How to Get Work in Australia

Many people come to Australia as immigrants. They feel shocked when they see that every thing is expensive and realize that they need to get work as soon as they can.
There are several ways to get work in Australia but the first step you must take is to go to the Overseas Qualifications Unit in the city and see if your qualifications are recognized in Australia.
You can get a Job Seeker ID Number from Centrelink and then register your name with an employment agency. At this employment agency they will help you update your resume and tell you about jobs you can apply for.
Many overseas-trained professionals get upset when their qualifications don't get recognized in Australia. This means that they will not be able to do the same sort of work they did in their countries and will have to start from scratch.
Some people get work through friends. Their friends tell them that there is a job opportunity where they work and they apply for the position. This happens quite often.
Sometimes English is a problem for immigrants and that is why they need to enrol in an English class. It may take a long time for someone to improve his or her English but they can do extra work at home to learn how to speak better. At the end of their language course, the students have an interview with the educational councillor to get advice on what to do next.
There are different employment web sites that can help you get a job. All you have to do is to visit these web sites and email the companies that advertise for workers. You also need to have a good resume that gives a good impression about you.
People can apply to work full time or part time. They can work five days a week or just one day. Others have casual work. This means that the boss calls them any time when he or she needs them to work.
Some people choose to study and get an Australian qualification. This can open many doors for them and make it easy to get work. Some courses can take only two weeks like the security guard course. After finishing the course they can apply for work immediately. Sometimes students have to pay for their courses and this can mean a lot of money.

The Australian Open

The Australian Open is one of the biggest four grand slam tennis tournaments in the world. It attracts the best names in the tennis world to compete for two weeks in Melbourne, the sports capital of Australia every year. The matches are attended by tens of thousands of Australian and international tennis fans. They are also broadcast live to many countries all over the world.
The Australian Open is not just one championship. There are matches for tennis players who are under 17 years of age too. The winner of the Australian Open gets hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money. There are a few tennis players who have won the four grand slams and they are called tennis legends. These legends include the Australian Rod Laver. The main events at the tennis championship are played at the Rod Laver Arena which can host nearly 16,000 viewers.
It is not a surprise that some of the finest players lose their matches and go home early while new players that have never been heard of progress to more advanced stages of the tournament. This can happen in any other tennis tournament.
Before the Australian Open starts there are a number of smaller tennis championships played in different cities across the country and most of the players who take part in the Australian Open play in them to get ready for the big one. Some of the tennis matches can last a few hours and end as late as two o'clock in the morning.
Tickets to attend matches at the Australian Open are not cheap. They start at 50 dollars and go as high as 280 dollars to attend the final match. There are other tickets that allow the audience to attend less important matches and enjoy a variety of activities. These tickets cost 30 dollars for an adult and 20 dollars for a child under 16 years of age. Tickets can be bought online or on entry. You are not allowed to bring any food or drinks with you. You can buy them at the venue and they normally cost more. One small water bottle costs six dollars.
Some of the matches at the Australian Open are attended by fifteen thousand people including film stars, politicians and famous athletes from all over the world.
The players who come to play at the Australian Open do their best to represent their countries and win their matches to improve their world rankings. They also get sponsored by major companies to wear certain brands and use certain rackets. They also appear in commercials and get their pictures published in commercials in different newspapers and magazines.
The Australian Open is a great tennis tradition that tennis fans all over the world can follow on TV each year.

Buy Now - Pay Later

In Australia people spend a lot of money on buying new things every year especially at Christmas time. Parents buy new toys and video games for their children and these can cost a lot of money. Nowadays there are a lot of commercials on the radio and on TV telling people how easy it is to buy now and pay later. These commercials use attractive words like “Buy now and pay later”, “Pay nothing for 12 months – Yes you heard it right” or “No interest for 36 months”.
It is very tempting that you can get a new car if you have a small deposit of only $500. All you have to do is to go to the caryard and choose the one you like. Then you sign some papers and pay the deposit and in a few minutes you take the car home. After one month, you start paying monthly instalments for a few years. Many people do this because they can’t afford to pay all the money in one go.
Sometimes some people don’t pay the instalments on time and they start getting nasty letters from finance companies telling them to pay the money at once or they lose the items they bought. They may also get letters from debt collectors warning them to pay off the money at once or terrible things will happen to them like taking them to court and so on. Customers also start getting fines. The interest free period may end before they pay off all the due amounts and they start paying very high interest rates. These interest rates can be as high as 39%. This means that they end up paying more money.
Australians love using plastic money. They spend as if tomorrow will never come. They owe a lot of money to banks every year and they never stop shopping.
It is a good idea to read the sales conditions before you sign any contract. This applies to many things that you commit to, like signing up for a new mobile phone plan, buying a house or a car because it is never as easy as it looks.
One man bought a couch for $1500 and because he didn’t pay the instalments on time, he ended up paying $5000 for it.
The message is clear. Pay the required amount of money off before the instalment period ends or you will end up paying much more.

Haiti

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It has a population of over eight million people. It does not have good hospitals or modern factories. The people who live in Haiti have a lower life expectancy and thousands of them suffer from AIDS and other serious illnesses. 80% of the population is Catholic and French is the official language. The country always suffers from floods, earthquakes and severe storms that uproot trees and destroy hundreds of houses.

Haiti was discovered by Columbus in 1492 and later on became a Spanish colony. In the 17th century it became a French colony and became a centre for importing slaves from Africa. Soon after that Haiti became an important centre for the sugar industry and forestry.

The slaves in Haiti struggled for many years to gain their freedom. In 1804 Haiti declared its independence and became the first black republic.

Nowadays most of the people in Haiti live on under a dollar a day and many children die before the age of five.

On 12th January 2010 Haiti was hit by a strong earthquake and thousands of buildings collapsed including hotels, schools, hospitals, the United Nations Headquarters and the presidential palace. It is estimated that more than 100,000 people died and 1.5 million became homeless because of the earthquake. After the quake took place, people in Haiti lost access to drinking water, electricity and gas and thousands of dead bodies were left in the streets and that became a health hazard. More than 70,000 bodies were buried in mass graves and tens of thousands of bodies had to be burnt.

Some survivors were saved from under the rubble after spending a few days there, while thousands of others were still trapped under collapsed buildings. Doctors had to perform amputations in the streets and carry out other life-saving operations in hospitals that lacked basic medical supplies.

The main seaport of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, was severely damaged and international help could not arrive in time. The airport control tower and the main runway were also damaged and that slowed down the delivery of the much needed medical and food supplies.

Cover Letter

This is just a sample cover letter. This is not my address or telephone number. You can copy parts of the letter and make your own.


Ibrahim Mohamed
3/22 Howard Street,
Box Hill, 3128
Tel: 9876 5432
Mob: 04123 567 890

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing in regards to your advertisment for a kitchen hand on the Age newspaper on Saturday 12th May, 2009. I believe my experience and work ethics make me suitable for this job.

I am interested in working in the health and aged care industry. I have recently completed Certificate I in Hospitality at AMES in Box Hill. The course included two weeks of work placement at ....................

I wish to apply for any full-time, part-time or casual position in the food preparation and delivery area.

My skills and experience relevant to this position are as follows:

• Three years experience working at Stars Hotel in Hong Kong.
• Dealing effectively, pleasantly and professionally with customers.
• Excellent time management skills.
• Good leadership skills.

I have indcluded my resume for your consideration.

I would welcome the opportunity to further dicuss my experience and resume details at any time you see suitable.

Looking forward to hearing from you at your convenience.

Yours sincerely,




Ibrahim Mohamed

Employment Vocabulary

work / job / career / profession
They all mean the same. I need to find work = I need to find a job = I need to find a career = I need to find a profession.
We don't say "I need to find a work." We say "I need to find work."
What do you do? = What is your job?
what do you do for a living? What is your profession?
Job ad = job advertisment
In Australia most job ads are found online. There is a big number of job ads in newspapers too like The Age on Saturday.
Employment web sites
There are many employment web sites in Australia including My Career, Career One, Job Search, Seek and many more. You have to use a computer connected to the internet to see the information provided on these sites.
Apply for work
After finishing my course I intend to apply for work at the kitchen at Box Hill hospital.
When I came to Australia years ago it was very hard to apply for work because I didn't have any Australian qualification.
Apply for a job
My sister wants to apply for a job at Telstra.
The job market
The job market in Australia keeps changing. There is somtimes a high demand for hairdressers and after a few months they need to employ a big number of nurses and not hairdressers. The job market in Australia keeps changing.
Submit a job application
I read a job ad in the newspaper, typed a resume and then submitted my job application to the manager of the company. He will have a look at my application and get back to me next week if I am lucky.
Process a job application
The manager will have a look at my resume and cover letter. He will process my job application and get back to me soon.
Reject a job offer
The company wanted to give me a job but I decided to reject their job offer. They wanted to pay me little money. I would be crazy if I accepted their job offer. I can work anywhere I like. If they want to hire me, they must pay me a fair salary.
Turn down a job offer
The company wanted me to work for them but I decided to turn their job offer down. I don't want to work for them. I live far away and I don't want to travel a lot.
Job description
A detailed document of what you have to do at your work.
Update your resume
Before you send a resume that you typed a few months ago, have a look at it and see if you need to add any new information. This is how you update your resume.
Bad resume = Bad CV
A bad resume is one that is full of grammar and spelling mistakes. It can also be a very short one and does not have enough information about your work.
Impressive resume
An impressive resume is a very good one that you spend a lot of time preparing it.
Educational background
Information that you provide in your resume about the education you had in your country and in Australia. The first item you provide is always the most recent one.
Rework your resume
When you have a look at your resume and you are not %100 happy, you decide to change certain things on it. This is how you rework your resume to make it look better.
Give details about your work experience
In your resume you give details about your previous work in your country and in Australia. You also give the names of the companies you worked at.
Work experience
You mention where and how long you worked for. Mention any work you did that is related to the job you are applying for.
Body language
The way you use your hands and body to give a meaning when you talk.
Job interview
A meeting you have with a manager or a business owner before you get a job. This person wants to know if you are the best one for the job. Your aim is to answer the questions the person asks correctly and prove that you will work hard for them if they give you the job. There are many job interview sample questions on the internet.
References / Referees
Those are the people who know you and know about your work. You put their names and phone numbers on your resume but you have to ask them first before you do that.
get fired from a job = get sacked = get tha sack
If a person gets fired from his/her job, he or she must have made a big mistake or are very lazy and are no good for the company. They are sometimes trouble makers or cause problems at work.
hire someone
When a manager decides to hire someone, he or she decides to give this person a job. If he or she sees that person no good for the company, the manager does not offer a job to that person. they decide not to hire the person.
job candidate / job applicant
Any person applying for a job is called a job candidate. If you apply for a job, you have to know that you are not the only one who wants to get it. There are other candidates who want to get it too.
Polish your shoes
Before you go to have a job interview or before you go and ask a girl to marry you, remember to polish your shoes well.
Check references
After you submit your job application, the manager at the company will have to contact your references to ask them about you and your work. This is how managers check references in Australia. Make sure you choose people who will speak well about you and your work. They can't be your husband/wife or family members. They have to be in Australia and know that someone will be calling them to ask about your work.
To be shortlisted
If there is a big number of people trying to apply for one job, the manager always chooses a small number of the candidates. The small group is called a shor list. If you get shortlisted, this means that your name is on the new list. After studying their resumes again, the manager decides to give the job to one of them.
Keep things on record
When a company says they will keep your details on record this means that they will keep your job application and your details in case they need to employ someone in the future. They can keep your records for one year. Any thing can happen in this year and they can call and ask you to start in a week's time. This can make you very close to getting a job.
Cover letter
Another document that you provide in additon to your resume. This is prepared in a special way. It is not required if you want to work in a factory or a kitchen. It is normally required when you apply for a highly-paid position.

Employment Vocabulary

Here is a good web site to teach you about vocabulary that you can use in your job hunting. Click here to go to the web site. If you come from Thailand, it will be easy for you to know the meaning of the words.