"It's him, isn't it?," the lady asked. "Wonder what mischief he is going to get to today?"
I had just met her. A lady with shopping bags, who like me was waiting for a bus in Sydney's lower north shore. The question broke the ice between us strangers. The year was 1998 and although I was fresh off the boat, a new migrant to Australia, I knew the alleged mischief maker.
His name was John Howard, the then Australian Prime Minister.
Mr Howard was off on a power walk around Kirribilli House, his official residence. He was a bloke who had the top job in the country, and yet, while he was free with his liberties, walking about town, his subjects compared him to an average schoolboy off to his pranks.
The irreverence of the comment on the prime ministers' job was deliciously liberating. I felt that I made the right choice in coming to Australia, down under. Everybody here was an average Joe. Or an ordinary Shiela. Even the prime ministers, the movie stars and Nobel Laureates mingled with mortals and the irreverence for accolades was as Australian as kangaroo. Here, so it seemed, everbody can wipe the slate clean and have a fresh start.
However, a coin has two sides.
The egalitarian nature of Australian society also has an affliction that sometimes affects new migrants. It often leaves professionals, especially ones from India, in a frustrating conundrum.
A banker that I knew , successful in a few countries, got caught in corporate quick sand in a prominent organisation in Melbourne. Marketing high achievers who were former acquaintances, who's resumes seduced fat pay cheques overseas, hopelessly flirted with job vacancies here in Sydney. Hop into a cab, in Melbourne or Sydney, and chances are that your chauffeur for hire will be somebody from South Asia. For the migrant taxi drivers, after 4 to 6 years of study, the easiest vocation to fit into here, is within Australia's taxi industry.
People have generalised this malady. They now have several terms for it. Some call it the tall poppy syndrome. Some call it professional backwardness, a malady where Australian businesses fail to recognise talent, and go for the lowest hanging fruit, often hiring an individual of average qualities, but nevertheless a perfect cultural fit within the organisation.
Having travelled this lonely road of professional migration mid-career, I now know these afflictions are for the hypochondriacs. The Australian job market is neither backward, nor a talent killer. It is a finite machine, where a deal is not stuck and an individual is not hired or promoted until the fat lady sings.
Although I have taken notes along the last 10 years, both as an employer and an employee, there is no perfect game plan to getting hired here . You have to remember, job ads are created by individuals. Individuals do not come out of a standard cookie cutter, so the rules of engagement change across every hiring process.
Here are the lessons I have learnt, nevertheless.
1) When on a job hunt, empathy is the most lethal weapon in your armoury. You must deliver it through your resume and cover letter.
Every vacancy is created by a need or an inspiration. The creator is an individual or a collective that have particular goals or a talent shortage that needs to be addressed. Empathise with this and customise your resume in a manner that addresses the need. Talk to the individual behind the job application. Tango with their aspirations. You will get nowhere by throwing a truck full of qualifications and the kitchen sink. Rest assured, others will do this. Empathy will help you stand out and get your foot in the door.
2) Research is key to empathy.
Ask for a detailed job description. The Internet is a great resource, utilise it to research an organisation. Networks like LinkedIn give you an insight about a company through the people who work there. LinkedIn resumes will give you an idea about the kind of skills a company attracts. Avoid employers who cannot provide you with a detailed job description - the jobs that they advertise for will have a short shelf life.
3) Get inside information
Be prepared to meet people, whether it be recruitment agents or HR managers of potential employers. Not only will you build contacts, but the conversations will help you collect inside information about the industry, which in turn will help you build empathy. Soliciting these meetings are an art in itself. Be upfront about it's purpose.
Above all, remember paper qualifications and Ivy League education will still have to do the rain dance and the recruitment process filters both the crud and the sediment, leaving people with the right balance of skills and aspirations within the workplace. It certainly isn't dynamic as other markets. But remember, it a market that has weathered the global financial crisis. Tall poppies are certainly the first to be blown away by strong storms.
I had just met her. A lady with shopping bags, who like me was waiting for a bus in Sydney's lower north shore. The question broke the ice between us strangers. The year was 1998 and although I was fresh off the boat, a new migrant to Australia, I knew the alleged mischief maker.
His name was John Howard, the then Australian Prime Minister.
Mr Howard was off on a power walk around Kirribilli House, his official residence. He was a bloke who had the top job in the country, and yet, while he was free with his liberties, walking about town, his subjects compared him to an average schoolboy off to his pranks.
The irreverence of the comment on the prime ministers' job was deliciously liberating. I felt that I made the right choice in coming to Australia, down under. Everybody here was an average Joe. Or an ordinary Shiela. Even the prime ministers, the movie stars and Nobel Laureates mingled with mortals and the irreverence for accolades was as Australian as kangaroo. Here, so it seemed, everbody can wipe the slate clean and have a fresh start.
However, a coin has two sides.
The egalitarian nature of Australian society also has an affliction that sometimes affects new migrants. It often leaves professionals, especially ones from India, in a frustrating conundrum.
A banker that I knew , successful in a few countries, got caught in corporate quick sand in a prominent organisation in Melbourne. Marketing high achievers who were former acquaintances, who's resumes seduced fat pay cheques overseas, hopelessly flirted with job vacancies here in Sydney. Hop into a cab, in Melbourne or Sydney, and chances are that your chauffeur for hire will be somebody from South Asia. For the migrant taxi drivers, after 4 to 6 years of study, the easiest vocation to fit into here, is within Australia's taxi industry.
People have generalised this malady. They now have several terms for it. Some call it the tall poppy syndrome. Some call it professional backwardness, a malady where Australian businesses fail to recognise talent, and go for the lowest hanging fruit, often hiring an individual of average qualities, but nevertheless a perfect cultural fit within the organisation.
Having travelled this lonely road of professional migration mid-career, I now know these afflictions are for the hypochondriacs. The Australian job market is neither backward, nor a talent killer. It is a finite machine, where a deal is not stuck and an individual is not hired or promoted until the fat lady sings.
Although I have taken notes along the last 10 years, both as an employer and an employee, there is no perfect game plan to getting hired here . You have to remember, job ads are created by individuals. Individuals do not come out of a standard cookie cutter, so the rules of engagement change across every hiring process.
Here are the lessons I have learnt, nevertheless.
1) When on a job hunt, empathy is the most lethal weapon in your armoury. You must deliver it through your resume and cover letter.
Every vacancy is created by a need or an inspiration. The creator is an individual or a collective that have particular goals or a talent shortage that needs to be addressed. Empathise with this and customise your resume in a manner that addresses the need. Talk to the individual behind the job application. Tango with their aspirations. You will get nowhere by throwing a truck full of qualifications and the kitchen sink. Rest assured, others will do this. Empathy will help you stand out and get your foot in the door.
2) Research is key to empathy.
Ask for a detailed job description. The Internet is a great resource, utilise it to research an organisation. Networks like LinkedIn give you an insight about a company through the people who work there. LinkedIn resumes will give you an idea about the kind of skills a company attracts. Avoid employers who cannot provide you with a detailed job description - the jobs that they advertise for will have a short shelf life.
3) Get inside information
Be prepared to meet people, whether it be recruitment agents or HR managers of potential employers. Not only will you build contacts, but the conversations will help you collect inside information about the industry, which in turn will help you build empathy. Soliciting these meetings are an art in itself. Be upfront about it's purpose.
Above all, remember paper qualifications and Ivy League education will still have to do the rain dance and the recruitment process filters both the crud and the sediment, leaving people with the right balance of skills and aspirations within the workplace. It certainly isn't dynamic as other markets. But remember, it a market that has weathered the global financial crisis. Tall poppies are certainly the first to be blown away by strong storms.
This article is very informative..thanks.
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