# finding IT jobs in Nov, Dec and Jan ?



## haansi (Oct 25, 2009)

Hi,

I am a software developer having Australian PR and planning to move to Australia. I come to know in Australia November, December and January are not good for finding jobs (permanent and contact) because of year end and Christmas, so I should plan in February end.

Can you please guide me about this ? In these months jobs are hard or very rare to find ?

Thanks


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## Hock Siew (Mar 6, 2010)

Dear Haansi,

The impression I get is that things slow down almost to a halt during the Christmas period. I heard that it is generally quiet in December and January and that the job market will usually pick up after that.

Anyway, it`s still my first year here. I arrived in June and am still looking for work.

Good Luck!

Rgds,
Hock Siew


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## haansi (Oct 25, 2009)

Hock Siew said:


> Dear Haansi,
> 
> The impression I get is that things slow down almost to a halt during the Christmas period. I heard that it is generally quiet in December and January and that the job market will usually pick up after that.
> 
> ...


Thanks Hock Siew ,

Can you please guide in which city are you living ? is this situation same for all the cities ?

Thanks again.


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## Hock Siew (Mar 6, 2010)

Dear Haansi,

I`m in Melbourne but I think it`s generally true of most areas. However, it may vary from industry to industry. I have a background in manufacturing. Not sure if there is anyone else in this forum who works in IT who can help.

Rgds,
Hock Siew


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## haansi (Oct 25, 2009)

Thanks a lot Hock Siew


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## Bear (Nov 16, 2010)

I agree with Hock Slew it does slow down greatly with Australia pretty much closing in January in regards to work. It's vacation time.
I was an Accountant in Sydney so it's not industry or area specific.


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## akihsu (Nov 10, 2011)

Hi everyone, I'm new here... and I also share the same concerns if IT jobs availability slows down from Nov - Jan. 

I am also interested to know if there is a seasonal period(s), e.g. after bonus payout in Dec, that people start to change jobs and there will be a lot of job openings available


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## Hock Siew (Mar 6, 2010)

Dear Akihsu,

The financial year in Australia is from July to June. So it might be a bit quiet around May or June prior to the end of the year. You will probably see more employees moving around again from July onwards.

Rgds,
Hock Siew


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## akihsu (Nov 10, 2011)

Hock Siew said:


> Dear Akihsu,
> 
> The financial year in Australia is from July to June. So it might be a bit quiet around May or June prior to the end of the year. You will probably see more employees moving around again from July onwards.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your reply. If this is so, and say a tender notification period takes between 1-3 months, then between *Jul - Oct* will be a good time to look for jobs - since this period will be when employers need to put up job notices.


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## akihsu (Nov 10, 2011)

haansi said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am a software developer having Australian PR and planning to move to Australia. I come to know in Australia November, December and January are not good for finding jobs (permanent and contact) because of year end and Christmas, so I should plan in February end.
> 
> ...


Although Nov would seem like a dry month, *Seek* today is showing 56 new software analyst / developer positions in Melbourne alone.

Is this considered as high or low by OZ standards? Anyone can advise?


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## Hock Siew (Mar 6, 2010)

akihsu said:


> Thanks for your reply. If this is so, and say a tender notification period takes between 1-3 months, then between *Jul - Oct* will be a good time to look for jobs - since this period will be when employers need to put up job notices.


This is the general feedback I received. Hence, I made my move to Australia in June 2011. I found that the months of July, August and October seemed to have more jobs being advertised (I`m not sure if September was actually slower - it may just have seemed to be so because I was doing some casual work at the time).


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## tracker777 (Jun 29, 2010)

*Agree with most of the comments posted here*

Hi All,
I am in the IT Industry and agree with most of the comments posted here. Better to avoid the November to January period when hiring is slow. I believe this is the case across Australia and in most of the industry.


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## SyedRaafee (Aug 27, 2010)

Hi All,

I have been in Sydney, Australia since a year now as part of the IT industry here and based on my experience of finding work or changing jobs, I am sharing the below points. This may or may not be true for other industries or situations but I am sure will help some of you to get an idea about how things are in Australia.

1>	The job market is pathetically slow during the November end through to mid of January due to pending signoffs, approvals and key people going on vacation
2>	Don’t go by the number of jobs that you see on SEEK, most of them are there since a long time and repeated across different consultancies in Australia. Its very common that a single job is advertised by a number of different IT recruitment agencies
3>	The market usually starts picking up from mid January onwards and you start seeing new jobs on the market
4>	Probably the peak time for the job market is between June to October but again there is a decent number of the jobs available from February through May
5>	You might find it a little difficult to get into the OZ job market initially. You’ll find a lot of job agents and employers cribbing about you not having local experience in order to try and exploit that to pay you less money. Ironically, you’ll have to be prepared for this and take whatever you can find as your first job. It becomes a lot easier after you get some local experience
6>	Generally the interview process is very slow. Under normal circumstances it would take you about a month from the time your CV was short listed for an interview until fetching a decent offer in hand. Add at least one more week for joining. This is assuming an ideal situation. 

In summary, come with a open and positive mindset, brush up your communication skills in English (this usually is the difference between getting a job in a couple of months or a number of months) and be confident. 
As far as IT industry goes, if you are good, confident, and have the right skills along with an ability to utilize all possible networking and communication channels, you should not have a lot of trouble finding your first job in Australia. 

A few tips

1>	Remember your resume is the first thing that sells your skills, so work on your CV and research about Australian standard resume format. 
2>	Have a decent profile on Linkedin and get recommendations from your peers and managers
3>	Have a significant number of referees from your previous job who can vouch for you

Hope this was helpful,

All the best to everyone! 
Raafee


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## stevenjc (May 17, 2011)

I work in IT in Adelaide. I have worked a few years as a contractor and considerable time as a permanent. Back when I was contracting, the only time of year I found a bit harder than others to find work was late Dec/early January. Apart from that, I didn't notice any time of year being harder or easier to find contract work. I was at the time doing desktop support, for which there is usually plenty of work.

Hope this helps in some way.


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## vamshi.p1 (Apr 14, 2011)

Hi steven 

I have got a 475 visa for south Australia for 3 years and I need to stay there for atleast 2 years inorder to apply for PR. 

My concern is I am presently working as an Oracle Apps DBA and very eager to know what is the DBA job Market in Adelaide. 

Thanks & Regards
Vamshi


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## Boboa (Mar 24, 2009)

I'm not sure about Adrlaide honestly it is a very limited market. The IT powerhouses in Australia are Melbourne and Sydney. Adelaide is more of jewelry, mining and wine place. I guess the best strategy will be to look for a DBA position within these industries.


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