Perth from Scratch

Regulator79

Hi all,

Have read some good threads on Perth here and some of the information contained has been helpful. However, there is a lot of contradictory advice and some of the particular questions i would like answered remain unanswered.

My situation is this; I'm arriving in Perth in mid November on my own. My plan is to work and live there for at least six months. I will be on the regular work/travel one year visa. I am 29 and have been working in Ireland since I was 23. However, apart from office admin skills / research /writing and communications experience, my skills are not classically transferable. In fact, I would be happy to work in an office or do something more physical.

My basic plan is to arrive and stay in a hostel-somewhere safe and central but also fun ill be on my own and will be glad of some company- until i can get a room in a house or an apartment. With accommodation secured, I would start to look for work get properly established.

So I suppose my key questions would be

1. Which hostel is best to stay in?
2. How would I find a place to live?
3. Whats the best way of getting a half decent job.

Thanks for any advice you may have.

Xavi6

Regulator79 wrote: »

1. Which hostel is best to stay in?

The Globe on Wellington St. seems decent. Quite cheap and very central i.e. within walking distance of pubs/clubs, potential work spots, public transport etc.

2. How would I find a place to live?

The West Australian newspaper has a property supplement every Wednesday and Saturday. It has everything you need for rentals or shared accomodation.

3. Whats the best way of getting a half decent job.

Same thing as the housing - The West supplement on Wednesday and Saturday. Job section is quite extensive and will cover Perth, the surrounding suburbs and regional areas. You can also check out local community papers.

slipss

What Xavi said, I hear the Globe is crawling with bed bugs though and they won't let you use your own sleeping bag, but it might be worth checking it out i anyways. If you're looking for party central stay in Underground backpackers on Newcastle street, about 10/15 min walk from city centre, good group of people there, they have there own bar which is a good thing and a bad thing, it's handy not having to run down to the pub or off license but it means you can't bring your own drink in so it works out more expensive. If your looking for somewhere a bit quieter so you can concentrate on work then the YHA is probably your best bet, 10 min walk from city aswell, or Billabong on Beaufort street is kind of a happy medium between a party and working hostel but you can only stay there for 3 weeks maximum and a couple of the staff can be a rude shower of pricks at times.

On the job front you could try seek.com.au aswell as the West Australian, you should have no problem getting a job though, if you go through one of the temp agencies they will set you up with casual work within a day or two.

writetojd

To the OP, im out here on my own. I came out here with an open mind on work. Looking for an office job but if that doesnt pan out more than willing to get a regular job.
Im in the globe right now and its fine. Its good and central but the others mentioned are good too for the reasons mentioned.They put up the rates slightly because of peak season but I hope to find a place soon.
Xavi there was kind enough to meet me last wk and give the run down on the area. Its a nice city and if your thinking of arriving soon its a good time to land because the weather is just picking up.

Spud83

Hostel: bambu on aberdeen street
Accom: sorry no idea
Job: good old fashioned leg work

Regulator79

writetojd wrote: »

To the OP, im out here on my own. I came out here with an open mind on work. Looking for an office job but if that doesnt pan out more than willing to get a regular job.
Im in the globe right now and its fine. Its good and central but the others mentioned are good too for the reasons mentioned.They put up the rates slightly because of peak season but I hope to find a place soon.
Xavi there was kind enough to meet me last wk and give the run down on the area. Its a nice city and if your thinking of arriving soon its a good time to land because the weather is just picking up.

Thanks very much to all for the helpful advice. I'm arriving on November 20th.
Might see some of you down there for a bowl of loudmouth soup!

daftdave

alanmurphy83 wrote: »

Hostel: bambu on aberdeen street
Accom: sorry no idea
Job: good old fashioned leg work

someone inform me what leg work is ??

One Cold Hand

It's a distant cousin of Elbow Grease.

Regulator79

OP again, Less than two weeks away from touch down in Perth.

My only real concern at the moment would be finding accomadation.

There doesnt seem to be a wealth of information available/sites on how to get a place- nothwithstanding previous contributions here.

What do backpackers normally do once theyt have left the hostel and want to stay and work? Do they have it sorted in advance? I hope not

Xavi6

Buy the papers. Go through property sections and job supplements while you're in the hostels.

What are you expecting in the job/accomodation areas if you don't mind me asking?

Panda

hey,

i spent 6 months in perth and loved it.

1. Which hostel is best to stay in?
I stayed at beatty lodge for the first month while i was there cos i was fairly short on cash.
its only ok, the rooms are clean tho
the main downside is its very badly managed.
during the month we were there we had to move rooms at least 15 times because they manage all their room bookings on a paper ledger and couldnt shuffle rooms around.
a few of my friends of mine stayed in bambu.net.au
it was party hostel really, cool place with a bar and its cool to bring your own beer too
ive been in underground backpackers aswell and its an oasis of tranquility compared to bambu

expect to have fun, but more than likely not much sleep.
another place was

2. How would I find a place to live?
backpacker boards in internet cafes are dead handy for that,
also handy for cheap cars, and other travelling paraphanalia
theres plenty of websites like gumtree.com.au of course too

3. Whats the best way of getting a half decent job.
for quick work, 1 2 3 day jobs theres a backpackers place called http://www.travellersclub.com.au/
they'll set you up with something.

got two quick jobs out of there when i got to perth first, money wasnt great at all but needed work quick at the time.

if you're looking for office work then you could try the paper if you like, i tried that for a while but didnt get anywhere.
youd be better off going straight to a recruitment agency as most large business's use them.
i used hays.com.au in perth and also in sydney and they're decent, they're all over the world actually.

Xavi6

Panda wrote: »

if you're looking for office work then you could try the paper if you like, i tried that for a while but didnt get anywhere.
youd be better off going straight to a recruitment agency as most large business's use them.
i used hays.com.au in perth and also in sydney and they're decent, they're all over the world actually.

Some very sound advice up until this bit.

Do not go near agencies. They have their own agenda and do not have your best interests at heart. I went through one and they put me forward for all sorts of jobs that I wasn't qualified for in a bid to make their commission. I was lied to about what jobs entailed and went to interviews expecting one thing and getting another. They are in it for the money they get from companies and nothing else.

I know other people who have experienced the same thing. If it's office work you want then approach companies directly and avoid third parties.

Panda

oh yah, theres some decent places to stay down in fremantle aswell,
cant offer you a name of a place tho...

didnt stay there, tried to get a room at http://www.yha.com.au/hostels/details.cfm?hostelid=116
yha fremantle but it was full.

if you dont stay there, definitely go down for a look, its a great spot.

writetojd

I agree with Xavi, avoid agencies if possible. They take such a chunk of your wages and its costs alot to buy out your contract alot of offices are put off by it. Im in perth right now and i picked up some christmas casual work just to shorten the week and for some income. Still looking for office work but on my own.
To the OP hope it all works out

Regulator79

Thanks guys.

To answer some questions, I am looking to get the best job I possibly can. Something that would add to the CV. I know that this will be difficult because a) Im on the backpacker visa and my work experience is politics/public affairs and Im not sure it will travel all that well.

I havent tried to go direct to add sites for jobs or companies themselves for anything other than temp work because I was told that once they hear you are on the backpacker visa they dont want to know...

BarryCreed

Regulator79 wrote: »

Thanks guys.

To answer some questions, I am looking to get the best job I possibly can. Something that would add to the CV. I know that this will be difficult because a) Im on the backpacker visa and my work experience is politics/public affairs and Im not sure it will travel all that well.

I havent tried to go direct to add sites for jobs or companies themselves for anything other than temp work because I was told that once they hear you are on the backpacker visa they dont want to know...

In the same situation myself, but have some experience in another field, where there seem to be vacancies, but many of them looking for more experience than I have. How old are you? Maybe you could stress you're out to get a job and not go on the beer and travel?

maybe with public affairs, you could try the local government? Do you have a language? Might be handy for the tourist industry there..?

try some of the embassies or consulates for the craic of it. see how it goes..

Regulator79

BarryCreed wrote: »

In the same situation myself, but have some experience in another field, where there seem to be vacancies, but many of them looking for more experience than I have. How old are you? Maybe you could stress you're out to get a job and not go on the beer and travel?

maybe with public affairs, you could try the local government? Do you have a language? Might be handy for the tourist industry there..?

try some of the embassies or consulates for the craic of it. see how it goes..

Cheers. I have decent french but it may not be any use. What i might have to do is to take something short term until something better comes up. I am most definitely coming to work. My hope would be that there is some kind of agency that can distinguish those of us in that category from those in another. Convincing an employer directly, who will be looking for someone with a full visa might be a lot trickier. Im 29 by the way.

BarryCreed

Regulator79 wrote: »

Cheers. I have decent french but it may not be any use. What i might have to do is to take something short term until something better comes up. I am most definitely coming to work. My hope would be that there is some kind of agency that can distinguish those of us in that category from those in another. Convincing an employer directly, who will be looking for someone with a full visa might be a lot trickier. Im 29 by the way.

I'm in Ireland at the moment myself, and my WHV expires end of next April. I got it just to have it just before I turned 31. Trying to sort out some stuff here is what held me back this year, but I might take the plunge and book a flight after Christmas if I havent heard from any other job offers this side of the world...
Maybe it would be a case of doing anything to tide you over for a start? I've thought of that too. (must bring guitar!). My fear is shelling out 1K+ for a flight, arriving over, and after 2 months going "oh f**k...."

Well, maybe an agency could put your case forward to a company. Maybe, but I'm not sure, the fact you're 29 and not 21 could help. I would be trying to use the line of "I did the tourist thing already, I WANT to work"

Perth is a lovely place too. I would be prepared to go east if I had to, but I loved WA.
My mate is home on Friday for a few weeks. He went out a few yrs ago on a WHV ad got lucky, so I'm going to ask him the ins and outs.
One thing he did tell me was "Expect to get paid less than others for a year, while you're on this visa..."

LastchanceWHV

Hey! another one looking to use the WHV before it's too late - also thinking Perth as it happens. OP - I'm planning to taking a few weeks to holiday and get to grips with the ins and outs of the job and accom market before taking the plunge, so very little prep done re finding a job. I had planned on using an agency though, and I know few problems with that have been highlighted - might still be a good option while you are looking for something else though?

BarryCreed

ive been looking at www.seek.com.au but I reckon it's pointless applying unless you are over there. It's hard to say with job sites though. Are they a true reflection of the job market? I've applied for jobs here, and have had a few responses (thanks but no thanks), but others I have yet to hear back from. I wonder do the jobs exist at all. I wouldn't trust half of them as far as I could throw them....

Xavi6

BarryCreed wrote: »

ive been looking at www.seek.com.au but I reckon it's pointless applying unless you are over there. It's hard to say with job sites though. Are they a true reflection of the job market? I've applied for jobs here, and have had a few responses (thanks but no thanks), but others I have yet to hear back from. I wonder do the jobs exist at all. I wouldn't trust half of them as far as I could throw them....

I wouldn't be so cynical tbh.

Seek is an excellent resource, though the problem is a lot of the jobs are linked to agencies so you have to go through them.

It is definitely a better idea to apply here as you set up interviews and meet the people face to face. The West Australian is also great for jobs.

hussey

Yeah as Xavi said, being in Oz is the plus, if the jobs are with an agency, then the agency's main concern is to get money now- for them, if you ain't in Oz you ain't being put forward to the job simple as

now the agency will tell you the moon and the stars just to get you on their books etc etc

there does seem to be jobs out there, not as much as there was though.
Australia seems to be in a 'wait and see' period, and a lot of companies are cutting back just in case.

Panda

got the hint, ye dont like agencies.

it worked for me very well in both new zealand and in australia.
i was straight out of college with a very slim chance of getting a job in ireland
when i went to new zealand and after approaching many companies directly
it was an agency that got me a job in IT after less than a week.
and was in that job for 9 months(during which there was pay raise)even though it was supposed to be a 6 month contract.

then after again trying to get work in oz reading the papers wasnt gettin anywhere so just went straight to an agency again and got a job for a great company for 6 and a half months

as for the money factor, contract jobs do on average pay better.
its true that agencies get a chunk, but its not your chunk to begin with.
if you got that contract yourself as far as i know you wouldnt see that money anyway.

be my guest and try the direct route, but agencies worked for me!

Regulator79

Op again.

In Perth. Sharing a house in the lovely Subiaco.

Havent got a job yet though. Perhaps my problem is im looking for a nine to five office job. The funny thing here is that potential employers / recruiters feel under no obligation, it would seem, to respond to correspondence and applications. Actually, everyone seems to take it fairly handy (laziliy?) here. Ill keep plugging away!!

Xavi6

Another recruit for a Perth beers?!

Regulator79

Always up for beers young Xavi.

I am mindful, however, of the need to prioritise getting work in the name of financial rectitude and team morale. Being unemployed is immasculating.:o

How hard can it be to get an office job in this town?

Xavi6

Depends on the area you want to get into.

Have you been on seek, gone through the papers etc?

SkYbUrNeR

Send your CV to recruit@integritystaffing.com.au
Guarantee you'll have a job within a week...
they look after all government departments

BraziliaNZ

SkYbUrNeR wrote: »

Send your CV to recruit@integritystaffing.com.au
Guarantee you'll have a job within a week...
they look after all government departments

man they give out some SERIOUSLY boring office jobs! I worked with them for a bit and a girl i know, but yeah, if you're stuck for cash they'll sort you out. We should have some kind of meet up before Xmas, I'm busy this friday though, off to mags river.

seachto7

edit:

recruit@integritystaffing.net.au

SkYbUrNeR

SkYbUrNeR wrote: »

Send your CV to recruit@integritystaffing.com.au
Guarantee you'll have a job within a week...
they look after all government departments

Yeah thats it, sorry was just quoting off top of my head!

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

man they give out some SERIOUSLY boring office jobs! I worked with them for a bit and a girl i know, but yeah, if you're stuck for cash they'll sort you out. We should have some kind of meet up before Xmas, I'm busy this friday though, off to mags river.

Seriously boring, tell me about it. But theres no pressure, no responsibility and its easy money.... I actually gotta great job through them, 48 bucks an hour...