Tips for finding permanent job within 6 weeks
My Job-Seeking Story In Sydney

I have come to Sydney for three months as a skilled migrant. It looks like I have successfully passed the probation period for Australian life. I want to share some of my experience, with the hope to give you some practical ideas.

I got my current permanent job 6 weeks after coming to Australia. It is the same functional job as what I did in China. Jobs-seeking is never an easy thing for first time Australian job seeker, even if you are born local. I consider myself having average-above luck in job-hunting. Here are some tips which I used and may help some of you as well.

1. Attitude! Attitude! Active Attitude Decides Everything

Attitude makes big difference, and actual makes the whole difference. Always remind yourself “Never give up” and “God help those who help themselves”.

I have received many rejection letters for my applications from employment agencies as well as hiring companies before I found my current job. In the first month, there was almost no hope to get chance for interview. Everyday, when I browse the e-mail, there were always some batch letters informing me “your qualification is good, but we found some applicants more specific to this position”. For a moment, I felt quite bad. I knew some of the application even did not pass through the agency secretaries. Those secretaries screened most of the applications out before they pass to some consultants. Thus I have now a list of agencies that had rejected me and I will never use them again for my career in Australia. I do not understand why my working background did not fit their job. I know that local experience is important, but without first job, where could I get local experience? I sometimes became a little bit angry with these companies and agencies that refused my application. I have done the job matching, and I know I could do those positions very well. Thus I build up self-confidence again, and did not give up, although occasionally asking myself “why I come to Australia for those rejections after giving up my comfortable job and well-paid salary in China”

In the new environment, the best policy is to take any job you could find, and keep yourself busy. It is much easier to find a horse when you are riding a horse. So take any casual job you could find, even if it is labour work. I got three causal labour jobs offers, but did not take any of them, as I got my permanent offer before I began the casual job.

If you have active attitude, you have already got a permanent well-paid job, and do not need to read the following.

2. AMES Is Of Great Help In Job Seeking

AMES stands for Adult Migrant English Service. This is more like a free job-seeking skill enhancement seminar sponsored by Australian Education Department. I enrolled and joined an AMES at Burwood two weeks after landing in Sydney. There were 22 classmates of different working backgrounds from different countries.

As a Chinese, I felt the most advanced skills learned there is how to make telephone interviewing. After each job application, we should always make a follow-up call if a telephone number is provided. This is a chance to stand out from the rest of applicants as you know 90% of application letters are not read. So when you called the recruiter, normally they will look up your application and have a read to show their professionalism and courtesy. In such case, your phone strategy and skills will enhance your positive images on the agent.