How to get a graduate job in Australia?

Most of the students who go abroad to study have an ulterior aim of securing a beneficent job in the same country where they have been studying. The main reasons are two, a handsome salary and being used to with the place. If you have just completed your graduation, left with a visa of two more years and are looking for a job, this article is for you. Also, you have made a nice decision of working after studying in Australia as you would not feel alien to the place and adjust well in your job.

Update your resume

The first step towards successfully securing a graduate job in Australia or anywhere in the world is to update your resume. You must have applied for a casual job like that of a barista, kitchen helper, cook, or customer services agent, this is the time to enlist all relevant jobs you have done in the past in your resume. Next, update your resume with your latest completed degree. Along with this, mention your grades, awards, achievements and additional courses you have done while studying in Australia or before. The resume of a graduate is mostly a short one, this can lead to instant rejection, to avoid such a disaster try making a detailed resume but do not add junk to it. Here is a tip: you can enlist the projects included in your course that you completed during your course. You may also enlist your research project or internship done in the past to strengthen your position as a potential candidate for the job. Certain graduate programs require a compulsory vocational placement as a condition to complete your degree. For instance, Marketing, Nursing, and Chef graduates require to submit a report of internship as a part of their graduate program, such practical internships and projects can earn you a plus among others while applying for a job. Add extra courses you may have done that are relevant to your field to make your resume stronger and effective. For example, CPR and first-aid that you have done for assistant in the nursing job might be useful for a nursing job; if you have learnt accounting software like Xero, it can come handy for accounting jobs; If you have done IT certifications such as CCNA, AWS, GCP can give you a competitive edge for entry-level IT jobs. Furthermore, you can add and highlight soft skills that might prove to be beneficial for the resume that you have gained while doing your previous jobs. For example, customer service skills learnt while driving Uber or doing barista can be beneficial if you are applying for a job such as business analyst that requires you to communicate with multiple people.

Work on your technical and soft-skills

Along with technical skills, most of the job offering firms require you have a good know-how of soft skills. Some even prefer those with soft skills over the ones who have technical skills. There are many jobs in the market that require someone who has efficient speaking and communicating skills, such people are required in almost every company to work as a customer relationship officer, sales representative or to work in a call centre. Apart from having better communication skills, if a graduate has skills such as good time management skills and team skills, they have high chances of getting a job because managers prefer employees who help each other.  Along with this, the most preferred candidates for a job are those who have general IT skills to work on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other such software. Such candidates are likely to secure a job of bookkeeping or record maintaining. There are many companies across Australia that train entry or graduate-level individuals.

Apply using job portals

Having updated your resume, the most common question that arises in one’s mind is: where and how to apply? The answer is, use modern ways. Assign yourself the job of finding a job for yourself. It would look like a full-time job. Search for companies your other graduate friends are working with, email your resume to their human resource department. Even if they do not need someone, your resume would at least be available in their directory which will help them reach you when they need you. Also, there are a bunch of effective online portals that help everyone to secure a job. Seek, Indeed, Gradconnection and Adzuna are some of the popular online job locating websites. Alternatively, you can also use your university’s job portal if they are providing it.

Create your profile on LinkedIn

Another, important part of your journey of finding a job is to update or create your LinkedIn profile. It is a platform owned by Microsoft where anyone can place a status of ‘available to work’ along with their resume so that employers can locate and connect to them. It is one of the most utilized online job finding forums and the most effective one as well. Go ahead, work on your LinkedIn profile that would make you shine like a star among others. Tip: make your profile public so everyone can see it instantly instead of connecting to you to share your resume.

Work as a volunteer or an intern

If you plan to work in Australia and earn permanent residency as well, then you will have to work a bit more than having just completed your graduation. There are professional programs to improve your qualifications especially if you are an IT, Engineering, or Accounting graduate. Having done professionally certified courses enables you to be a potential candidate for a well-paid job in your dream company. These courses are hefty and expensive but boost your abilities. Moreover, it also helps you earn extra 5 points towards your permanent residency. This is a one-year course out of which you have to work as an intern for 3 months. Utilise this opportunity as you will be given the opportunity to work for a company.

Contact recruitment companies

There are a bunch of recruitment companies that are helpful for fresh graduates in terms of finding a job. Hays, Talent Connect Australia, People Bank and numerous others are efficiently working across Australia, helping freshers get a job. They can help you with any job but most of them specialise in a few areas only. Hays and Talent Connect Australia specialise in customer service and government jobs whereas People bank help applicants with IT skills. Submit your resume and let them help you.

Network with people

The wise say: “it is not what you know, it is who you know”, the same is true when you are looking for a job in Australia. Look for people who can help you find a job. It can be a friend working in a firm that encourages fresh graduates to join, or your teacher might know an old student who has experience of securing a job as a new graduate or some neighbour or even your workplace manager who knows how capable you are. A detailed discussion on finding a good job that suits you and your degree would be of help. Nevertheless, the more you communicate with people, the higher chances you have of landing a job.

Try your luck in remote areas

Sometimes, graduate-level candidates of jobs fail to secure work because of the concentration of resources in a region. According to Public and Personnel Administration and Sociology, big cities become the epicentre of talented and highly qualified individuals while the periphery areas are replete with opportunities but people do not want to lose the life they are having in a big city; which ultimately would turn into more competition. To avoid such a competition, think of moving to remote areas to apply for a job. The competition in remote areas of Australia is lesser than the competition in big cities. Try your luck there.

If you cannot get a job even after all these steps

Some jobs like nursing, chef, and childcare are easily found by graduate-level individuals while others require professional or technical training. If you get stuck while searching for a job and it’s taking longer than expected, do not waste time in anticipation and apply for permanent residency. There are numerous white-collar and long-term jobs in Australia that require individuals with permanent residency. Having applied for permanent residency, keep applying for more and more jobs until you get your dream job.

Conclusion

Finding a job is never too easy for anyone. Even the experienced and professional experts have to keep hunting for jobs for a couple of months until they find the next job. The process can require an extra effort when someone is applying for graduate and entry-level jobs as the job market is already replete with such candidates. However, if the above-mentioned steps are followed vigilantly, the task can be easily dealt with. If you do not get any considerable success in finding a job having followed all the above-mentioned steps, there is definitely something big waiting for you, luck has a surprise, wait for it!