# getting a "serious" job with a working holiday 417 visa + future



## everchanging_Spectrum (Feb 8, 2013)

Dear all,

I am starting to think, rather seriously, about coming to Australia, for a gap (half) year and , subsequently, building up a future there (unless I find Aus pretty horrible, which is very unlikely I assume!  )

I am considering in taking a Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa.
With this visa I could enjoy 6 months of tripping and then I could apply for a job.
My intentions are to get a "serious" job, I am currently working as a demand planner/inventory analyst and I would like to continue on that field.

My question to you are:

- is the 417 visa meeting the usual requirements "To be eligible to apply for this position you must have an appropriate Australian or New Zealand work visa." which is found at the bottom of white collars job ads?
- if it is ok, do I anyway stand a chance to get such a job, since by default I am supposed to leave the country in 6 months time (unless I get a second visa 417)?
- if I get the job, let say one year contract, does my job contract make it any easier for me to get, instead of a second visa 417, a visa which is granting me a longer term outlook and more stability?

I hope someone will be so kind to help me out 
thank you!


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi -

You can check out the immi.gov.au website for complete details on the 417 visa. Technically you can work under that visa anywhere in Australia doing about anything. Only an employer will be able to tell you whether they want to hire you on that visa or not. Many employers use the WHV as a "try out" visa, where the employee comes to Australia and works for 6 months under that visa - if all works out OK, they can work another 6 months if they get a second WHV, however keep in mind that getting a second WHV requires three months of "specified work" - generally farm or other rural work - during the first WHV.

A contract would not make it easier or harder to get another 417. The key is that work under the 417 needs to be work that is short term work to supplement your funds while in Australia. Employers these days are pushing the limits of that definition to be sure.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


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## everchanging_Spectrum (Feb 8, 2013)

Many thanks for your reply, Mark.

I take this as that the WHV is not really an option for me.
It is not in my interest to do 3 months of "specified" work. Maybe one month could be nice, just to try out.

Is there some more suitable Visa then, in my case?
Willing to come to Australia for 6 months and then settling somewhere and looking for a qualified job?

If I'm not wrong, if I issue a holiday visa, then for one year I am not able to get a job, even if a get a different kind of visa at a later stage, right?

thank you again!


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi -

Just to confirm, the 3 months of specified (rural) work is only a requirement if you want to apply for a second WHV - the 3 months of that type of work must have occurred while you were on the first WHV.

From what you've said, the WHV is probably your best choice. If you are unable to find work at the end of the WHV, you wouldn't have a lot of choices that would allow unrestricted work. If you get sponsored for a 457 temporary skilled work visa that would work, but that requires sponsorship. You could consider a skilled visa, but that requires substantial work experience, a skills assessment, and the occupations are limited.

Unfortunately Australia's visa system is rather limited when it comes to visas for people to come and look for work or do try-out jobs, etc. Some people come on regular visitor visas and look for work (although it's not allowed - don't get caught with suits and resumes at the airport or you might get turned around!), but the WHV visa is really the one designed for casual work in Australia and try-out types of jobs. 

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


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## Nelly87 (Jul 3, 2011)

Hi everchanging_Spectrum,

Welcome to the forums! Unfortunately I have to agree with Mark in that the Working Holiday Visa is not ideal for securing potential long term employment in a function that you truly want. From both personal experience and the experiences from others on Working Holiday Visas I have personally met, the rare instances in which people are able to find an office job (so not hospitality, agriculture, but just an office-setting) on a Working Holiday Visa, these are usually not the type of jobs where they consider sponsorship or anything in that direction. Generally the businesses (like the one I work for) that hire working holidaymakers are the businesses who rely on casual contracts and casual staff. They're not quick to offer up big commitments. That is why they can afford to hire people on this visa - they do not offer functions that make people hard to replace or that they want to spend too much money on.

I have personally seen the turnover in the office I work at, the Working Holidaymakers that come in and go out, and it's pretty out there. It's call center work, by the way. People on a Working Holiday Visa, at least 90% of the time, come in with a great big smile and express great ambitions, and are gone before the 3 month mark. They are generally unreliable. I know how harsh that is because I've _been_ someone genuinely seeking work on this visa, but it's the truth. We've hired other Europeans onto our team that were charming, smart, quick to learn, acted like our new best friends - two months later, when they had enough money for the next trip, they resigned over the phone out of nowhere and were never heard from again. This is how most employers see Working Holidaymakers. It is harsh but sadly often true.

I'm not saying it is completely impossible, but I do want to warn you that it may be very tough to go down this road. Australian employers are often not very eager to hire people with temporary visas to begin with, regardless of their educational background, and if they do it is probably because they won't be relying on them too much. You'd have to make one heck of an impression to be offered a longer-than-6-month contract on your WHV and you'd first have to know if the company policies alone aren't even fundamentally against this. Where I work, even the Australian employees have a hard time securing a non-casual contract, because that department is so rooted in temporary workers.

Either way I do wish you good luck and hope that perhaps you may find something on the skilled list you can find your way through. I admire your courage to, out of the blue, want to completely move your life to the other side of the world and leave everything behind to start from zero. I for one would not have had the courage for that if I hadn't accidentally fallen in love with an Australian!

Succes ermee!

x Nelly


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## Coral2013 (Jan 9, 2013)

Hi there,

I was on a WHV (for 18 months - I did the 3 months regional work) and there is some truth to what Nelly says. However, I found it really easy to get office work despite being on a WHV. My employer wanted to sponsor me in my first job, after 2 months, but I didn't like the job so didn't go for it. If you're sponsored, you need to stay in that job for 2 years before you can apply for PR I think, or find another job that will sponsor you as well.

I know many other people who were on WHVs and then went onto 457 sponsorship visas. The main points to consider are your skills - are you skilled enough for a 457? Look for jobs in larger companies. You can even ask about sponsorship in your interview which may be taken two ways - I have a friend who expressed her interest in this and they saw how keen she was and sponsored her immediately. It could go the other way, if they think you just want sponsorship and don't care about the actual job. It's a risk to commit to a company not knowing whether they will sponsor you but it does happen. Focus on making the best impression you can.

I would suggest looking here for 457 jobs: 457 Employer Sponsored Visa Australia | ENS Sponsored Jobs

Good luck!


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## everchanging_Spectrum (Feb 8, 2013)

Sorry for the lack of reply, really having horrible busy weeks.


So, if I am to summarise all said by you guys (ook dank je wel Nelly!  ), we have the following situation:

if I want to come just for holiday, and also would like to eventually work some lame job for making some money, the WHV is for me (quite straight this one)

if I want to settle in Australia for good and get a decent job, I would either need 

A. a sponsor, which is not really possible, I think
B. a skilled visa, but for that one I really need to have a proper professional experience, which I sure do not have now, with 1.5 y of working experience

Though your words are quite encouraging Coral, it does not seem that the WHV is really making it smooth to get a proper job. Plus, I am also not aware of is the OZ job market compared to EU (here everyone is complaining that there is lack of job openings...)

So, as I see it, maybe my best option would be the following:
taking a half year/year gap to come over there on a HWV, before it is too late!! (i'm turning 28y old this year)

and for the medium/long term future (5 years or more I guess?), when my professional experience eventually consolidates, try out with the skilled visa (given that things do not change that much).
or getting married to an Aussie!


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