Every so often, news of rising interest rates, inflation and fuel and grocery prices sparks a mini-panic in the household and anxious scanning of MyCareer and job websites.
Is it time for me to go back to work?
If so, what sort of work should I look for? Or rather, what sort of work am I qualified to do after 3 years away from the workforce?
If I go back to work, should I work part-time or full-time?
If J goes to childcare, will she fall ill often and will I miss out on witnessing her developmental milestones?
If Beth goes to after-school care, will I be able to keep up with what goes on at school?
What about my duties as a volunteer reader with her class?
What about my duties as playgroup assistant on Mondays?
And on and on.
Re employability, it is a known fact that skilled migrants face certain barriers in getting employed in Australia.
Some of it has to do with lack of familiarity with the local work culture. There's also the language barrier for those from non-English speaking backgrounds.
Employers tend to prefer hiring those who have local work experience. A chicken-and-egg problem, obviously.
Fortunately, there are places to go for help.
One suggestion that comes up often is to do volunteer work to gain local experience.
I remember reading the story of Rosalind, a Malaysian with a PhD who kept getting bounced back at job interviews. The fact that she was highly qualified was no guarantee of her getting a job, much less one commensurate with her qualifications and experience. She was advised to do volunteer work with a non-profit organization that helps migrants settle into life in Australia. She did that. Eventually, she was offered a paid position.
Another strategy is simply to revise your expectations and start over at an entry-level position.
This might be a bit hard to swallow if you're a graduate from the world-class Little Red Dot. But if you see it as a temporary hiccup and a way to get your foot in the door, it might just be a bit more bearable.
We know of graduates from the Philippines who work at fast food restaurants and factories for an hourly wage. (The average hourly wage in the retail sector is $20.) One friend, who used to work in banking back home, is now taking a course in IT to retrain for a new career. At entry level, of course.
There's the Singaporean IT Project Manager who migrated here without a job, and spent the first 5 months of his new life stacking shelves and delivering the local paper in all kinds of weather, while waiting to hear from prospective employers.
Another Singaporean we know took 2 years to find a permanent job.
Definitely humbling, stressful...and character-building.
A career development practitioner that acknowledges this issue faced by migrants is Associated Career Management Australia. Their website has a category titled "Migrants".
"Often important cultural differences are missed by migrants which can mean ongoing barriers to finding that vital career position. Your counsellor will coach you to understand and avoid these negative and potentially career threatening issues.
We provide intensive support at all levels to ensure that migrants’ employment applications conform to Australian standards, and that their applications are directed to employers, agencies and/or organisations that will treat applications from people from non-english speaking backgrounds simply on merit only."
Definitely something to consider if you are planning to migrate to Australia without a job offer.
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