Admin Work In Adelaide

[Guest nickyblue]

Hello

I just wanted to write a positive note about how I have found the job market here. Before moving to Adelaide I worked in Hospitality Administration in London - I loved this role but knew moving here the likelihood of me finding something similar would be slim. So I decided to temp for a while to get me on my feet. I set up an interview with Hays in the uk and they organised a meeting for me in their Adelaide office 3 days after I arrived! 2 days after that interview I was in my first temp job and temped successfully through Hays on and off for 18 months!

The up side to this is that I was working, earning (the money was not bad at all!) and I was gaining experience in the Australian job market and I got invaluable Australian based referees! The down side was that I couldn't plan too far in advance due to not being 100% sure that I would have work from one month to the next! The financial crisis has not affected my work in fact I have probably had better assignments since the crisis started!

About 3 months ago my partner (who is an aussie) and I realised how much we loved Adelaide! So it was time for me to start looking for permanent work! Using Seek.com.au I made a start! I heard nothing in the first couple of months but then this month I had three interviews on the same day and got offered two of the three jobs! Today I have accepted an offer for one of those and I am really excited - its even in the hospitality field!

I know it is very daunting moving without a job but if you have any admin skills I can recommend temping! There are full time permanent jobs out there and if you are struggling I suggest getting someone to look at your cv and covering letter style as I have found this to be key to getting in the door - what works in UK doesn't always work here!

Also thought I'd add my recommendations for recruitment/temp agencies as I have now had dealings with a fair few of them (These are of course just my opinions - everyone’s experiences are different!):GEEK:

Hays - Great for temping if you are an admin person ask to speak to Nicole or Kylie in Office Support! Always really nice and very helpful! Only problem I found was that they were desp for me to keep temping as I always got such good feedback so they weren't quick at putting me forward for perm. work.

Corus Recruitment -Cant speak highly enough about them, they got me my new job but more than that they treated me so well - not just like 'another candidate' but took the time to call and email me with constant updates and information! Helen was my consultant - Lovely!

ExtraStaff - Temping - found them a bit flaky and they did not have constant work for me. Recruitment - the jobs they had were good but they didn't seem to get the better paying jobs.

Manpower - MY advice - Avoid them like the Plague!!!! I had nothing but trouble with them, they never called when they said they would and then when I called they would fob me off and make me feel bad for taking up their time!

I hope this helps anyone in Admin looking to make the move or even just as a positive tale of the working world over here!

Good luck to all looking for work!

nic:wubclub:

xx

[Guest ReadyPenny]

Congratulations on the job Nic, well done! Posts like this one are very encouraging to those still in the UK, particularly in light of all the recent doom and gloom. Like you say, jobs ARE out there, they may not be exactly what you want initially, but you have to get a foot in the door.

 

Great post - enjoy your new job!!

 

Mandy

[Diane]

Was browsing the job ads and came across this one if anyone in the NE suburbs is looking for something part time just during term times:

 

http://www.seek.com.au/users/apply/index.ascx?Sequence=1&PageNumber=1&jobid=15869968

 

or there's this one that just wants someone during school hours

 

http://www.seek.com.au/job/account-admin-clerk/adelaide/15806273/18/1/

 

And of course...there's this one for someone very special...

 

http://www.seek.com.au/job/santa-claus-christmas-casuals/adelaide/15849024/51/1/ (I'm trying to grow my beard as we speak...@)

 

Diane

[Guest craigf]

Hi Nic,

 

Thank you so much for this information. I have been here for 4 weeks and having just moved into a long term rental and getting the kids into school I am now in a position to look for work. I have been applying for jobs and so far been unsuccessful. However, my husband has redone my CV and Cover letter (which makes me look amazing!!) and today I have been applying for everything so hopefully I'll hear something soon.

 

I have applied to Hays but I can't remember if it was for a job or for temp work. That's a good idea to temp for a while (i've never done that before) to get to know the market out there. I think if I don't hear from Hays by Monday I will phone them and see what they say.

 

Thanks again, it's people like you who keep us positive.

 

Amanda (Craig's wife)

[Guest familygood]

Thanks very much for this. We will be looking for admin type work when we arrive as I doubt I will get anything as specialised as I do here straight away. Temping is always a great way to get your foot in and also to meet loads of new people! Great to hear there is so much work and we don't need to worry. Makes things feel a lot easier!

[Guest Emu]

Thank you for your feedback and details. Good luck for the new job.

[Guest craigf]

I phoned Hays this morning and they invited me in to get registered today at 12.30p.m. I met a lovely lady (Yvonne) who was originally from Glasgow and has been here for 4 years. She put my mind at ease right away and assured me I would get work.

She has already put me forward for a temp post so here's hoping.

 

Thanks again for this positive attitude.

Amanda

[Guest MarkIngram]

have you got the persons email at Hays? I'm applying for jobs left, right and centre...but would certainly consider the temping route to begin with until the right job came along.

 

I've been fortunate enough to have been invited along to speak to a couple of companies...no idea if there is a job in it for me...but it's a good chance to get myself known in the industry I would like to work in full time (print).

 

Mark

[Guest June Pixie]

Thanks for this post - This will be exactly what I will be doing when we arrive. I will use Hays as I did some temp work for them in the UK - I really love doing temp work as it never gets boring although at the time I did need stability as my kids were younger and had ever changing work hours. However, the kids are older now so I can temp in Adelaide without worrying about them so much.

 

Can I ask is it worth me doing any additional qualifications that will be recognised in Australia? I look to do some night courses in the next year in the UK, mostly computer based refreshers and wondered if there are any qualifications which are the same? Nothing too high flying - Just spreadsheets, CLAIT etc.

 

Many thanks.

[Diane]

Usual packages used out here are the main Microsoft Office ones - Word, Excel, Access, Publisher, Powerpoint and Outlook, so if you already know all those, the only other thing that seems to help getting temp work is the bookkeeping package they use out here which is called MYOB (Mind Your Own Business) - don't know if you can do a course on this in the UK, but if not, check out the WEA Courses when you get here http://www.wea-sa.com.au/search_results.php

[Guest nickyblue]

Hello again

 

I agree with Diane if you can do a MYOB course it would boast your wages however a lot of the places I've temped have used a wide range of programes so my biggest suggestion is to have a good basic understanding of Myob and you can prob pick the rest up along the way (thats what I did and it wasn't too hard) You can download a test drive of the Myob package at their website this will let you have a little play around with the software so it's not copletely alien.

 

As for doing courses before you come have a look at the tafe course offered here Cert 3 and 4 in office administration I think they are called (if your not familiar with tafe it's a bit like the old school polytechnic). Look at the skills you would learn doing these courses and then taylor any further study to meet these standards. A lot of companies will ask if you have done or are willing to do your tafe certs (or so I have found) so what I did was draw up a spreadsheet comparing what was offered on the cert 4 and where my study and experience has covered those areas. That way when an employer asked for these qualifications in their ad I attached this spreadsheet to my application showing I could do everything they wanted. This seemed to help because they don't have (or understand) things like CLAIT so it's best to spell it out!

 

Hope that helps

nic

[Guest familygood]

Great advice thanks!

[Guest JMRA4]

Thanks for this ... good to know as I will be looking for Admin work if and when we arrive in Adelaide.