Our business partners in Australia interviewed a number of 2009 and 2010 immigrants from around the world about how they had found “real” Australia rather than the impressions they had gained when job hunting and we have split the findings into three groups – career, culture and lifestyle.
Careers:
- Working in Australia operates as a meritocracy with no limit as to how high you can climb the corporate ladder. Virtually all interviewees had a positive impression about how they had been treated since their arrival.
- A large majority had increased their earnings potential upon arrival and felt that their business contribution would be recognised and rewarded. Understandably, the most recent interviewees had yet to experience a pay increase but didn’t see an upper cap on earnings.
- 100% felt valued in their new environment and had high self esteem as they a brought much needed skills into the local community.
- For those who wanted to progress they had found their new bosses to be supportive of additional training after a settling in period
Culture:
- Adapting to local weather conditions and temperature levels were commented on by some and a few said they might look to relocate within Australia as they became better acquainted but over 90% were very happy with their location having researched thoroughly before moving to Australia.
- Affordable quality real estate was seen as a benefit by most interviewees and many had identified a property to rent or buy before leaving their own country. About two thirds rented for the first year to make sure the job and location was right for them.
- Schooling brought the biggest split in views ranging from world class to “being as bad as back home” from a few British immigrants. Research tends to suggest Australian education is middle of the road against developed nations but way ahead of developing countries so the response was governed by the country of origin of the immigrant
- None had experienced direct racialism but most disliked the surly drunken attitude they have witnessed from time to time and commented that the authorities seemed surprisingly tolerant.
- Healthcare being paid for by the government was seen as a big bonus by some but taken as read by others depending on the country of origin
Lifestyle
Undoubtedly this was the big win people had gained from working in Australia and the following sounds like an advertisers list
- Beaches, beaches, beaches everywhere. Clean, largely uncrowded and accessible to most.
- The wildlife – for most only seen on a weekend but a great adventure getting up close
- The scenery – the urban sprawl with its fair share of graffiti was offset by stunning scenery and as one interviewee put it “every weekend is a vacation at the moment”
- Outdoor life style – loved by all. An English family commented how their kids had changed virtually overnight favouring the outdoors as opposed to “fone and Facebook” and how the family felt more united
- We had to finish with the space, the outdoor life style and of course the BBQ
Just a few words of caution, working in Australia isn’t for everyone so spend time on doing your research to make sure that the balance is right for you before embarking on emigration and the make sure you spend as much time selecting your advisor’s who, if they are any good will demand in depth information on you before commencing a search.
Author: Chris Slay
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