[austechwriter] Re: Career Advice
- From: "KENT Christine" <CKENT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 12 May 2003 12:59:11 +1000
Hi Rohan
>Could anyone offer any advice? "Move to Saudi Arabia" has been suggested,
>but doesn't appeal at the moment.
My advice would be to look elsewhere for a 'career'. But if you are sure t=
his is what you want to do, then 'move' may be the key.
If you watch Job Net or Seek jobs nation wide, you will note that there is =
often a shortage in Canberra, and Brisbane seems relatively healthy at the =
moment. Even Sydney seems healthier than Melbourne.
Of course, if you have children or a working spouse, 'move' may not be a vi=
able long term solution. But even if you do not want to move family, that =
nice $400.00 living away from home allowance makes it almost economically v=
iable to take short contracts away from home.
If you are in survival mode, there are some short term strategies to use to=
become more competitive in a bad market. The most really serious problem =
I have found is how to get past the discriminatory practices of the recruit=
ment agencies, particularly those that know nothing about the job. I routi=
nely contact every agency after I have applied for a realistic job and ask =
them why they did not present me for the role. After a while you will see =
that patterns as they relate to your circumstances. These are my conclusio=
ns for my circumstances.
1 Always apply for advertised jobs through multiple agencies until one
agre=
es to present you for the role. One agency told me I had the wrong skill s=
et for the job and refused to present me, where another presented me and I =
got the job.
2 Very carefully 'tailor' your CV to different markets - so that you
effect=
ively tell them what they want to hear (without actually telling fibs of co=
urse). I have three CVs, my techwriter CV, my instructional designer CV an=
d my trainer CV. They all say the same thing but prioritise differently.
3 Document job 'roles' and not job 'titles', as so often we do a range of
j=
obs when we have been employed to do just one. =20
4 Ensure that the most recent job shows the full range of what you do.
Agen=
ts have confessed to me that they only look at the last role. If the agent=
sees TW when they want trainer, they will ignore you - even if you are an =
old hand - just because the last job was as a TW. (You can legitimately do=
this if you document roles not titles).
5 Conceal your age if you are over 40 - more so for the agents than for
the=
employers. Drop off the early years of employment, dates you obtained deg=
rees etc so they cannot work out your age. This is critical if you are 'ol=
d', as you will not even get past many of the young and inexperienced agent=
s who think anyone over 40 is past it.
6 Get into SAP (or other ERP systems) any which way you can. When there
is=
nothing else out there, there are still SAP projects.
7 Cold call anywhere that might value your skills.
And all of this is short term stuff. We have been 'waiting it out' for a w=
hile now, and like many on this list, I am experimenting with new direction=
s (and going down a lot of blind alleys) while doing anything I have to do =
to stay employed for now.
Christine
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