How to Find a Job in Sydney from Overseas
This post is about securing a job in Australia while still overseas comes straight from an email from an SMG reader who already has a permanent residence visa (189 Visa). This is an important detail because she doesn't have to find a job to sponsor her visa.
Not able to get traction on securing a job while in the UK.
Email from SMG Subscriber:
We have a strong will to immigrate to Australia (sooner is better). We would love to see our daughter (age 14) start the school with the new term (Jan/Feb 2018).
We have been granted permanent residency in Australia a couple of years ago. And now, since, we have fully made up our mind to relocate, every day in the UK seems like a burden. However, I am not able to get traction on securing a job while in the UK.
Being extremely difficult and harder to market oneself from overseas and, therefore, I sincerely appreciate and value any help you may offer.
I get this question or similar ones from SMG subscribers once I share with them that I had a job lined up in Sydney months before we moved. No, it wasn't magic and no I didn't bribe anyone or pay a professional to write my resume.
I did however make several changes to my resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile before I started applying.
These are easy changes you can make yourself, or if you don't have the time or haven't had any luck yet, get help from a professional.
No Traction With Australian Job Search Is Because of Your Current Overseas Location.
The first thing a hiring manager is going to notice is your location, probably before noticing what Australian visa you have.
I know many recruiters and HR folks from various companies use location as a weeding out process.
When I worked for a small biotech company back in Seattle, our HR manager wouldn't even look at resumes that were out of state, much less out of the country.
The reason she gave was the cost of relocating the new hire plus the whole relocation process would move the start date back. As a small company, we needed positions to be filled quickly.
I bet this is what's happening when you apply for a job in Sydney from the UK.
Since it sounds like there are definite plans to be in Australia by a certain date, I would be sure to state this in your cover letter, at the very least, someplace on your resume. Maybe something about when you're available to start, such as available to start on January 15.
Don’t Just Update Your Resume, Make Sure It’s an Australian Formatted Resume.
To give yourself more of an edge, make sure your resume is polished and more Australian than British. The Australian Resume is different than a US resume. I'm not sure how different it is from a UK resume, but having a well-polished resume certainly won't hurt. In fact, it could make all the difference in the world.
I refer many people to ResumeCentre.com.au for a free resume review. It's a good place to start. Many of the people I have referred have gone on to have James and his team fine-tune their resumes.
Optimized Your LinkedIn Profile.
Some SMG readers have even had James' team optimize their LinkedIn profiles.
One of the things that Resume Centre always points out because it makes a really good impression with recruiters and hiring managers is referrals on your LinkedIn profile.
Send out an email to old and current co-workers, managers, and bosses asking them to write up a referral for you to post on LinkedIn. It's a good idea to outline what you would like them to say in the referral, almost to the point of writing it for them. It's less work for them, just have to copy and paste it in LinkedIn, and you can be sure that the referral mentions a specific project or skill set that you would like the hiring manager in Australia to know about. This is also a good time to write up referrals yourself for others. A little reciprocity goes a long way.
Before You Start Applying, You Need a Job Search Strategy.
This is probably the most important part of this post.
The reason is, it's better to apply for just one job at a company or with a recruiting agency than to apply for five jobs with the same company or recruiter.
In fact, overapplying will completely kill any possibility of getting a job with that specific company because it makes it look as though you're not sincere about your application.
Instead, you want to apply for the one perfect position that is in your wheelhouse. Don't worry, once your resume has been submitted, the recruiter or hiring manager may actually contact you with other opportunities at the company.
This is a tip from Nadine Myers of Find Jobs in Oz. Nadine has helped many Sydney Moving Guide readers find jobs in Australia. She specializes in helping people find visa sponsoring jobs but has now branched out to Working Holiday Visa jobs and PR Visa jobs.
Nadine takes you step-by-step from writing a CV and personal cover letter to job searching strategies.
I highly recommend Nadine's products and have sent many people her way. I have included a few of her Australia employment guides in my Amazon Moving Supply Shop.
Once You Have a Killer Australian Resume and an Optimized LinkedIn Profile, It’s Time to Start the Job Search.
Since this email came from someone with a PR visa, they don't have to worry about visa sponsorship. A very good thing as that's much harder to do.
Top job search sites in Australia:
Indeed Australia
Seek.com.au
Careerone.com.au
Adzuna.com.au
Are you finding positions advertised in your field?
If that's the case then at least you know something is out there and it's probably because you're applying from overseas that's the problem.
What Time of Year Are You Applying for Jobs in Australia?
You should also know that companies usually stop hiring around the end of the year and then start up again around February and March.
I know that might not work out with your moving schedule, but it could be part of the reason why there aren't a lot of job openings being advertised or why there is a delay in hearing back from recruiters.
