We cannot stress it enough. Visa application is not a straightforward process, even with visa assistance from legal companies such as ours. It involves hundreds of people relying on twenty dozen pages of laws and policies only to decide whether they will allow you to step on the country or not.
But amid these legal complications, one major factor that mostly contributes to the bulk of the waiting time before the visa gets approved or denied is how the documents are prepared before submission. You provide an untranslated birth certificate in French (without telling us in any way what it is) and you will exponentially prolong the process (because most of our case officers are English speakers, so are those working in the Immigration). Present a passport that will expire in three months, and your waiting time will double.
Here are seven simple and quick fixes that you can do that will allow for a smoother and faster processing of your visa.
Visa application is all about documentation. You need all the records, accounts, and paper works that back up everything you claim about yourself during the application. If the papers you surrendered lack one vital document, the process will be on a halt.
The Immigration wants an entire picture of your identity. With one piece of the puzzle missing, that picture will not make sense, or worse, they might think you are lying with the information you provided. Any records missing will amount to a couple of days or weeks we spend telling you to submit such paper. That is time you are losing in the application process already.
The people at the Immigration department are mostly English speakers. Therefore any documents printed in any other languages should be translated. They will not accept just any translator. It should be done by someone accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters.
This government agency is the national standard for issuing accreditation for practitioners in Australia. Any NAATI-accredited translator or interpreter means they are operating lawfully and are allowed to legally interpret your government documents.
Our case managers (the people who collect and process your documents and liaise with the Department of Immigration), as well as the Department of Immigration itself go through hundreds of paper works each day. They mostly includes three passports, ten kinds of certificates, and twenty records belonging to five people each, all in just one application. It is not very hard to get lost in all of these.
You can make the process faster by labeling the papers you submitted. We will usually provide a list of documents for your reference, you may label your documents according to the suggestions listed. If you are submitting more than one passport, label each one with the names whom they belong to. The same goes for birth certificates, employment records, and registration copies. The less time they spend identifying which document belongs to whom, the more time goes towards the decision process of your visa.
Some of our Government records and ID’s are being produced in color and there is a reason for that. It improves the readability of important details and they make the pictures and logos clearer and more identifiable.
When you submit the copies of these documents such as passports, driver’s licenses, and birth, death, and marriage certificates, please do so in full colour. Our case managers can read and prepare the papers better and faster if they are not in black and white. Not to mention that the Department of Immigration also prefers the records to be in colour. You want to get it right the first time.
The Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection receives hundreds of thousands of documents each day. Given that they are not Google.com and have a finite storage capacity, they limit the documents to a total of five megabytes in size only, anything more than that and they will reject it.
You may achieve this by compressing your PDFs online via SmallPDF.com. Just upload your PDF files and the site will compress them for you.
Sometimes we do not have the original versions of important documents and that is fine, as long as you have your non-original copies certified by the Justice of the Peace or a Notary Public (you can search for one in our area here). Their certifications will allow your non-original copies to be recognised by the Department of Immigration as valid.
Your visa grant should be in sync with the details in your passport, from the passport number to the expiration date. And since visa application process normally takes months, you have to be sure you still have the same passport when you finally secure your visa. If it expired along the process and you get another one with different numbers and expiration dates than the one in your visa, you will have a huge problem once you set foot in Australia.
Make sure the passport you provide will be good for six months up to a year to avoid hassles with the Immigration.
*Legal Disclaimer: Please note that this article is for general information only. Always seek professional legal advice in regards to your situation as every situation is different. Immigration legislation changes regularly and thus always, get up-to-date advice on your situation. Lodging a visa application is a judicial process and is based on the quality of legal advice and legal representation you receive. It is illegal for any Migration Agent or Lawyer to guarantee 100% of a positive result as it is a judicial process.
We have been flying for almost a century now and we have yet to master airplane etiquette. There are still people who think it is OK to make the seat bulkheads their personal ottoman or walk to the toilet barefoot.
Be a decent traveler and have respect. Here are eleven things you need to stop doing inside the plane on your next flight.
Nothing speaks “entitled” than a passenger resting his/her bare feet on the walls or the other passengers' seats. It is insulting and disrespecting of other people. Wear your shoes and put down your feet.
You have at least three hours waiting in the airport before you board your plane. Use that time to empty your bladder. The seat belt sign is there for your and the other passengers’ safety. Follow it.
Bringing your own booze might be cool in parties, but not on airplanes. There are regulations against consuming your own alcohol there. You can only drink alcohol that is given to you by the attendant to monitor your consumption. Wait until you land to get to a bar and drink to your heart’s content.
The plane is not your hotel room. By taking the trip to the rest room barefoot, or worse, with your socks on, you are mopping the pee on the plane’s floor, endangering everybody’s health. Also, eew.
Sure, that chili is irresistible. But inside an air-tight chamber filled with people already struggling with sleeplessness and bland food? Not much. Have consideration and keep the smelly meals away.
Believe it or not, a physical contact is the last thing flight attendants want, no matter how innocent your intentions may be (the fact that some of them had encountered sexual harassments at some point only confounds this discomfort). “Excuse me” will totally suffice for them. It is polite and doesn't invade any personal spaces.
On the same note…
Don’t do this on the plane. In fact, don’t do this anywhere. You are not the King of England. Well, scratch that. The King of England does not even do this. It is plain rude.
Apart from the Bermuda Triangle and D. B. Cooper, this is one of aviation’s biggest mystery: why do people even think it is cool to do yoga in airplane galleys? Is there some excitement to it? Is it considered a new milestone now? We may never know. What we are sure of is that you are invading the flight crew’s office and you will be thrown out if you insist.
If you are applauding because you want to give the pilot a huge compliment, guess what, he won’t be able to hear you. Send your compliments through the attendants if you really insist or just say thank you.
The large suitcase goes to the overhead bins, the small bag and other accouterments goes under your seat in the front. That simple. Have some courtesy to other passengers by not turning the bins into your gym locker.
The flight attendants practiced this presentation to save your life. Be appreciative of their efforts and pay attention. You don’t want to have that “I should have listen to them” moment when things go south.
For most of us, our idea of jungle survival comes only from watching Bear Grylls tide through the Australian and African forests and/or playing Tomb Raider. Or worse, courtesy of websites and articles publishing bogus survival steps that could get you killed more than get out alive.
Let us end these misinformation right now as we tell you the most famous survival myths going around the web and why they are the last things you should do.
Ah, the mother of all survival tips. The Australian Outback is an unforgivable desert. You need to keep yourself hydrated. If Bear Grylls does it, you should too, right? Honestly, this advice is not only gross, it never helps either.
There is a reason your body expels this fluid: it contains minerals, chemicals, and bacteria that either has no function or harmful to your body. Ingesting them again will only give your body another laborious task of filtering and expelling them out on top of keeping you warm. If you really insist on making your piss useful, experts advise peeing on your bandana and wearing it for added cooling.
And speaking of hydration…
Finally! You found a body of water. But you are not dumb. You know you have to boil it to make it safe for drinking, right? Not really mate.
The thing is, this isn’t wrong, it’s not just complete. Given, boiling water kills bacteria and other harmful organisms, but it cannot lay hands on the chemicals (such as lead), small debris, and particulates. You need to filter them first either by pouring them through a clean fabric or clothing, or letting them sit for a while to let the particulates settle and scoop the top part to boil. You won’t be able to do much against the chemicals. The general rule is be wary of stagnant bodies of water, as they are the ones that easily get contaminated. Flowing streams and brooks are better options.
We are not done on water yet...
Cactuses are just like camels; only greener, thornier, and doesn't move around. They can store large amounts of water to survive the desert, like Mother Nature’s most challenging water coolers. So you just cut one off and pour the precious liquid to your mouth, like how the cowboys did it in John Wayne movies.
The thing is, water from cactus contains high level of alkaloids, and they are toxic and acidic. Ingesting them will cause nausea, stomachache, and diarrhea, which basically are the last things you need when surviving a barren land. This will cause further dehydration and damage to your kidneys.
The jungle isn’t your eight year-old’s playground. It is littered with pieces of wood, metal, or even rock that can get through your skin and muscle. And just like in any movie that stars Sly or Arnie, you just need to pull the piece that impaled you like a badass and you will be good.
Here’s the thing. Very few die from getting impaled alone (in this case, from severe organ damage). Your biggest worry here is blood loss. Pull that piece and you will gush more than you are supposed to (not to mention expose more flesh in the process). That object is blocking all the blood vessels and making you safe. Keep it there. Dress the wounded area to prevent infection due to external elements. Seek medical attention when available. Let the experts do the removal.
If you casually tune in to National Geographic, Discovery, or History Channel, you know that half of their shows are about people left in the wilderness or desert to survive (the other half are about the daily routines of managing a pawnshop). And you are thinking, since these are fact-based channels with great reputations, everything shown in these programs should be accurate.
Let us tell you about Richard Code, a Canadian who braved the snow-covered wilderness of Ontario, Canada to test his survival skills armed only with an ax, a few tools, and a stock knowledge of survival techniques from watching Survivorman (which is like Man v. Wild, but set in Canada). His body was found a week later.
The thing is, these shows tend to rely on drama, action, and a bit of exaggeration to sell, throwing accuracy in the process. Nobody will watch a guy resting under a tree for a span of an entire day, despite the fact that that is the right thing to do to conserve heat and energy. No, people want scorpion-eating, urine-drinking, and waterfall-diving scenarios because those bring quality excitement, but necessarily quality knowledge. So get over your delusions because you consumed all nine seasons of Dual Survival and stay away from danger.
It is just the Outback. You have your 4x4, bottles of water, and jackets when it turns cold. It is literally a walk in the park. It is not even a major adventure.
But the things is, it is the Outback, an expansive desolation comprising most of Australia. And if you know Australia, you that the weather can flip here like crazy. The same goes with the desert. The temperatures can range from 50°C (120F) on summer days and pin fall to below freezing to -10°C (15F) during winter nights.
And that is just the weather. You also have to deal with other elements Oz is famous for. It rains heavily. The car ran out of battery. One of you got bitten by a Sydney Funnel-web Spider (which ironically roams the Outback, too). Or got lost. The Outback is no human being’s territory. You need be prepared and ready there.
You know how it looks like. People lounging in a winter cabin while snow builds up outside. A Saint Bernard with a wooden keg containing whiskey hanging around his neck approaches and offer people sips of the liquor to make themselves warm and survive the winter.
This may sound homey and beautiful, but deadly. It does more damage than good during survival situations. You see, alcohol making your body warm is an illusion. It only increases skin temperature by making your blood vessels dilate, pushing all the blood to go towards your birthday suit.
With all your red juices on your skin, the core suffers, lowering the body temperature in the process, which is the last thing you want to happen. Also, alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it helps expel liquids out of your body (this explains your multiple trips to the rest room during night outs). And you don’t want to risk dehydration in the cold, mate
We have glorified, even romanticised, survival so much that some people think it is a challenge worth taking randomly. To say that going into survival mode in the wilderness is an adventure is like saying spiraling down a credit card debt is a milestone in life. It is far from the real thing.
Aside from circumstances born out of uncontrollable factors, survival is a result of a series of bad decisions that people pursue due to ego, curiosity, and pop culture influence (We could always Tom Hanks our way out of this island!”). And then, they usually discover that being isolated with no shelter or food or water is not that rad. More than exploits and cave diving, survival is about desperation, panic, uncertainty, and fear.
If you really want to prove your skills in survival, avoid throwing yourself in such desperate situations in the first place. That, experts believe, is the greatest skill here.
We’ve already shown you the various tips and hacks for saving money while getting your degree abroad. But even those are not enough. Going to college in your own country is expensive already, doing so overseas increases your expenses exponentially as well as your chances of getting broke. And in our continuing effort to make the lives of expats and foreign students in Australia (or any part of the world) easier, we present to you five more reasons to maximize your hard-earned funds and keep bankruptcy at bay.
Bottle that is.
Because all study and no play makes college a nightmarish scenario, there will be a time when you will be attending barbecues, outdoor parties, and social gatherings. Bringing your own bottle as your share to the affair is a special courtesy expected from you.
But this hack is further helpful when it comes to dining out. Upon reservation of the restaurant, see if you are allowed to bring your own bottle of wine or champagne. If you are, then you better should. Exclusive joints like these are known to jack up their prices, and that includes alcohol. Having your own bottle of liquid courage with you would slice your expenses in half.
This tip works well for tourists. It will work better for students.
If you love eating out every day, you might need to put that fondness on hold in this stage of your life. Eating out burns so much money. Period. Preserve your salary by learning to shop and cook for yourself. That way, you can control your servings, the foods’ taste, and the ingredients (you have no idea how much salt restaurants dump on their meals, and that’s bad for you). Also, you can practice your plating skills, which is helpful for your Instagram #foodpics.
But don’t just shop anywhere, try to go for the local and farmers’ markets. The prices here are especially low since the produces go from the farm straight to their stalls, removing the middleman in the process. Not to mention, you’re able support the local farming industry. Win-win!
For some of us, coffee is fuel. And we could not start one task on our checklist until we get our dose of caffeine. But coffee is expensive, and it is one of the few small things we do not realize ruin our budget. A regular Starbucks latte in Australia costs four dollars. In a week, that racks up to AU$20. For perspective, that amount can already get you milk, cheese, a loaf of bread, rice, and eggs (or you know, basic actual food) good for a few days.
To cut down on coffee prices, utilize the coffee machines or dispensers on your work or school. They are cheaper, even free, and not loaded with sugar that puts a litter of soda to shame.
We don’t mean throwing technical terms you can never understand in parties so you could sound cool. We are talking about BigWords, an online resource that lets you compare text book prices from various vendors and on line sellers to let you know the cheapest prices and offers.
If you found that buying the book is still too much for your wallet, you still have your school’s library which likely has all the text books you need (you paid for that facility, anyway). Or you may borrow from a friend who already got past your class. It pays to acquaint yourself with older students, you know.
High-interest savings accounts will let you maximize your money in the bank, especially if you already have a large deposit to start with. But please take note that such option will not supply you your daily allowance, as these accounts rely on compound interest i.e. your money has to stay for a specific amount of time to earn. Taking a job is still the best way to earn huge cash.
Not many people like layovers. They keep long hauls incredibly longer, you are stuck in a foreign country that is not even your destination, and you are confined in an airport as your prison. But thing is, layovers are an extension of your travel work, or even home, and can offer experiences that you can never find elsewhere.
Here are seven things you can do to survive, enjoy, and keep your sanity intact during a layover. You’re welcome.
Before you can do anything on this list, you need to keep your luggage safe first. There’s no point to enjoying a layover if you lost your things. In situations like these, luggage get rechecked immediately to the next flight. If your next flight is too far ahead, then you may find another way.
Most airports offer lockers where you can leave your bags protected for a couple of hours. That leaves you light and free and ready to roam the world for a few hours. Make sure you choose the ones nearest to the departure gates. You don’t want go on 100 meter dashes inside the airport because your locker is situated on the other end of the complex.
Traveling from Tokyo to Sydney is an unforgiving 18-hour connecting flight. And no matter how long it is, it is nigh impossible to sleep soundly inside planes, and don’t start with us how unsanitary their rest rooms are. A layover is your chance to keep yourself clean and doze off.
Many airports provide short-term lodging rooms to travelers that you can rent. They are equipped with a shower room, a bed, and even a work table. There you can properly clean yourself and have real good sleep. You can go to Sleeping in Airports and see if such facilities are available on your layover, how much are the rooms are, and how comfortable they are. It is like Trip Advisor, but dedicated for layovers only.
Can you leave the airport during a layover? Of course you can! However, there are catches. First, see if you have the right visa, and second, make sure it is approved by the customs and immigration office to avoid legal mishaps. Once you do, you are free to explore the outside world, given you have the time and extra money to do so.
Eat their food, visit museums, go to the park, shop, or even just stroll around taking Instragram-material pictures. Your goal is to get a breath of fresh, non-airport air. Basically, you are visiting two countries in a single journey. Also, make sure you do not go that far. Travelling to next city to watch a movie if your next flight is within an hour wouldn’t be very wise. Make your plans within safe distances lest you would be missing your flight.
Just because you are on a flight does not mean emails stops coming. A layover would be a perfect time to catch up with them so you won’t be overwhelmed when you return to work. Also, if your presentation needs finishing touches, you may do this in the airport’s lounge rooms. If you are a travel blogger, you may take advantage of this time start your journal, update your website, upload your pictures, or update your fans and or followers on social media.
It is nice to work inside the airport, no sudden meetings to attend, no summons from your boss to go to his office to answer a few questions, and no distractions from coworkers. It’s just you, your latte, and your laptop.
If you are physically active, you know that sitting for six hours straight with very little activity just pulls energy out of your muscle. A layover, no matter how short it is, is a great time to make those blood running and the heart pumping hard again. No, we don’t advise you to make the airport complex your jogging arena (expect the security to come after you). But rather, see if the airport has a fitness center, gym, or workout facilities. If there isn’t any, you can go out and try to find the nearest gym. If you are in the US or Canada, you may check Airport Gyms to see the nearest fitness centers in your airport.
You see, when you are cramped that long, your posture gets ruined, you develop backaches, or worst case, give you swollen legs. Counteract these by doing light stretching, a light cardio, or even light weightlifting to get your proper posture, energy levels, and heart rate back. We advise against doing intense workout. You don’t want to make your plane trip more uncomfortable with muscle soreness.
We all know airplane food is never up to our palate standards, either because your taste buds get muted while flying 3,000 miles in the air or that’s the bane of pre-frozen and pre-packaged foods. Either way, we cannot ceaselessly complain. You are not in a Michelin-star restaurant. And since no one wants to get starved for nine hours straight, a layover is a good opportunity to feast on airport food (which is an entirely different story, taste-wise).
Airports are filled with restaurants, fast food joints, and cafes that cater to people from all over the world. From the ubiquitous McDonalds and KFCs to the more sophisticated French restaurants like La Vie and St. Tropez. Or better, try out the local eats the complex has to offer to give you a taste (literally!) of your temporary destination. Just be sure you have your antidiarrheal meds with you. You don’t want bouts of tummy aches and trips to the rest rooms to ruin your trip.
Board games, specifically. In a time and age where Internet and mobile games is the saving grace of any time spent waiting, a low-tech piece of cardboard with drawings on it can still tremendously entertain anybody. If there’s two or more of you and you know you will have two to three hours to spare for your layover, bring a board game such as Scrabble, Risk, or even Monopoly with you to keep boredom at bay (just be sure to keep relationships intact with Monopoly). All you need is a table and a few chairs you are good. If you are alone, a crossword, fill-it-in, or Sudoku puzzle book will keep you distracted.
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.
So, you finally arrived here in Australia. You are ready to be comfy on your new home, immerse yourself on the new culture, try all the Aussie food, and live your new life. It’s a brave new world out there!
And then two weeks later, boom! It hits you. You miss your old room. You miss grandma’s cooking. You miss the neighborhood. The sense of isolation and melancholy is getting the best of you. You want to go home. All these excitements of starting a new life now taking a backseat. You now want your old life back.
Homesickness has been plaguing people for ages, from European explorers to pilgrims to World War I and II soldiers to the modern expatriates and exchange students. It is an underrated and underestimated emotional condition that has drove people to desolation and breached contracts. And while going back home isn’t really an immediate possibility, there are ways to tide the longing and continue what you set out to do.
Homesickness isn’t necessarily missing home, but the habits and routines associated with it. Since you can’t go back to those anymore, creating new activities to revolve your daily life on will work just as fine. And no, we’re not discussing about you waking up, getting your coffee, and taking the drive to work. We’re talking about the extra things that give your otherwise conventional day into something extraordinary. It could be meeting a few friends after work, reading a good book on your favorite coffee shop, doing yoga, or a jog in the morning. These will provide distractions as you get immersed in your new life.
And speaking of jogging…
It is no secret that working out releases happy hormones in your body. This is perfect to combat depression commonly associated with homesickness. Also, being physically active keeps you away from bad eating which again, is a huge tendency of those experiencing stress and longingness.
So choose a physical activity that you like and stick with it. A morning jog, yoga sessions, weightlifting, or even playing your favorite sport (Australia’s obsession with sports is huge). It will strengthen your immune system, which means you will have more ammunition to fight off sickness while you adjust to a new atmosphere.
Also, by joining fitness clubs or workout classes, you will meet more people and have more friends, which lead us to…
Of a different family that is. It might the household on your shared apartment, or your coworker’s core relatives. Having them “adopt” you will get rid of any feelings of loneliness. Have them invite you to family functions, dinners, or parties. No, they will never replace your folks back at home, but they can provide a sense of belongingness which is way, way better than getting yourself drunk alone at home during Thanksgiving.
And since we’re on the topic of Thanksgiving …
Since your real family is away, there’s no way you can slice turkey with them. But you can celebrate it with your adoptive family! Treat them to a thanksgiving dinner (you may use chicken, turkey burgers, or other alternatives instead) once a year. Or, if you’re from the Philippines, celebrate Christmas Eve with a Chinese ham and leche flan with them on the table
This works on both ways. First, you will get a taste of home by sharing your traditions with other people. And second, your new family will have new experiences and new food to try. Win-win, if you’ll ask us.
If you think you are helping yourself by spending four hours a day on Skype keeping in touch with your family back home, you are wrong. This will only bolster the longing and homesickness. The same thing happens when you drown yourself in social media, constantly keeping in touch what your friends are having for lunch because you can’t afford to miss out.
You have an entire world to discover out there. Make new friends, try new foods, join groups, and learn new hobbies. You have a new home now. Know and enjoy it. Your relatives and buddies back home are going on with their daily lives, you should too on your end.
Homesickness doesn’t only make you spiral down into depression, but makes you absentminded as well. Counter this by acquiring new skills and hobbies such as learning a new language, attending cooking classes, learn painting or even martial arts. Doing so will keep your brain on foot, alert, and able to retain more information. Plus, it can get you occupied and helps you create a new network of friends.
No matter how much you feel alone about being homesick, the thing is, well, you are not alone. You are not the only one who had struggled to cope up with this dilemma. Actually, there is definitely someone in your workplace, group, or club going through the same thing. Reach out and find someone who you can open up about this. Better if that person had gone through the same thing.
You need to remember that it is OK to feel bad about it. It is OK to burst in tears once in a while. Ignoring it and pretending that such trouble isn’t happening will only make things worse. You lost productivity at work, become temperamental, or worst, become self-destructive. Opening up to a person or a group doesn’t hurt.
And speaking of which…
Expatriates, foreign students, and newly migrants, in a futile attempt to deaden negativity, engage themselves in unproductive behaviors that only hurt them more in the long run. They drown themselves in alcohol, they gamble, spend so much in shopping, do dangerous and illegal pursuits, and worst of all, they resort to substance abuse.
Such endeavors only numb the pain in a short time. When they get back to being sober or on their normal routines, the emotional trouble returns and then it becomes a viscous cycle. Remember that establishing connection with other people and focusing on your positive growth as a person are the things you need to concentrate on. If you feel complete and productive as a migrant, the waves of homesickness are easier to tide on.