Have you also heard the cliché that “You can’t land a job in Australia without a local experience!!!!”? Well, it depends on many factors and local experience is not the only criteria that everyone considers for a job. It is like two sides of a coin. There are many migrants who have landed a job in Australia without a local experience and there are an equal number of people who have heard this from their recruiters that “we can’t recruit you because you don’t have a local experience”. So, it’s a really tricky statement.
There are many factors that recruiters or companies consider when they look for an ideal candidate. When your job is not a customer facing role, it is easier to find a job without local experience as most of recruiters only check for required technical skills. Apart from having the technical skills they also look for someone who can gel with the team, new environment and understand the local culture and have good communication skills. It is a general assumption that people whose first language is not English, cannot communicate effectively in English and it acts as a major factor for not considering a candidate who does not have a local experience in spite of having the desired technical skills.
Especially when it comes to client facing roles, effective communication is utmost necessary. Hence, having a local experience is beneficial where you would have learnt how to deal with people and communicate effectively. Understanding the local culture is another aspect where local experience comes into play. It would be beneficial for the candidate to understand the local culture so that it would be easy for him to adjust to his new environment.
By reading the above, one question that pops up is “How do we get local experience without landing a job?” That’s absolutely true. Else, below are few things that can be done to secure a job, from my perspective.
- Pursue a course to get extra certifications which helps you to stand out from other candidates.
- Join a volunteering job, which helps you gain knowledge of the local culture and gives you the much needed work experience.
- Improve your networking skills and try to reach out to people who are in need of the right candidates rather than wait for your interview call.
- Take up an internship which gives you a real time experience of how the local industries work.
- Ready to work for jobs which are of low profile than what you already worked for in overseas, as a breakthrough for the first job is very necessary for growth in your career.
- Resume should clearly state your skills and provide details as per the job requirement.
- Improve your communication skills and accent as required, if it is not already taken into account of.
- Getting a local reference for the recruiters to call and check.
These are few things which can land you the desired local experience for your dream job. As a migrant myself, it takes time to understand the culture and get adapted to the new place. So, this local experience is not only beneficial for the recruiters, it is equally beneficial for job seekers too. It gives you experience of what to expect and how to behave. These might seem very insignificant, but it plays a vital role in shaping up your career.
These things might seem as unfair to any new migrant, especially if he is on a skilled immigrant visa and was holding a good job overseas. But, when we consider from the recruiter’s perspective it is fair enough. They are not aware of the overseas culture or the authenticity of what is being said in a candidate’s resume. So, having a local experience reduces the risk for the employers to consider the candidate for the right skills and not bother about other aspects.
Logitrain delivers the best Job Training programs, for more information please visit www.logitrain.com.au or call 1800 159 151.
