Job Surfer

Introduction

Job Surfer is a starting point for those looking for employment in Melbourne, Australia and wider. It will help job surfers to find information about job search engines, websites, books and Health and Safety, workplace bullying, how to ensure your rights at work and of course getting visas. We want you to have the information to avoid the "standard pitfalls." So please contribute information, feedback and your own experiences.

But more than just the practical stuff we want to help develop your own vision of what work in Australia could be. From earning a lot of money in the outback in a short time, doing something completely new and unexpected or starting a career change. This group is to empower Job Surfers to find what is ultimately possible.

Please be aware the information provided is as accurate as possible but no guarantee is made. Please update when you have new or better information.

Working in Australia: Visas and Regulations Applying to Non-Citizens

The main Australian Government Website for immigration is Immigration.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) is DIAC. This website also provides information on the Working Holiday Visa. Workers are entitled to a second holiday visa if they have completed three months harvest work or more. It also provides links for harvest and agricultural work.

Another source of information on Visa applications is LiveinAustralia. However this information is provided by a commercial organisation.

Other important information for people who are seeking a working holiday visa are Working Visa's and Immigrationand Working holiday

Your Rights at Work, Bullying and Sexual Harassment

Job Watch Inc., an Australian Community Legal Centre, specialises in Victorian employment law and related issues, telephone advice, information,Your rights at work,termination of employment, where to get help, JobWatch.

For a basic introduction WorkplaceBullying

For a self-help website from a female perspective that includes bullying try femail and workplacebullying.

Career Advice

Need some free career advice? Start @ First Stop First Stop is a free service that helps young people make decisions about further education, training and employment options. Staff at First Stop can provide personalised assistance to young people (or their parents), or mature age workers interested in beginning an apprenticeship or traineeship.

Call (03) 9726 1432

firststop@swinburne.edu.au

Swinburne TAFE

Gate 1, 12 Norton Road

Croydon (Melway 50 K5)

The TAFE Courses Directory gives you an up-to-date listing of more than 1400 accredited courses on offer from TAFE Institutes and other training providers across Victoria TAFE.

Work Training

Short Courses Victoria shortcourses. A short course can provide you with skills, knowledge, enjoyment or experiences that can enrich your life, expand your interests, improve your outlook or make you more employable.

Short Courses Victoria allows you to search for the course you want, and find a course provider that is conveniently located near your home or work. With thousands of short courses listed, the site will give you a brief overview of the course as well as the contact details necessary to find out more.

Job Search Web-Sites

There are many job agencies in Melbourne, but there are two organizations especially for travelers and they will contact agencies for you:

These are Free Spirit, and Geoffrey Nathan. You just need to go and register (they will give you an appointment). They provide jobs for a wide range of skills and areas. They also provide a lot of office work.

Free Spirit

Level 3

546 Collins Street

Tel : 1300FREESPIRIT

Geoffrey Nathan (or "GN")

Level 9

488 Bourke Street

Tel : 1300GNJOBS

Here's how it works : You bring your resume, passport with visa and your Tax File Number. You register, and they send your resume to all the job agencies, so that you yon't need to register everywhere. They can also help you with your visa or sponsorship.

Otherwise, Hays is quite good too for office work.

For working in hospitality, here is a very good agency:

Hotel Staff

6th floor 167 Collins Street info@hotelstaff.com.au Tel 03 9650 1311

They are able to provide work for those without experience such as waiters, catering assistants, room attendants, kitchen hands. There is no contract with an employer, they just send you where they need you. So it can be to a different place everyday, you never know in advance (for instance you go to replace someone sick, or help with a major. It is very diverse, but they are well organized and they helpful.

For government jobs try jobsearch

Although some of the jobs advertised on Workforce Extensions are be low pay, they are good for short term employment and there are several offices around Melbourne and suburbs. Workforce Extensions has offices in Victora, New South, Wales and Queensland. Below are the main industries they service:

- warehouse and distribution

- building and construction

- transport and logistics

- agriculture and horticulture

- education

- medical and aged care

- process workers in manufacturing

- local government

These are some other popular employment search engines; seek.com, careerone, mycareer, infoexchange.

For more casual types of work there is Gumtree

Please note: some Job Surfers have found that jobs on Melbourne Gumtree are not always as good as they might first seem. Be aware and seek advice when looking into employment such as modeling and similar jobs offering high rates of pay. This may be associated with the pornographic industry that exists in Melbourne. Goggling with available details may provide a further information.

Although not a search engine employing casual labour, there is a notice board at the backpacker / hostel cnr Spencer St., & Flinders St, Melbourne. Reputed to be a good source of work.

How Much are You Worth?

This website gives Job Surfers an idea of the salary they can expect to earn by employment category and location SalaryTracking

IT Work in Melbourne

Melbourne has a strong IT industry. Agencies and companies that can be googled include:

Candle

Symantec

Robert Walters

SMS Consulting

Call Centre Work Inbound / OutBound

Providing your English is of a reasonable standard, such that people find it easy to understand, you may be interested in Call Center work. A foreign accent may even be an advantage when talking with Australians as it tends to gain attention.

For inbound call centre work (answering queries and problem solving) use seek.com and make sure in the keyword section you write "inbound."

Roy Morgan Research - involves outward (cold) calling surveys. this could be anything from smoking to politics. Email ask for market research outbound calling positions Roy Morgan.

Waiter, Dish Washer / Kitchen Hand, Bar and Cafe Work

For working in hospitality, here is a very good agency:

Hotel Staff

6th floor 167 Collins Street info@hotelstaff.com.au Tel 03 9650 1311

They are able to provide work for those without experience such as waiters, catering assistants, room attendants, kitchen hands. There is no contract with an employer, they just send you where they need you. So it can be to a different place everyday, you never know in advance (for instance you go to replace someone sick, or help with a major. It is very diverse, but they are well organized and they helpful.

Cafes and Restaurant Work

Most cafes and restaurants don't advertise as they expect potential staff to approach them (at around 3.00 pm when they are not busy) for work. A short CV may be expected.

If you have limited English dish washing may provide a ready source of income

Places that previous Couch Surfers have recommended to try are the cafes in Degress Avenue, in the city. Also Lygon Street in Brunswick Street, and around North Melbourne cafes and restaurants

Cafes with notice boards that occasionally have adverts for jobs are:

Galleon Cafe - 9 Carlisle Street, St Kilda

Soul Food - 273 Smith Street, Fitzroy

CERES Cafe - CERES Community Environment Park, Corner Roberts & Stewart Street, Brunswick East

Friends of the Earth - Smith Street, Fitzroy

Reading's Book Store in Lygon St have a notice board.

Bar Work

Most Bars don't advertise as they expect potential staff to approach them (at around 3.00 pm when they are not busy) for work. A short CV may be expected. Ideally you should have previous experience.

Places to approach are around the entertainment and social hot spots such as the suburbs of St. Kilda, Carlton, Collingwood, Prahan etc.

Artist Models

Modeling for Artists usually requires nudity and you must be comfortable with this, as well as holding poses for long periods. Take care to ensure you are working for a reputable organization or individual.

The Melbourne Life Models Society rate is $25 an hour for drawing and painting and $75 for photography. To join, requirements are a fee of $50 and successful completion of a weekend workshop. However, modeling is competitive. You are advised to join at the start of the year when workshops are held. Work may be slow for some months until you build a client base.

For general information on the Society and modeling visit it's website

Art-Search offers free listing for life models at Artist Models.

The Brunswick Street Gallery BST is a reputable gallery and thats require male and female models for it's weekly drawing, painting and photographic classes.

Other possibilities are the Victorian College of Arts. Also Colleges of Adult Education, as they may do life drawing courses. Numerous Melbourne colleges, Tafes, community houses and private art schools also require Artist Models. Google these terms and your local area to find possible work. However these may already be on registers from the Life Models Society or modeling agencies.

Work for Surfers with Limited English

If you don't mind very early starts and don't speak English well, then working as a porter in Melbourne's markets may suit you.

Try South Melbourne Market, Prahan Market and Victoria Market for work either sorting or moving produce.

If you have a bicycle and want to work late hours there is pasting up bill posters. For enquires into this contact couch surfer Steph.

There is a constant demand for both domestic and industrial Cleaning Work. These are found in local newpapers and on Gumtree.

There is a notice board at the backpacker / hostel cnr Spencer St., & Flinders St, Melbourne. Reputed to be a good source of work.

The Veggie Bar, Brunswick st, Fitzroy, is also said to have a good notice board.

Rural and Agricultural Employment

For information on harvest work the Australia Federal Government through the National Harvest Labour Information Service produces a free "Harvest Guide" updated yearly. For information freecall the National Harvest Labour Information Service 1800 062 332 or Harvest Trail and All Forms.

This guide is Australian wide, provides information by town with short sections on location and crop, local contact organisation for harvest work in the locality, places to visit and tourist information, when to go, how to get there, where to stay and general work requirements such as work in heat or rain, fitness level and / or special requirements such as ladder work.

Note: Seasonal work is any type of work that is undertaken as the employee of a primary producer. For information on types of seasonal work, providing evidence, and the calculation of three months. See: at the Harvest Trail website "Seasonal work." Regional Australia: Information about harvest work opportunities in regional Australia can be found See: at the Harvest Trail website "Harvest Trail - Overview."

For a list of all the postcodes which are identified as Regional Australia. See: at the Harvest Trail website "Regional Australia Postcode List."

Important: To be eligible for a second Working Holiday visa, applicants must complete at least three months of seasonal work in one of the postcode areas. You should check the postcode list before starting seasonal work to ensure it is in an eligible area. Please be aware that some vacancies on the Harvest Trail website may not be in postcode list (for example, some postcodes in the Yarra Valley and other areas do not fit within the definition of Regional Australia).

Tree Planting: This is hard work in isolated parts of Australia. Payment is per tree. Expect at least at least a week before you are fit enough to earn good money. It is possible to make $1000 per week both for males and females. The work requires stamina rather than strength. The contact person is Tracy usufruct@bigpond.com However, there have been reports of difficulty receiving the final weeks payment. If so, read the Job Surfer Section on Legal Rights and report this to the authorities. For free advice contact JobWatch.

Employment in Victorian Ski Resorts

During winter there are many reasonably paid unskilled jobs available at Victorian ski resorts. Hospitality, food, beverage, housekeeping, dish washing / kitchen hand, working with children etc. Check the following web sites: Job Listing List, Working at Falls, Employment.

However Job Surfers should be warned that some jobs may be dependent on snowfall, so you may not start work in the early part of the season.

Teaching English in Other Countries

There is a popular website called Dave's ESL Cafe Eslcafe It has forums, resources, and job listings for teachers throughout Asia.

There is also information on teaching English in Korea, Taiwan and China aacircle. Although be aware that this is provided by a commercial organisation.

Two popular and effective sites for teaching English at all levels in Korea are a placement agency called Park English. Application are free and they apparently find you a job quickly. There appear to be several other placement agencies like this also.

For a useful site about teaching English in Thailand stickmanbangkok. However, be warned the site shows a little too much interest in Thailand's night life.

A very comprehensive site on Teaching English in Japan all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.

Japan English Teacher.Com listing available English Teaching jobs japanenglishteacher.

Volunteer Work

Willing Workers on Organic Farms offer volunteer work in exchange for room and board. Conditions and expectations differ widely from farm to farm and you may be located in an isolated location. So check carefully before committing.

The following may also be of interest but have not as yet been researched.

Work exchange

www.helpx.net

www.workaway.info

www.workstay.com.au

Eco tourism

www.voluntourism.org

www.ecotrackers.com