underhand in some of my techniques, but it really is a case of getting ahead or getting nowhere.

I’d be glad to help anyone I can with advice, or if you have problems I can see what I can do for you when you arrive in Sydney.

B

NickyC

Hmmmm. So you're planning on turning up with the grand total of around $1000? To last you till you get a job? In the most expensive city in Australia? And you only have a WHV?

Hopefully your ticket is a return because you're supposed to have one - or the funds to buy one - when you arrive.

I will only say that, to come for a year with only $1k is very courageous.

nixonb

I know, but its a tough old world! I could borrow money but i'm reluctant to do that as you'd imagine. Life is all about risks!

steen1976

Good luck mate. It is very hard to secure 'a proper job' on a WHV but it can be done. More casual and low paid stuff shouldn't be too bad and you can take something to tide you over. But you already know that applying for work takes a lot of effort in tailoring CVs and cover letters and can become almost a full time job.

You're obviously young and single? Taking a risk with little funds yes but you never get anywhere standing still.

You're going to have to stop off the drink though

nixonb

I was thinking that I would have to quit drinking for a while - yeah i'm single and i'm 25 (young enough) I have offers of borrowing money but I want to go over with a clean slate financially. One of my cousins has just secured his residency and I'm hoping to eventually secure mine too!

moneypenny20

Moved you to the update section. I honestly don't see the issue with coming over with such a small amount on a WHV. You're obviously intending on not using it as it's supposed to be used but you've got accommodation sorted which is presumably very cheap. Bit confused by the 'steady job' comment as I don't view a maximum employment period of six months to be steady but maybe that's just me.

I'm sure most WHV people don't go to the trouble you have though and I don't know how you got a TFN without being here but hey, it's all good. Come over and have fun.

nixonb

Sorry, but can you tell me what a TFN is? i'm assuming it something to do with the call backs i've been getting. My CV is quite strong, i'm one of those lucky people who don't really have much of an issue getting a job - i think its because of my wonderful irish accent As for the money thing I have been cruising around the website of some the bigger stores that offer online shopping and I think if I stick to a strict budget for the first while I should be ok and my cousin is happy to let me stay for free until I start getting paid. How hard is it to eventually mvoe from a WHV to something a little more long term? I had planned to work on a farm for a while (iwas brought up on one so I have experience there too - and yes I have had loads of jobs - I usually only put about a quarter of my actual work history on my cv!)

Just want to say thanks for all the replies so far - I have been very worried about going and everyone has been great and very supportive.

B

moneypenny20

Maybe I misunderstood when you said you'd got a tax code through the company who got your flights. The TFN is the Tax File Number that you need to work, like the National Insurance Number in the UK. (Don't know what it's called in Ireland).

You can't move from a WHV to a permanent visa. You can try and find a sponsor for a PR visa providing you have the skills and experience required by DIAC though. If you do three months fruitpicking you can get a second year WHV, however that will mean that your 'steady' job and accommodation will have to stop as you've obviously got to get out of the city to do it.

The skilled visas really aren't angled towards Engineers. Huge number of occupations are on the lists, do a run through of the Visa Wizard on the DIAC site to see if you're entitled to even apply for a PR visa, having lots of skills and various employment experiences doesn't count for much with DIAC unfortunately.

There is also the Immi Forum on here with stacks and stacks of advice if or when you want to look into applying for a PR visa.

It's incredibly hard to find work whilst you offshore, even if you have PR and are planning on moving here permanently, to try and find work whilst overseas and only having a WHV would be nigh on impossible I would have thought but hey, don't try don't get.

nixonb

I had a good look through all the documents attached to the skilled visa application process ( i printed them out at work ) and i seem to be ok for one or two of the listed jobs/skills - upon checking the nomination by employer listing I should be able to get through using any of a number, but having just rang and checked with sta travel I think I will wait until I get to Sydney and see how the land lays before I look into a further visa. Thankfully though I know two people who have their own business so hopefully it wn't be a problem!

Again, thanks for all the advice!!

Kooky.

Well you get top marks for youthful optimism, at least - can't knock that. Welcome to Sydney

LINZI

Good luck

Pollyana

The main thing you need to investigate is the work experience requirements - many people find that by spending time on temp jobs on a WHV they lose work experience points.

Also beware of saying you worked for your relative in Sydney if you were not in possession of a visa with work rights at the time. If you use that as work experience on any visa application DIAC are likely to query it.

nixonb

I have had my visa since February, but point taken. I had read that employers were somewhat reluctant to offer anything close to interest in your application if you seemed to have no knowledge of living in Australia/ had never worked there before.

I am concerned mostly about the money issue at the money as I will most likely only have around $1000 at a starter amount. I would say that I could get some more money but as I mentioned I my first post I want to arrive with a 'clean slate' in terms of debt and I want to avoid having being crippled by paying back money I had to borrow when I could have survived on my admittedly small savings.

I will be staying with relatives and at the moment I have been in contact with a few employers who want me to call in to talk about my CV. So I am hoping to get work quite quickly- I'm willing to work where - ever I can really, fast food, supermarket - any job is a good job when I you're starting off somewhere. I have heard that Nathan Geoffrey are good as they can sponsor you for a PR, or so a girl who works in my office has told me (she has just come back from Australia).

Bermudashorts

I don't necessarily think that there will be a problem because you have no knowledge of living in Australia. However employers have little interest in anyone before they actually arrive in the country. I would just wait until you get here.

Kooky.

We employ WHV holders from all over the place. Brits seem to do very well and can end up being sponsored but the important thing is, IMO, they get some Australian work experience on their CVs.