Creating the most effective job post can be challenging. The pool of talents and potential employees can be quite limited and disparate, so you need a good job advert that piques curiosity, grabs attention, and incites to your call to action. Not to mention, you are competing with other companies who are also looking for same people. So you better up your game in your talent search.
So how do you do it? By following these tips that most employers ignore. These simple hacks will guarantee that your applicants will have an idea of who it is you are looking for, what you are offering in return, and why they should be in your company.
Sure, placing boards outside your building or handing out flyers in the park telling everyone that you have vacancies are still practical methods these days, but most of job posting and searching happen in the Internet, so it only makes sense that you make your job advert SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) friendly.
To make your post show up high on search results, use keywords that are relevant in the job description. You can do this by imagining yourself as the job seeker looking for the position you are offering, and ask yourself what the words you will be Googling are.
Avoiding jargons or terms too esoteric to your company may also help. Looking for “Tier 2 Upper Executive Strategy Planner” can be too technical. Instead, settle simply for “Senior Management Strategist.” But that doesn’t mean you don’t have to be specific with your postings. If you are looking for a developer experienced with Python (a high-level programming language), don’t just look for a “Web Developer,” “Python Web Developer” is a better post title.
And lastly, while cryptic questions like “Do you want to earn more while having fun?” can be creative, they will not appear under Google searches.
Just because you need to use relevant keywords doesn’t mean you can flood it until it doesn’t make sense as a whole anymore. Just as you need to adhere to Google’s algorithm, you need to satisfy the human comprehension as well.
You can do this by writing the post in an easy to understand and coherent manner. This will help the candidate envision the company, the job, and the compensations better. Write in present tense, and use the second person pronoun (“you”) to make it feel more personal. Keep the statements brief and succinct, and put them in bulleted form to make it clear, clean, and orderly. Make it warm, as if you are writing to your best friend. This gives your company a more cordial and sincere atmosphere.
You may also want to stay away from vague terms and phrases when it comes to tasks such as “May be accountable for…” or “Possibility of doing...,” as they are open to interpretations or seem optional, blurring the clear description you are aiming for. And lastly, include frequencies of the tasks, such as “Daily research for projects,” “Weekly oversight of tasks,” or “Monthly submission of reports” so the candidate can have a clear idea of the workload.
There is no cut-and-dried solution or rule about placing the salary offer in your job posting. Doing so or not each has its own advantages and consequences.
Disclosing the offer can save you a lot of time and effort, since you don’t have to deal anymore with candidates who, after sessions of interview, will back down upon finding out that the compensation is not par with what they are expecting. Also, salaries are a great way to attract applicants, especially if they are reasonable. On the flip side, you will lose your negotiating power, and cannot adjust the number anymore based on what the candidate can offer. Not to mention, competing companies can suddenly upgrade their packages upon seeing the compensation package.
These are the very reason why salaries are mostly withheld. Different talents have different income entitlements, even for those gunning for the same position. This is dictated by age, experience, level of education, training, specialisation, what the previous company is paying, and the candidate’s negotiation abilities. You want to be flexible when bargaining for the offer. On the down side, this might drive away candidates. Let’s admit it, in a world where you can have hundreds of choices right in front of you with a single click, candidates can solely look for jobs where the topic of income is already an available information.
You may forget everything in this list, but do not forget this one. Your success in hiring the bets employees hinges on this point: learn to sell your company.
Just as applicants are selling themselves in their curriculum vitae, you need also to impress them with your company descriptions. And yes, if you market your company effective enough, it can blur out whatever number is written in the salary section.
Detail the company’s mission and vision, what it wants to achieve, its goals and purpose for the society. Describe the company culture, the common traits your effective employees have, and the collective atmosphere it produces. Use adjectives and adverbs to give color and boost your descriptions (but don’t overload them). No, you don’t need to have office slides in lieu of stairs to entice candidates, an atmosphere where “diverse talents from different cultures, age, and backgrounds are all welcomed” is a huge draw itself.
As leadership author and speaker Simon Sinek put it, if you can make people (your potential candidates) believe in what you believe, they will work for you not just for money, but they will work with you with their “blood, sweat, and tears.” We think that’s a better scenario.
Call-To-Actions (CTAs) are sentences that provoke immediate responses from your audience. It is a marketing tool that you see ubiquitously from Home TV Shopping channels (“Call now and get three more…!”) to software platforms (“Give it try – it’s free for 60 days!”) to Netflix ads (“Join free for a month”). They give those who are double thinking a final push to click, sign up, or give the product a try. It works for job adverts, too.
Examples below motivate the job seekers to give your job post a try:
Of course, call-to-actions do not have to actively urge people to apply to your company. They can be a call for candidates to join your community, talent network, or even a chat with your team to share ideas and information. It is a great way to constantly be in touch with potential applicants and keep them in your contacts.
An interview is like a first date. This is the initial point of contact when both parties are trying to find out if the other person is worth their time. And like most first dates, you flunk it despite being well-prepared, responding in the most confident and smartest way possible, and wearing your tailor-fitted three-piece suit.
So on which part do you messed up? Simple. It is in those seemingly innocent and trivial questions that you think you have answered correctly. The truth is these enquires are being given to reveal how your job ethics, future plans, and abilities play well with the company.
Here are some of those questions and how you should and should not answer them. So the next time you encounter these wringers again, you know how nail them.
How people always answer it:
“I’m John Doe, 27 years old. I graduated from the University of Melbourne with a degree in Civil Engineering. I am the eldest among four children. My father is also an engineer and my mother is a public school teacher.”
Why this is wrong:
Believe it or not, this is the most important question in the interview. Like an opening scene of a movie or the prologue of a book, your response here will set the tone for the entire conversation. It is the moment for your sales pitch. You answer this cleverly and properly and you got the interviewer hooked. You give a generic answer and he/she is already thinking if the next applicant has something better to offer.
How You Should Answer It:
The Muse CEO Kathryn Minshew offers a no-brainer and fail-safe formula to craft the perfect response. It is called the Present-Past-Future method. You start with your present, describing current your skills, talents, and abilities. Then you transition to the past, talking about your experiences and the expertise you gained. Then you cap it off with the future, discussing what you can do for the company and why you want to be here. All talking points must be relevant with the company and the position you are applying for.
How people always answer it:
“In five years, I see myself earning twice as much as I do right now. With a dream house and a Lamborghini. I can request that for my company car, right?”
Why this is wrong:
This question aims to extract your future plans in relation to the company or the position you are pursuing. It is great that you have goals, but those goals should also benefit your employer. It is like if your partner asked you “What shall we do for the day?” and your response is “I only want to play Xbox/spend my time at the saloon all day.” It is vastly underwhelming since they are not included in your plans. Your interviewer feels the same way.
How You Should Answer It:
Focus on a long term career with the employer. Your interviewer wants to know that you want to stay and grow under their wings. Since you don’t know much about the positions and inner workings of the company, you may answer in general. This video provides a fairly spot-on response. The guy said he is prepared to “assume more management responsibilities and get involved in product strategy” in a company where he “can grow and take on new challenges over time.” It isn’t too specific, stresses on long term, and greatly benefits the employer.
How people always answer it:
“I am so detailed and organized that so much of my time is focused in making things systematized and coordinated.”
Why this is wrong:
When your employer fires this question, it is not an opportunity for you to humblebrag. Instead, they are asking if you are aware of your flaws and how are trying to cope up and improve. We all have areas of improvements. And your employer knows that. Dropping this answer is a sign of hubris.
How You Should Answer It:
When picking up a certain weakness, it is not wise to choose something that is specifically detrimental to your job. If you are applying for an accounting firm, you cannot say that you don’t enjoy numbers. The same goes with “I don’t like dealing with people” while pursuing a position in customer service.
You can suggest a significant (career-related) weakness in the past that you have resolved, or an ongoing flaw that you are constantly fixing through sheer will and how you had turned this into strength, like in this video. Admitting that you “used to struggle with time management” and then solving it by setting “personal deadlines along the way” so you would “complete your projects on time” is a perfect example.
How people always answer it:
“My immediate supervisor failed to take care and respect her subordinates. That kind of principle was not working for me. Also, there’s too much office politics.”
Why this is wrong:
This question singularly brings interviewees to nervousness, because it can bring up bad histories with previous employments. But no matter how bad it is, never malign a previous company, superior, or coworker in an interview. They might be complete jerks to be unprofessional towards you, but how you will paint them will be more of a reflection of your behavior and professionalism.
How You Should Answer It:
First, always put your company in good light. And second, make the answer as short as possible. This will avoid further curiosity from the interviewer and try to unearth any skeleton you are keeping buried.
Here’s a good example:
“I enjoyed working in XYZ Company. But recently, the new management team decided to alter the company’s goals and revamp my division’s responsibilities. I left so I could look for a position where I can contribute my best work. I find your company to be a strong fit.”
It is concise, complete, never puts previous employer in bad light, and stresses on what the new company can benefit from you.
How people always answer it:
“Because I’m the best person for the job.
Why this is wrong:
Because, guaranteed, the three other candidates before you said the same thing already.
If the “Tell me about yourself,” is the preface, this is where you bring out all the guns and ammunitions you have to impress your interviewer. That being said, this is not an answer you think of on the spot. You brainstorm on this during your pre-interview preparations.
How You Should Answer It:
First, list down all your skills, career accomplishments, experiences, trainings, and other things that you think not every people can do or possess (all should be career-related, your ability to continuously chug a pint of beer, however impressive, does not count). And then take a look at the job description, and see which requirements match with your abilities.
Second, design your sales pitch based on these matching points. It should be cohesive, concise, and persuasive. The pitch should be no longer than two minutes. Here’s an example:
“Based on what you said, the company is undergoing its mid-term goal of expanding its accounts and divisions. With my trainings in account management, I can contribute a lot to this endeavor. Also, with my substantial experiences in sales and executive position, I can steer the company effectively towards its long term goals of increasing sales and revenue.”
And third, practice but do not memorize. We cannot stress this enough. Sounding like you tried to memorize your curriculum vitae is a turn off. Putting your pitch in your heart, on the other hand, can emanate passion and conviction, making your statements sound more genuine.
How people always answer it:
“I’m expecting within the range of (provides figure way out of salary range)”
Why this is wrong:
This question is being asked to know if your employer can afford you. And in the answer above, you obviously didn’t do enough research. Each job position have their own salary scheme. Unless you proved that you can do so much than the average employee (say, you possess a relevant knowledge or have undergone an important training only a small percentage of people in your industry do) or is almost already up for promotion, the company will never pay you outside of your market value.
Here in Australia, you may visit Payscale.com to know how much people in your industry in each city are getting so you won’t blow your numbers out of proportion.
How You Should Answer It:
As much as we want to provide a technique for this one, there is no cut and dry answer. It all depends on your goals in the interview.
One school of thought says that you should not be so aggressive in giving figures. Having researched about the job position will already give you an idea of the pay scheme, and giving any expectations can do nothing to change it. This basically removes the idea of haggling out of the equation. So the preferred answer is to sidestep the question and focus on the opportunities offered.
Another is actually providing your expected salary (within range of the scale of course) and negotiating it. But remember, you only do this if you believe your talent, skills, and actual worth is much higher than the average person and you are willing to lose a good opportunity for the sake of a higher pay. And if you are opting for this, do not be aggressive and try to focus more on what you offer to the company.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of hopeful workers from around the world vie to be employed in Australia, have their visa, settle in, and establish a good and stable life. It is every migrant’s dream. However, you need to be noticed and employed first before this aspiration rolls on. And that starts with the curriculum vitae.
As we have mentioned before, your CV is your first chance to get your future employers’ (or the Human Resources', for that matter) attention. Much like in products and services, it is your advertisement. You do it wrong and you forever lose the chance of making a deal.
You only get a singular chance to make an impression. It better count. Follow these tips that everybody seems to neglect when writing a curriculum vitae, and then you can start walking the road to a better life.
Here is what every job hunter’s order of business looks like: Write CV. Print multiple copies. Send them to prospective companies. Scratch head wondering why he/she doesn’t get a call. Believe it or not, there is no mystery there. Once you start thinking that a single CV will be acceptable to all companies, then expect to get ignored.
Much like your suit/dress is tailored to your size and shape, your curriculum vitae must also be adjusted to each company you are gunning for. Sit down and read the company’s values, mission, and vision statements, take a look at the words they use, and customize your paper according to those. Each employer is looking for a person who will fit to its established goals and culture, and you need to sell yourself as that person.
But no, do not copy statements directly off their Mission and Vision declaration. You will sound pretentious and insincere. And that’s a turn off.
It is a wonder that people still bother including objectives. That much is very clear the moment you send your CV. You need a job. Period. What companies want to know, however, is what you can do. That is where your executive summary will come in.
An executive summary is your elevator pitch printed on paper. It contains a gist of what you are good at and what value it can provide to the company, all listed in three to five sentences. If your curriculum vitae is a TV show, this is the opening scene. If the audience (your prospects) don’t like it, they will switch to another channel (the next applicant).
Do not litter your summary with vague and cliché descriptions like “Self-motivated, organized, and excellent in multi-tasking,” they have seen that on the previous fifty resumes before yours. Instead, be specific. “Account Manager with a degree in Business Management and experience in sales and marketing” is a better description. It tells something about yourself and what worth you can give to the employer. Throw in your most substantial work-related achievements and work ethics and you have got the big bosses hooked.
It is easy to spot the first time applicants by the way they refer to themselves. They use pronouns. And nothing turns a good curriculum vitae sour than pronouns. You need to be streamlined and unambiguous in your descriptions, so you better take it off.
Logically, using third person pronouns are out of the question (it sounds weird and you are not the Rock), but you shouldn’t use “I” either. Your descriptions, whether it is about your qualifications, trainings, and values, should begin with a verb or (rarely) an adjective for them to be firm and straight to the point:
Has a degree in Psychology…
Develops computer programs for entrepreneurs…
Responsible for arranging financial reports…
Notice also that they come in singular form and in present tense, unless of course the description stated refers to a specific accomplishment in the past that has a profound positive effect to the company, then you use the past tense.
And speaking of accomplishments…
Say what you will, but accomplishments are the most prized part of your curriculum vitae. This part proves that you are not just an item on the company’s payroll, but someone who actually turns the lever and moves the wheels. So you better write them correctly or you are wasting a good opportunity.
You use the Result by Action format. It simply means you list the achievement (result) followed by the method(s) you used.
Generated 150% increase in sales quota (result) by targeting more densely populated territories (action).
Lead the acquisition of related business entities (result) by developing policies that mutually adhere to the companies’ interests (action).
Structured a teaching curriculum (result) by conducting an intensive academic study on freshman students (action).
It shows that you are the employee that provides solution to the company’s challenges and you are producing results.
You know why Facebook’s Timeline design is successful and engaging? Because it focuses on the current things you do, what you are into, what you have for lunch… etc. Then it threads on the past and less important occurrences as you scroll down.
Its structure follows a reverse chronological order, where the latest period comes first followed by the older ones. Your curriculum vitae should be written in the same manner, too. It lets the employer take a look on what you’ve been up to recently. Are you currently working? Attending school? Starting a business? Remember when it comes to employment, time is relevancy. What you are doing in the previous month impacts more what you can offer to the company than, say, your status a year ago.
Also, this format provides a clue of what your future boss thinks is next for you. Are you up for a higher position? Do you need to expand your specialization? The possibilities are endless. And unless you are a fresh graduate, you also need to place your educational background at the bottom. We understand you are proud of dear alma mater, but it won’t make much bearing on your application.
This we cannot stress enough. You have gone out of High School (or College) and now ready to face the professional world. Your days of getting immersed in the World of Warcraft twelve hours a day has ended. Competing with thousands upon thousands of other applicants and/or clients is the real game now. That being said, there’s no reason for your email address to be soulcutter_megablade_1177@hotmail.com (or worse, something laden with sexual innuendos).
Look, your email address is a means of contact. The Human Resource will take note of that. Be sure it is appropriate and emanates professionalism. Leave the silly, suggestive, innuendo-filled names to your Counter Strike: Go account.
Create an email address solely for job applications. Use your first and last name. Avoid using underscores (_) and limit the use of numbers. If you can’t obtain an address with your name, experiment by including your middle initial and/or your job title, like in JohnSReedWriter@gmail.com.
You email address is your brand. It’s something people will associate with you. Be the person that should be taken seriously. Start with your email address.
If you are like most of us, you probably ditched the idea of going from office to office to hand out your CV and instead send virtual copies of applications online. If that's so, you are probably are among the thousands who carelessly just named their CV file name resume.doc. Big mistake.
You see, much like your executive summary and email address, your CV’s final name can also make or break your chance of getting noticed. If you simply named your curriculum vitae, well, curriculumvitae.doc, you are among the one-third of applicant who do that, and there’s a big chance your application will be lost among the similarly and generically named ones.
Use your name on your file name so you can be indexed and found easily among huge batch of files. Or better yet, include your title or the position you are vying for like in RachelLee_CV_OperationsManager.doc (you may use underscores and dashes). For someone who sorts through gazillions of applications each day, your file name will provide a relief since it already tells them who you are.
Also, avoid using version numbers on your CV, like in MelissaCruz11.doc. Your boss will think there are ten more which probably went to the ten other companies in the building. You are not giving a good impression with that.
We’ve all been warned about the changes that will happen when moving to a foreign land. You will meet new friends, learn new languages, and try different foods; you know, all those stuff your expatriate friends and relatives keep telling you. But along the way, there will be these tiny occurrences that will barrel your way and sucker punch you into mild depression and a progressing case of “I want to go home.”
We are here to talk about those life-changing experiences which everybody think are too trivial to talk about.
When moving to another country, you will only feel two emotions: excitement and fear. And you will entertain and juggle these two while on your six-hour plane trip (“I can finally visit the Forbidden Palace and order authentic Chinese foo… wait, I don’t know Chinese!.”). But upon setting your foot on the new land up to your first three months living there, the third (and evil) sibling of these emotions will rear its ugly head: hate.
And no, you don’t hate because you are far away from home and you are stuck in this alien life for good or other huge changes you’re having. You feel irritated and exasperated because of the small inconveniences that comes to you on a non-stop, daily basis. Whether it’s the fact that they serve pineapple and beetroot on your burger; or most of the restaurants won’t accept credit cards, or hey, is that milk on sealed plastic bag? Really, guys? It never ends. And it piles up.
And you can’t do anything to change that. Back home, you just take a deep breath , walk away, and find an alternative. In your new country, it’s the universal rule. And you have to deal with it.
People will play this "moving abroad" thing down, so we will give an analogy to illustrate what it really feels like: Your homeland is like your bedroom. It’s where everything is familiar and comfortable. Moving abroad is like going to your new job or your new school where everybody doesn’t know you and is not really enthusiastic on helping you feel at home.
Consider having this feeling on a daily basis. You will learn to think on your feet, get creative, and improvise. Your senses are constantly sharp (“What is the Serbian-speaking guy trying to tell me? Oh, my chair’ is stabbing his toes!”), and surprises, whether good or bad, are staples of everyday life (“What do you mean you didn’t save our payroll before the system crashed?”).
Yes, there’s always adrenaline rush. Routine becomes an alien concept. Waking up means dealing again with a dozen of different emotions all at the same time. And here’s the catch: it is addictive.
Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard once said “Adversity is what brings people together.” We don’t know much about him, but we are pretty sure he hasn’t lived abroad, otherwise that quote would look different. When you are in a completely unfamiliar territory, your compatibility with a fellow countrymen increases by 300% even if they are complete strangers. It doesn’t matter how huge your differences are i.e. they are weird, your age gap is big, your industry is unrelated, they love DC and you worship Marvel, etc, you will be huge BFFs, at least for the time being.
You will exchange stories from back at home, share your discontent about your adaptive country, talk about life, work, and dreams comfortably like you have known each other since kindergarten years whereas you only exchanged glances three minutes ago.
The surge of endorphins is no illusion. You are away from home, confused, exhausted, and ready to spiral down to depression with a slight push. Seeing someone who thinks, feels, and perceives the same way as you do on a cultural level is what your psyche is aching for to maintain sanity. You need that newfound countryman in your life. Thus the sudden establishment of connection, comfortability, and compatibility.
That cricket-induced (the sports variety) mass hysteria in your country that you can’t even understand? You won’t see that in the US. You only occasionally dig McDonald’s fried chicken? Good luck seeing that in Japan. You always tip huge to show your gratitude? No need for that in Australia (OK, you will probably enjoy that even more).
The thing is, the almost negligible details that completes the intimate and convenient picture of home will be missing in your new country. This provides the feeling of unfamiliarity, or worse, inconveniences that lead to our item number one. You might not be into cricket, but the mania that follows it disrupts what could be a routine and boring day back home. In the United States, you have to find other disruptions. The same goes with craving for fried chicken in Japan. You can find that in KFC stores three city blocks away (Japan isn’t really big in fast food). It suddenly gives rise to inconvenience. You might not care about something back home, but you actually need it to go on with your day.
If the above case is bad, consider if the thing you miss is something you really, really love. And most of the time, nostalgia hits you on the most inconvenient time and place. Just a sight or smell of a favorite food or a sample tune of favorite song will flood you with memories of family and friends back home.
Technological connectivity and social media does not make it easier either. Yes, it will allow you to follow on what’s happening back home, bringing you closer to them, but it also shows how far and inaccessible you are. “We are having a Christmas feast here in the Philippines. How’s Hanukkah over there?”
Nostalgia is bittersweet. Either you love it or you hate. You deal with it for good. It will be a part of you once you set your foot outside the land. And yes, even when you come back. It’s because…
That’s right. Given that you have lived abroad for a considerable amount of time, things will go full circle. You have become comfortable with you adoptive country that you become a foreigner on your homeland. Suddenly, everybody is driving on the right side again (“I need to return to the UK!”), the chopsticks are wooden again (“Korea, take me back!”), you frown on splitting the bill (“Thanks for institutionalizing me, France.”), and you are carrying a bunch of dinars on a dollar-using country. The list goes on.
And every time you see a native of your expatriation country, you feel the urge to spend half of the day with them because working abroad made you confusing.
But these are not weird after all. They are all signs of reverse culture shock (yes, there is such a thing). The feeling of distress experienced upon re-entry to your country. We human beings are formed by evolution to adapt to which ever land we are on. The fact that you are experiencing shock means you have accustomed quite well with your expatriation country. So celebrate and enjoy that smoked yogurt soft served ice cream, because welcome back to Australia!
I won’t deny it. I took the chances of working on a foreign country solely for money. If it wasn’t for the dwindling economy and the rising cost of living, I would just stay home, talk to people that speaks my language, and enjoy the food that I grew up eating. Let’s admit it. Comfort zone is the best zone. It is where you feel safe, secure, and at home.
But the circumstances pushed me out. I traveled to a country I only see on the episodes of Lonely Planet Six Degrees, meet strange people, and traverse the first world urban jungle. I did earned a lot of money. And even saved a lot more. Working in a first world country has its blessings. But I’ll tell you, the financial benefits of this endeavor is just the tip of a colossal ice berg that is the amalgamation of perks of working outside your homeland. I really believe I should have done this a long time ago, and everybody should try it at least once in their lives.
So why should you work abroad? Here are a few reasons…
I won’t lie. It scared me to death realizing that I won’t see, talk, dine, and drink with my family and friends for a while. I imagined being alone, missing home, and getting depressed in my new country.
Upon landing ashore, an entirely different world burst in front of me. It’s so alien. So bizarre. And so intimidating. It constantly shook me up and threw me off my balance. And that’s how I learned to continuously get back on my feet and think outside the box. I have done things and learned new skills I never imagined I could.
You see, at home you are comfortable and complacent. I’m not saying it’s bad, but it’s holding you back. Yes, those pillows and blanket on a cold weekend morning would probably mean the world to you and staying in bed all day seems to be the most reasonable things to do, but there so many things you’ll be missing out on. The friends you’ll be meeting, the errands you will be running, the places you’ll be going. There’s an entirely different world out there. Yes, it’s scary to face it. But you can never be excited without being a bit scared.
Prior to being an expat, I have traveled to other countries as well. And I thought I was already “exposed” to their culture because I talked to a few locals and tried their street food for a few days. I’ve never been so wrong. You get exposed when you experience shock, confusion, and disturbance to new ways of living, challenging your prior beliefs and reservations.
And it isn’t just one culture I have to deal with. I worked with Europeans, Asians, Middle Eastern, and Africans. Our office, an expansive singular room filled with tables and cubicle, is nothing short of a United Nations global convention (a colleague calls the cafeteria “the Cantina” in reference to Star Wars).
By getting immersed in new cultures, you develop a thicker skin, trust your gut during periods of fear and confusion, learn to think on your feet, and push through your challenges. Evolutionarily, we are not supposed to be stagnant people. Our ancestors travel in search of resources, and therefore were constantly exposed to new lands, environment, and other people. Once the shock subsides, you will learn to embrace the new experiences. You will realize that the world is very small, and despite the differences in ethnicity, belief, and language, at the core we are just the same.
Contrary to popular belief, racking up as much likes in Facebook or followers in Instagram as humanly possible does not constitute social skills, at least for me it isn’t. Social savviness is the capability to effectively (take note on the operative word) interact and communicate with others, whether it is on verbal or non-verbal level. You might get away with being an anonymous, antisocial introvert whose communal interaction with others is often limited to “Hi.” and “Bye.” Abroad, this won’t help you much.
Like I’ve said, once the initial shock of the new culture subsides, that’s where you’ll start embracing your new experiences, and that includes making new friends. There’s something quite exhilarating about establishing relationship and connections with someone whose set of experiences and perception is different than that of yours. Each thing you share in common, each moment you gained each other’s trust is something worth treasuring.
Buy why be a sociable person? First, it takes the loneliness and sadness away by making contact with other people. Second, it makes work life easier. Imagine the people around you giving a helping hand because you know how to express yourself and ask what you want. And lastly, it will open more opportunities for you.
No one could have said better than Keith Ferrazi. In his book Never Eat Alone, he stated “Today’s most valuable currency is social capital, defined as the information, expertise, trust, and total value that exist in the relationships you have and social networks to which you belong.” Indeed enough, your success in life is determined not only by how much you know, but who you know. By expanding your network, you make yourself more open to other possibilities and opportunities. As long as they are the right people and your relationship with them is genuine and substantial enough, you may tap on them when the time arises, whether it be career growth, investments, new projects, or business expansions.
But networking does just go on singular direction either. It goes both ways. You too become a part of their connections, and you be ready to be tapped when the opportunity comes. Before you know it, you are already on your way to climb the career ladder or be part of a growing startup. The probabilities are endless. That is if you network enough.
There’s more than a way to skin a cat (as an animal rights advocate, I sort of hate this phrase). And as our tasks and jobs get more complex, the methods and principles behind it gets compounded. That means no matter what industry you are in, chances are the people on the other side of the planet do it differently.
I once went back home on a two week vacation and had a chance to compare notes (yes, I still do notes) with an old colleague who works on the same industry. It turns out what we know, how we do things, and the results we look for are worlds apart. It’s not necessary that one person do it better or more properly, it’s just our methods are varied. I went back to work with more ideas, fresh concepts, and simple innovations. Working abroad provides you with the mindset you can never obtain at home. Plus, if your new country is a prime destination for other expatriates, then learning the industry from workmates from other country gets more exciting, because this means more opinions, more theories, and a better understanding.
Working overseas will not only improve you as a person, it will add on oomph to your credentials as well and improve your chances of getting hired and/or climb the corporate ladder. Being an expatriate means you are independent, resourceful, and creative. It also means you can take calculated risk and are never afraid of trying new things. This also shows you are a team player and can work well with others, having interacted with people of various background, ethnicity, and culture before. Also, you have more unique skills and fresher ideas with you, having gone through your job from a different outlook (see global perspective above). These makes your credential jump out from the rest, separating you from the other sheltered applicants.
But this advantage isn’t limited from what’s written on your resume, but gets carried into the interview process as well. You’ll have more things, experiences, and topics to discuss in relation to your gig(s) abroad. The skills you learned, how you find them beneficial, and the way things are done oversees. The possibilities are endless. An entertained interviewer is just as important as an impressed one.
We have covered the benefits of considering a permanent residency in the Land Down Under, and the reasons why you should pursue Australian citizenship while you’re at it. We even showed you why studying here is the best idea ever. But we never discussed why you should even be working here in the first place. There are many reasons. Australia has a friendly climate, a stable government, and a well-structured health care, among others.
Also, there are these work-related perks and benefits that make the country the go-to place for employment-related migration.
Living in Australia might be one of the most expensive when it comes to the cost of living, but the very high minimum wage offsets that by a great degree. In fact, it is the sixth highest in the world when it comes to average wage, and the fourth lowest in terms of salary deduction, as provided by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s numbers.
That means you will get a lion’s share of your gross earnings even with all the deductibles taken out. And if you’re a professional or on a white collar job, you’ll have a bigger chance of getting a better payoff.
Australia‘s economy relies on its robust sectors and industries such mining, agriculture, finance, tourism, media, education, and service; the last being the largest contributor to the country’s growth. Other huge employers include manufacturing, logistics, and information technology industry.
Because of this, the country is always on a lookout for skilled employees to support its still thriving economy. While some countries have job shortages, the country is working on its worker deficit. That means at any given time, some company is in need of your expertise and services.
Australia’s very low unemployment rate is a proof of that. At 5.8% as of March of 2016, it is one of the lowest in the world.
At an average of 1,664 hours annually (or approximately thirty-two hours a week), Australia has one of the lowest working hours in the world. It’s way lower compared to other top migration destinations such as Japan, New Zealand, and United Sates. That means you don’t usually stay two to three hours more just because your boss says so.
The country follows the 40-hour workweek. And they should. Australia is the first country to fight for such rule to give its employees more susceptible working conditions. Here, you can enjoy a good work-life balance, because you work to live, rather than the other way around.
Australia occupies the 4th spot in the US News’ list of countries with highest quality of life and the 6th spot on places to live in the world. It scores very high on life expectancy on both males and females and has a high rate of participation in sporting and fitness activities. It also ranks number five when it comes to purchasing power (see good compensation above), safety of the citizens, property price-to-income ratio, cost of living, commuting time, and pollution index.
Also, it is one of the happiest and least stressed countries in the world in terms of generosity, social support, freedom, and lack of corruption. While Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, and Melbourne were among the top ten most livable cities in the world.
If you are a sociable person who appreciates good chats (friendly banters optional), freedom, and democracy in the workplace, then Australia is for you. Aussies are inherently friendly, grateful, and polite with a knack for a sense of humor. Sternness has no place here. And everybody is welcomed with a cheerful attitude and utmost respect, from the company CEO to the office custodian.
And this extends well beyond after work, what with their after-office drinks that can go five days a week (this is not mandatory, though). Or even to weekends, where barbecues and pot lucks are a norm. Just don’t talk about anything work or business-related, though. Those are a no-no.
Close to one-third of Australia’s population are immigrants, according to a report by the United Nations. Also, one in every four Aussies were born overseas, with half of them with a parent born outside the country. The nation was basically built by immigrants (just check their history) and their economy continues to rely on skilled workers who come to their shores.
Diversity is the rule here. There are no high walls or huge barriers to keep you as an outsider. You will be treated not according to your race, color, gender, background, or religion, but based on your character. That’s how the spirit of mateship goes. A strong tradition that dictates everybody should be treated equally, and should treat everybody equally in return.
If these do not pique your curiosity yet, here are ten reasons why living in the country is one of the best decisions ever.