Are you thinking of moving to Australia for work? Immigrating to Australia can feel like a daunting process, but hearing a personal experience of others who have successfully made the move can help.
What inspired you to consider immigrating to Australia for work?
I was looking to improve my English and I thought Australia would be a fun place to live and work while practising my English-speaking skills. I also read how multicultural Australia was as a country and I was aware a lot of young people from different parts of the world were travelling to Australia to work and/or study.
What was the process like for obtaining a work visa in Australia? How long did it take?
There are different types of visas to come to Australia depending on what country you’re coming from. In my case, coming from Chile I was able to obtain a Work & Holiday Visa for one year to work, study and travel around Australia. When I applied in 2015 the process was slower as I had to present my application in paper. These days everything is faster as it’s done online. The processing time of the visa application can take up to a month and the documents they will ask you for are an English exam, identity documents, photographs, and evidence of having enough funds for your stay in Australia, as well as a visa payment. You will also need to fill out an application form. If you google your country’s Australian Embassy you should be able to find all the information on Australian Visas for you.
Can you tell us about your experience finding a job in Australia? What resources did you use?
During my first year in Australia on a Work & Holiday Visa I was living in the Gold Coast, which is a very warm and touristic city in the state of Queensland. I wanted to find a job in hospitality, so the first thing I did was to personally deliver my resume to the restaurants, hotels, and stores of Surfers Paradise, which the closest area to my accommodation. I considered introducing myself to the managers a very personalised way of looking for work as most of the times I had the chance to speak to the hiring managers and tell them about myself. I also used Gumtree to apply for jobs which is perhaps a better way for foreign people who are not so confident with their English. To print a large amount of resumes I went to my local library which has printing facilities and the cost is not too expensive.
What advice would you give to someone who is considering immigrating to Australia for work?
I’m always recommending to my friends from Chile and South America to come to Australia for work, study or holidays and if they can stay here forever, even better! Australia is a great country, and it has so much to offer. If you are planning to immigrate to Australia, I would advise is to invest in an English course if you are coming from a non-English speaking country. The better your English is, the better the opportunities you will have. What I would also recommend is having an up-to-date resume and cover letter ready to go (in English)! Even better if you start applying for jobs on Jora before coming to Australia so you can secure a position before you arrive. Exploring Australian job sites. it’s a great idea to give yourself an idea of what jobs are trending, what is most needed in the city you’re planning to live so you can tailor your job search.
Were there any challenges you faced during the immigration process or upon arriving in Australia? If so, how did you overcome them?
Applying to any type of visa is always a lot of work and paperwork but online resources were a big help when I had doubts about how to present my documents for my specific visa type and country. There are a lot of articles about it and it’s all a matter of searching for them. There are also videos on YouTube, and social media platforms. One of my favorite places to find information is on Facebook groups. If you look for the type of visa you are applying for, you will probably find a Facebook group with plenty of people from your country or other countries who have gone through similar visa processes. It helps a lot to understand other people’s experiences and challenges, so you don’t end up making the same mistakes others did. Australia’s immigration site is also full of useful information and advice on how to present your visa application.
Once arriving and living in Australia, one of the biggest challenges you can face is not having a social network, relatives, or professional contacts that you can lean on. It’s pretty much all on you, but this is when life gets interesting, and you have to start building a new life from scratch. It’s also overwhelming living in a new culture and in my case, speaking in a new language as sometimes you might feel strange or like you don’t belong. Some of the things I did to overcome these challenges was to look for social meetings near me. I started attending social meetings from Couchsurfing, which is a travel platform where they also have some social groups going on in big cities. That was a great way to meet local people and foreigners. If you are taking an English course, make sure to ask about the social activities that your school organises for people who has just arrived in the country. Your local library is always full of free activities such as English conversation groups. When you are an immigrant in Australia you need to work hard to leave your shyness away and make lots of new friends everywhere you go!
How does the work culture in Australia compare to other countries you’ve worked in?
I have noticed that within the work culture in Australia work/life balance is respected and encouraged. Compared to South America and other countries in the globe, most people work long hours with no compensation nor recognition and commuting time is also not accounted for. Another characteristic of the working culture in Australia is that there seems to be a more widely accepted “open doors” policy where more staff has access to their senior leaders and managers in a more genuine fashion, whereas there is more bureaucracy and delineation of power/hierarchy of roles in South America, that make communicating up a bit more challenging.
What are some benefits of working in Australia that you’ve experienced?
Some of the benefits of working in Australia are the higher salaries, compared to other countries. Another important benefit to consider is that less skilled jobs are paid well, such as hospitality, waitressing, cleaning, trade jobs, etc. In South America, these types of jobs are paid less and obtaining a university degree is critical in order to have a good life.
How does the cost of living in Australia compare to your home country? Was it difficult to adjust to the difference?
The cost of living in Australia is quite high compared to Chile. However, salaries in Chile are lower and Australia has better salaries and working conditions. This means that the effort of immigrating to Australia is worth it as the higher cost of living is offset with a higher salary, and your life will be a lot more balanced. The living conditions in Australia are some of the best in the world and that is one of the reasons why I value my life here so much. Unfortunately, in Chile and in many countries in South America the living conditions are not as good in areas like safety, working opportunities and the amount of people living in one city (especially big cities). To me, it was not difficult to adjust to the difference of cost of living as the fact that you earn more it’s enough to cover your expenses, especially in your first years in Australia where you would probably be renting a room in a share house or a small apartment for yourself.
Can you tell us about any cultural differences you’ve noticed in the workplace in Australia?
In terms of cultural differences, it’s widely known that Australia has a very culturally diverse workforce and I have seen how the traditions and individual cultural behaviours are mostly respected and celebrated. Australia is highly multicultural and is home to Australians with more than 270 ancestries. Since 1945, almost seven million people have migrated to Australia. To mention some statistics, one in four of Australia’s 22 million people were born overseas; 46 per cent have at least one parent who was born overseas; and nearly 20 per cent of Australians speak a language other than English at home. This makes Australia’s workplaces very diverse, and you can interact with and learn from people from other cultures and backgrounds.
What do you think sets Australia apart as a destination for immigrants looking for work?
The fact that Australia is home to many immigrants makes it an attractive place for people all around the world as this presents Australia as an inclusive and welcoming country. Even though Australia’s Immigration processes are some of the strictest in the world, it’s proven that it works effectively. Australia is one of the best in the world in terms of quality of life, high levels of education, growing economy, high employment rates, outstanding healthcare system, low crime rate, adequate housing and more.
Vanesa’s top tips
- Your country’s Australian Embassy website will have information on how to immigrate to Australia from your specific home country. You can find this online by searching for your home country and “Australian Embassy”.
- You can use online job sites, like Jora, to apply for jobs before you come to Australia, or to research available opportunities in the areas you want to live.
- Have your cover letter and resume ready to go (in English) before you arrive.
- If you need to print anything when you arrive, local libraries offer this service at a low cost.
- There are heaps of online resources available to help with your application including YouTube, Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook.
- On Facebook you will find specific groups for support with the Visa you are applying for. This is a great way to connect with people who have been through the same process.
- One of the toughest things is finding your new community. Use websites like Couchsurfing to find group meet ups with likeminded people.
- The library is a great place to find free information and gatherings, like free English conversation groups.