Finding employment in Australia today is tough. Now that we have that as a common understanding, here are some pointers that will hopefully make it easier for you to get that first job as an expat fresh off the boat.

First you need to understanding the current employment market:

Although the Aussie economy in general is booming and unemployment is at an all time low (4.3% is the lowest in 30yrs - source: ABS), there are some negatives to consider. 

• we are heading for a general election some time towards the end of this year, 
• the share market is shaky at best spoiling investor confidence, 
• crude oil price is hitting all time highs, 
• and everyone is waiting for our property bubble to pop or at least fizzle after the 5th consecutive rise since the 2004 election. 

These factors make businesses think carefully about expanding their workforce right now. Furthermore, much of the economic boom is commodities based. So Western Australia (Perth) is showing great growth which skews to overall picture. This translates to employment opportunities for specific cities in the following order: Sydney is still the biggest market, Brisbane 2rd, then Perth, Melbourne 4th, then Adelaide etc.

Because of the low unemployment, businesses are finding it harder to get good people on board, so hold on to their existing workforce rather than re-employ which again minimizes your employment opportunities.

Recruitment agencies have very strong relationships with businesses, so very few positions are filled by any other channels (so the reality of applying for a professional position that is advertised by a large company gives you close to no chance in actually securing the position). These same recruitment agencies are ruthless in their selection criteria to get good candidates on board – you are as good as your last placement – to maintain good relations with the businesses they are supplying. I found their interviews more daunting than the actual business interviews.

Each agency will want your resume in their specific format – which will vary to some degree from their competitors, so expect to have your resume in 10 different formats if that’s what it takes to get a job. The keyword search criteria differs from recruiter to recruiter, from position to position. The best way round this is to change your resume to meet the exact criteria mentioned in the job advertisement. The agencies will expect you to be available on reasonable short notice to attend interviews with businesses – because if you’re not, some other candidate will be.

After all this, the preference for most employers is a personal reference from a current employee or past employee. 

It’s not all doom and gloom:

If you’re good at what you do, someone will grab you.

If you spend the time and effort playing the employment game, you will eventually learn the ropes to tailor your resume and your interview persona to meet the requirements sought.

If you know anybody here that is employed in your industry of choice, get them to spread the word for you…how many degrees of separation?

There are expat recruiters who have made a living out of finding employment for fellow expats. 

Some tips:

Tailor your resume for the jobs you really want. It is worth it. Spend the time and the reward will come.

Get your resume down to the bare bones. Answer all the questions they want answered and nothing more. You can always elaborate in an interview if it is required. We all want to tell them all the good stuff about ourselves, but at the end of the day all they want is someone to do the job at hand.

When applying for a job, don’t mention that you are a foreigner…they will pick that up soon enough. If you already have residency or a working visa, when asked if you have the right to work in Australia, just say yes. 

Come over here (as to Australia) and be prepared to spend some time meeting recruiters. Impress them and you are half way there. Sitting in a foreign country saying you will come over shows little commitment.

Have a good cover letter for your resume that basically repeats (obviously not verbatim) what they have specified in their quest for a perfect candidate 

Be prepared to start over, or at least a couple of steps back in your career. Once you’ve had one job in Australia, it is easy to move to a second. It is finding that first job that is the killer.

Get yourself a free Australian email account and have all correspondence sent to and from it.

I hope this helps and good luck.
Mark