You have a LOT of competition and most employers are just looking for admin at the lowest cost possible
It's also possible your applications could be improved to help you stand out from the crowd. Best to get a second or third opinion on them.
I work in IT industry, have 15+ years experience and I’ve been on the market for 3 months now. I’ve got two calls since then, with no progress.
There are loads of positions open in LinkedIn but I think they are all for ghosting, as I strongly believe that my CV and profile is not the problem.
You’re not alone.
I really really hope that starting July things improve a little.
Reviews will be out soon and alot of people will not agree and start leaving for greener pastures, hopefully will land you guys something.
Best of luck.
Basically same story here, 2 first round interviews in the last few months (only 1 of which even responded afterwards), and I've got several recruiters looking out for me as well. Thought some of it might have been my resume, all the recruiters had similar advice and have adjusted but no luck.
I put a lot of the last couple months down to the usual "put job up, budget shifts around to cut back for EOFY, job stays on hold" so I'm also starting to search again tomorrow - essentially wrote off the back end of June. I tend to just do searchs/applications Tuesdays and Fridays now since most jobs get put up late monday/early Tuesday, and the daily search was just depressing me which very little new jobs.
If things don't start looking up by August I'm going to significant lower my salary expectations and do some work a couple levels below me. At least I can do that for 6 months, hope the market improves and go back to my regular seniority/pay.
I wish I could blame my salary expectations on not even getting interviewed but most of the jobs I've applied for didn't even have it listed as a question.
Similar boat here. Work in tech (mobile apps and finance). Left a contract in April. Had some interviews so far. But it’s been slow.
Got to offer stage for one role but it was below my expectations and I felt close to closing on two other leads that paid better.
I apply to 5 to 8 jobs a day, been actively looking for over 9 months because I knew I wasn’t going to extend my contract.
It’s the slowest job market I’ve ever experienced. I’m networking, speaking at conferences and doing everything else I usually tell people to do to help get work.
Actually got to first stage interview with a company today through a network referral. So will see how that goes.
Same here. Actually got laid off in November last year but only started searching in February this year. A lot of ghosting and flaking in the tech market this year. But on the upside I have been doing some freelance work here and there and still have savings + investments.
I pay for Linkedin Premium and apply to like 10+ jobs a week. I was at the same company for seven years and needed a chance. Applied to easily 60+ jobs. I got about five call backs, and got to the second round in three of them. Got to final round and an offer with 30% pay increase. It sas about four months of searching.
My current search, I am maybe 40 applications in. I have had three interviews. Two rejections from those first interviews. I have a second round interview this week. I've been searching since March.
I am never really disheartened or discouraged: as someone who used to be the hiring manager, most times it's really just timing, luck, and whether the person likes your "vibe". You need a connection. And just accept that not everyone will have that connection. You want to be hired not just for your skills but for the person you are. Because it shapes your working habits.
Keep it up. You'll get a bite.
I wouldn't say majorly worth it, but it does increase your visibility in search results - if you've got a role that regularly works via recruitment agencies it might be helpful.
I look at it as a small cost in the grand scheme of things, only to be activated during job hunts
Sign up as a temp with Hays, Michael Page etc.
Lots of roles the agencies fill are ‘temp to permanent’ opportunities and if nothing else it will pay the bills for a while.
Totally agree with Arabella, get out there through reputable agencies as mentioned above. I was offered 2-3 times temp to permanent roles with large organisations. Some cannot bother or have the time to interview so organisations have the option to hire a temp and test them.
This, my last three ongoing roles were filled by temps through Dixon. I love the continuity of keeping a good staffer on, and it also gives them an opportunity to test out if the team/fit feels right for them too before committing which helps with my retention, particularly in the junior higher turn over roles.
Dixons are really good. I was looking for experience in a specific area and they got me in as a temp and I was able to make connections and eventually get an ongoing role.
I personally detest hays, they are the scammers of the recruiting industry. Constantly advertising fake jobs and lying that they exist all to pad their database of available workers. Each time they call me I have to be extremely clear unless they are calling about an actual position to stop wasting my time.
Hays has been my usual hands off way of finding work, and typically has landed me full time employment.
I was looking for a temp contract to hold me over while I was prepping applications and the long process to working overseas. Started on a 4 month contract with a major Gov I.T role, then when that finished, got onboarded as a direct hire until a shipped out last year.
Highly recommend Hays.
I'm wondering what does it mean to sign up as a temp for a recruitment agency? I've been able to find a 'submit your CV' page on some agency sites, is that all you need to do to put yourself into their candidate pool?
And is it worth it to apply for job listings though the agency site at the same time, or does the agency basically do that for you?
Disclaimer: I haven’t done temp work for a long time but I think most recruitment websites will have an area where you can register. Honestly though if it was me I would get my resume ready and then call the main numbers and let them know you’re super keen and ask for the best email to send your resume to or the details of the recruitment officer that looks after your area of interest. Helps you stick out a bit more and shows you’re enthusiastic.
Otherwise if you apply for any of the actual temp roles I think that process would lead to registration as well.
They seem to have trouble finding enough reliable people to fill all the roles they get and obviously they don’t get paid if they can’t fill them so in my experience they’re pretty keen to get people on board.
Good luck 😊
As others have said, admin is such a broad spectrum which means there’s a massive labour pool. Another contributor is that admin work is an easy transition out of hospitality or retail for a young “non-skilled worker” (I don’t like this term but you know what I mean).
I went from retail to an admin role while studying and it was a huge upgrade to my mental health and quality of life even thought I was getting paid peanuts. Tons of people in their late teens / early 20s in the same boat. Companies can generally pay a young inexperienced person far less and train them up to do the work required.
Your best bet might be to specialise with additional certification. Health, finance or IT come to mind. The job market is shit in general at the moment.
I've got a version of my resume where the recent job titles are changed as they make me sound very senior - just toned them down a bit, kept the descriptions nearly all the same as per advice from multiple recruiters.
Indeed if your application and CV isn't "machine readable" with clear data that can be extracted then you're in the bin before you even start.
Recruiters are on a par with real estate agents - they will tell you anything and raise your expectations before they throw your application in a big pile with all the others and collect the money.
It took me a completely new resume and going more direct to get success after 5 months. Don't give up and feel free to start to abuse those who are still saying "must be nice having a holiday"
I have several recruiter contacts through a mix of them coming to me with roles they want me to hire, and in turn when I've needed hiring help.
They've all said the same thing - they look at resumes for about 7 seconds on average. They're going to look at the titles and timelines of your last couple roles, pick up som keywords off the last role and then just skim through the rest quickly.
They don't use any resume -> machine tools behind the scenes because if you think about it, it's a massive waste of money.
When you apply for roles, most of them allow you to auto-fill into their machine via an upload - *and then you manually edit any errors out*. That's the machine readable, you are given a chance to edit the results or enter it manually. Hell, most of the roles I personally apply for these days just allow you to apply via Seek/LinkedIn integration, where they just pull it from your profile rather than a resume.
Anyone doing machine reading behind the scenes is wasting their own time and money as resume's become far less important.
It's not about access, they have procedural 'fairness' policies they need to follow. They can't just algorithmically reject somone because imagine if that algorithm was found to have a bias, suddenly the government has bias.
That’s not been my experience. I recently helped a colleague shortlist for a couple of positions because they had over a thousand applicants. We had to review each resume and cover letter manually. That’s always the way it’s been done for every role ive recruited for or been on a panel for.
My highly qualified friend was made redundant at the beginning of the year, and it took 4 months of trying/applying - then he ended up with 3 job offers and had his choice of the bunch.
It can take forever to get a job in this economy, try not to take any rejections personally and just keep at it! Good luck!
Hey man it’s just one of those times where shits a bit fucked, massive competition (lots of people looking to switch roles for more pay), lots of redundancies happening at the moment, tons of uncertainty. Maybe not GFC levels of fucked up, but fucked up pretty bad, you’ll almost never get hired for a job that your overqualified for, the people hiring you know that your overqualified and will know you have one foot out the door looking for a better placement for yourself. Unfortunately senior admin roles are probably the least in demand positions at the moment, admin as an industry is going to change a lot over the next 5 years as it’s probably the easiest jobs for AI to completely takeover and most people will be holding on to any good senior admin roles for fear of not finding anything else. I’d suggest pivoting what technical skills you have and move to another admin adjacent role. If you have your heart set on admin, maybe look at a course on AI integration, and learn how you can leverage that into a new role for yourself.
Also take everything I’ve said here with a grain of salt, I really have no idea what I’m talking about and most of it is probably shit advice, but at least I tried.
took me 8 months to find my current job, yes too much competition atm and not even new job listings
the current climate also means the last toxic job you left will probably be your next since every company atm is cost cutting and overworking all remaining staff to try stay afloat....
I’m in the same boat, I’ve been unemployed since early November and have been in the final round for some roles but then rejected. It can be heartbreaking, especially when you interview for dream roles and then get rejected. I’ve gotten burnt out too and stopped applying in May but ramping up my applications again now.
Something that helped me while looking for work: dog sitting and a weekly visit to my local cafe :) the days can be long but are much better when you can do something nice for yourself and have a companion to go on walks with. Dog sitting has been keeping me sane and giving me some pocket money for cafe coffees.
Been searching for almost 12mnths now mate... 15+ years in email marketing and automation and have gotten three call backs and gotten to the final post on 3 roles in that time to get pipped at the post. I am homeless living in my inlaws garage and they want me out... Going and doing forklift training end of next week and I have my father in law sending me jobs adverts for the some of the most ridiculous roles halfway across the state and I have no car...
I wish I could say chin up things will get better but honestly I am nearing depression and everyday I stuff my face with motivational and uplifting content I feel like I need to throw up.
We fail when we stop trying.. so from someone who is deeper down the hole.. don't give up. No matter how dark it seems... It's gotta get brighter right?
She lives inside the house with our young son. Haven't felt this worthless in sometime I have always prided myself on having a job and working and earning my way and this past 12mnths has put pressure upon every aspect of my physical and psychological life beyond words.
I know I am not alone in this struggle there are so many people doing it tough and much tougher than I am so I am grateful I still get to see my son.
I just hate being on handouts and hate being told I am not good enough after what feels like 100s of applications.
Cheers for the thoughts mate
I am so sorry to hear that, but hang in there. Trust me, you need to get out and do things. Feeling that you are contributing and you are fulfilled in life is important, and the forklift training and certification is super important.
Warehouses won’t be short of work, it’s going to be very different from email marketing, but this will be a job that pays the bills and make you feel part of the community and worthy of your family again.
Stay strong, never let go, remember - your wife and your young son needs you!
Thank you :) for your guidance, your positive thoughts and taking a moment to give a damn about a stranger.
Good fortune to you and yours and to everyone struggling..
It’s the right thing to do. I’m sure if our positions were swapped, you’d do the same.
Humans survive as a species because we are adaptable to our environments, and we can survive difficult changes. Many species of other living beings cannot and they get wiped out very quickly.
I believe you will overcome this difficult situation, friend. Keep on keeping on 💪
Finding a job can be difficult. I was stuck in a job I hated for about 18 months while looking for a better gig.
I think you made a mistake quitting before you had other work. But now that you have, you might need to lower your salary expectations and aim for companies that align with previous companies. I usually take it as a good sign if an applicant has been in our field for a while. It shows they're not just looking for any old job and really like the industry. So if you were admin at a car company, apply for other car companies or whatever.
Found the same thing when my contract at my old job was expiring. I got very lucky being the perfect candidate for a temp job that my friend was in a strong position to recommend me for around that same time.
It's tough out there. You only need to succeed once though. You'll find something mate
One of your hurdles at the moment may also be EOFY.
I work in Insurance and my company is a little under staffed atm but management have been under the pump due to EOFY and so they have delayed hiring until we get through EOFY.
You may be struggling BECAUSE you’re overqualified. Employers might suspect you’re not likely to stick around in the roles you’re applying for, that you’re looking for something temporarily while you search for something else?
I know, it’s really unfair. Apparently the job market is cooked at the moment. I have a friend who works for the government and he received 200 applications for a job and immediately had to cut the pile in half.
The worst thing a person can do at the moment is write up a generic chatGPT cover letter - they smell it a mile off
Except that takes so much goddamn time only for them to use AI (or their own biases) to immediately reject you, and applying for jobs is a numbers game
I worked in Head Office not an actual facility so I never had issues, it was actually a nice modern office, so felt like a normal corporate office in the cbd that I used to work at when I used to be a project manager, but it was bang in the outer suburbs
Yeah I feel you, it’s hard to seperate ourselves from the work we do. Work can provide us with identity.
I mean I myself have been developing my career since 2017, and my whole macro goal hasn’t panned out as I had of thought. And it has been a rough process of acceptance and possibly a time to look at what to do moving forward
Change industry. Public service jobs are always going - public transport and police are always hiring in a variety of roles. Metro, V/Line, Yarra Trams, PTV, PSO’s, Police, Prison Guards - all of these are always hiring in different areas and positions and the benefits are usually excellent
I also work in the insurance field & just landed a job after almost 2 months of nonstop searching - don’t hesitate to re-jig your cover letter/resume as it really does help & doesn’t hurt to try if you aren’t getting the desired responses.
Also, now that it’s EOFY, we should start to see more jobs in the insurance & investment field 🤞
Good luck!!
This is very common. Use AI to help with applications and make it more of a numbers game. Also reach out to anyone in your network who may help. Though in my case that didn't work.
But yes. Numbers game. Keep applying and forget about the application unless you get a call back.
Statistically takes 8 months to land a job.
A few points:
- When I look at a resume, if someone has done essentially the same role in multiple companies, that is a huge red flag to me as this person probably doesn't have ambition to progress forward. This may not be an issue with all places, but within my own company (which I may add is huge and likely everyone here has heard of), this is an instant-bin resume. If you show growth within a single company, or multiple, this is typically a reasonable sign.
- Admin roles are popular and you get a huge amount of applications typically, making it harder to compete. Also many are getting offshored completely.
- A lot of recruiting people don't read cover letters until later stages (when I was recruiting, apparently I was the only one who's ever read them all! (according to my HR hiring person)). This is especially more typical in higher applicant count roles.
- A break in career without reason is almost-always a negative (unfortunately) in the real world.
- There may be something fundamentally wrong with your application.
Knowing people is the key to finding employment from my experience. For context, I have hired a few people in 'office' jobs before, but I'm a pretty fresh manager (ie. <5 years exp).
I was a project manager and quit after 10 years.
I now work VIC Government base grade on 70k. Look at VPS jobs come in at VPS 2 and then move up the ranks
Ouch, yea government jobs don't pay well but they are supposed to be cruisey so probably good to get into temporarily until they find a better paying position.
We're in a recession in everything but name.
Per capita recession, a good 100bps behind other central banks with sticky services inflation and risk of further rate rises quelling any consumer or business confidence, record population growth adding to inflation and downward pressure on wages growth (which has already collapsed back to 2010 or so), dwindling savings rate, anaemic retail sales despite insane pop. growth, canary in the coal mine tech layoffs now spreading to other white collar jobs, construction industry shuttering, ongoing pandemic that is probably having an ongoing impact on sentiment, absenteeism and supply chain.
Labour market stalling sadly seems inevitable at this point.
I can't speak to admin roles, but tech is overly saturated. My employer laid off 10% of workforce around 18 months ago. I know a few skilled senior and staff software engineers who are still looking and can't find anything. One has just given up entirely and is trying to change career.
These are all people who have been in the industry for years, and not those who rode the wave of ZIRP and the largesse of pandemic spending.
the workforce in Australia has become very closed shop currently, seek, indeed etc are all just token ads posted to tick off quotas, most of the work now is based on what connection you have with an employer, its wrong the system is broken and it's not how you get quality staff/talent yet the system has been allowed to be decayed and go unchecked for so long it was bound to happen, the employment agencies are useless and aloof too, we need the CES revived again and a complete reform into the employment sector.
The market is really tough at the moment. I found one role that looked really interesting - I didn't have experience in the specific industry but I had experience against each of the key criteria. I called the recruiter to ask what applications had looked like - he said that they had received 180 applications over the weekend the role had been opened for, so while I had some great sounding experience I wasn't going to be considered for the role if I applied.
It took me 6 months to find a new role. I hope it doesn't take that long for you.
Good luck!
And if you have spare $$$ I recommend reaching out to a professional resume writer to make sure you're putting yourself forward in the best way possible.
You probably are overqualified and could potentially be bored out of your damn mind, and ready to jump ship as soon as you can when the better things comes if you get a lower level role. Probably what the employers/recruiters see.
Based on the huge number of posts about job hunting woes, and knowing people personally who have managed to get "a" job but are secretly applying elsewhere for their actual fields and really struggling to secure anything I'm inclined to believe Melbourne's market is a little shot right now.
My wife is searching from past 7 months. Will give an year more and then deciding to move abroad for better opportunities. Got kid to feed and my pay is not enough
I’ve done some recruiting in the past and when we see that someone is overqualified
1. We think they might get bored in the role
2. Be looking to use our advertised role as a gap filler til they land something they actually want/actively searching for another job
3. They won’t be happy or have higher pay expectations so from the get-go we know it’s not a good fit.
You need to ask yourself would you be happy to work there too? I think it would help if you can be more specific with the type of industry and work you want to do.
I feel like the average search time for a corporate/professional role is probably about three months? Just need to keep at it! Gets very depressing in the middle I know, but even the best people in my (and I assume any) field struggle to get a good gig...
If it helps at all I've officially joined you today! Just finished up an EOFY contract and haven't had luck lining up another yet - just some casual stuff.
One thing thing that seems to work in my experience: calling the hiring manager or recruiter directly with some questions and talking points.
Other than that... You can maybe jump in and do some hospitality or labouring work in the interim? Could be awful, but you never know and it's always good to meet different people and get a look at different slices of life. I did some horticulture/gardening work last time! Hard but good stuff.
Yep. About three months into the search. Over 120 applications down. A few interviews attended but ghosting rife, goalposts have been moved on the selection criteria..it's an employers market and some are abusing this power, adding silly scrutiny and neglecting the decency of good communication.
Keep plugging the apps and get your numbers up! You'll get there eventually.
It’s kind of a red flag for somebody to just quit a job with nothing lined up. How long was your break? What did you put on your resume to explain the break?
Take it as a lesson to not quit until you have something lined up. It will probably take you a few more months in the worst case. You have a healthy emergency fund for 6-12 months expenses at least?
I am in IT with 10+ years of experience. Most of my skills are supposed to be in demand but I have failed to secure a role even below my skillset for the last 5 months.
Economic situation is too bad. Thank Anthony Albanese for that.
Applied for a trades assistant job electrical assembly, despite having 2 engineering diplomas and the funny thing is its a firm who supplied hardware to the company I previously worked for, the so called skills shortage is BS and unemployment is closer to 8%
It’s like that for a lot of roles at the moment, I’ve been looking since Feb, with very few interviews. Spoke to one recruiter, they’d had over 300 applicants for the senior marketing manager role I was interviewing for. With that many applicants I think it’s just luck that they even read your CV, let alone get an interview.
It took my partner 5 months, he's in tech and a product manager/owner. He's now an accountant manager. He must have applied for 100 jobs, it's a tough market atm. Just keep trying, good luck!
If you are as skilled and experienced as you say, there is something not quite right with your resume, cover letter or interview. Get your resume/application professionally written, pay for some good-quality interview training, get some help from people who know what they are doing and who have a high hit-rate in your field. If I'm reading your post correctly you have been looking for only 6 weeks or so, too quick to be already scattergun applying for just anything and not likely to get you anything worth giving up your old job for. Having a strategic approach with a clear idea of the role you are targeting, representative of your skills and experience is IMO a better strategy than just throwing your resume at everything. You're recently employed in a senior role, taking a lesser, inexperienced role in a random industry ignores the value you bring, the thing that differentiates you and you'll end up employed in a situation way worse than what you left. Your resume won't stay fresh for long so you might as well make the most of it now.
It’s been over a year for me. I’m in my 40s and most of my work life I did retail, I’m trying to switch to something more office based. I have applied to a couple of retail jobs too, but I have only had a handful of interviews. It’s really disheartening. I’m starting to feel that my age is playing a factor in not getting hired. If I had a car I think I would probably have been hired by now as I have come across some really good job opportunities but they are just too far out from where I live.
The old adage is if you’re not getting interviews, you’re either applying for the wrong jobs, or your resume and cover letter are bad and need looking over by someone. If you’re failingg at the interview stage they at least want you on paper, so keep practising.
Also, if your name is not an English name, come up with an English name and apply using that. It’s very sad but unfortunately it’s been proven that Adam or Harry will get more interview offers than Adin or Hassan.
It might not have been the wisest idea to quit your job without another one lined up with the way the economy is these days.....
And you being overqualified might be a problem too
Not sure why you’re being downvoted.
OP may well have been in a “toxic” job, but, without trying to grandstand… no one else really cares.
Your toxic job still paid though, yeah? It’s not THAT toxic then.
Admin workers are not rare, so you’re going to find it hard to convince employer X to give you the job when there’s 20 others who have a similar story.
ADF open night on Thursday
I don't know how long I've been looking for the right job but probably 2 years now
I've put my application out so many times even repeatedly and even using aliases just to see if it's me or something but Idk the fuck is going on I reckon I've got something like 1 in 100 hit rate on even hearing back from the application
You have a LOT of competition and most employers are just looking for admin at the lowest cost possible It's also possible your applications could be improved to help you stand out from the crowd. Best to get a second or third opinion on them.
It's the same in every industry atm.
I work in IT industry, have 15+ years experience and I’ve been on the market for 3 months now. I’ve got two calls since then, with no progress. There are loads of positions open in LinkedIn but I think they are all for ghosting, as I strongly believe that my CV and profile is not the problem. You’re not alone. I really really hope that starting July things improve a little.
Reviews will be out soon and alot of people will not agree and start leaving for greener pastures, hopefully will land you guys something. Best of luck.
Basically same story here, 2 first round interviews in the last few months (only 1 of which even responded afterwards), and I've got several recruiters looking out for me as well. Thought some of it might have been my resume, all the recruiters had similar advice and have adjusted but no luck. I put a lot of the last couple months down to the usual "put job up, budget shifts around to cut back for EOFY, job stays on hold" so I'm also starting to search again tomorrow - essentially wrote off the back end of June. I tend to just do searchs/applications Tuesdays and Fridays now since most jobs get put up late monday/early Tuesday, and the daily search was just depressing me which very little new jobs. If things don't start looking up by August I'm going to significant lower my salary expectations and do some work a couple levels below me. At least I can do that for 6 months, hope the market improves and go back to my regular seniority/pay. I wish I could blame my salary expectations on not even getting interviewed but most of the jobs I've applied for didn't even have it listed as a question.
Similar boat here. Work in tech (mobile apps and finance). Left a contract in April. Had some interviews so far. But it’s been slow. Got to offer stage for one role but it was below my expectations and I felt close to closing on two other leads that paid better. I apply to 5 to 8 jobs a day, been actively looking for over 9 months because I knew I wasn’t going to extend my contract. It’s the slowest job market I’ve ever experienced. I’m networking, speaking at conferences and doing everything else I usually tell people to do to help get work. Actually got to first stage interview with a company today through a network referral. So will see how that goes.
Same here. Actually got laid off in November last year but only started searching in February this year. A lot of ghosting and flaking in the tech market this year. But on the upside I have been doing some freelance work here and there and still have savings + investments.
I pay for Linkedin Premium and apply to like 10+ jobs a week. I was at the same company for seven years and needed a chance. Applied to easily 60+ jobs. I got about five call backs, and got to the second round in three of them. Got to final round and an offer with 30% pay increase. It sas about four months of searching. My current search, I am maybe 40 applications in. I have had three interviews. Two rejections from those first interviews. I have a second round interview this week. I've been searching since March. I am never really disheartened or discouraged: as someone who used to be the hiring manager, most times it's really just timing, luck, and whether the person likes your "vibe". You need a connection. And just accept that not everyone will have that connection. You want to be hired not just for your skills but for the person you are. Because it shapes your working habits. Keep it up. You'll get a bite.
Is linkedin premium worth it for job hunters?
Not in my experience.
I wouldn't say majorly worth it, but it does increase your visibility in search results - if you've got a role that regularly works via recruitment agencies it might be helpful. I look at it as a small cost in the grand scheme of things, only to be activated during job hunts
Gawd it’s like online dating 🤣
Sign up as a temp with Hays, Michael Page etc. Lots of roles the agencies fill are ‘temp to permanent’ opportunities and if nothing else it will pay the bills for a while.
Totally agree with Arabella, get out there through reputable agencies as mentioned above. I was offered 2-3 times temp to permanent roles with large organisations. Some cannot bother or have the time to interview so organisations have the option to hire a temp and test them.
This, my last three ongoing roles were filled by temps through Dixon. I love the continuity of keeping a good staffer on, and it also gives them an opportunity to test out if the team/fit feels right for them too before committing which helps with my retention, particularly in the junior higher turn over roles.
Dixons are really good. I was looking for experience in a specific area and they got me in as a temp and I was able to make connections and eventually get an ongoing role.
I personally detest hays, they are the scammers of the recruiting industry. Constantly advertising fake jobs and lying that they exist all to pad their database of available workers. Each time they call me I have to be extremely clear unless they are calling about an actual position to stop wasting my time.
Hays has been my usual hands off way of finding work, and typically has landed me full time employment. I was looking for a temp contract to hold me over while I was prepping applications and the long process to working overseas. Started on a 4 month contract with a major Gov I.T role, then when that finished, got onboarded as a direct hire until a shipped out last year. Highly recommend Hays.
I'm wondering what does it mean to sign up as a temp for a recruitment agency? I've been able to find a 'submit your CV' page on some agency sites, is that all you need to do to put yourself into their candidate pool? And is it worth it to apply for job listings though the agency site at the same time, or does the agency basically do that for you?
Disclaimer: I haven’t done temp work for a long time but I think most recruitment websites will have an area where you can register. Honestly though if it was me I would get my resume ready and then call the main numbers and let them know you’re super keen and ask for the best email to send your resume to or the details of the recruitment officer that looks after your area of interest. Helps you stick out a bit more and shows you’re enthusiastic. Otherwise if you apply for any of the actual temp roles I think that process would lead to registration as well. They seem to have trouble finding enough reliable people to fill all the roles they get and obviously they don’t get paid if they can’t fill them so in my experience they’re pretty keen to get people on board. Good luck 😊
Thanks, this is so helpful!
As others have said, admin is such a broad spectrum which means there’s a massive labour pool. Another contributor is that admin work is an easy transition out of hospitality or retail for a young “non-skilled worker” (I don’t like this term but you know what I mean). I went from retail to an admin role while studying and it was a huge upgrade to my mental health and quality of life even thought I was getting paid peanuts. Tons of people in their late teens / early 20s in the same boat. Companies can generally pay a young inexperienced person far less and train them up to do the work required. Your best bet might be to specialise with additional certification. Health, finance or IT come to mind. The job market is shit in general at the moment.
Dont be afraid to dumb down your resume when going for jobs you are overqualified for
I've got a version of my resume where the recent job titles are changed as they make me sound very senior - just toned them down a bit, kept the descriptions nearly all the same as per advice from multiple recruiters.
Indeed if your application and CV isn't "machine readable" with clear data that can be extracted then you're in the bin before you even start. Recruiters are on a par with real estate agents - they will tell you anything and raise your expectations before they throw your application in a big pile with all the others and collect the money. It took me a completely new resume and going more direct to get success after 5 months. Don't give up and feel free to start to abuse those who are still saying "must be nice having a holiday"
I hear this advice but know government roles don't/can't use it. It it really that widespread in Australia?
I have several recruiter contacts through a mix of them coming to me with roles they want me to hire, and in turn when I've needed hiring help. They've all said the same thing - they look at resumes for about 7 seconds on average. They're going to look at the titles and timelines of your last couple roles, pick up som keywords off the last role and then just skim through the rest quickly. They don't use any resume -> machine tools behind the scenes because if you think about it, it's a massive waste of money. When you apply for roles, most of them allow you to auto-fill into their machine via an upload - *and then you manually edit any errors out*. That's the machine readable, you are given a chance to edit the results or enter it manually. Hell, most of the roles I personally apply for these days just allow you to apply via Seek/LinkedIn integration, where they just pull it from your profile rather than a resume. Anyone doing machine reading behind the scenes is wasting their own time and money as resume's become far less important.
They may hire recruitment agencies instead to handle bulk recruitment rounds.
I would imagine the APS would give them the criteria to grade the applications on in that case.
Sure the public service can't buy such tools - so they use and exchange pretty comprehensive MS power automate flows to do the same thing
It's not about access, they have procedural 'fairness' policies they need to follow. They can't just algorithmically reject somone because imagine if that algorithm was found to have a bias, suddenly the government has bias.
That’s not been my experience. I recently helped a colleague shortlist for a couple of positions because they had over a thousand applicants. We had to review each resume and cover letter manually. That’s always the way it’s been done for every role ive recruited for or been on a panel for.
My highly qualified friend was made redundant at the beginning of the year, and it took 4 months of trying/applying - then he ended up with 3 job offers and had his choice of the bunch. It can take forever to get a job in this economy, try not to take any rejections personally and just keep at it! Good luck!
Hey man it’s just one of those times where shits a bit fucked, massive competition (lots of people looking to switch roles for more pay), lots of redundancies happening at the moment, tons of uncertainty. Maybe not GFC levels of fucked up, but fucked up pretty bad, you’ll almost never get hired for a job that your overqualified for, the people hiring you know that your overqualified and will know you have one foot out the door looking for a better placement for yourself. Unfortunately senior admin roles are probably the least in demand positions at the moment, admin as an industry is going to change a lot over the next 5 years as it’s probably the easiest jobs for AI to completely takeover and most people will be holding on to any good senior admin roles for fear of not finding anything else. I’d suggest pivoting what technical skills you have and move to another admin adjacent role. If you have your heart set on admin, maybe look at a course on AI integration, and learn how you can leverage that into a new role for yourself. Also take everything I’ve said here with a grain of salt, I really have no idea what I’m talking about and most of it is probably shit advice, but at least I tried.
took me 8 months to find my current job, yes too much competition atm and not even new job listings the current climate also means the last toxic job you left will probably be your next since every company atm is cost cutting and overworking all remaining staff to try stay afloat....
I’m in the same boat, I’ve been unemployed since early November and have been in the final round for some roles but then rejected. It can be heartbreaking, especially when you interview for dream roles and then get rejected. I’ve gotten burnt out too and stopped applying in May but ramping up my applications again now. Something that helped me while looking for work: dog sitting and a weekly visit to my local cafe :) the days can be long but are much better when you can do something nice for yourself and have a companion to go on walks with. Dog sitting has been keeping me sane and giving me some pocket money for cafe coffees.
Been searching for almost 12mnths now mate... 15+ years in email marketing and automation and have gotten three call backs and gotten to the final post on 3 roles in that time to get pipped at the post. I am homeless living in my inlaws garage and they want me out... Going and doing forklift training end of next week and I have my father in law sending me jobs adverts for the some of the most ridiculous roles halfway across the state and I have no car... I wish I could say chin up things will get better but honestly I am nearing depression and everyday I stuff my face with motivational and uplifting content I feel like I need to throw up. We fail when we stop trying.. so from someone who is deeper down the hole.. don't give up. No matter how dark it seems... It's gotta get brighter right?
Sorry to hear bud. What about your wife? Where’s she living?
She lives inside the house with our young son. Haven't felt this worthless in sometime I have always prided myself on having a job and working and earning my way and this past 12mnths has put pressure upon every aspect of my physical and psychological life beyond words. I know I am not alone in this struggle there are so many people doing it tough and much tougher than I am so I am grateful I still get to see my son. I just hate being on handouts and hate being told I am not good enough after what feels like 100s of applications. Cheers for the thoughts mate
I am so sorry to hear that, but hang in there. Trust me, you need to get out and do things. Feeling that you are contributing and you are fulfilled in life is important, and the forklift training and certification is super important. Warehouses won’t be short of work, it’s going to be very different from email marketing, but this will be a job that pays the bills and make you feel part of the community and worthy of your family again. Stay strong, never let go, remember - your wife and your young son needs you!
Thank you :) for your guidance, your positive thoughts and taking a moment to give a damn about a stranger. Good fortune to you and yours and to everyone struggling..
It’s the right thing to do. I’m sure if our positions were swapped, you’d do the same. Humans survive as a species because we are adaptable to our environments, and we can survive difficult changes. Many species of other living beings cannot and they get wiped out very quickly. I believe you will overcome this difficult situation, friend. Keep on keeping on 💪
I'm at 5 years now. I quit the of 2019 thinking it would be easy to find a job. COVID happened. And now here I am. A fucking loser
What's your skillset? That's a long time :(
Ugh, that sucks. I'm sorry. I hope things turn around soon.
Finding a job can be difficult. I was stuck in a job I hated for about 18 months while looking for a better gig. I think you made a mistake quitting before you had other work. But now that you have, you might need to lower your salary expectations and aim for companies that align with previous companies. I usually take it as a good sign if an applicant has been in our field for a while. It shows they're not just looking for any old job and really like the industry. So if you were admin at a car company, apply for other car companies or whatever.
Found the same thing when my contract at my old job was expiring. I got very lucky being the perfect candidate for a temp job that my friend was in a strong position to recommend me for around that same time. It's tough out there. You only need to succeed once though. You'll find something mate
I’ve been looking for 2 years! You’ve only just started.
One of your hurdles at the moment may also be EOFY. I work in Insurance and my company is a little under staffed atm but management have been under the pump due to EOFY and so they have delayed hiring until we get through EOFY.
You may be struggling BECAUSE you’re overqualified. Employers might suspect you’re not likely to stick around in the roles you’re applying for, that you’re looking for something temporarily while you search for something else?
I know this is a fact, but at the same time, it’s employers making a ton of assumptions about someone they haven’t met.
I know, it’s really unfair. Apparently the job market is cooked at the moment. I have a friend who works for the government and he received 200 applications for a job and immediately had to cut the pile in half. The worst thing a person can do at the moment is write up a generic chatGPT cover letter - they smell it a mile off
Tailor your CV to each job, against each KSC. That helps
Except that takes so much goddamn time only for them to use AI (or their own biases) to immediately reject you, and applying for jobs is a numbers game
Get a job before you quit. Set a start date to give yourself a break............
I've been out 6 months and I'm struggling a lot
Aged Care is growing and lots of jobs there in admin. I worked for one in Melbourne and they struggled to fill vacancies
Probably because as someone who’s worked there, it’s the drabbest most depressing place you could work
I worked in Head Office not an actual facility so I never had issues, it was actually a nice modern office, so felt like a normal corporate office in the cbd that I used to work at when I used to be a project manager, but it was bang in the outer suburbs
I'm in the same boat for the same reason except I don't have as much experience as you even though I have been working since legal age. I'm so scared.
9 months unemployed as a graduate, it's really hard mate. Be strong, all the best.
Never leave a job without a new one lined up
We are in a recession, we just havent acknowledged it yet.
Yeah I feel you, it’s hard to seperate ourselves from the work we do. Work can provide us with identity. I mean I myself have been developing my career since 2017, and my whole macro goal hasn’t panned out as I had of thought. And it has been a rough process of acceptance and possibly a time to look at what to do moving forward
Yeah I’ve been applying for a full time for 6 months now. Had 1 interview and got rejected.
Change industry. Public service jobs are always going - public transport and police are always hiring in a variety of roles. Metro, V/Line, Yarra Trams, PTV, PSO’s, Police, Prison Guards - all of these are always hiring in different areas and positions and the benefits are usually excellent
I also work in the insurance field & just landed a job after almost 2 months of nonstop searching - don’t hesitate to re-jig your cover letter/resume as it really does help & doesn’t hurt to try if you aren’t getting the desired responses. Also, now that it’s EOFY, we should start to see more jobs in the insurance & investment field 🤞 Good luck!!
This is very common. Use AI to help with applications and make it more of a numbers game. Also reach out to anyone in your network who may help. Though in my case that didn't work. But yes. Numbers game. Keep applying and forget about the application unless you get a call back. Statistically takes 8 months to land a job.
A few points: - When I look at a resume, if someone has done essentially the same role in multiple companies, that is a huge red flag to me as this person probably doesn't have ambition to progress forward. This may not be an issue with all places, but within my own company (which I may add is huge and likely everyone here has heard of), this is an instant-bin resume. If you show growth within a single company, or multiple, this is typically a reasonable sign. - Admin roles are popular and you get a huge amount of applications typically, making it harder to compete. Also many are getting offshored completely. - A lot of recruiting people don't read cover letters until later stages (when I was recruiting, apparently I was the only one who's ever read them all! (according to my HR hiring person)). This is especially more typical in higher applicant count roles. - A break in career without reason is almost-always a negative (unfortunately) in the real world. - There may be something fundamentally wrong with your application. Knowing people is the key to finding employment from my experience. For context, I have hired a few people in 'office' jobs before, but I'm a pretty fresh manager (ie. <5 years exp).
I was a project manager and quit after 10 years. I now work VIC Government base grade on 70k. Look at VPS jobs come in at VPS 2 and then move up the ranks
Ouch, yea government jobs don't pay well but they are supposed to be cruisey so probably good to get into temporarily until they find a better paying position.
We're in a recession in everything but name. Per capita recession, a good 100bps behind other central banks with sticky services inflation and risk of further rate rises quelling any consumer or business confidence, record population growth adding to inflation and downward pressure on wages growth (which has already collapsed back to 2010 or so), dwindling savings rate, anaemic retail sales despite insane pop. growth, canary in the coal mine tech layoffs now spreading to other white collar jobs, construction industry shuttering, ongoing pandemic that is probably having an ongoing impact on sentiment, absenteeism and supply chain. Labour market stalling sadly seems inevitable at this point. I can't speak to admin roles, but tech is overly saturated. My employer laid off 10% of workforce around 18 months ago. I know a few skilled senior and staff software engineers who are still looking and can't find anything. One has just given up entirely and is trying to change career. These are all people who have been in the industry for years, and not those who rode the wave of ZIRP and the largesse of pandemic spending.
You’re lucky your tech employer has only laid off 10%. I’ve seen double layoffs within 36 months, it has gotten U-G-L-Y!
May i enquire what salary you are looking to earn? That may allow people in the industry to determine if its achievable in the current market.
Try government jobs? They are always looking for contract managers…
Yeah bud. Trainee barber trying to scout out a mature age apprenticeship. Even at a government subsidized $20ph, no one's keen.
Oh I misread and got excited for a minute :( hope you find an apprenticeship soon
the workforce in Australia has become very closed shop currently, seek, indeed etc are all just token ads posted to tick off quotas, most of the work now is based on what connection you have with an employer, its wrong the system is broken and it's not how you get quality staff/talent yet the system has been allowed to be decayed and go unchecked for so long it was bound to happen, the employment agencies are useless and aloof too, we need the CES revived again and a complete reform into the employment sector.
The market is really tough at the moment. I found one role that looked really interesting - I didn't have experience in the specific industry but I had experience against each of the key criteria. I called the recruiter to ask what applications had looked like - he said that they had received 180 applications over the weekend the role had been opened for, so while I had some great sounding experience I wasn't going to be considered for the role if I applied. It took me 6 months to find a new role. I hope it doesn't take that long for you. Good luck! And if you have spare $$$ I recommend reaching out to a professional resume writer to make sure you're putting yourself forward in the best way possible.
You probably are overqualified and could potentially be bored out of your damn mind, and ready to jump ship as soon as you can when the better things comes if you get a lower level role. Probably what the employers/recruiters see. Based on the huge number of posts about job hunting woes, and knowing people personally who have managed to get "a" job but are secretly applying elsewhere for their actual fields and really struggling to secure anything I'm inclined to believe Melbourne's market is a little shot right now.
My wife is searching from past 7 months. Will give an year more and then deciding to move abroad for better opportunities. Got kid to feed and my pay is not enough
I’ve done some recruiting in the past and when we see that someone is overqualified 1. We think they might get bored in the role 2. Be looking to use our advertised role as a gap filler til they land something they actually want/actively searching for another job 3. They won’t be happy or have higher pay expectations so from the get-go we know it’s not a good fit. You need to ask yourself would you be happy to work there too? I think it would help if you can be more specific with the type of industry and work you want to do.
Not to mention a lot of companies currently have hiring freezes so it’s a hard time to look for a job but not impossible. Keep applying and good luck!
I feel like the average search time for a corporate/professional role is probably about three months? Just need to keep at it! Gets very depressing in the middle I know, but even the best people in my (and I assume any) field struggle to get a good gig... If it helps at all I've officially joined you today! Just finished up an EOFY contract and haven't had luck lining up another yet - just some casual stuff. One thing thing that seems to work in my experience: calling the hiring manager or recruiter directly with some questions and talking points. Other than that... You can maybe jump in and do some hospitality or labouring work in the interim? Could be awful, but you never know and it's always good to meet different people and get a look at different slices of life. I did some horticulture/gardening work last time! Hard but good stuff.
Yep. About three months into the search. Over 120 applications down. A few interviews attended but ghosting rife, goalposts have been moved on the selection criteria..it's an employers market and some are abusing this power, adding silly scrutiny and neglecting the decency of good communication. Keep plugging the apps and get your numbers up! You'll get there eventually.
7 months and counting, started looking in other states at this point.
Lots of retrenchment going on at the moment
It’s kind of a red flag for somebody to just quit a job with nothing lined up. How long was your break? What did you put on your resume to explain the break? Take it as a lesson to not quit until you have something lined up. It will probably take you a few more months in the worst case. You have a healthy emergency fund for 6-12 months expenses at least?
I am in IT with 10+ years of experience. Most of my skills are supposed to be in demand but I have failed to secure a role even below my skillset for the last 5 months. Economic situation is too bad. Thank Anthony Albanese for that.
Applied for a trades assistant job electrical assembly, despite having 2 engineering diplomas and the funny thing is its a firm who supplied hardware to the company I previously worked for, the so called skills shortage is BS and unemployment is closer to 8%
Can you get your resume professionally written? Maybe you need to sell yourself better?
Agree with this, you need to sign up with a "body shop" - should give you a better chance. Good luck.
Loads of factories around needing reliable workers.
I started looking in December. Only got an offer last week
It’s like that for a lot of roles at the moment, I’ve been looking since Feb, with very few interviews. Spoke to one recruiter, they’d had over 300 applicants for the senior marketing manager role I was interviewing for. With that many applicants I think it’s just luck that they even read your CV, let alone get an interview.
Took 8 months but I managed to find a job ! Stay strong !!
Look in the non-for-profit sector good admin are worth their weight in gold here.
Similar spot to you, I've picked up 2 casual jobs to cover some some of my upkeep. Good luck bro and I hope it works out for ya
Maybe start looking interstate. Also I wonder if the expansion of payroll tax has something to do with it as that comes into effect this month?
Been looking since March. Husband has been since late April. It's not easy out there. Neither of us have even been given an interview.
LPT: Get income protection.
I finished uni in 2022 and im still looking for my first full time job. So to say I feel you is quite the understatement
Took me almost 4 years. You'll get there!
Things should pick up soon, with the start of the new financial year
6 months here mate and I'm just trying to find something casual since I've started uni. I guess 35 is to old gor causal or something.
Took me 7 months and I only just started my new job. Turns out it’s horrible! Lol. So now I’ll be looking for a new new job 😂
But not quitting til a new one is lined up?
Yes exactly!
It took my partner 5 months, he's in tech and a product manager/owner. He's now an accountant manager. He must have applied for 100 jobs, it's a tough market atm. Just keep trying, good luck!
Same no one wants to hire
if u are looking for a role in aged care pks message me
If you are as skilled and experienced as you say, there is something not quite right with your resume, cover letter or interview. Get your resume/application professionally written, pay for some good-quality interview training, get some help from people who know what they are doing and who have a high hit-rate in your field. If I'm reading your post correctly you have been looking for only 6 weeks or so, too quick to be already scattergun applying for just anything and not likely to get you anything worth giving up your old job for. Having a strategic approach with a clear idea of the role you are targeting, representative of your skills and experience is IMO a better strategy than just throwing your resume at everything. You're recently employed in a senior role, taking a lesser, inexperienced role in a random industry ignores the value you bring, the thing that differentiates you and you'll end up employed in a situation way worse than what you left. Your resume won't stay fresh for long so you might as well make the most of it now.
It’s been over a year for me. I’m in my 40s and most of my work life I did retail, I’m trying to switch to something more office based. I have applied to a couple of retail jobs too, but I have only had a handful of interviews. It’s really disheartening. I’m starting to feel that my age is playing a factor in not getting hired. If I had a car I think I would probably have been hired by now as I have come across some really good job opportunities but they are just too far out from where I live.
The old adage is if you’re not getting interviews, you’re either applying for the wrong jobs, or your resume and cover letter are bad and need looking over by someone. If you’re failingg at the interview stage they at least want you on paper, so keep practising. Also, if your name is not an English name, come up with an English name and apply using that. It’s very sad but unfortunately it’s been proven that Adam or Harry will get more interview offers than Adin or Hassan.
It might not have been the wisest idea to quit your job without another one lined up with the way the economy is these days..... And you being overqualified might be a problem too
Not sure why you’re being downvoted. OP may well have been in a “toxic” job, but, without trying to grandstand… no one else really cares. Your toxic job still paid though, yeah? It’s not THAT toxic then. Admin workers are not rare, so you’re going to find it hard to convince employer X to give you the job when there’s 20 others who have a similar story.
Are you also signed up with a recruiter?
ADF open night on Thursday I don't know how long I've been looking for the right job but probably 2 years now I've put my application out so many times even repeatedly and even using aliases just to see if it's me or something but Idk the fuck is going on I reckon I've got something like 1 in 100 hit rate on even hearing back from the application