By Ashutosh Raina

In Conversation with Suman Dua, Director of Smart Careers Australia

Smart Careers Australia is an education agency based in Brisbane, providing internships all over Australia. They work closely with other member institutions to provide the best possible service to their students and candidates, and find the right internship and study course available in Australia. They have plenty of local experience and knowledge valuing the wonderful Australian way of life. Smart Careers provide free assessment service to all our candidates and believe in the success of all candidates.

One of the best and practical working style of Smart Careers is that they accept student application only if they can confirm that they can provide an internship.

Working on real projects for a real organisation will give the students interpersonal skills needed to work effectively with others — and confidence in their abilities.Internships make candidates more competitive in the job market. In addition to gaining exposure and experience in the field, they also provide an opportunity to globalize their resume.

And Suman Dua is the face and power behind this huge initiative and help thestudents, including the recent migrants, to get some local experience in their field of study.

 Q>How to find your first job in Australia – if you’re new here, you need to read this:

A>So you have recently migrated to Australia or have just finished your studies with your skill in demand. You are obviously applying all the jobs that are relevant to you and what you hear is that the only experience that matters is ‘local experience’ While some professionals need an understanding of local practice and law, the obvious question for anyone else is – where do you gain local experience if you can’t get your first break?

“No local experience” can mean that you don’t have knowledge of local laws and regulations, but it also can mean that an employer or recruiter has no idea about the work you have done, or the organisations you’ve worked in, have any relevance to them. They may make judgments about you and your experience, based on what they think they know about your country, good or bad.

Q>Make it easy for employers to understand your resume

A>The first thing to do is to make it easy for employers. Any sort of stereotyping comes out of ignorance. Put context on your resume. In a paragraph above where you list each job, include succinct lines about the places you’ve worked, the markets you’ve worked in, or the competitiveness and demands of the working environment. Make some comparisons to well known Australian companies. Depending on what you do, it may help if you start your job search with organisations that are similar to places where you’ve worked previously. There are lot of good professional templates that you can find free on google and may want to use them.

On all your applications make sure your spelling, grammar, phrasing and expression are more than perfect. Potential employers will see your name, country of origin and can make assumptions about your communication skills. Adopt local expressions. Even if your English is text book, often an employer can hear someone’s accent by the way they write and the expression they use. So if you have any doubts about your English, ask someone who was born here to review your resume.

Q>Talk in detail with recruitment agents

A>You will find that many recruitment consultants are very helpful and they can guide you with what they would like to see on your resume. You might have not mentioned something that they are looking for but you do have that skill. So talking to consultants and attending network opportunities will help. The more you go out and meet more people you will feel more confident and also learn about Australian culture.

Q>Practice Interview skills

A>You will find lot of you tube videos and plenty of resources on google to help you with the type of questions that are usually asked in an interview. You can do mock interviews with someone you know so that you feel confident before you do a real interview. Australians are often less direct in their questioning style than other cultures. Also slow down. Body language contributes to a great deal of meaning in communication. All you have over the phone is your tone and your words.

Q>Internship

A>You may choose to do an internship in your field of study to get some local real world Australian work experience. An internship is a carefully monitored work or volunteer experience in which an individual has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what he or she is learning throughout the experience.

Fair Work has defined lawful unpaid work to include work trials, volunteer work, work experience and internships. It also includes a vocational placement as defined under the Fair Work Act 2009. Unpaid work is lawful if it is a genuine work experience, vocational placement or volunteering arrangement. For more information,  visit www.fairwork.gov.au

If you are looking for an internship please visit www.smartcareersaustralia.com.au.

Q>Temp work

A>Register with agencies for temp work. Often consultants are less fussy with finding someone with the perfect background if it’s just for short term assignments. These can lead to longer assignments, particularly if you’re reliable. This is a great way to build up your networks. Again, you’ll need to be pleasantly persistent with the agency and keep in regular contact. Often speed is the essence in filling temp assignments and if the consultant knows you are easily available, you’ll be the first person they think of when they’re trying to fill an assignment. They’ll love you more and want to help you if take on the harder to fill jobs.

Q>Meet the locals

A>Create some networks through volunteering, sport or hobbies. First make some friends, then ask around for who may know of a job. Many jobs are found this way, where someone hasn’t been a perfect match on paper, yet the employer has gone on the recommendation someone. It saves them money on recruitment and advertising. Be warned with this approach, though. Asking people for a job immediately when you meet them can be off-putting. The friendship is the most important thing. An offer to help you will often come afterwards.

Do some quality research. Find some people in your profession whom you can ask for advice on how your overseas experience translates, and where you should start your search. In my experience few people do this. Yet explaining how your skills translate is a great way to overcome the objection “no local experience.” By doing this you’re showing some great research and networking skills that even many locals don’t have.

Q>Write down your goals

 A>According to a research if you write down what you wish to achieve you are more likely to achieve the results. I see many migrants changing their career path after moving to Australia as they can’t wait anymore for the right opportunity. I would just like to say why you would want to change your career when you have spent so many years and money to achieve that skill. So write down your goals and work towards them and stay positive.Finally, be patient. You’re not alone in your experience and taking it personally will impact your self-confidence.

If you are looking for some local experience in your field of study,and need more inputs on what should be pursued, contact Suman Dua on suman@smartcareersaustralia.com.au