My transition from my home country (India) to this (Australia) one has not be a very smooth one. I have been enriched in many facets of my life but finance.
Picked up a couple of courses to 'bridge' the work skills and enjoyed the process. I just love studying. Only if I could make money of passing exams. Taking exams gives me a high.
With an MBA under my belt at a young age and a about an year of experience in middle office of investment banking, I thought job hunting would not be an uphill task here. But boy was I wrong!
Job hunt has turned tedious now. With not so encouraging global news on employment and many jobs getting sacked in Australia as well, it does paint a grim picture to a job seeker. Jobs are limited and applications are many. And by many I mean humongous.
I do empathize with the HR guys for sifting through the piles of resumes and still managing to send responses to the unsuccessful ones. But now, even those responses have stopped coming! My application procedure has established a routine. And that's what I want to break out of. I read a few job hunting techniques and tried some of my own. So, here are my two cents of how to approach the job hunt is a more proactive manner without having to pay someone:
Online:
1) Read the job description very carefully. Include the keywords on your resume/email/cover letter.
Make sure you don't apply to a job that is not for you or if you don't match up to the skills/experience required. A little out of the bandwidth is fine but you don't want to send your resume into a black hole.
2) Don't make the mistake of having an obscure 'Objective' on your resume or worse still have none. An 'objective' statement should concur with your studies, work ethic and the company that you are applying for. You might alter it for different industries/positions.
3) Preferably, target the advertisements from the hiring company instead of the agencies. This means that you get to talk directly to the person who might mentor/supervise you in your work. How wonderful is that!
4) It does not hurt to pick up the phone once in a while and dial that number on the job advertisement. Have a chat about the job, how you fit it or just how much you are interested in it. Generally, I at least received a screening call back from the agency/company where I called them up to chat and discuss the job.
5) Now this might be a bit far fetched, but I have also tried sending my resume to small / mid-size companies whose websites I found interesting and I thought I could add value if I were working there. Here is what I do:
- I select the industry that I am targeting, in my case accounting/financial planning/financial services, and just do a google search of the companies in this business in my city
- I study carefully their website, their career section, their team, etc and see if I like something. Then, I just email the HR department/company (small companies just have one email id for correspondence) with a brief of myself and why I liked their company. I ask them if they have any opening at that time or in future.
- I might attach my resume or sometimes just ask them if they would like to take a look at my resume. It depends on what you are comfortable with. It also depends on the extent of your interest in the firm/position.
- You might receive an affirmative reply, a negative reply or none at all. But, if they have your resume, they might consider you for any future openings. And that doesn't hurt.
6) Other stuff you can do is strengthen your online presence like in LinkedIn and Twitter. This is more relevant for media/mass communication/graphic designers. They expect you to be outgoing and build contacts looking for projects and stuff. Honestly, I am yet to try this out.
Offline
1) Seriously consider volunteering.
I have read and read about how volunteering helps your to network and be job ready. It fills that gap on your resume and shows that you can work well with people.
What kind of volunteering you do is also important. Like, I am looking for an opportunity to work with a not for profit finance organization. It helps to work with a field close to your job search field. But, this is not always an option. Some sales/HR/marketing guys would consider volunteering for fund raising due to the people skills that you develop on your stint.
2) Consider unpaid internship
Yeah. I had that opportunity. But I made the fatal mistake of asking for a rescheduling of interview date as I was attending classes. Never heard back from them. And blew my chances of an interview :( It hurt!
You can find internship opportunities on
http://www.gumtree.com.au/
3) I am also considering using the services of a recruitment agency. This one specializes in students with overseas certifications and experience. Check it out
http://www.studyandwork.com.au/
They charge $1000 to get you an unpaid internship for 3 months with a chance to be offered a job at the end of internship. Otherwise, you qualify for a professional placement program where they guarantee you a 12-month paid employment and take a 10% of your annual salary in their fees.
Well, I don't like to short sell myself, but many skilled job hunters are taking this route and I am willing to consider this option too.
Good luck to all job hunters. My best wishes are with you. Shall keep you updated on my methods and results.
Would love to hear any suggestions!
