Urgently looking for work

[Kerriandcarl]

Hi I have been here 3 months now and I still haven't managed to find a job. I have applied for at least 3 jobs a day and I have so far only managed to get 2 interviews and both jobs seemed to be commission based!

in the uk I worked in a high school as examinations manager and school trips risk assessor. I have also worked as a debt management advisor. I have applied for office work, receptionist jobs, admin and even aldi but I don't seem to here back from anyone. I ideally want something part time to work around my daughter. If anyone knows of anywhere please let me know.. Thank you x x

[NicF]

If you are applying for three jobs a day you aren't putting enough effort in to your applications. Sorry, sounds harsh but you will be going up against people who have spent a whole day or more writing an application for that particular job. I know when I applied for the job I have I put in about 10 hours work on my application, including getting my OH to read over it and comment.

 

If a job has selection criteria it is essential that you address them directly in your application in quite some detail. This can be done as part of your letter or as a seperate document included with the application (what is best will depend on how you are applying). I would also suggest rewriting your CV for each job to emphasise the things you have done that fit with what the job is looking for. Only apply for jobs that you are a good fit for otherwise you are wasting time and effort on unnecessary applications (although feel free to send a generic CV and letter for these jobs 'just in case'). It's also fairly normal here to have quite long and detailed CVs, so if your CV is two pages you might want to put a bit more detail in it.

 

Don't be scared to accept temp, casual or fixed term contract work as these can often get you a foot in the door and lead to other things. Try Entree for temp work. Have a look at the jobs sections for all three Univeristies - I'm pretty sure all three have some admin type jobs at the moment. Part time work in particular is hard to come by so you may need to go full time to start with then see if you can negotiate your hours down. I started full time but now work 4 days a week. Given your background you could try approaching SACE board or schools directly and see if they have anything suitable. My OH used to work for NCS Pearson in IT in the exams area and got his first job here by phoning SACE and saying I'm here in Australia can we talk.

 

Finally, don't get too stressed about it. Three months is not that long to be looking for work (although I know it feels like a lifetime). It's fairly normal not to here back about jobs you have not been successful for so don't take it personally. It's also fairly normal for places to take a few weeks to get back to you when you have been successful. Good luck.

[NicF]

There is currently an Exams and Results Advisor advertised on the UniSA website. This sounds like it might be ideal for you. I would start by phoning the contact on the advert to find out more info. It may be that there is someone already doing the job and they would be likely to get the position, but if there isn't anyone at the moment you would be in with a good chance if you wrote a good application.

[lorluc]

I think its pretty tough out there in the job market atm

 

My daughter has applied for countless of jobs and these are Barista/cafe/bar work jobs and is hearing nothing. She has the experience from here in Australia, plus working overseas for the past year in the UK. She has been looking and applying for over a month now.

 

If you are looking for part time office work, i strongly suggest you get some form of book-keeping/financial knowledge. Alot of part time office work want you to have experience in all areas of admin. I found this when i came over 10 years ago, so i went to college part-time and learned MYOB. Knowing MYOB is what got me my job 7 years ago.

[Kerriandcarl]

A lot of jobs advertised seem to be through seek or indeed which only ask you to upload your Cv and cover letter which I spent plenty of time in getting right and also got my resume looked at too. I applied for an exams manager job at both flinders and Adelaide uni and worked hard on the application. I sent it back to my aunty who works in a uni to read over too, I couldn't of matched my application any closer to the job description and I didn't obtain an interview for either. I have done the same for two colleges too but again was unsuccessful. I have singed up with two recruitment agencies to get some casual temp work and they haven't managed to find me anything. I'll keep trying it's just getting me frustrated as I'm not sure what else I can do! And I am going slightly crazy, I am not used to not working. it was a novelty at first but now I'm getting bored and it gives me too much time to over think everything! X x

[kadina]

It's not unusual unfortunately to get no response whatsoever I previously worked here in aged care and got all my qualifications here I returned to the uk then on coming back I applied for the best part of a year trying to get back into it I finally did and realise how tough it is....I agree you should phone people initially on applications I've done that before sometimes you'd be wasting your time applying in the first place and by phoning you can guage this.....it's getting to that time of year where a lot of companies won't take anyone on until the new year so pull out all the stops which I'm sure you are.....with any applications you've made just keep hassling them believe me you have nothing to lose in keep ringing up get a name and keep contacting them weekly good luck

 

 

 

 

QUOTE=Kerriandcarl;322196]A lot of jobs advertised seem to be through seek or indeed which only ask you to upload your Cv and cover letter which I spent plenty of time in getting right and also got my resume looked at too. I applied for an exams manager job at both flinders and Adelaide uni and worked hard on the application. I sent it back to my aunty who works in a uni to read over too, I couldn't of matched my application any closer to the job description and I didn't obtain an interview for either. I have done the same for two colleges too but again was unsuccessful. I have singed up with two recruitment agencies to get some casual temp work and they haven't managed to find me anything. I'll keep trying it's just getting me frustrated as I'm not sure what else I can do! And I am going slightly crazy, I am not used to not working. it was a novelty at first but now I'm getting bored and it gives me too much time to over think everything! X x