Warning for Potential Job Seeking Arrivals

[yoda22]

Please read if considering the move

 

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=17120

 

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2409966

 

 

Not being negative just helpful to some I hope.

Come but come with caution and prepared.

 

Thanks for your time

[deryans]

I despair at families who ignore this, i does seem that people swallow the whole "life down under" as being some idyllic solution to all their aspirations, as my mother is fond of saying, you simply can't eat the sun, education and employment are significant factors in the quality of life, and the accessibility of these in Europe far outweighs any accessibility in Oz, adelaide is a closed market for jobs, and if you move here with any experience, expect to end up working for someone with a fraction of your experience.

 

Adelaide is backward for a reason, 2nd rate people doing 3rd rate jobs with 4th rate performance, it's so obvious that the place is dying, and the newcomer is going to pay.

[aliogilvie]

Adelaide is backward for a reason, 2nd rate people doing 3rd rate jobs with 4th rate performance, it's so obvious that the place is dying, and the newcomer is going to pay.

 

Whilst some people clearly do struggle with finding work, this is not the case for everyone. It is important people know the balanced view and not just the bitter, negative side which can be terrifying for those who have already committed to the move.

 

My husband and I both found work within a month of arriving, he switched careers completely (from finance to travel) which was exactly as desired. This year I decided to leave the IT company I had been with since arriving and switch back to higher education - it took a lot of determination and many, many applications but I got there.

 

We are definitely not 2nd rate people doing 3rd rate jobs. Work is there, but it won't be handed to you on a plate and some people struggle and get disillusioned and then seem to love scare mongering on here.

[deryans]

bitter and negative ? realistic and honest i'd say is more accurate, adelaide is a joke for any professional trying to make it happen, the place is just so backward and introspective it's upsetting to see such potential squandered by such 2nd rate people ( I refer to the local incumbents, and not you ), they are just honestly some of the worst people I have experienced on this planet , my family is worth more than that place, so we left........

 

Whilst some people clearly do struggle with finding work, this is not the case for everyone. It is important people know the balanced view and not just the bitter, negative side which can be terrifying for those who have already committed to the move.

 

My husband and I both found work within a month of arriving, he switched careers completely (from finance to travel) which was exactly as desired. This year I decided to leave the IT company I had been with since arriving and switch back to higher education - it took a lot of determination and many, many applications but I got there.

 

We are definitely not 2nd rate people doing 3rd rate jobs. Work is there, but it won't be handed to you on a plate and some people struggle and get disillusioned and then seem to love scare mongering on here.

[llessur]

deryans,

 

I don't post here very much but I do check in from time to time and felt I needed to add that my experience has been totally different from yours.

 

The other half and I arrived in 2012, took a few months out to travel Australia (expensive but the best decision we've ever made) and returned to Adelaide in November 2012. By January we were both in full-time employment in the industries in which we wished to work (yes, it took a couple of months to get this sorted out but the Adelaide job market slows considerably at Christmas and doesn't really pick back up again until late Jan/Feb - it is certainly useful for future migrants to bear this in mind).

 

The employment we have gained (we're professionals but in not particularly specialist areas, won't go into the boring details) is in line with the employment we held in the UK, with arguably better prospects and is better paid. One caveat is that we've both started on short-term (i.e. 1 year minimum) contracts but after 2 years are both due to be made permanent in the near future. Short-term contracts are certainly more common here than I had experienced back in the UK - but then I hadn't applied for a job in several years before I left the UK so that might be commonplace over there too. A lot of the time they lead to permanent roles for the right people.

 

Interestingly, in my OH's role, she deals a lot with recruitment and has seen many CVs from new migrants cross her desk. She's often surprised at the poor quality of the applications, the very UK-centric wording (ie .co.uk email addresses) and the fact that many CVs seem to have been written as a 'one size fits all' version and then mailed out in bulk without being specifically tailored for the job in question.

 

It is unfair to say that Adelaide is going backwards when, since my first visit in 2010 it has clearly moved forward very quickly in a multitude of ways and is much more of a modern, vibrant city than it was 5 years ago.

 

But, Adelaide is a small city - for many people the career options will simply not rival those offered by Sydney and Melbourne - it depends on your industry. Also, from experience Adelaide employers do seem to have quite high expectations when recruiting for even the most entry-level roles - CVs are expected to be much more detailed than the UK (i.e. 4-5 pages is considered the norm - also useful info for new migrants) and a high level of referencing is undertaken for new employees. However, I don't see this particularly as 'backward' - just common sense. Most fellow employees I have met since arriving have been hard-working, dedicated and efficient - the work ethic is much higher than I had encountered back in the UK. The aforementioned recruitment policies obviously can't be working too badly.

 

Moving to a new city is always going to result in a better career experience for some people than others. Some of it is down to luck, some down to willingness to change and accept local practices, some down to the availability of suitable work in the local economy and some down to the quality of job applications in relation to the role they are applying for.

 

My OH and I knew of the limitations of Adelaide's job market in comparison to the city we left in the UK (buoyed by its proximity to London) and were fully expecting to take a step down or have to move industries. However, we have both ended up in jobs that we like, that pay well and fit in with our intended career paths. We both put in a huge amount of effort into our job applications, they were well-tailored to the jobs to which we were applying and we did a lot of research into the styles of CV and applications that Adelaide-based employers would expect.

 

I wouldn't class Adelaide as 'moving backward' based on one person/family's experience of job hunting here. It's a small city, it has a much less diverse range of industries than a larger city such as Sydney or Melbourne and employers quite rightly have high expectations. To any new migrant I would advise that if you come here, are aware of the range of industries which exist in Adelaide, accept roles are often initially offered on a short-term contract basis prior to being made permanent, research carefully what local employers expect from a job application, spend a lot of time tailoring your applications for each role you apply for and are willing to put in a couple of months of intense job hunting before you find suitable work then you will be just fine.

Edited June 1, 2015 by llessur

[samandcraig]

We are a family of four, we have been here for 9 weeks, my husband found work in our second week here and I have an interview tomorrow, we live in a lovely house and so far we love Adelaide.

[snifter]

We are a family of four, we have been here for 9 weeks, my husband found work in our second week here and I have an interview tomorrow, we live in a lovely house and so far we love Adelaide.

 

Congrats on him finding a job and good luck for you in your interview tomorrow

[snifter]

@yoda22

 

Re the first link, the money factor re the visas is nothing new. Its long been discussed and I was well aware of it in the years before we moved here. So nothing really new there. Same for how long it can take to find a job or something permanent. Those sorts of things are well documented online if people do their research. Its been discussed on here in the past too so its not anything new to my eyes although for some would be migrants or newer arrivals to the forum perhaps it is.

 

Re the second link, (speaking as a mod here) we generally don't allow links to other forums but I am happy to leave this to stand to this discussion. Please check in future re other forum links before posting Thanks.

 

Non mod me now It was interesting to note that some of the comments were along the lines of people left because of the cold winters and 40C summer heat. Not primarily because of the economy or they couldn't find a job. Also there was mention of Aussies in other states slating Adelaide and all that. And the old chestnut of Adelaide being boring and like a country town. Again, nothing new to my eyes or ears. And someone expressed the view they would take their chances in Adelaide before GC.

 

I think any would be migrant is well advised to research very carefully the areas of Australia they are interested in and weigh up the results of their research carefully before they submit an EOI for a visa application. The other thing I always try to point out to people applying for SA is that the whole of SA is classed as regional and that often many of the trades and employment options for teachers, nursing and other things are not in Adelaide itself but in the towns and outlying areas. People often fall in to focusing solely on Adelaide and that can be a bit of an eye opener when you get here and find jobs to be filled are out in the sticks or 4 hours north in a town. And that even some locals, newly qualified or not are going doing a year or two in the country somewhere to gain that experience etc before coming back to Adelaide to try to job market here. SA is a big state but most don't look past Adelaide for various reasons, mainly I think as they want a place with more facilities, choices and things on offer than a town 5 hour drive away with a population of 26,000 or so. I know of a few people who moved to country towns to work and have been very happy there, admittedly they are Aussies and understand the vasteness of Aus and are not daunted by it. They also accepted that to get work it was a course they should take for a couple of years.

[KennyKen]

Some people are lucky and some are not, people who walk into jobs straight away here have this warped sense of reality. I was job searching everyday for 4 months before I got a sniff at anything! Ever since that experience I've been very cautious. I do love adelaide tho. I've met some really good people and feel that I'm starting to settle.

[samandcraig]

Some people are lucky and some are not, people who walk into jobs straight away here have this warped sense of reality. I was job searching everyday for 4 months before I got a sniff at anything! Ever since that experience I've been very cautious. I do love adelaide tho. I've met some really good people and feel that I'm starting to settle.

 

i can guarentee I don't have a warped sense of reality! Don't really understand why you would make that comment!?

[KennyKen]

I wasn't implying you. I was generalising some of the people I've met.

[Rabeah]

We've got a say: "migration will cost you 2 years of your professional development!"

The first 2 years are the hardest no matter where to somebody emigrates. Nothing could be more true for hubby and me.

Struggled the 1st 2 years but we have pulled through, determined and passionate about to stay here and are now back professionally where we used to be.

But honestly I should say that we both come from a low-pay country in Europe and we're not from Britain where it's possible and more likely to earn good money and migrants from the UK may be less likely to accept low wages/entry level jobs in the first instance?

[Rabeah]

Forgot to add: migration is not for everybody and some people are better off in their country of origin. The only thing I know: we would have never gone to Sydney/NSW where cost of living/accommodation are skyrocketing. But that's just us...

[Zeebeth]

Hubby and I are moving to Adelaide in September and we have done lots of research. It is apparent that the job market in Adelaide is no where near as strong as the job market in either Melbourne or Sydney, however there are still plenty of new jobs appearing each week. We were originally considering moving to Melbourne but when we visited in March we decided we didn't like the feel of Melbourne, it was too busy, the traffic was manic and the suburbs weren't what we were looking for. However when we visited Adelaide it was the lifestyle we were looking for, a much smaller city, slower paced, less traffic and the suburbs are the sort we want. We decided in the end we would rather have a bit more trouble getting a job and have the lifestyle we want than walk straight into a job and end up hating where we live.

 

In regards to the job front I would say you need to do your research properly, you need to look at the market compare the wages and talk to different agencies. We have already contacted a number of recruitment agencies and have been as productive as we can. The agencies are confident we should get jobs within the first month and are likely to even have interviews within a few days of landing but it is likely to be a temp job that could turn perm. We are also planning to look on Seek once a week from the end of June in case something pops up that is a perfect suit. My impression is that if you are proactive, put the effort in every day and are perhaps willing to compromise initially you will get a job. It is the same in the UK if you say you are looking for a job but just look once a month at recruitment sites and don't go "knocking on doors" you won't get a job but if you put your all into it you will.

 

It is good to get realistic reviews from people however it is also worth remembering a lot of people won't comment on things unless they want to complain!

[JoeandCarrie]

Quite right, you have to be actively looking I've mentioned before nothing will ever be given to you! Roll your sleeves up and prepare for a rough couple of months it will be worth it in the end!

[samandcraig]

Yes you definetly have to be very realistic, even though my husband has a job it's isn't a great wage, although saying that we are able to afford a lovely house on that wage, we have chosen to live in seaford, which is further south but a lot more affordable! It's just making things work for you, don't get me wrong a few of the people I've met are struggling to get work, but they were aware of the fact the they may struggle before they came and are applying for everything that's coming up! It does also depend on where you are moving from, we are from a small town in the north of England so the opportunities there are probably the same if not less than here!

[llessur]

Hubby and I are moving to Adelaide in September...

 

Best of luck with everything Seebeth, you seem to have done your research and I'm sure everything will work out for you!

 

Adelaide's a great place to live - we were also looking to move to Melbourne originally but, as much as we love it there, we were turned off by house prices. We've just bought our first place - a 3 bed bungalow on a 600m block a stone's throw from the city (West Croydon). In Melbourne we'd have been living a 40 minute commute from the city to get something comparable - here our commute's 7 minutes by train or 15 mins by bike. Adelaide's moved on leaps and bounds in the last 5 years so not only does it have the convenience of being a small city, there's a growing vibrancy about the place (especially in the City) - lots of new bars and restaurants have opened up, there's a thriving food truck scene, the Oval's simply magnificent (just make sure you end up as Crows supporters, don't go for the other lot ) and there's loads of new building work underway - which is always a good sign.

 

You are right about the need to put in the effort to find work - it really is a full-time job (which has a certain irony about it). I'm not sure what line of work you are in but recruitment agencies worked wonders for us - a lot of jobs at all levels are advertised through agencies. Plus, many of these short-term roles will lead to permanent work for the right people. Even if they don't, I found that having even a small amount of Oz-based work and a corresponding referee on my CV worked wonders for opening up future roles. It might take a year or two to get back to exactly where you want to be but it'll happen if you put the effort in.

 

Definitely take a look into CV styles and speak to some recruitment agents about what employers expect. We found that the old 2-page UK style CV is much too short for many Adelaide employers and they expect an old-school/US style 4 pager that goes into more detail about previous roles. Things may have changed in the last few years though so best get some up-to-date advice on that one.

 

Good luck with the move!

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

deryans,

 

I don't post here very much but I do check in from time to time and felt I needed to add that my experience has been totally different from yours.

 

The other half and I arrived in 2012, took a few months out to travel Australia (expensive but the best decision we've ever made) and returned to Adelaide in November 2012. By January we were both in full-time employment in the industries in which we wished to work (yes, it took a couple of months to get this sorted out but the Adelaide job market slows considerably at Christmas and doesn't really pick back up again until late Jan/Feb - it is certainly useful for future migrants to bear this in mind).

 

The employment we have gained (we're professionals but in not particularly specialist areas, won't go into the boring details) is in line with the employment we held in the UK, with arguably better prospects and is better paid. One caveat is that we've both started on short-term (i.e. 1 year minimum) contracts but after 2 years are both due to be made permanent in the near future. Short-term contracts are certainly more common here than I had experienced back in the UK - but then I hadn't applied for a job in several years before I left the UK so that might be commonplace over there too. A lot of the time they lead to permanent roles for the right people.

 

Interestingly, in my OH's role, she deals a lot with recruitment and has seen many CVs from new migrants cross her desk. She's often surprised at the poor quality of the applications, the very UK-centric wording (ie .co.uk email addresses) and the fact that many CVs seem to have been written as a 'one size fits all' version and then mailed out in bulk without being specifically tailored for the job in question.

 

It is unfair to say that Adelaide is going backwards when, since my first visit in 2010 it has clearly moved forward very quickly in a multitude of ways and is much more of a modern, vibrant city than it was 5 years ago.

 

But, Adelaide is a small city - for many people the career options will simply not rival those offered by Sydney and Melbourne - it depends on your industry. Also, from experience Adelaide employers do seem to have quite high expectations when recruiting for even the most entry-level roles - CVs are expected to be much more detailed than the UK (i.e. 4-5 pages is considered the norm - also useful info for new migrants) and a high level of referencing is undertaken for new employees. However, I don't see this particularly as 'backward' - just common sense. Most fellow employees I have met since arriving have been hard-working, dedicated and efficient - the work ethic is much higher than I had encountered back in the UK. The aforementioned recruitment policies obviously can't be working too badly.

 

Moving to a new city is always going to result in a better career experience for some people than others. Some of it is down to luck, some down to willingness to change and accept local practices, some down to the availability of suitable work in the local economy and some down to the quality of job applications in relation to the role they are applying for.

 

My OH and I knew of the limitations of Adelaide's job market in comparison to the city we left in the UK (buoyed by its proximity to London) and were fully expecting to take a step down or have to move industries. However, we have both ended up in jobs that we like, that pay well and fit in with our intended career paths. We both put in a huge amount of effort into our job applications, they were well-tailored to the jobs to which we were applying and we did a lot of research into the styles of CV and applications that Adelaide-based employers would expect.

 

I wouldn't class Adelaide as 'moving backward' based on one person/family's experience of job hunting here. It's a small city, it has a much less diverse range of industries than a larger city such as Sydney or Melbourne and employers quite rightly have high expectations. To any new migrant I would advise that if you come here, are aware of the range of industries which exist in Adelaide, accept roles are often initially offered on a short-term contract basis prior to being made permanent, research carefully what local employers expect from a job application, spend a lot of time tailoring your applications for each role you apply for and are willing to put in a couple of months of intense job hunting before you find suitable work then you will be just fine.

 

What a really well balanced reply. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences. It's so important.

 

Observers will read about the experiences and opinions delivered by forum members and alarmist viewpoints are often ignored with members choosing not to respond. I referred to the "silent majority" in another thread. These silent people are the ones who don't respond even though their move here hasn't been anything like the stories or opinions of other members. These are the ones who have overcome the hurdles and made a life out here. These are the majority and their success and happiness in this new land seems to get drowned out by the negativity and perceptions of another viewpoint. Just because a fringe viewpoint is repeated frequently and loudly doesn't make it fact. To all those who have settled and are happy with their lives...well done. It's not easy making the move, and hearing of doom and gloom from people who didn't settle here serves no purpose whatsoever. It's much more important to put your effort into living and making a go of it here.

The happy and successful families are in the majority....it's a good thing to remember that.

[Lazy Cow]

Some people are lucky and some are not, people who walk into jobs straight away here have this warped sense of reality.

 

I actually get this, the 'warped sense of reality'.

 

It does seem sometimes that people who arrive, and get a job quickly - or had one for when they arrive - then state that if they can do it, anyone can.

 

I think luck can play a big part in finding work. That, persistence, expectation, and addressing the difference between the job markets here and wherever the person has come from.

 

And this is in no way aimed at samandcraig lol! (Hope your interview went well, btw )

 

LC

[samandcraig]

We must be the lucky ones.....and it did thanks, hopefully luck will shine through again

[deryans]

Whilst some people clearly do struggle with finding work, this is not the case for everyone. It is important people know the balanced view and not just the bitter, negative side which can be terrifying for those who have already committed to the move.

 

My husband and I both found work within a month of arriving, he switched careers completely (from finance to travel) which was exactly as desired. This year I decided to leave the IT company I had been with since arriving and switch back to higher education - it took a lot of determination and many, many applications but I got there.

 

We are definitely not 2nd rate people doing 3rd rate jobs. Work is there, but it won't be handed to you on a plate and some people struggle and get disillusioned and then seem to love scare mongering on here.

 

 

not just me though : http://indaily.com.au/business/2015/06/12/sas-inertia-in-face-of-economic-change/

 

Most if not all of the "senior" executives I have met and worked with display this "unable to make a decision" trait, they are either scared, inexperienced or just not up to it, one of my good colleagues who is very very senior in the state confided that it's true, they just can't get rid, nor motivate , nor make any decisions.

 

My reference to 3rd rate is not directed at you, it is directed at the same people Leading South Australian economist Michael O’Neil refers to.

 

 

[deryans]

We must be the lucky ones.....and it did thanks, hopefully luck will shine through again

 

lucky as in scoring a first class cabin on the titanic after paying standard fare ?

[samandcraig]

Maybe living a fulfilled life means something completely different to you? To me and my family we are living our dream, that may not be yours, but it is ours! And what you want from life may not be what the next person wants! If I'm on the titanic all I can say is its a beautiful place to say goodbye

[Toni]

I don't think there is a clear answer to whether people will find a job or not. I am one of those people that believes that when one door closes another one opens. It's worked for me and my family all our lives and we have done ok out of it. Some people though want all the planets to be aligned and that is ok for those people because that is what they choose and they probably would be stressed any other way. A lot of the news out there for South Australia's job front isn't looking rosey that's for sure but there does seem to be a "rabbit" pulled out of a hat somewhere. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If anyone moves anywhere looking for a fullproof ironclad guarantee that it will work out then there your probably going to be disappointed. If you move thinking I have to give it a go and it doesn't - at least you have tried.

 

For those that have moved back because it wasn't what you expected, at least you gave it a try. If you hadn't then you may still be thinking "what if".

[samandcraig]

I don't think there is a clear answer to whether people will find a job or not. I am one of those people that believes that when one door closes another one opens. It's worked for me and my family all our lives and we have done ok out of it. Some people though want all the planets to be aligned and that is ok for those people because that is what they choose and they probably would be stressed any other way. A lot of the news out there for South Australia's job front isn't looking rosey that's for sure but there does seem to be a "rabbit" pulled out of a hat somewhere. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If anyone moves anywhere looking for a fullproof ironclad guarantee that it will work out then there your probably going to be disappointed. If you move thinking I have to give it a go and it doesn't - at least you have tried.

 

For those that have moved back because it wasn't what you expected, at least you gave it a try. If you hadn't then you may still be thinking "what if".

 

Completely agree...