Finding job in Australia

Finding a full time job in Australia is not an easy task.

If you migrate from Singapore, like me, you will have a bit hard time figuring out why your past experiences mean nothing here. Literally means nothing...

I had about 10 years of working experiences in Singapore and thinking with that many years of experiences, I should be ahead of the rest job applicants. The fact is, it is not going to help you much in Australia.

I had applied for a number of jobs and asked some friends for help on job search here. I had tried applying for jobs that are similar to what I used to work in Singapore and the reply is either unsuccessful or no reply at all.

Then I met a friend who worked in a online e-commerce shop, after changing job preferences and just looking for opportunity to work. Instead of the consultant role that I had in Singapore, I had changed to IT job. The meeting was short, all within half an hour.

What I gathered from the meeting:

• My skillset is not specialized
• Disconnected from the IT technology for too long
• Past experiences are outdated
• Do not have local experience

With all these negativity, it sure break your spirits.  To be honest, I am devastated and feeling down.

But then, thank God that I have friend who worked in a warehouse, managed to get a job at the warehouse working as picker while searching for full time job.

The warehouse work is physical demanding and energy draining. After working there for 2 weeks, I have a lot of respect for warehouse employees. Without them, the products that you see on the shelf will not be there.

After working for 2 weeks at the warehouse, I then applied a job (entry level) as helpdesk support and went through 2 interviews and I got the job. The job is totally different from what I used to do, this is level 1 phone support that requires me to deal with customers directly. I am not going into detail on the job but it sure an eye opener for me.

My advice is that job hunting in Australia is definitely not an easy one and you must be prepared to lower your expectation and start working like a fresh graduate. Well, if you have connections/network in Australia, probably you might get a good head start compared to me. Good luck!

Electricity, Water and Gas bill

Woohoo... we received our first electric bill and surprisingly it is not as high as we thought we could have incurred.

Well within our budget. phew....

How we managed to lower our bill?

• Use energy efficient light bulb
• Switch off power plug for any electrical or electronic devices that is not in use. *Never leave it stand-by mode
• Use LED light as bedside light
• Put the fridge's freezing level as medium cold
• Get a LED TV (very energy friendly)
• Use fan for cooling
• Use gas powered ducted heating
• Close all blinds to prevent unncessary heating of sunlight
• Use cold water for laundy and use quick wash mode
• Use efficient vacuum cleaner to clean the house quicker
• Most importantly, stay in a energy efficient house!

Australia's energy and water company charges a minimum service charges every month even if you don't use their energy. So, it is best to keep the necesary energy usage at the lowest to save family expenditure.

Also, the energy market in Australia is very open and many companies fight for your business,so it is best choose the companies that can provide some form of starter discount or monthly discount. Every single cents saved goes back into your pocket!

Cheapest way to move things to Australia from Singapore

What is the cheapest way to move things to Australia (anywhere) from Singapore?

If the things to move is not urgent and can wait  for at least 2 months.

Use: SingPost (Sea/Land Parcel) and we can track the progress when it leaves Singapore and arrive Australia customs.

Also, you can call SingPost to come your house to pick up the boxes, so it is convenient and value-added service at a very reasonable price.

We posted 5 boxes, combined weight of 70kg with each box averaging about 15kg.

Total cost: $200.

If you post it by air, it will cost you the same - $200 for ONE box.

You do the calculation. =)

What we enjoy doing in Melbourne...

Ever since we settled down at Melbourne with a job and rental place, we enjoy doing many things when we have time:

Nature (free to go):

• Feeding the parrots (the actual name are: Rosella, King Parrot, Cockatoo and so on) at the Mt Dandenong ranges
• Short hike at Churchill National Park and you get to see Kangaroos
• Walk at Cardinia Lake (there should be grey Kangaroos but did not see it)
• Brighton beach (Colorful Box House)
• Frankston beach (Jetty to walk to the sea)
• Birds Land bush walking park (see huge land with cows and Kangaroos hopping)
• Botanical Garden at Cranbourne
• Warrandyte State Park (walk along the creek)

Shopping:

• Morrabbin DFO (Direct Factory Outlet)
• Knox City Shopping Center
• Chadstone  Shopping Center
• The Good Guys at Dandenong
• Stud Park
• Springvale Shopping Center
• Glen Shopping Center

Visa application process

Our application process took almost 2.5 years to complete.

I applied for skill migration visa and my job skill is on the skilled migration list.

First thing that I got to do was verify my skillset with Australian Computer Society (ACS) and it took almost 2 months to be verified and certified.
I had to submit all information/achievements that I did previously in my job, list down all the experiences to add points for certification.

Once the job is certified, you will need to sit for English language test (IELTS) and get at least 7 points for passing the English for migration.

After that, it will be forms after forms to fill in, I had used Adobe form filler to fill in the form and then print it out and sign on it. It will be easier to type than writing on pages and pages of application forms.

Not forgetting that there are pages of certificates to be certified by authorized persons, they can be Justice of Peace (JP), Doctors, Pharmacists, CPA, lawyers and the list can be found at Australia Immigration website.
Well, I went to JP to certify most of the certificates and documents, I can give him a token of appreciation. If you go to a lawyer to certify all the documents, the cost could run up to thousand of dollars as ONE signature costs $40! So, better to get your children to study law and they can earn alot alot of $$$$!

So, after all the forms had been submitted, it is a waiting game, no news, just wait for response/reply from the migration agent or the immigration. We waited for about 1.5 year for next phase which is to go for health check and police clearance. When you are told to get these done, it means 90% that you get the approval on the visa. Congratulations!

We then went to police HQ at Cantonment Road to get the police clearance and health check by clinics that are authorized by the Australian Immigration Department. You don't have to worry about the health check report as the clinic (approved by the Australian Immi. Dept) will send the result to Australia Immigration Department electronically. All done seamlessly and easy!

I would say, so far this kick start process is easy but you got to have patient and endurance. Patient is to wait for the outcome and the officer to process your application. Endurance is to endure that form filling process and run around to get your documents certified. If you are really keen on migrating, I believe even if you don't have the characters, you will bite the bullet and get though it!

All the best if you are applying now! =)

How do you start the migration process?

We spoke to our friends and they recommended to use migration agents as they will know the latest migration law changes (this happens July every year) and provide professional advice.

We found an online migration agent from: www.australia-migration.com , I am in no way associated with them, just providing the website.

Through the website, I did the visa appraisal and within an hour, I got an email reply from them and discussed about the options for migration.

During the application, no phone call was made, all communications are through their website communications, you will be given a login and you will receive an email alert when there is a reply.

For the peace of mind, all the communications are recorded and kept online, so no worries about losing all the communications.

Of course, nothing comes free, after you had decided with the agent to go ahead with the applications, you'll need to make the migration and visa application payment, don't ask me about the price but check with the agent.

Oh ya, during the applications, we used DHL to courier our documents to the agent and it was sent to their main office as some the migration agent works from home. Again, they are on their toes when I emailed to ask them about the documents, they are organized and able to advice immediately about the documents sent to them.

I am giving thumbs up to their service and professionalism in assistance with migration.

Again, I am just sharing my experience with them and it might not be the same for you. Rules of thumb, always look for a migration agent that you trust because you will be disclosing a lot of your personal details to them.

If you are in doubt with the agent's credibility, you can check their name from the official website for Australia migration agent - https://www.mara.gov.au/


Latest and most reliable information about migration to Australia, visit:

http://www.immi.gov.au/

Merry Xmas!

Tomorrow will be Christmas, wishing everyone Merry Christmas and enjoy the festive holiday.

This is my first Christmas in Australia and I can really feel the mood as everyone is just busy buying gifts, wrapping and preparing their home for the celebrations. A bit like Chinese New Year, in some way.

Cars and people packed the shopping mall and people holding to bags and bags of goodies for the special occasion. Parents looking for the best toy gift for their kids, friends looking for some nice and special gifts for their friends.

GFC (Global Financial Crisis) is all shelved or decked somewhere, no one wants to talk about after Christmas and New Year.

And... the shops open 36 hours from 23 Dec 12.00am to 24 Dec 6pm. Shop till you drop or whenever you feel like to shop! Very interesting and I think only this time of the year, all the tills kept ringing!

So, what do I do for Christmas break? We were at Chadstone shopping yesterday and the toilets broke down maybe due to huge crowd that they had never received before. But they got it repaired quickly within an hour, else won't last throughout the marathon 36 hours shoppings.

Anyway, just happy to see everyone is in good mood and joyful. Hope it lasts throughout the year!


How do you spend your Christmas break?