I'm having difficulty finding a job.

mhej · May 2014

Ang masasabi ko lang, mahirap makipagsapalaran dito kung limited ang funds mo at wala kang friend or kamag anak na pwedeng tuluyan ng libre. Uubusin ng weekly rent ang pera mo dito. Buti na lang, our hardships in terms of finances are almost over. I got my contract today with the same company I worked for in Manila and my partner, is expecting hers next week na rin (same company as mine).

Mahirap maghanap ng work. Tama ang sinasabi ng iba. Nakapag apply na siguro kami sa 40 job openings each, tailor-fitted our resumes, yet, 1 phone interview lang ang nakuha ko. Recruiter pa.

Although syempre, I think mas mahirap sa case namin kasi we are not specializing in any particular field of IT. We work in IT Service Management. More of ITIL processes and best practices. Well, sana magtuloy tuloy na ang good fortune.

Sana swertehin na rin yung ibang hindi pa makahanap.

slamania102 · May 2014

@mtenchavez

At last, after a month of search, phone interviews and technical presentation to prospect employers, nagka work din. I am so glad my role is align to what I have been doing for years in IT as a Snr Infra engineer.

guys (and gals) consider formatting your CV's according to AU standard. I started to get noticed by companies and was able to arranged interview appointments without recruiters using the format on this site:

http://career-advice.careerone.com.au/resume-cover-letter/sample-resume/cv-template-IT-Help-Desk/article.aspx

dont put objectives anymore, as employers does not seems to care about that. instead, highlight your years of experience and your core skills.

for IT pro, brush up your technical certification. this things matters to IT companies and especially to hiring managers. reason is of course this proves that you know what you are trying to claim in your resume. We all can put whatever we like and feel in our resume, but the question is how can the hiring manager know that you have indeed true knowledge to a particular technology. yes the best way is to call for a face to face interview and do a technical QandA. but not all IT managers or hiring managers would like to waste their time just find out that you have lied in your resume.

good luck to everyone.

lester_lugtu · May 2014

@slamania102,

Congrats!

Pahingi lang referral hah? Kung sakaling makausap mo nagpapalit ng ilaw sa office nyo, or nagrerepair ng aircond nyo sa conference room refer mo ko ne? This might sound awkward, pero mejo nawawalan na din ako ng pag-asa. Almost 1.5months nako nandto melbourne and yet ni 1 wala pang tumatawag. Puro rejection thru email. Hay... pero hindi ako susuko. Laban pa din.

Anyway, mechanical engr here. Building maintenance role, mainly sa air conditioning system.

Thank you.

staycool · May 2014

same here...halos umuwi na ako last week sa pinas...CPA here in sydney, going to 3 months na ako here, soloista ako...
had interviews with recruiters but no ACTUAL job offers yet...puro pooling lang..Nakakadesperate na and nkakalungkot na...wanna go back home na rin...

lester_lugtu · May 2014

@staycool,

have u tried odd job? or at least would want to try that? 3 months is mejo matagal na, pero ang usual na maririnig mo sa kanila eh tiis lang makakakita ka din. kaya ganun din sasabihin ko sau. buti nga ikaw at least may interviews... ako ni 1 call wala! like what others always try to say, pray lang. sbhin mo sa Kanya willing ka pa kamo maghintay. at hindi ka pa kamo susuko.

PR visa ka, ako 457 visa lang, dependant type pa! sayang ang vantage point na yan.
pray lang.

IslanderndCity · May 2014

same here...halos umuwi na ako last week sa pinas...CPA here in sydney, going to 3 months na ako here, soloista ako...
had interviews with recruiters but no ACTUAL job offers yet...puro pooling lang..Nakakadesperate na and nkakalungkot na...wanna go back home na rin...

Baka mayroon kang kilala o kilala ng friends mo. referral may help din sabi ng iba eh. Check your social networking friends baka mayroon din makahelp o magbigay referral.

lily · May 2014

@staycool hi same here. I am also an Accountant. no luck in finding a job. 3 months na din ako sa Sydney. ako kahit interview from recruiters wala eh. rejection kagad..

johnvangie · May 2014

@staycool magkakaron ka din ng job soon! Dont lose hope... God Bless.

lester_lugtu · May 2014

@lily,

Hi. Same lang tau. Ako naman 1 month 10 days na ni 1 call wala. Nakakalungkot lang. Hindi ko alam kung dapat nako magalala o hindi pa kasi hindi talaga ako sanay walang trabaho. For 5 straight years nagwowork ako. At ngaun ko lang naiisip na ang laki ng pagkukulang ko msg-improve as a good worker, melbourne pala ako.

Pero walang bibitiw. Kaya pa yan! May makakapansin din ng resume natin.

mhej · May 2014

same here...halos umuwi na ako last week sa pinas...CPA here in sydney, going to 3 months na ako here, soloista ako...
had interviews with recruiters but no ACTUAL job offers yet...puro pooling lang..Nakakadesperate na and nkakalungkot na...wanna go back home na rin...

Hi staycool. I remember, ka batch kita sa October Visa Applicants. Nakarating na tayo pareho dito. I would agree with you. Sooobrang hirap maghanap ng work. Siguro nakapagsend out kami ng partner ko ng tig 40 resumes (each customized), pero hanggang recruiter phone call lang natatanggap namin. It gets really depressing lalo't you have to pay rent if wala kang matirhan ng libre.

Luckily, na finalize yung processing ng role namin ng partner ko sa same company namin sa Manila before we left. Initial 1 year contract lang, pero at least it's something.

Iba ang competition dito. They really look at your credentials. Kaya ako, naisip ko, if hindi ma renew ang contract ko after a year, uuwi ako ng Pinas to get all the certifications I can then just go back sa Sydney pag marami na akong qualifications.

By the way, si partner ko, she was able to land a part time waitressing job by walking in to restaurants and speaking with their managers. If you need income to get by, I'd suggest gawin mo rin yung technique na yun.

God bless!

kremitz · May 2014

@mhej ano po line of work nyo?

mhej · May 2014

@kremitz - My specialization is IT Service Management (ITIL Principles, project coordination, developing SLAs/KPIs for IT Operations). Pero I got into AUS as a Skilled Migrant (Business Analyst). I don't have the BA certifications yet, though. Kaya nahirapan ako maghanap ng BA work.

quesoboy · May 2014

Hi @mhej,

I've been backreading the last few pages of this thread to get a better idea and some tips regarding landing a job. I would just like to ask what the outlook is for BA jobs there in Sydney. I'm currently in the middle of my skills assessment but I'd like to start preparing myself for what's hopefully about to come.

I've been a Business Analyst for 6+ years now here in the Philippines. I also have experience being a PM and QA, with background on the Agile Methodology (Scrum and XP), so I'm also ok with getting a job with those roles. Do companies really put a lot of weight on certifications?

Hope you can give me some idea with these. Thank you!

mhej · May 2014

@quesoboy - There are tons of BA openings available online. You can check them on seek. If you have targeted experience in actually being a Business Analyst, then you'll have good chances landing a job here in Sydney as a BA. If you still have time, load up on all relevant certifications to pad on further your resume (ie. CCBA, CBAP, PMP, Prince, Lean Six Sigma, etc.). That is what they are really looking for. Certifications count a lot. Good luck.

stolich18 · May 2014

For some IT roles, yes important ang certifications. For some naman, more on the experience kaya very important to customise the resume according to the requirements of the job post. Nung naghahanap ako ng work, I think nakapasa na ako ng 300+ resume hehehe Kahit PMO Coordinator, inapplyan ko na rin. Pero iba tlga pag ang inapplyan mo yung role na ginagawa mo. Mas madali since very targeted ang approach nila dito when it comes to hiring. Bukod sa skill na meron ka, hinahanap pa nila ung mismong experience. for example in my case, SAP PI Consultant ung role ko, which is okay naman pero at the same time, tiningnan nila mga projects and experiences ko. At that time hanap nila yung may Ariba integration experience, buti na lang medyo meron ako non. hehehe Kaya I got hired. Ganon ka-important yung level of detail sa resume.

quesoboy · May 2014

Hi @mhej & @stolich18,

I appreciate your input. How detailed is "detailed"? Do I have to enumerate each of the projects I've been on / handled as a BA, and provide descriptions for each? Won't that make my CV a bit long? I try to make my CV as concise as possible but that might be a challenge if I have to enumerate my projects. Do you have some specific tips that you can share with me?

I've tried searching for BA jobs some time ago on seek, and yes you're right, I found a few that I seem to like but I'm not focusing on that yet because I'm still far from getting a visa. I plan to focus on looking for a job online after my visa grant since one year naman ang window for initial entry date, if I remember correctly. The reason I'm asking is because I read that the ICT BA job is almost at its ceiling, so I'm quite concerned that there won't be enough jobs by the time I can make it there.

TasBurrfoot · May 2014

Hi @mhej & @stolich18,

I appreciate your input. How detailed is "detailed"? Do I have to enumerate each of the projects I've been on / handled as a BA, and provide descriptions for each? Won't that make my CV a bit long? I try to make my CV as concise as possible but that might be a challenge if I have to enumerate my projects. Do you have some specific tips that you can share with me?

I've tried searching for BA jobs some time ago on seek, and yes you're right, I found a few that I seem to like but I'm not focusing on that yet because I'm still far from getting a visa. I plan to focus on looking for a job online after my visa grant since one year naman ang window for initial entry date, if I remember correctly. The reason I'm asking is because I read that the ICT BA job is almost at its ceiling, so I'm quite concerned that there won't be enough jobs by the time I can make it there.

mate, the more immediate concern is to get the visa as there is a ceiling for ICT i believe.

without a visa i guess you won't have to worry about getting a job.

all the best to you! think you must aim for 65 pts and up in order to get invited.

bandofbenjamin · May 2014

@staycool yung friend ko who is also an accountant was able to find job there in sydney in 3-4 mos. ako nga eh, i'm stuck in an odd job dito sa act..

i know how you feel. pumasok na rin yan sa utak ko ilang beses na mas mabuti umuwi. pero maaga pa naman..kaya fight kaht naka depress

quesoboy · May 2014

@TasBurrfoot

Yes, I'm fully aware of that. Thanks for the well wishes. I've already started with my application couple months ago. I'm praying that I get invited to lodge before July 1, since I'm really concerned about my nominated occupation hitting the ceiling. I think I've done what I can up to this point in terms of requirements. What I want to do now is to get more information on what's (hopefully) next for me.

stolich18 · May 2014

@quesoboy meaning to say, na-lodge mo na application mo and you're just waiting for the invite?

With regards to the CV, we can send you some samples. Meron din dito ung thread regarding sample CV/Resume.. Yung number of pages, depende kase tlga sa inapplyan.. You would want to highlight ung previous projects/experiences mo na related sa job post, especially since mostly agencies/recruiters ang unang makakakita ng resume mo. Gumagamit ata sila ng search tool para isearch ung keyword sa resume.. For example in my case, 7 pages ang resume ko pero kase kelangan ko tlga i-detail mga ginawa ko before para mameet ung nasa job post...

staycool · May 2014

@staycool yung friend ko who is also an accountant was able to find job there in sydney in 3-4 mos. ako nga eh, i'm stuck in an odd job dito sa act.. i know how you feel. pumasok na rin yan sa utak ko ilang beses na mas mabuti umuwi. pero maaga pa naman..kaya fight kaht naka depress

thanks sa upliftment...yeah, may nakuha na akong odd job and will start training tomorrow...3 months na ako this week and lahat ng tumatawag sa akin were all headhunters with no actual job offers...so, embrace ko muna tong odd job ko...sa 5-star hotel naman and medyo ok ang pay kse GRAVEYARD shift...bigyan ko siguro kahit 6 months and isang pag aaral muna ng CPA subject...maybe by then may panglaban na ako sa application process...hahah...

StickyNote · May 2014

@staycool ok po yan na kahit odd job eh nakakuha ka na. at least, may pandagdag na pang-gastos ka na. how were you able to apply? at saka ano type po ng work?

Shirlie · May 2014

@staycool,
Sang state ka po?

Thanks,

quesoboy · May 2014

@stolich18

No, I'm currently in the middle of having my skills assessed. Mali ba understanding ko na pag suitable yung skills ko, I'd be invited to apply for visa by lodging an EOI?

Regarding CVs, so ok lang magkaron ng 7-page resume? Kasi dito, diba we're taught to make it as concise and short as possible since people won't take the time to go through a very long resume, especially when there are a lot of applicants? I'd appreciate it if you could send me CV samples para mas may concrete idea ako how to structure mine in the future. I've been reading some threads, and from what I've seen, it's better to talk to someone in HR rather than to go through an agency / recruiter. Is this really the case?

stolich18 · May 2014

@quesoboy regarding EOI / skill select, sorry hindi ako masyadong familiar sa process. hehehe

regarding CV, sure, anong email address mo? yeap most of the feedback here say na keep your resume concise and not to go through an agency/recruiter but in IT kase, normal lang na may agent eh, as well as having a long resume.. Or kase sometimes what I do, I keep it concise then eventually the agent will ask to add more details relevant to the job post. Depende pa rin kase tlga.. cguro nga mas better to keep it concise pero for me it worked na detailed ung resume ko.. May isang thread dito na nagbibigay ng isa pang resume, I think may copy din ako non. Send ko sayo... See for yourself na lang which one would be better... :-)

quesoboy · May 2014

@stolich18

I see. I think from what I understand, ganun yung process. Once suitable yung assessment sayo, you'll be invited to apply. Do correct me if I'm wrong.

On CVs, yeah I agree with you. I think it still depends on the employer / situation. But a guide would certainly help.

I PM'd you my email address. I'd appreciate it if you could send me some sample CV formats. Thanks a lot!

lily · May 2014

@staycool anong odd job ang napasukan mo. magtry din sana ako..

Shirlie · May 2014

@staycool,
Pwede ba malaman kung anong hotel? Baka may slot pa s housekeeping or front desk po. Thanks to advise :-)

jeff0610 · May 2014

@stolich18 sir baka pwedeng makahingi din ng copy ng mga resume mo. Gawin ko lang pattern. Im on the process na din kaz ng pagupdate ng resume in preparation for the big move:) thanks in advance. Here's my e-mail add [email protected], God bless po.:)

stolich18 · May 2014

ok email sent. :-) Girl ngapala ako by the way hehehe

off-topic lang, may friend ako na piamonte ang surname nya nung single pa sya.. hehehe naalala ko lang.

God bless din! All the best sa job hunt:)