Job Guide - Finding Work in Australia
Backpackers who travel to Australia to work are greatly favoured by many employers. They have the reputation of being good workers and the advantage of being readily available to travel to where the work is, since they have no family ties here. Of course there are not always jobs available just anywhere. If you do seasonal work like picking fruit, then you must travel to where the fruit is at the time it is ripening.
In Victoria, fruit picking is limited to the summer months or early autumn. In most other states there is work available almost year round, especially in Queensland where the temperatures are warmer in the winter. Of course fruit picking is not the only work available. In fact other types of work could be more readily available.
Bartending, waiting on tables and cooking are all jobs that do not rely on the season for employment. People have to eat all year round and they like to eat out in most seasons. The only times when season might have a part to play is in tourist places near the beach. These places are typically not frequented as much in the cold winter as they would be in the summer.
Casual jobs in Australia is quite well paid with up to $20 per hour being the going rate for baby sitting. Waiting on tables could be less at about $15, but that varies depending on the place, so you could get more.
The best way to find work in Australia is by searching through the online classified job boards. There are many to pick from and some require you to register before you can access the jobs available. Registering is usually free; you only need your name and an email address. Some will send jobs available to your email address as soon as they come in. If you haven’t arrived in Australia yet, don’t apply for specific jobs until your arrival date is one month away.
Another way to find work in Australia is to look through the national and local newspapers. Casual and part-time work as well as permanent work is usually posted in the classifieds section. Once you have arrived in Australia, you can access a booklet published especially for seasonal workers detailing all the different farms that need fruit pickers and other workers. This booklet is available from http://jobsearch.gov.au/HarvestTrail/default.aspx.
Once you have as much information as you can get, the choice becomes much easier and you will soon find that you are busy with plenty of work.
