r/ausjobs

I'm currently studying construction management and have mainly been trying to apply for cadetships at various construction companies. Many don't hire cadets, only graduates and a lot of the ones who do are only interested in students in their third or penultimate year of uni. I was eligible for some but they all rejected me. One even said it was because I didn't have enough experience which is absurd because you're not usually meant to have experience prior to a cadetship, in fact it's meant to provide basic experience prior to a graduate program placing you ahead of them which I find insane.

I've been expanding beyond cadetships and looking for various laboring jobs in construction but even many of the require experience or some sort of work-related qualification or license outside of a white card (which I already have).

I just want to know if I'm doing something wrong or if everyone else is experiencing the same dilemma.

Just reapplied for job that I just missed out on as They went with another candidate that had more experience than me.
I was just wondering what happens in this situation
I know people are not in the company. I was just curious
Sorry if I confused people

Hey everyone, I'm 26 and currently based in Melbourne. I'm trying to get a bit of perspective from people who've maybe made a late-ish career shift or started again financially from a low base.

My background is a bit all over the place. I originally went to uni and completed studies in exercise science and business/sports management. For the past ~4 years l've been working as a researcher at a university, but I'm starting to realise this academic/research path just isn't for me long-term.

More recently I started studying cardiac sonography, but I'm running into a big issue with placements being really hard to secure, and I'm also questioning whether it's actually the right career fit for me anyway.

At the moment I'm feeling a bit stuck. I don't have a huge amount of savings behind me, so whatever I move into probably needs to be realistic financially (i.e. I can't just stop working and retrain full-time without income).

What I do know is I'd like something more hands-on and practical. I've been looking into technician or trades like electrical work because it seems structured, skill-based, and more tangible than what I'm doing now. But I honestly don't know how viable it is at my age starting out, or how people even make the transition when they still need to earn while training.

I guess I'm just wondering, if you were in my position at 26 with limited savings and a career that didn't feel right anymore, what direction would you seriously consider in Australia? Doesn't have to be trade related, just something that's popped into my mind recently.

And if anyone here has gone from uni/office-type work into a trade later on, I'd really appreciate hearing how you made it work financially and practically.

Thanks in advance:)

I have recently been in the search for a graduate position as an engineer and through my search i feel as if it is so much harder to get a graduate position than any more experienced position.

I have applied for every graduate position i have come across with a cover letter, resume and my transcript and i have heard back from maybe about 5 of them with it all being just to do their online assessments.

In my applications i have also applied to some junior/mid level positions which i am wildly underqualified for and i have gotten more contacts from these positions without much experience just a few internships and also with no cover letter or effort for the application as this was more to see if i can get in contact with recruiters.

Have other people come across this problem and does anyone know why its like this?

I’m asking this because I know government recruitment works differently to private recruitment.
I am pretty high in my respective field (I work with children and child protection) and have been looking at making the jump from private sector to public sector, at an equivalent or higher job role. I was successful in gaining an interview, which occurred last Monday via Teams.

I usually feel really confident during interviews - my skills and knowledge back me up and I know how to communicate that well. However, this interview was unlike any other I’ve experienced - 15 minutes prior to the interview, the panel sent me a list of scenarios to peruse and the entire interview was them gauging how I would respond or react to these scenarios, as well as some others that they threw at me that I didn’t get the opportunity to peruse in advance. I’ve never been interviewed in this format, and left the interview feeling like I’d absolutely bombed it. I have spent the last week just putting it out of my mind and assuming I’d be unsuccessful. I was quite devastated, as this is what I consider to be the next step in my career, and public sector jobs in this field are few and far between.

A week later, the following Monday, my references reach out and let me know that they’ve both been contacted and asked to complete a reference check for me. They screenshot the reference form, and it’s very comprehensive - about 3 standard word doc sized pages of questions, asking my references to match my ability to things like the Queensland Leadership Framework, Child Safe Standards, ect.

I know for private organisations, references usually aren’t contacted, and especially not for such comprehensive checks, if the potential employee isn’t in high contention for being selected for the role. But before I get my hopes up, I thought I would see if this is the same for the public sector/Queensland Government, and I would gauge what you all think this may mean for me and my potential employment.

Thank you!

I have come from being 'master of my universe', owning small businesses for 20 years, and corporate, consulting prior to that in multiple countries. I had a well deserved break last year (that I did not have control of), and because I can't keep still, during this time, I helped out a few small business clients less formally, learnt more about AI and kept abreast of industry news.
Now am now ready to get back to work and am looking for a long term part time role.
I know the types of roles I am looking for. I also know I may be looking through rose-coloured glasses. Eg, I am aware that a program manager role in a large organisation is very different to CEO in a small org.
Also, part-time usually means a lower level of responsibility than full time.

My questions - why would you hire a person who was their own boss even though they led, trained, managed a team of 10 permanent and 50 casual staff, ans was an active, hands-on manager for most of the operational activities (because that's the nature of SMEs)?
Any wisdom on how to position myself in a cv or interview?
Also, where experience is valued over energy?

Thanks so much for your feedback.

I'm an Australian citizen with a white card and PPEs, I'm willing to work weekends, nights and overtime and I have experience doing manual labour while I was going to school, specifically I did housepainting, stonework maintenance and lugging heavy packs of equipment for miles for full time workers.

Every labour hire company I've tried so far hasn't gotten back to me and I'm trying to sign up for more, and SEEK is even worse, not one reply in 40. Is it not supposed to be pretty easy to get your first job in this particular field? I've made a post on r/tradies and they've given me a few other companies to try but it feels like I'm unhireable without formal experience in Australia

In short, my first preference is extremely keen on hiring me (so they advised) i have recieved a verbal offer, followed up with a non binding email, had my references checked, provided my ID documents and criminal history check. They havent got back to me with a timeline or indication of a contract. I do have an 'informal meeting' with the manager in 5 days.

Option 2, offered me the role and quickly sent me a contract. Offered me to start in 2 weeks time. This is my second preference. I am on a deadline to either decline or sign this contract.

What would you do in this circumstance? Option 1 don't really seem in a rush, no indication of timeline or potential start date etc. It is unprofessional to contact them to ask whilst knowing I have an informal catch up in 5 days?

been looking for a job for a while now and really want to get into pick packing / warehouse but i only have experience in retail and hospitality. i’ve applied to many pick packer jobs but they all prefer someone with previous experience in that.

can i just lie about my experience on resume and say i have worked in pick packing? would they find out? has anyone ever lied about their experience and got into the job they wanted??

any advice / tips would be appreciated thanks

Hi Everyone. Hope everyone have a good day.

I am desperately looking for an admin job. Any job where I get to sit on a chair and work on a computer like that. I have been doing retail Job and it started to take a physical toll on me. I have completed both bachelors and masters in IT. And have good computer and microsoft docs, excel, powerpoint literacy and open to learning new tools. I have been trying seek, linkedin all that. Anyone can give me a heads up, how to really get one?

My husband is struggling to find an IT job in Australia and we honestly don’t know what to do anymore.

We got married hoping to build a future together here. We had dreams of settling down, creating stability, and finally starting our life properly. But things have become incredibly difficult. His working visa will expire soon, and despite trying constantly, he still hasn’t been able to secure an IT role.

He’s working extremely hard and doing odd jobs just to survive, but financially it’s not enough to support both of us long term. We’re also currently in a long-distance marriage because of all this, and it’s emotionally exhausting. Watching someone you love work so hard and still feel stuck is heartbreaking.

Going back to our home country is not an option for personal reasons, so we’re trying to think realistically about what we can do from here.

Has anyone been through something similar in Australia’s current job market? Especially in tech/IT on a temporary visa? What options did you consider when things felt impossible? Career changes? Regional pathways? Further study? Networking approaches that actually helped?

We’re just trying to hold on and make smart decisions before time runs out.

Considering a career change into urban/transport planning - thoughts? What's the job market like? Will demand stay strong in an AI dominated world?

Hey all,

So, I went back to school for mechanical engineering at the ripe age of 37. Just as I was entering my final year, my wife was recruited and hired to do some amazing work in the speech pathology world here in Brisbane. I know everyone's having a rough go with the job search, but I've been applying for these graduate programs with zero luck even landing an interview. I don't know if it's because I am American (maybe they prioritize grads from Aussie universities?), or that I have quite the resume that shows my age (including owning a business), or maybe everyone is going through the same thing.

Are these graduate programs restricted to either conventional aged students or citizens? Or maybe do I need to dilute my resume down to one page and remove some past jobs? Anyone have any pointers for this scenario? It's very likely we'll be staying for quite a while (we love it here and the Australian demand for my wife's work is very high), but yeah, hard to make ends meet on the one income.

Thanks in advance!

Email reads as follows:

"We are writing to provide an update on the progress of your application for ASD/09553/25 - ASD EL1 Signals Intelligence Analyst and Signals Intelligence Manager.

Please be advised that outcomes are still under assessment. Unfortunately we are unable to provide you with an expected date for outcomes, but please be assured that we are working to process your application.

In the meantime, please monitor the email address that you submitted your application under as we hope to provide you with an update in the near future.

We thank you for your patience and continued interest in a career with the Australian Signals Directorate."

Was there a purpose to this email? Or am i overthinking it?

I'm 16, but not in school (It's a whole story) I really need money so I can move out as soon as possible, so I REALLY need to get hired. I do have a job but I don't get paid a ton, and don't get alot of hours. I applied and got hired after Christmas (around march).

I want to work at a retail place, or a cinema (i work in food rn) But I know A LOT of teens apply over school holidays, then quit for back to school.

I've seen a few hiring signs around, but my question is: Should I apply now, or after the school holidays?? And when will i be more likely to get hired???

Thank you in advance :)))

As the title suggests, I was rejected from a role a couple weeks ago, but while scrolling today, I came across the exact same job description from the exact same employer for the exact same role that was posted <24 hours ago?

Honestly why do they do this. It feels like they just posting jobs but hiring nobody :/

EDIT: I met all requirements and had the relevant experiences and didn’t even reach the interview stage. Just received a straight rejection email.

Also, no I am not entitled. No I do believe companies owe us feedback (would be nice but not needed). Posted this to see if others have had similar experiences, nothing else

Hi I am wondering if anyone can help me out with my situation.

Long story short I started a new job this week and have realised it’s for sure not me. It’s a lot more related to administrative duties than I had hoped and the training has been subpar and there’s pressure to just ‘learn on the go’ which would be fine if there wasn’t a million systems and software to learn how to use. I feel like it’s just an excuse not to have a better training/onboarding program. They’ve also been extremely disorganised with setting up software and logins etc that has meant my training has had issues and delays.

Anyway I am going to send an email to HR/the people and culture staff member (idk who would be better) over the weekend informing them I no longer want to continue the role. Are there any potential ramifications to this considering I’ve only been doing onboarding at the moment? In my contract it said if you were an employee of less than a year your notice period is 1 week but i have only been doing training and not any actual work so I’m wondering how relevant this would be and how they’d even enforce it considering I haven’t done any actual work nor would I be needed to train someone.

It’s a part time role if that makes a difference.

Thank you lovely people ✨