How To Get A Job In Australia

Finding work in Australia is the focus of this part of our emigrating to Australia guide…

As with other English speaking countries, Australia is committed to equal employment opportunities for all, and your qualifications and work experience (and to a lesser extent flexibility) will determine your career, not your nationality.

Different parts of Australia offer better job prospects in certain industries than other, so you’ll need to research where your particular qualifications and experience are in demand. Broadly speaking, Sydney is best for finance, Melbourne and Adelaide for manufacturing, and Perth for resources. The big cities tend to have very competitive employment markets though, and you may find that you initially have to take work in one of the provinces.

Bring with you any qualifications, certificates and references you may have when you emigrate. However, bare in mind that the fact that they may have been recognized officially by the government as part of the migration process doesnt mean that an Australian prospective employer will also do so. Local qualifications are generally preferred over others and the majority of migrants to Australia would significantly improve their career prospects by getting an Australian qualification after migrating.

As for work experience, the same applies as with qualifications. The fact that you may have worked for the best company in your field in your home country may not make much impression on an Australian employer who has never heard of it. You can promote your case by including information on your former employer with any job application (a link to its website may be useful) but in many cases this wont be of great benefit. You must be prepared to initially take a less skilled (and less well paid) job than you are qualified for, to get some local experience while you look for something better.