WHV Finance IT

ChikiChiki

Hi All,

So a lot as happened in the past couple of days. Currently I'm working as a Business Analyst contracting in a large organisation. I've been working there since November and my 3 month contract is coming to an end as my tasks will be completed and the project will move onto the testing phase.

Now that the contract will be finished in early Feb I'm thinking rather than picking up a new contract I will pick up a WHV and travel to Australia instead. There are two main reasons for Australia. The first the relatively strong economy and the second is the warm climate. (My chest seems to take a hammering here when the weather cools)

A few facts about myself;
29 yrs old male
BA Degree in Accounting & Finance
7 years experience working Ops in major bank
3 yrs experience Junior Business Analyst with 1 yr as a self employed contractor.

To be clear whilst I want to do some travel I would like to continue working as a Business Analyst or some Finance related role in Australia continuing on my career and getting some international experience on the CV at the same time.

Could anyone tell me;

Are there many opportunities in Oz at the moment in this area?
What are my prospects?
What city would have the best job market?

I've always had the travel itch and never done it. Feels like nows a good time and I should just go for it.

Apologies for typos as I'm writing on mobile. Thanks in advance.

punk_one82

Not entirely familiar with Business Analyst roles, but I work in software development in the insurance industry currently, so work in a lot of the big banks/insurers and there are a lot of similar jobs going in such places from my experience (in Sydney anyway).

I'd have a look on www.seek.com.au if I were you. You can get an idea what's available in each city. The finance/IT sector is quite strong here, so I can't imagine you'd have much trouble finding a job.

pete4130

So many opportunities here even on a WHV. With a degree like your you will not struggle for work. I have friends here on WHV, young, no qualifications earning around $55K a year in a call centre in Sydney.

Somebody like you would easily find a much better paying job.

My advice is to just simply go for it.

ChikiChiki

Cheers guys. I'm going to go for it. Have my CV updated and will start getting that out on seek.com.au. I was about to submit the WHV application and payment this evening and noticed my passport is expired in July.

That's a bit of a bummer as it is estimated 15 working days turnaround which will be early February. That means I can't submit my WHV application until then as I need the new passport number. Will call into passport office tomorrow and see if they can fast track it. I finish work on 3rd Feb and would like to be on a flight to Oz within 5 days instead of hanging around and having to pay another months rent.

Looking forward to the new adventure.

punk_one82

You're right to go for it. There's a lot of opportunities here in IT, and the money is great in comparison to home.

Neon_Lights

Thinking the same myself with the missus later on this year, let me know how you get on dude

ChikiChiki

Neon_Lights wrote: »

Thinking the same myself with the missus later on this year, let me know how you get on dude

Yeah I'll give a few updates for sure. It's a big move especially as my field is booming in Dublin at the minute but you only live once....

Neon_Lights

ChikiChiki wrote: »

Yeah I'll give a few updates for sure. It's a big move especially as my field is booming in Dublin at the minute but you only live once....

Cheers. Came from a similar background myself degree in accounting and finance, now working as a programmer/systems analyst. Would be interesting to know.

Have a mate in Melbourne at the moment working as an IT recruitment consultant says "employers are wet for anybody halfway technical"

punk_one82

Neon_Lights wrote: »

Cheers. Came from a similar background myself degree in accounting and finance, now working as a programmer/systems analyst. Would be interesting to know.

Have a mate in Melbourne at the moment working as an IT recruitment consultant says "employers are wet for anybody halfway technical"

The company I'm currently in (until the end of Jan) would be all over hiring a programmer/analyst in the role I'm in. Irish company based in Dublin with offices in Sydney and Melbourne. Mostly working onsite in customer offices.

pete4130

Just to be aware, most companies usually wont entertain any applications from people overseas. It's no harm shooting them off a CV and saying when you'll be here but until then it's not likely you'll hear back unless they are particularly keen to have you. Put you details to recruiters for sure and let them know when you are going to be here.

ChikiChiki

pete4130 wrote: »

Just to be aware, most companies usually wont entertain any applications from people overseas. It's no harm shooting them off a CV and saying when you'll be here but until then it's not likely you'll hear back unless they are particularly keen to have you. Put you details to recruiters for sure and let them know when you are going to be here.

Thanks Pete. I shot off a couple of CVs last night for BA roles mentioning I'll be out there in February and making myself available for remote interview if required. I was encouraged to see on many of the Job Specs state that they accept applicants with WHV.

I'll get in contact with recruiters this evening.

Edit: just checked my email and they want to talk. Encouraging indeed.

Neon_Lights

ChikiChiki wrote: »

Thanks Pete. I shot off a couple of CVs last night for BA roles mentioning I'll be out there in February and making myself available for remote interview if required. I was encouraged to see on many of the Job Specs state that they accept applicants with WHV.

I'll get in contact with recruiters this evening.

Edit: just checked my email and they want to talk. Encouraging indeed.

If any of you guys know, Is there any major differences to an Australian CV say over an Irish one? Just so I can get it ready

kkeith5

Hi guys i arrived in Adelaide 28th September and can not get work I got a Bachelor in business and just completed a one year conversion course in software development. Ive applied to jobs and recruiters in Adelaide , Melbourne and Sydney and still cant get anything. Currently looking at trying to do fruit picking cause cant get anything else. Problem is I don't have any experience if anyone could give me advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Neon_Lights

kkeith5 wrote: »

Hi guys i arrived in Adelaide 28th September and can not get work I got a Bachelor in business and just completed a one year conversion course in software development. Ive applied to jobs and recruiters in Adelaide , Melbourne and Sydney and still cant get anything. Currently looking at trying to do fruit picking cause cant get anything else. Problem is I don't have any experience if anyone could give me advice it would be greatly appreciated.

It would be the same here, regarding experience, employers may be a little more reluctant go for less experienced applicants. I'd say, try startups or smaller businesses, somewhere you can learn and build experience. The pay may not be as good to start out but once you've built up a portfolio then you should be fine. Keep on trying and seek opportunity, it will come knocking.

pete4130

kkeith5 wrote: »

Hi guys i arrived in Adelaide 28th September and can not get work I got a Bachelor in business and just completed a one year conversion course in software development. Ive applied to jobs and recruiters in Adelaide , Melbourne and Sydney and still cant get anything. Currently looking at trying to do fruit picking cause cant get anything else. Problem is I don't have any experience if anyone could give me advice it would be greatly appreciated.

I'd say being in Adelaide could be the problem. Companies in places like Sydney would be less likely to hire somebody from Adelaide when they can have interviews happening in Sydney. As I've said earlier, a friend, 21, with no qualifications is on about $53k a year in a call centre and there is so much work here in Sydney compared to Adelaide.

kkeith5

I suppose I just came to Adelaide cause I had a place to stay and thought I could apply from here to get a job in Melbourne or Sydney. I've just been hesitant to move to Sydney with no work set up cause I hear how expensive it is.

kkeith5

Neon_Lights wrote: »

kkeith5 wrote: »

Hi guys i arrived in Adelaide 28th September and can not get work I got a Bachelor in business and just completed a one year conversion course in software development. Ive applied to jobs and recruiters in Adelaide , Melbourne and Sydney and still cant get anything. Currently looking at trying to do fruit picking cause cant get anything else. Problem is I don't have any experience if anyone could give me advice it would be greatly appreciated.

It would be the same here, regarding experience, employers may be a little more reluctant go for less experienced applicants. I'd say, try startups or smaller businesses, somewhere you can learn and build experience. The pay may not be as good to start out but once you've built up a portfolio then you should be fine. Keep on trying and seek opportunity, it will come knocking.

Thanks for the advice Neon_Lights:
Would you recommend looking up a list of start-ups and small business and just applying to them directly to a member of HR staff.

ChikiChiki

I have a phone interview tomorrow night at 10pm (9am Sydney time) for a Financial Business Analyst Role in Sydney CBD. Hopefully it goes well. The job spec was well suited to my experience and I emailed the HR girl directly rather than pushing it through seek.au.com along with other applications.

Keith I'd echo what the guys are saying. Get your foot in the door somewhere and oppurtunities will open from there as you build up your experience on the CV.

Neon_Lights

kkeith5 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice Neon_Lights:
Would you recommend looking up a list of start-ups and small business and just applying to them directly to a member of HR staff.

Anywhere you can find the information Keith to be honest. As much as you can get your name out there I don't see any harm in it, be persistent (but pleasant) and you should be fine. Somebody will definitely be willing to give you an opportunity.

Just found a few links here that may be useful to you below. I know in some startups that they might at the start be looking for a bit more of a generalist to muck in wherever in the business that's required. But if you're motivated you'll definitely be given the chance to show off your software development flair. Are you interested in any particular area of software dev?

Also if you've time, just attend hackathons and startup meetups, get to network and find who some of the key people that can help you in Adelaide, Sydney or wherever required.

https://angel.co/australia/jobs

https://www.f6s.com/jobs?roles[]=8&roles[]=9&roles[]=10&roles[]=14&roles[]=23&countries[]=13&sort=newest

http://www.startup-australia.org/startups

Neon_Lights

ChikiChiki wrote: »

I have a phone interview tomorrow night at 10pm (9am Sydney time) for a Financial Business Analyst Role in Sydney CBD. Hopefully it goes well. The job spec was well suited to my experience and I emailed the HR girl directly rather than pushing it through seek.au.com along with other applications.

Keith I'd echo what the guys are saying. Get your foot in the door somewhere and oppurtunities will open from there as you build up your experience on the CV.

That was quick

kkeith5

Neon_Lights wrote: »

kkeith5 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice Neon_Lights:
Would you recommend looking up a list of start-ups and small business and just applying to them directly to a member of HR staff.

Anywhere you can find the information Keith to be honest. As much as you can get your name out there I don't see any harm in it, be persistent (but pleasant) and you should be fine. Somebody will definitely be willing to give you an opportunity.

Just found a few links here that may be useful to you below. I know in some startups that they might at the start be looking for a bit more of a generalist to muck in wherever in the business that's required. But if you're motivated you'll definitely be given the chance to show off your software development flair. Are you interested in any particular area of software dev?

Also if you've time, just attend hackathons and startup meetups, get to network and find who some of the key people that can help you in Adelaide, Sydney or wherever required.

https://angel.co/australia/jobs

https://www.f6s.com/jobs?roles[]=8&roles[]=9&roles[]=10&roles[]=14&roles[]=23&countries[]=13&sort=newest

http://www.startup-australia.org/startups

Thanks for the advice guys this should help alot, I was more into Java and SQL before I came here but most of the jobs here seem to be more general so started studying and focusing on front end web development and hopefully lead too full stack developer.
 Ive done HTML, CSS, bootsrtap before but need to learn Node JS and JQuery and Mongo DB. I have a friend in Melbourne so I think I will try and make a move down there quite soon should be more opportunities.

ChikiChiki

Interview cancelled at last minute yesterday due to illness on the interviewers part. It's more difficult than I thought to schedule a call. As I'm not a morning person couldn't agree to the 3am, 4am times that were proposed for the calls and hopefully Friday morning at 9am it will happen.

Interesting to note on the other thread in this forum some speculation of the Aussie economy crashing these year. Bloody well hope not but then again who know what the ripple effect of Trump will be. He's saying some crazy stuff.

punk_one82

ChikiChiki wrote: »

Interview cancelled at last minute yesterday due to illness on the interviewers part. It's more difficult than I thought to schedule a call. As I'm not a morning person couldn't agree to the 3am, 4am times that were proposed for the calls and hopefully Friday morning at 9am it will happen.

Interesting to note on the other thread in this forum some speculation of the Aussie economy crashing these year. Bloody well hope not but then again who know what the ripple effect of Trump will be. He's saying some crazy stuff.

If you're serious about setting a job up before you come over would you not take whatever call you can get at whatever time you can get it?

There's constant speculation about the Australian economy and property market crashing. There's definitely been slowdown in WA in the industries that were said to be propping up the economy, but I'm not sure that's really been felt in the rest of the country. The property market here (in Sydney and from what I can see the other major cities) is ridiculous, but doesn't seem to really be slowing down.

ChikiChiki

punk_one82 wrote: »

If you're serious about setting a job up before you come over would you not take whatever call you can get at whatever time you can get it?

There's constant speculation about the Australian economy and property market crashing. There's definitely been slowdown in WA in the industries that were said to be propping up the economy, but I'm not sure that's really been felt in the rest of the country. The property market here (in Sydney and from what I can see the other major cities) is ridiculous, but doesn't seem to really be slowing down.

I suppose your right but I'd rather not if can be avoided. My ability to think critically and react to situational questions would be a little impaired at 2 or 3am.

On the job progress. I've done a first round call which I got through. Then last night I had a follow up interview on Skype and HR rang this morning to say that the feedback was positive from it and that they have one other person to interview about the position and will let me know Thursday.

She asked me this morning about my salary expectations and 85k is the number being thrown out by them. I said I'd come back to her once I figured out what area I'd like to live in which will hopefully be near good amenities and transport links. Also she asked me would I be willing to start a week earlier on flexible time than I initially stated and I said yes to that.

For anyone living in Sydney and punk_one82 you may be able to guide me here, would you consider 85k Aud to live comfortably? I understand its very expensive. My gut feeling is that I can probably negotiate upwards on that and will do that if necessary.

All in all the opportunity sounds promising. I applied for the WHV and once I submitted payment it came through in 2 minutes. Impressively efficient process. Flying out regardless on February the 8th with Ethiad through Abu Dhabi on a one way ticket and really looking forward to it job or no job lined up.

Sorry for any typos as I'm on mobile.

punk_one82

ChikiChiki wrote: »

For anyone living in Sydney and punk_one82 you may be able to guide me here, would you consider 85k Aud to live comfortably? I understand its very expensive. My gut feeling is that I can probably negotiate upwards on that and will do that if necessary.

It is very expensive but 85k is a decent salary. It's not amazing by any means, but you'll more than get by on it. What's the role/years experience? Try negotiate up for sure, you'll probably get extra.

Congrats on making the move!

pete4130

$85k is more than enough after fist landing when you have no bills or commitments. Rent for a room in a decent share house will be $250-$300 and that money is about $1232 per week after tax.

The thing you need to find out is if the $85K is an $85k package...as in does that include your superannuation or is your super on top of that $85k. Some jobs upsell the annual salary by giving it as a "package". I've had job offers before with "$100k packages" where that $100k was your salary, superannuation and vehicle all rolled into it. Vehicle is valued at about $14K a year leaving about $86K, less super at about 9% means salary is about $78k a year.

Neon_Lights

pete4130 wrote: »

$85k is more than enough after fist landing when you have no bills or commitments. Rent for a room in a decent share house will be $250-$300 and that money is about $1232 per week after tax.

The thing you need to find out is if the $85K is an $85k package...as in does that include your superannuation or is your super on top of that $85k. Some jobs upsell the annual salary by giving it as a "package". I've had job offers before with "$100k packages" where that $100k was your salary, superannuation and vehicle all rolled into it. Vehicle is valued at about $14K a year leaving about $86K, less super at about 9% means salary is about $78k a year.

Just in relation to this a job saying + super is on top of basic pay or does that generally need to be clarified, was looking at the Aul jobs market over there last night

aido79

Neon_Lights wrote: »

Just in relation to this a job saying + super is on top of basic pay or does that generally need to be clarified, was looking at the Aul jobs market over there last night

Employers legally have to pay Superannuation on top of your wages into a fund of your choice.

Neon_Lights

aido79 wrote: »

Employers legally have to pay Superannuation on top of your wages into a fund of your choice.

Okay gotcha but say I see a job advertised as 120k + 17% super is that

120k base + (17% into the super or)

17% of that 120k paid into the super

aido79

Neon_Lights wrote: »

Okay gotcha but say I see a job advertised as 120k + 17% super is that

120k base + (17% into the super or)

17% of that 120k paid into the super

I think that would be a little bit different and you would need clarification from the company but I would hazard a guess that they would pay the 9% they are required to pay on top of the 120k and the remaining 8% could be salary sacrificed out of the 120k.

Similar situation to this on another forum I would imagine:

https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1700909

Neon_Lights

aido79 wrote: »

I think that would be a little bit different and you would need clarification from the company but I would hazard a guess that they would pay the 9% they are required to pay on top of the 120k and the remaining 8% could be salary sacrificed out of the 120k.

Similar situation to this on another forum I would imagine:

https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1700909

Oh yeah for sure was just wondering if there was a standard convention for it. Would prefer not to be sold a pup after heading out there.