Since 1945 more than six million people from across the world have come to Australia to live. Today, more than 20 per cent of Australians are foreign born and more than 40 per cent are of mixed cultural origin.

Wednesday 18 January 2012

The job hunt...

So settling in nicely so far, I will however, need to find a job...errggghh.

I hit the websites, and papers hard.

There was no real shortage of jobs, however, newly arrived off the boat, I was somewhat limited with what I can do (And still am)

In Wales I was a chef, but had a break from it before leaving for Oz, (Working in Argos would you believe)

I wanted to go and try something new, but as time went on I found myself thinking of going back to it. I had the experience and needed a job. So I went ahead and applied for a job at the Royal Canberra Golf Club. (A verrrrry posh place) I got the job...not cooking however. Washing the dishes.

I went for my first shift, and promptly decided.....nope....this is not for me. Back to the job sites.

It's worth mentioning that when you do arrive here, you're not entitled to claim any public funds (quite rightly so) My visa (Partner Migrant Temporary) means that I can live and work unrestricted in Australia, and enter and leave as I please. However, it means that I am only a temporary resident for the first two years, so I'm not entitled to government funds (And a lot of other things like loans etc which is poop)

If you want to take a look at jobs out here, the best site (In my opinion) is http://www.seek.com/

Another tip is nobody in Australia calls it a C.V.

Avoid putting this in big letters at the top of the page if you can, you'll stand out like a sore thumb. Businesses use the term Resumé, and so should you :)

Take a look at those job sites and you find a fair few of them will require you to be an Australian citizen. at least here in Canberra, it's teaming with public servants and government departments. that rules me (and you) out. You will need to go from a temporary resident, to a permanent resident, and then apply for citizenship for these jobs. This is mainly as you'll need a security clearance for them. Note that you will need to surrender your native citizenship in order to do this. Now that's a BIG decision.

Anyhow, I got a job in the end through word of mouth. Em's best friend in Oz put me onto her boyfriends dad, who was looking to take on somebody to train up in the role of building big super computers. I jumped at that. And here I am.....writing this......it's a quiet day OK?

2 comments:

  1. You don't need to surrender your citizenship to become an Australian unless your country makes you do so (like China does). The UK doesn't. As far as I know ACT government jobs don't require citizenship and the public sector things like ANU and CSIRO don't either.

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  2. Hi mOOm, thanks for your comment, and for clearing something up for me. On further reaserch, it seems I do not have to surrender my UK citizenship to become an Australian Citizen (Woo!)

    However,

    In my experience, most of these jobs do require you to be a Australian Citizen. Even ANU-


    "Successful applicants must be eligible to work in Australia and agree to provide information for pre-employment checks, if required for the position (which may include police records checks) as well as verification of Australian Citizenship."

    Most govenment positions and public sectors require this, some small sections only require permenant resident status. (Which on my visa I do not get untill I've lived here for 2 years)

    Usually this is a requirment due to security clearances. You can't get a clearance without Australian Citizenship.

    There are exceptions to the rule however...

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