4 Common myths of getting a professional job while you are studying in Australia
I have to write this article to provide confidence in those students who feel themselves inferior and sometimes influenced by fellow students, even though they have knowledge and experience. This article is based on my personal experience.
I had worked in India in an UK based Multi-National Company for 11 months. In that 11 months I took off for 2 months due to a surgery that I had to undergo. So I had only 9 months experience which is hardly counted as an experience for a job.
When I came to Australia as a student, I was fortunate to find a temporary accommodation with a young Indian family (recommendation from one of my cousins who lives in Melbourne). I did not had any friends nor any acquaintances in Sydney to recommend me for a ‘student’ job.
I did not had any option rather than approaching ‘Seek’ website and start applying for every position I found on the website irrespective of my qualification and experience. I used to get interview calls but was hard to understand Australian accent as I hail from non-English speaking country.
Long story short (will write another post how I secured first professional job in Australia), I have secured a role with one of the Public Health Hospitals (large firm) at a place called Macquarie exactly one month of my arrival.
My brother arrived after couple of years of my arrival with no experience in accounting. He secured an accounts officer job in one of the construction companies (medium firm) of Australia. Luck does not favour two people in different times of the job market.
I heard myths from my friends or co-students that International students do not get a professional job.
Girls are preferred than boys: After I got my job, with great joy I informed my family and they shared the news with the near and dears in my town. One of the comments they have received was ‘Girls get job easily than boys’ from one of the parents of a boy who was studying in Australia.
I totally disagree with this, I was not offered a front desk job meeting and greeting everyone who visits the office. I had secured in an accounts area working on proper accounting system. Australian employers are against inequality, gender, racism and discrimination. My brother secured an accounting job too in just 3 months after his arrival.
Even some of my brother’s friends took their jobs in marketing while studying and make their way up to senior marketing managers after their studies. There are no such jobs for only girls and boys nowadays opportunities are equal to everyone. If you have confidence, just keep trying until you find it.
Impossible to get professional job as a student: There is no such word as ‘impossible’ in this world. If you change the word to ‘I’m possible’ you can do everything. Why most of the students think it is impossible is they do not know how to approach in a proper way to secure a job.
When you come as an international student, you have to understand the culture, language and proper office etiquettes that are suitable for an Australian employer. During my job research, I read lot of books from the library to understand the interview techniques, conversations and the language.
This is very important for students who come from non-English speaking countries. I really thank the family I stayed with for their help in providing information re libraries and resume preparation tips.
No flexible hours: Most of the employers are flexible in their working hours. I used to work part time during my University days and full time during the holiday time. Even my brother had the same flexibility. I did not mind working extra hours with no pay when needed to create confidence to my manager that I can complete the full time work by working part time. This has helped me to get good job references from the managers for future jobs.
Employers prefer Permanent Residents of Australia: Yes most of the employers prefer permanent residents of Australia for security reasons. I lost many good opportunities because of this reason. It is bit frustrating. However, there are some employers who require casual and part time staff. If you have enthusiasm and zeal to work.
You can convince your employer with your skills and knowledge that you are the right candidate. I changed three jobs with my student visa and the employers were happy to hire me knowing my work conditions.
It was not a smooth journey in securing the job, I was rejected many times because of visa restrictions. I tried and tried and was persistent in securing the job I needed.
Final note from me, if you believe in yourself and have a strong perseverance to achieve something, success is always yours. Sometimes it might take time to reach you, but reaches you for sure one day. If you have job search experience like me, please share in the comments below.
