How to get a job in Australia before I go there?

Question

I have been granted permanent residency in Australia (i.e. I can live and work there). I intend to relocate from Ireland in October. Ideally I could have a job line up before I go, as it's a high-risk and potentially expensive move if I have to support myself and family for a period of unemployment.

Is it possible / likely that I could secure employment before I go? What are the best ways that I could go about doing this? Should I just start applying for jobs on the Australian jobs websites? Should I contact recruiters directly? (this isn't exactly appealing because recruiters tend to ignore you if it makes their job difficult)

For what it's worth, I have a BSc in Computing (Software Development), with 8 years experience in .Net development. I'd prefer Melbourne if possible.

Answer 1

I'm an IT worker (software dev / test automation). I moved to Australia last year.

Seek.com.au is the biggest jobs site (disclaimer: I'm contracting there at present). If you create a profile on there, it'll go a long way - recruiters will also contact you as a result of your profile being active and searchable.

For random 'spot jobs', Spotjobs is up and coming, but probably not ideal for you.

It's always hard to get a job before the companies have seen you, but if your linkedin profile is up to date, you have an available phone number and email on your profiles, you stand a better chance.

In addition, join a meetup for the city you're aiming for, and contact some of the people on that - software developers, Agile groups, geek groups, and so on. Many of them will know of opportunities, and given they may get bonuses for referring someone, may be very keen to help.

Get yourself onto many recruiters' books. Don't harass them, but a simple email with your resume and contact details should suffice, and then check back in when you arrive in the country if nothing has happened yet.

Furthermore, make it VERY clear on all your applications, profiles and contacts that you have permanent residency and the right to work in Australia. This is one of the highest priorities that IT recruiters are looking for (outside of the obvious skills matches).

Answer 2

It's certainly possible to arrange employment before arriving in your new country, although employers are likely to want to meet you in person before actually extending an offer (particularly if the position is not a remote working position).

Before moving to New Zealand some years ago, I had located a job offer on one of the job web sites, and did a telephone interview before arriving in the country. After arriving, I did an in-person interview and everything proceeded from there.

Employers of expats will generally want to be sure that the prospective employee has the right to work in the country. In your case, you have been granted permanent residency with the right to work but you aren't actually in the country yet. It is possible (though unlikely) that you could be turned away at the border and not admitted to Australia. An employer will probably want to make a copy of your passport with the work authorisation for their records, which they can only do with you present.

Talking to other workers in your field and establishing a network of contacts will certainly be useful, and is something you can do from anywhere. For example, the mailing list for the local Python User's Group often has introductions from migrants who haven't actually arrived in the country yet. It's obviously not a job search service, but such contact can be useful in locating technology-specific jobs.

Finally, an option to cover the uncertain period would be to secure a remote working contract with somebody, perhaps in your home country, where you can do some work for a short time until you find local employment.

Answer 3

My experience shows that it's very unlikely to get job in Australia in advance and/or remotely. I also have a PR, also computer science related, all my efforts were unfruitful, I hope you are more lucky. You have to be ready to fly there and spend few weeks/months going to onsite interviews.

Answer 4

As for my case to find a job after you are granted a PR is difficult. After working for 9 years in Singapore, my husband and I decided to move to Australia last year. Try a different life. I have experience in retail, customer service and admin. But in a span of almost a year every job application that I have in Australia has been rejected. In my perception, the reasons for rejection are weird. "Overqualified", "I do not have the Australian accent", "I do not have local experience". I even opted out to change my CV and remove all my credentials like not declaring my degree and other experience just to find any casual job and to salvage my self-esteem. My only "selfish" morale boost is that I am not alone in this ordeal as I have befriended other PR and our stories are alike. As of the moment I work as a cleaner in a gentleman's club. 4 hours, 2x or 3x a week, depending if our services are needed. Sometimes I don’t get a call from the manager for 2 weeks but still I am really grateful that someone accepted me. But it's different for my husband's case. He's an IT Engineer. He managed to land a job after 5 months and numerous interviews and is now working as a technician in a Convention Center. I guess it's different for every skills set. Wish you all the best.