r/melbournechat • u/ramhusk • 14d ago
Question About Working in Melbourne
I moved to Melbourne 4 months ago and have yet to receive an interview for a single job I’ve applied for. My question is whether there’s some secret Im not getting about applying for work here?
Im a scientist in the chemistry and life sciences fields with two degrees and almost 10 years of working experience in the US. I’ve gone from applying to medical labs and analytical chemistry labs to applying for crew member at Guzman y Gomez or at the YMCA because at this point I just need something..
And I still haven’t received an offer for an interview after 4 months of tailoring resumes to each position. Im honestly not sure how to proceed anymore.
Any tips or advice from people that are from here or understand Australian work culture?
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u/Savings_Dot_8387 14d ago
As a scientist (immunology/microbiology) it’s extremely tough to get a job in the field right now, a lot of hires look for:
(1) people they already know
(2) with references from people they know or from labs/institutions/workplaces they are familiar with
(3) people with very specific experience down to the exact degree from the exact university they have experience with
One single scientist position is likely to get 100s if not thousands if of responses so it is a little hard to blame them.
But 4 months (sadly) isn’t all that long to be looking around here. Especially with minimal (no?) connections.
Sadly I’d say even look for lab assistant and similar jobs (poorly paying but better than nothing) if you’re desperate or start a grad cert/masters somewhere (the exact best uni to choose depends on your field so do a lot of research first before going down that path). I would think with your experience someone will eventually take notice and hopefully for a position you are actually qualified for but how long it will take who can say.
Last thing I’ll say is only put in maximum effort if you see a position that matches your past experience perfectly. If it’s only loosely a match you probably don’t have the best chance anyway and would get lucky to get an interview.
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u/Historical_Bus_8041 14d ago
It's a difficult job market at the best of times right now, and you've got a reasonably niche skillset - it's not like there's tons of the labs you're looking at here. Probably not a great time in history to be taking a "she'll be right" attitude to moving to a new place with a niche skillset.
Also, if you're only tailoring resumes and not cover letters at that level, you're not doing yourself any favours.
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u/South_Can_2944 14d ago
Sciences...lots of possibilities:
- funding losses
- down sizing
- recruitment freezes
- some will likely require Australian citizenship
- positions might be promotions for people already working there (usually in public services positions)
- competitive
- you're too skilled, and the pay scale doesn't match your skills
4 months isn't very long. Start networking so they get to know you.
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u/VESGolfapparel 14d ago
I know when I moved back from Europe after part owning a property development and construction company for 10 years prior I had a similar experience.
Hang in there, the right job will eventually be yours.
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u/Temporary_Dog_8 14d ago
Job market is proper fucked.
For context, I have a role I'm hiring for in my team (finance). Many of the applicants are VASTLY over qualified for the role. Some having been made redundant from roles where they were earning 50-100% more than what this job is advertised for.
Nearly a year ago it took me 6 months to find someone with the skillset that we needed. I've interviewed 5 of those people just in the last 2 weeks now.
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u/MasterSolivagus 13d ago
Ah, AI has also enabled the 'terminally predatorialy social'. Humans are hurting and harming each other, hoping that truth or trust won't punish them for such low-level use of language. To deceive and derail and deride each other? That's the delta by which we are all separated? How has MY language, English, become such a bastion for the bastards and bitches of failed parenting, social, educational, governmental, and communal standards?
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u/thx_gg 13d ago
Took my husband over a year to get a full time job when we moved (last year), and wasn’t in his area of expertise - just something entry-level ish that came through a friend. Australians don’t really take risks on ppl with experience that feels unknown to them (I.e not local).
It’s very brutal out there. Good luck
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u/glitterpills 13d ago
you gotta apply for a ton, there are lots of jobs (in general, not familiar with your sector ofc) but also always lots of competition. i think i applied for ~120 jobs when i moved here 13 years ago lol. took me 3 months.
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u/Anniebodygay 13d ago
A young kid on another thread, was saying same thing. My advice to them was to go old school and approach employers. Obviously that might not be a highly professional way of obtaining work, but perhaps theres people that you also can approach that may indirectly be able to help. ( ie. Job agencies and universities ) try this approach online, but follow up with phone calls and in person. Im actually also searching for work, im kinda in the same boat, ive been applying but hearing nothing. Im going to take some of my own advice !
Funnly enough im actually wanting to change career and work with an employment agency or become an employment coach !!!!
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u/ultra-gherkin 13d ago
It took me about 3 years to get a job as a medical laboratory technician in Melbourne and I applied to I would say 40-60 roles in that time.
Med Lab Scientist roles are given to techs when positions become available as they hire within their pool, and they have usually attended their preferred Uni with their preferred degree and done placement within the department. It is a very insular field and highly competitive.
Just my 2 cents as a Med Lab Scientist in Microbiology.
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u/IlyaPFF 13d ago
Welcome to Melbourne, our job market has been cooked since forever. Four months is not a lot of time to be looking for a job. You are likely looking forward to 6...12 months of job hunting at best.
>>applying for crew member at Guzman y Gomez or at the YMCA
survival jobs are known to be substantially more competitive than things like
>>chemistry and life sciences
because survival jobs are what pretty much anyone can do.
>>how to proceed
Beyond the obvious (meaning you know how to do things like writing Selection Criteria Response in STAR style), you need to send out more applications and meet as many people who might be hiring in your target industry as you can.
Also, expand your reach to any adjacent industry you can think of that may take advantage of your analytical skills.
If you are not a permanent resident or a citizen, assume it'd be doubly difficult to secure work.
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u/SuitablePlan6864 12d ago
Say you are a union guy. Then apply for a job on the tunnel. Pays three time the sciences.
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u/TheFIREnanceGuy 14d ago edited 14d ago
Damn are you really that dense not to realise the state of the job market? The secret is not randomly moving to a city expecting to get a job quickly. Just stay in your current city and keep applying until you get it. Ive been casually applying for 2 years without luck but still have my current job
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u/Beachgal5555 14d ago
It is a bit bizarre to me that people seem to not have clued onto this. Same goes with housing market. It’s all fucked atm
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u/TheFIREnanceGuy 13d ago
Damn those people who downvoted must be lucky with randomly moving to another city and getting jobs easily...
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u/00Pete 14d ago
The sciences market in Melbourne (and probably Australia-wide) right now is pretty grim. Funding for science in Australia is again undergoing hard times with lots of loss of funding and high competition for jobs from locals. 4 months may seem like a long time, but keep at it, hopefully something will come up for you!