What to Do After Your WHV Ends

Hey guys,

I believe most of you, if not all of you, have ever asked some of your friends about their plans upon completing their working holiday. If you are one of those peeps who are still unsure of what they ought to do after their working holiday visa ends, this post might just be your source of inspiration 🙂

Disclaimer: this article might be most suitable to my Indonesian friends since we usually have the same thoughts and worries about what to do next after our time in Australia has finished. 

So, your WHV almost ends and you have managed to gather quite a decent amount of savings. You love living in Australia because of the nice environment and weather, mostly lovely people, and of course the job that pays you a decent salary (especially if you compare it to the standard salary back in your home country, Indonesia). Your job in Australia might be draining your energy, but after a while you get used to it and think it’s worth the pay. Plus, there is no work you need to bring home after work hour and you can get the most out of your weekend (read: hiking at Blue Mountains, sunbathing at Bondi Beach, etc). Back in Jakarta, shopping mall is all you have all around the city. What good is shopping mall for you if you have barely enough money to spend from salary in Indonesia 😦 You really want to stay in Australia or at least continue living away from your homeland. But, what options do you have if you choose to either stay or leave Australia? You already have some ideas in mind what you can do if you choose to stay. However, what options do you have if you opt to leave? What does your home country have in store for you? What is your opportunity if you want to try your luck in other country? Here’s a few things you can consider:

1. Traveling!!! 

Whether’s it’s a road trip around Australia and New Zealand, or even going to another country you have always wanted all your life, e.g.: Europe, UK, USA, Japan or Korea, JUST DO IT! You have worked so hard so it’s just as wise to use it to gain even more life experience such as traveling! If you’re going to leave Australia, I would recommend traveling around Australia and New Zealand since it’s probably going to take a while before you’re able to go there again. Let’s face it, traveling to Australia is so darn EXPENSIVE! If you just travel around Australia, you would at least save air tickets. If you have a group of friends to do a road trip, you’re gonna save even more. Woohoo!! 😀

The Great Ocean Road

2. Go to College/Uni in Australia

This is probably one of the most common things people do after finishing their working holiday in Australia. Apapun degree, subject atau major yg diambil nggak masalah. Abis gimana donk, udah terlanjur betah sih di Australia 🙂 Untuk option yg ini saya rasa nggak perlu dijelaskan lagi yah. Kita semua udah tau kalau lanjut sekolah di Australia kehidupannya biasanya akan mirip2 seperti waktu masih WHV lah. Cuma bedanya kali ini ditambah sekolah: harus bayar uang sekolah + kerjain assignment plus exams :”)

Kemungkinan utk mendapatkan PR setelah lulus sekolah, saya sendiri nggak gitu paham, guys. Sepertinya tetap harus sesuai occupation list yg ditetapkan oleh pemerintah Australia. Untuk lebih jelasnya, silakan tanya ke teman2 yg ambil sekolah ataupun immigration agency yg tepat yah 🙂

3. Get a higher degree

Getting a higher degree is one of the best choice to make your hard-earned money in Australia beneficial for your future. I know this is not for everyone. Lots of people think they have had enough of school. Nothing is wrong with your thoughts and decision. Getting a higher degree is not compulsory for everyone and not all occupations need a master’s or doctoral degree. But, if you happen to think about getting it, you can absolutely do it! Be it in your home country or abroad, it really is possible.

If you’re thinking about getting a degree abroad, there are some countries that offer low cost education with high quality, such as: Taiwan and Germany. Here is the list of countries that offer affordable education: https://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/studying-abroad/10-most-affordable-places-study-abroad .

Study in Paris is possible too 🙂

4. Learn a new language abroad

After living in Australia for a while, I’m sure you’ve come to realise that English is not the only international business language. Yes, that’s right! Mandarin Chinese seems like the second national language in Australia. At least in Sydney. Trust me, there are lots of more opportunities if you speak the second international language, where ever you are!

My Mandarin classroom

Mandarin Learning Center, Chinese Culture University, Taipei-Taiwan

Now, if you think about learning this second language, I’ve got just a good news for you. The national language in Taiwan is Mandarin Chinese. Do you remember before the KDrama era, Taiwanese dramas were all over our TV stations? If you remember Meteor Garden, F4, Rainie Yang and even Jay Chou, they are all from Taiwan. And as mentioned on the list above, Taiwan is also one of the most affordable places to study. If you think learning Mandarin Chinese in Indonesia would not work for you because you don’t get to use it everyday, then you can surely go to Taiwan and take Mandarin Chinese classes there. Your savings in Australia will most likely be enough for your study and living cost. Be sure to check out my previous article on : Why Taiwan is the Best Place to Learn Mandarin Chinese . If you’re not interested in learning Mandarin Chinese, don’t worry! I’m sure there are also language programs in European countries like France, Spain and Germany. You just need to do some research to find what you want.

5. Open your own business in your home country

If you have an entrepreneurial mind and spirit, and a bit of money as a capital, you can definitely start your own business! I have a friend who also went to Australia on a working holiday. She always loved doing a barista job, and she started at Starbucks when she was still in college here in Indonesia. Even in Melbourne, she was always doing a barista job. Thus, when she came back she decided to open a small café and run the business on her own.  I also know another friend who has done similar thing upon his return from working holiday. I think that’s quite a bold move and inspiring. No one says running your own business and be the boss would be easy, but hey at least you start and learn from whatever comes in your way 😊

One of my friend’s snack business

My friend’s cafe at Pasfes

6. Start or return to your career

If you’re lucky and you get a job with sponsorship in Australia, that’s awesome! You must be one of the luckiest few people in the world! But most of us don’t. You think you don’t have much choice but to join workforce in our home country, Indonesia. Your head already rejects a million times to accept any job offer because you know the salary must be much lower that what you can earn back in Australia. But well, no director started as a director, unless their parents own the business. The thing you need to keep in mind is that a career in Indonesia doesn’t give you an instant big paycheck as you get in Australia, but if you work smart and hard, it will give you a long term benefit. For instance, if you work as a banker in Indonesia, your starting salary might not be very high. But if you work smart and learn as you do your job, you might become a successful banker who is expert in, let’s say, investment and stock market. After a few years, your salary will adjust as your experience and knowledge increase.

*image source: Quora.com

Those are all the options I can think of so far. There might more more options out there. If you know anything else, please feel free to add in the comment section 🙂

At the end of the day, you are the person who decides what’s best for you. Do what you want and what you can. I don’t think one option is better than the other since each and every one of us has our own talent, skills, interest, needs and purpose of life. I believe we all want to choose to do things that can lead us to our main purpose of life 😀 Whatever we choose, we just have to be responsible of our choice and work hard to achieve our goals.

 

Cheers,

Ariesa

How I Got My First Retail Job in Australia

Hey guys,

It’s been a while since last time I wrote here. In case you’re wondering, my WHV ended on 31 January, so right now I am already back in Jakarta. And I am also back to the last company I worked at before leaving for working holiday in Australia.

A lot of people have been texting me through FB and IG message. I answered quite a few of them. Sorry for those whose messages I didn’t answer. So, now I’m here to answer all your FAQ about how I actually got my first retail job in AU 🙂

1. Kak/Sis, sebelumnya pernah kerja di retail?

Nope! Back in Indonesia and Taiwan, just like most of you guys, I have always worked in the office. Eh, tapi aku selalu kerja di sales function sih. Either B2B or B2C, aku jd selalu banyak kontak dgn customer and work to achieve sales target 😀 So, maybe that helps a bit?!

2. Sis gimana awalnya koq bisa kerja di Myer/David Jones?

Nah ini jawabannya agak panjang. Karena banyak yang tanya soal proses detailnya jadi saya jelasin step by step nya yah. So, saya apply ke agency yg menyalurkan SPG/SPB, atau kalau di AU nama kerennya itu adalah Brand Ambassador. Nama agency nya adalah Marc Edward Agency (MEA). Nah, si MEA ini ada di seantero negara bagian di AU, terutama di kota2 besarnya spt Sydney, Brisbane dan Melbourne. Untuk lebih jelasnya silakan google sendiri yah guys, soalnya si MEA ini punya website juga dan sering pasang iklan di Gumtree & Seek juga koq.

Waktu itu MEA pasang iklan di Gumtree. Mereka lagi rekrut orang2 baru untuk jadi brand ambassador new launch fragrance. Tapi mereka juga tidak menutup opportunity utk orang2 yg punya pengalaman atau passion diluar perfumes, misalnya makeup dan skin care. Requirement nya cukup simple: have good communication skills, bubbly, confident, well-groomed, beauty enthusiast, ability to speak Chinese (Mandarin or even Cantonese) is an advantage.

Thus, I sent my resume along with a cover letter. Untuk contoh cover letter nya ga perlu saya tampilin di sini lah ya, silakan kreasikan sesuai dgn pengalaman kalian aja. Tapi yang jelas, saya nggak pake bohong dengan bilang saya punya pengalaman retail bla bla bla. Saya hanya bilang kalau saya sudah biasa kerja dengan target, punya passion di beauty terutama skin care dan perfumes. Saya juga bilang kalau saya bisa bahasa Mandarin dan Indonesia, selain Inggris. Soalnya saya dulu pernah tinggal di Taiwan selama 2 tahun (harus banget ini saya sebut supaya lebih meyakinkan :p ) . Untuk resume, saya buat hanya 1 halaman persis spt resume saya utk melamar kerja sbg waitress. Cuma saya tambahkan dengan pengalaman kerja kantoran juga supaya lebih keren aja sih.. Hehehe..

Within 2 weeks upon sending my application letter, I got an email inviting me for a first round interview.

So, the golden ticket has arrived. Now is your time to show ’em what you got! Dress to impress! Follow the dress code and do your makeup nicely! Show up on time!

3. Terus kalau udah di-invite utk interview, apa donk yang harus disiapin? Apa aja sih yg ditanyakan di interview?

The interview is very short and simple. Ini cuma group interview aja koq. Jadi nanti kita hanya diminta memperkenalkan diri: nama, tempat tinggal, kuliah/kerja, status visa, pengalaman di bidang beauty/sales, apakah kamu punya sertifikat beauty therapist atau MUA? Apakah kamu punya pengalaman MUA? Apakah kamu tertarik dgn job jualan fragrance? What languages do you speak? What days can you work?

Self-makeup class from Honey Beauty ❤

So, my best advice is to prepare what you want to talk about yourself! Kamu harus kelihatan PD utk speak up dan pastinya ramah! Waktu saya interview, seperti biasa saya banyak ketemu orang2 Mainlanders, selain Brazilians. Kalau yg Brazilians ato bule2 lain biasanya punya pengalaman MUA/beauty therapists, sedangkan yg Mainlanders biasanya bermodalkan bahasa Mandarin utk “jualan”. So, it would probably be a good idea if you have at least either: makeup artist or Mandarin speaking skill. Kalau kamu nggak bisa Mandarin, coba deh kursus makeup dulu sama MUA Indo yg ada di AU. Kalau saya dulu pernah kursus self-makeup di Honey Beauty . Kenapa Honey Beauty? Soalnya sahabat saya yang satu ini udah terbukti dan berpengalaman jadi BA dan MUA nya Shu Uemura di David Jones Elizabeth Street 🙂

4. Terus, habis interview kapan dikabarin lagi sis?

Di hari yang sama, hasil interview akan diemail oleh team MEA. Kadang kamu akan langsung di-invite untuk second interview. Tapi bisa juga kamu harus menunggu utk jadwal interview berikutnya.

Actually, if you’re already invited to the second interview, you basically have passed! In the so-called second interview, sebenarnya mereka sudah memberikan induction on how everything works in the agency: mulai dari grooming guidelines, cara mengisi form ini-itu, sampai mekanisme penggajian (yayyy!!!).

5. Oh begitu.. Jadi kalau sudah keterima, kapan kita bisa mulai kerja sis?

Nah, yg ini beda2 sih, tergantung amal dan perbuatan juga :p Hehehe.. Gini, pertama kamu harus isi online form dulu yg isinya biodata, foto dan dokumen2 kamu. Kemudian kita akan tunggu panggilan job. YES! Panggilan job! Sama seperti agency lainnya, kita baru akan dapat job kalau ada brand yg butuh casual staff. Kadang kita dipanggil utk cover shift SPG full-timer di brand/toko tertentu. Kadang kita juga dipanggil utk promosi new product launch/event misalnya di depan Westfield Pitt Street.

Cepat atau lambatnya kita dapat job juga tergantung dari pengalaman kita di beauty. Contohnya: teman saya, MUA Honey Beauty, dapat shift pertamanya dari MEA hanya dalam waktu less than a week sejak dia interview. Sedangkan saya join MEA di Maret, tapi baru dapat shift pertama di Juni. Btw, shift pertama saya malah cuma bagi2 flyer di dalam Myer Sydney city selama one full day. Untungnya rate utk semua jenis pekerjaan dari MEA sama aja, jadi saya happy2 aja sih 😀

Jadi, walaupun kamu udah sign kontrak kerja dengan MEA, please jangan quit dulu dari kerjaan di resto/kafe yang sekarang. Karena kerja di retail itu walaupun santai dan rate nya bagus tapi bener2 musiman, guys. Kalo pas deket2 Christmas pastinya banyak shift, tapi kalau udah lewat tahun baru yah udah sepi lagi deh 😦

6. Jadi kalau kerja di MEA, 1 minggu bisa dapat shift berapa jam yah, Sis?

Ini juga beda2 sih ya, tergantung amal dan perbuatan juga 😀 Kalo aku sendiri dapatnya sekitar 15-30an jam per-week (5 hour/shift). Biasanya hari kerjanya sekitar Rabu sampai Sabtu. Sunday shift is very rare soalnya rate nya kan super mahal yah. However, my suggestion is to keep your Thursday and Saturday free, since most retail jobs will need you to work on those 2 days.

By the time I’m writing this post, some of you and my friends have been invited or even worked with MEA or even in retails. I am very happy to learn that since I wrote my retail experience in AU, there are more Indonesians coming out to try working in this industry as well 🙂 Please write your comment or story if you are also working in retail in AU. I’d be excited to know if my stories have helped you landing an exciting job in this industry 😀

Happy weekend and cheers!

Ariesa

Working in Retail as a Casual in Australia

Hey guys,

Merry Christmas and happy new year! 2017 has finally passed and I can’t be more than excited to welcome 2018! ^_^ By the time I’m writing this post, I still have a mixed feeling towards 2017. I feel like last year was such the toughest period of my life so far. I went through a lot of difficult, yet invaluable experiences throughout my working holiday journey in Australia. Even though it was difficult, I was blessed that I finally secured my so-called temporary career in retail. I absolutely love what I’m doing since I’m always surrounded by makeups, perfumes and now clothing plus handbags ❤

Kalau kalian pernah baca postingan saya sebelumnya, mungkin kalian ingat kalau saya mulai masuk ke dunia retail lewat agency yg provide brand ambassadors (atau biasa kita sebut SPG/SPB) ke David Jones, Myer, Sephora, Priceline bahkan Woolworths dan Coles di seluruh Australia. Kalau belum baca, coba dibaca dan di-like dulu donk postingan saya sebelumnya 😀 . Setelah saya join di agency ini selama 6 bulan, akhirnya di pertengahan Desember kemarin saya harus lepas dari agency ini 😦 Nama agency nya adalah Marc Edward Agency (MEA). Untuk info lebih lanjut silakan Google atau search di Seek/Indeed. Mereka sering recruit new hire utk brand ambassadors utk promote new product launch di dept stores di seluruh Australia (sesuai lokasi preference kita).

Setelah punya cukup pengalaman di David Jones (DJ) & Myer, bisa dibilang perjalan saya mencari pekerjaan berikutnya di retail termasuk lancar. Karena saya sudah memperhitungkan kalau saya harus lepas dari MEA di mid-December sedangkan visa saya baru akan selesai di akhir Januari, di bulan September saya mulai aktif mencari Christmas Casual job di retail, mulai dari beauty sampai ke fashion. Sampai pada akhirnya, saya cukup beruntung bisa dapat 2 Christmas Casual jobs di Hugo Boss dan Coach.

Banyak orang mengira, kerja di retail gajinya super tinggi dsb. Sigh! 😦 So, in order to manage your expectations on working in retail, here I’d like to share with you that there are also some pros and cons or loves and hates of working in retail AS a CASUAL.

Loves ❤ :

1. Pastinya hourly rate! Antara rate weekdays, sabtu dan minggu angkanya beda. Apalagi public holiday! Tapi jangan lupa dipotong pajak yah 😛 (disclaimer: tidak menjawab pertanyaan berapa gaji di retail perjamnya kak? Tanya aja sama temen kamu atau om Google 😀 )
2. Karena kita CUMA casual, biasanya sales target nggak akan terlalu strict dipush ke kita. Karena mereka jg mostly cuma expect kita utk tau product knowledge secara general aja, tapi yang penting adalah kita harus bisa serve customer dengan ramah dan professional.
3. Staff discount! Biasanya retail memberlakukan discount khusus karyawan utk produk2 di tokonya. Policy staff discount bisa beda2 tergantung retail itu sendiri. Tapi gak usah berpikir utk menyalah gunakan staff discount kalian utk keuntungan pribadi yah, karena selain kemungkinan besar akan ketahuan, kalian jg bisa mencoreng nama bangsa dan negara Endonesah!
4. Karena saya emang CINTAAAA sama kosmetik, parfum, baju dan aksesoris, pastinya kalau lagi sepi saya suka colekin warna2 makeup atau skin care di tangan saya, semprotin parfum yg wangi2 di baju, atau megang2 dan icip2in tas kulit di toko ❤
5. Friendly coworkers. Sekitar 95% staff di DJ & Myer tempat saya kerja termasuk friendly & helpful, terutama di toko2 yg letaknya di pelosok2 Sydney. The only thing you need to remember is to politely introduce yourself on your first day, they will gladly help you as much as they can.
6. You get to speak a few languages. Well, at least for me, that’s what I love about working in retail here. I get coworkers and of course customers from different backgrounds, so I get to speak in any language I can speak (mostly English and Mandarin Chinese).
7. You learn how to actually communicate with customers: listen to what they want/need and like first before you recommend and persuade/convince customers to buy a product.
8. Dan yang seperti yg mungkin sudah kalian duga, kerjanya ga sesibuk dan seberat hospitality 😀

But of course, there are some challenges that come along with those perks I mentioned above. Here’s some downsides or the things I dislike about it:

1. If your job contract writes: CASUAL, that means they don’t guarantee how many hours you work in a week. For one shift, they only have to give you at least 3 hour work. Some weeks when it’s too quiet, they might not give you any shift, AT ALL! Karena alasan inilah makanya saya ambil 2 Christmas Casual positions di 2 brand yg berbeda. This can be a little tricky especially during busy period like Christmas, but with a good time management, you should be able to sort it out. Or you can also keep another part-time job in cafe, just in case!
2. I don’t actually hate this part at all, but working as a brand ambassador from an agency means you get to work for multi brands. For some people who don’t have passion in beauty, this can be a bit challenging. Misalkan hari ini kita dapat shift di brand A kosmetik, besok kemungkinan kita dapat shift utk brand B fragrance. For the sake of professionalism, seringkali kita harus belajar tentang brand dan product knowledge secara otodidak dari internet. Karena nggak lucu aja kalau customernya nanya bedanya moisturiser sama serum terus kitanya gelagapan saking nggak paham fungsi produknya.
3. Selain itu, kalau kita join dengan agency seperti MEA, kita harus siap dialokasikan utk kerja di seantero Sydney. Saya tinggal di Chatswood dan so far saya udah pernah traveling sampai ke Liverpool, Bankstown dan Miranda. It’s not something to hate, but sometimes it can be a bit tiring if you have to travel for more than an hour (for a single trip) just to work for 5 hour shift.
4. Sebagai casual, biasanya kita dapat shift lebih pendek daripada permanent staff (mostly during 11AM to 4PM). Dan kita bakal jarang dapat shift hari Minggu, jadi jangan over excited dulu sama Sunday rate :p
5.  Of course, you don’t get free meals and coffee 😦

I realise that my point of view in this job can be a little subjective, that’s just because I’m happy doing this kind of job. I’m pretty confident in my ability in selling and also I love beauty and fashion. I feel like I’ve learned a few things in higher end fashion brands and also some basic things about fabrics and of course market and retail conditions in Australia. I would also say that this is NOT the best job for people who want to focus their working holiday objective in earning and saving as much money as possible, since working in retail requires you to always maintain your appearance and you usually get to spend some every now and then.

I hope you guys find this post helpful and last but not least, wish you an amazing 2018! 🙂

Cheers,

Ariesa

 

My Christmas Casual Job Hunting Experience in Sydney

Hey guys,

As I’ve mentioned in my previous post that I’m currently working in retail as a casual beauty consultant. Now that I’ve been working full time across DJ and Myer, still casual for various brands, I have been enjoying my job so much.

Since Christmas season is coming, there has been a lot of retailers recruiting for Christmas casual position. So, what is Christmas casual? It is a temporary casual position during seasonal period in Australia, usually around November to end of January where the shopping season is peaking. So, it is both temporary and casual which means, you only work for a certain period of time and get no fixed working hours/rosters. In terms of hourly rate, we surely receive rate that is a bit higher than permanent FT/PT but we don’t know how many hours we will work every week. I’ve asked this question in most of my interview and get the same answers: there is no guaranteed working hours every week but everytime we get a shift, it will be at least 3 hours. And since they have to pay higher salary to us, usually they will give casual staff less hours than other staff.

Now, I have recently got a new job as a Christmas casual at Hugo Boss. I have been through quite a few recruitment process for Christmas casual position in several retailers and brands. And now I feel like sharing my experiences going through the recruitment process. Dan saya akan menulis dalam bahasa Indonesia aja, karena saya cuma mau berbagi tips2 dan bocoran ini ke teman2 sebangsa dan setanah air. Tujuannya adalah supaya ke depannya lebih banyak teman2 Indo, terutama teman2 WHV agar lebih termotivasi dan percaya diri untuk mencoba bidang kerja lain selain hospitality dan agriculture di Australia ^.^

1. David Jones

Untuk proses group interview di David Jones (DJ), semua kandidat dikumpulkan di DJ Market Street Office. Seluruh kandidat berarti kandidat utk segala posisi dan toko2 lain di area NSW. Para kandidat dibagi berkelompok (5-10 orang/grup) untuk mengerjakan diskusi grup & presentasi. Masing2 kandidat juga diminta memperkenalkan diri secara singkat dan menyebutkan 1 kata yang mendeskripsikan dirinya. Waktu itu saya memakai kata: enthusiastic dan saya sedikit menjelaskan bagaimana keantusiasan saya dalam kehidupan sehari2. Setelah selesai presentasi kelompok, masing2 kandidat dipanggil satu persatu ke ruangan lain utk 1-on-1 interview. Dalam interview itu seperti biasa, kita diminta menceritakan pengalaman kerja yg berhubungan dgn customer service atau retail. Kemudian ada beberapa pertanyaan seputar availability, preferred location dan preferred position. Juga ada behavioral questions seperti: bagaimana cara kita me-manage waktu & prioritas kalau sedang hectic dan banyak deadline.

Seminggu setelah interview, saya menerima email yg menyatakan kalau saya lolos interview. Namun kemudian saya tidak pernah menerima follow-up mengenai kapan dan dimana saya akan mulai bekerja. Saya sudah coba utk follow-up via email namun tidak pernah ada balasan dari pihak DJ. Sedangkan beberapa teman saya yg interview di DJ sebulan kemudian, langsung mendapat telpon keesokan harinya yg mengkonfirmasi kalau mereka akan segera mulai di toko tertentu di akhir bulan tsb. It’s weird, but it does happen sometimes 😦

2. Uniqlo

Nah, ini dia yang waktu itu aku harap2in banget, guys. Soalnya posisi di Uniqlo ini temporary full-time, which means there is fixed working hours (min. 38hrs/week). Dan saya pikir kalau udah dapat disini, saya udah aman dan gak perlu pusing takut income kurang.

Untuk proses grup interview di Uniqlo, seluruh kandidat utk 1 store dikumpulkan di head office mereka di daerah dekat Circular Quay. Pastinya ada penjelasan company profile juga. Lalu kita masing2 memperkenalkan diri secara singkat. Kemudian seperti biasa kita dikumpulkan dalam grup utk diskusi dan presentasi seputar customer service dan Uniqlo. Setelah presentasi di depan ruangan, kita diminta menunggu giliran individual interview. Pertanyaan2 interview nya masih mirip2 dengan yg di David Jones. Kira2 masih seputar pengalaman kerja customer service dan retail, motivasi melamar di Uniqlo, dan behavioral questions. Juga pertanyaan tentang apa yang mau kita improve dari diri kita.

Dari proses interview, saya sudah bisa menebak respon interviewer terhadap saya. Feeling saya kurang bagus. Dan bener aja, seminggu kemudian saya mendapat email yg menyatakan saya gagal masuk Uniqlo 😦

Saya sudah hampir putus asa dan bingung. Karena masa kerja saya dengan agency yg memberi saya pekerjaan sebagai beauty advisor di DJ & Myer akan habis pada pertengahan Desember. Padahal visa saya masih sampai akhir Januari 2018. Saya mulai kembali mengorek2 Jora apps saya utk mencari posisi Christmas Casual. Kemudian saya apply banyak sekali lowongan: FCUK, Cotton On, Pandorra, MAC Cosmetics, Coach, Hugo Boss, Clarins, dll. Dari belasan application, yang me-respon aplikasi saya hanya MAC Cosmetics, Coach & Hugo Boss. Tiba2 saya juga dapat email invitation interview lagi dari Myer, karena saya batal ikut interview bulan sebelumnya.

Dan karena saya tidak bisa datang interview utk MAC Cosmetics, akhirnya saya hanya ikut 3 interview: Coach, Myer & Hugo Boss.

3. Coach

Interview diadakan di dalam toko Coach di Westfield Pitt Street Mall. Kandidat yang waktu itu datang ada sekitar 40-50 orang. Dari seluruh kandidat ini, yang terpilih akan dialokasikan ke toko2 di seluruh Sydney. Seperti biasa, semua dimulai dengan penjelasan singkat company profile & Christmas casual role di Coach. Kemudian seluruh kandidat dipersilakan berdiri di tempat dan memperkenalkan diri secara singkat dan menyebutkan buah & TV show favorit. Kemudian kandidat dibagi dalam 4 grup utk diskusi & presentasi. Topik diskusi kali ini nggak berhubungan sama sekali dengan customer service atau produk Coach. Dan saya gak mengerti sama sekali ttg topik ini! Lol. Partisipasi saya dalam diskusi kelompok kira-kira 0 besar! Lol. Setelah presentasi singkat, seluruh kandidat dipanggil satu persatu utk individual interview. Pertanyaan2 nya agak susah kali ini. Dia minta diceritakan ttg pengalaman saya memberi customer service yg berkualitas dan juga pengalaman saya memecahkan persoalan dgn customer yg unhappy. Kebetulan yg meng-interview saya kemarin itu adalah Head of Recruitment nya langsung. Aduh, doi terlalu profesional. Saya gak bisa membaca sama sekali apakah hasil interview saya akan positif atau negatif. Anyway, saya sudah pasrah. Saya sudah berusaha dan sisanya hanya bs berdoa.

Beberapa hari kemudian, saya mendapat telpon dari Coach Chatswood. Mereka sedang melakukan reference check ke saya dan mereka kira saya salah kasih nomor. Padahal salah 1 nomor yg saya kasih memang nomor HP ex-manajer saya di Jakarta. Singkat cerita, mereka sudah cek referensi saya ke 2 orang dan saya agak yakin kalau saya keterima di Coach. Tapi……. setelah saya tunggu2 selama hampir 2 minggu (sampai hari ini), saya tidak dapat kabar lagi dari mereka 😦

4. Myer

Interview Myer diadakan di toko tempat kita melamar (tapi semua application online yah, guys!). Kemarin saya ikut interview di Macquarie Centre bersama 7 kandidat lainnya. Semua melamar utk posisi Christmas Casual di any section, berarti tidak terbatas utk cosmetics/clothing/homewares. Pada waktu sesi memperkenalkan diri, masing2 kandidat diminta menceritakan sedikit ttg pengalaman customer servis dan retail, dan juga menyebutkan brand apa yang menurut kalian inspiring dan apa alasannya. Yang sedikit berbeda di interview Myer adalah kita ditest role play utk jualan. Saya dan salah 1 partner bebas memilih item yg sudah disediakan dan salah 1 akan menjadi customer sedangkan yg lainnya akan menjadi staff Myer. Setelah role play, pastinya ada individual interview juga. Di bagian interview pertanyaannya masih seputar behavioral questions dan apa yang bisa kita bawa/kontribusikan dalam tim Myer.

Feeling saya cukup positif di interview ini. Saya rasa saya cukup OK waktu role play dan cukup santai dan percaya diri pada saat interview. Tapi saya tidak berharap banyak karena saya lebih antusias dengan interview Hugo Boss di hari yang sama 🙂 Tapi tiba2 hari ini saya mendapat email Offer Letter dari Myer. Well…

5. Hugo Boss

Dari semua company/brand yang saya apply utk posisi Christmas Casual, menurut saya Hugo Boss adalah yg paling prestisius. Hugo Boss sendiri adalah brand fashion dari Jerman dan buat saya, segala sesuatu tentang Jerman memang spesial dan bermutu tinggi.

Rekrutmen proses Hugo Boss waktu itu hanya dihadiri 9 kandidat saja dan rekrutmen ini adalah utk beberapa toko besar mereka dan David Jones di Sydney. Yang berbeda dari proses rekrutmen disini adalah, kita tidak memperkenalkan diri kita tapi memperkenalkan salah 1 teman dalam grup kita. Jadi, sebelumnya kita diberi waktu beberapa menit utk saling berkenalan dalam grup. Kemudian, kita diminta menggambarkan motivasi kita join Hugo Boss (literally menggambar di kertas!). Kemudian kita harus mempresentasikan hasil gambar tersebut. Kemudian juga ada sesi role play. Kita diberi beberapa potong pakaian Hugo Boss dan dipersilakan utk mempelajari item2 tsb sebelum akhirnya salah satu assessor akan datang dan bertindak sbg customer yg sedang ingin mencari baju. Disini kita dinilai berdasarkan pelayanan yg kita berikan dan alasan2 kita merekomendasikan item yg kita jual. The last but not least was, again, one-on-one interview. Pertanyaannya sama dengan interview2 lain jadi saya sudah punya semua jawabannya. Lol.

Untuk interview di Hugo Boss, saya tidak perlu lama menunggu. Besoknya mereka sudah menelpon saya utk menginformasikan kalau mereka akan melakukan reference check dan ID/visa checking. Hari berikutnya, saya ditelpon kembali dan di-offer casual position utk store terbesar mereka di Australia, King Street store.

Setelah semua kesulitan yg saya lalui di awal2 kedatangan saya di Sydney, saya bersyukur karena sekarang hari-hari saya sudah lebih cerah. Guys, perlu dicatat kalau semua pekerjaan ini tidak saya dapatkan dari “koneksi”. Saya setuju kalau untuk mencari pekerjaan pertama di Sydney memang koneksi bs membantu. Tapi tidak semua pekerjaan bisa didapatkan dengan jalur koneksi. Dan kalau kalian berpikir koneksi adalah jalan utama mendapat pekerjaan disini, sebaiknya kalian pikir2 lagi untuk datang kesini. Di Sydney semua orang butuh pekerjaan dan uang. Tidak semua orang Indonesia akan baik hati dan menganggap kalian spt saudara/sahabat sendiri. Hidup di Sydney itu keras dan hanya orang yg kuat yang bisa survive. Berkawan dengan sesama orang Indonesia itu penting, tapi nasibmu hanya kamu yg bisa menentukan 😀

I hope this post encourage you guys to explore other opportunities during your stay in Australia. So far, I have met lots of other Asians especially Chinese, Koreans, Japanese and Cantonese in the job interviews I’ve been. But I’ve always been the only Indo in the room. So I really hope to see more of you in the future 🙂 (eventhough I might not be here in Sydney anymore).

Btw, do you guys want me to write tips to get into retail jobs in Australia? If yes, write me in the comment section below, otherwise you can also give me other topic ideas to write.

Cheers,

Ariesa 🙂

Working Holiday Life Updates, Thoughts and What’s Next?

Hey guys,

Sebenarnya saya agak bingung gimana cara memulai post kali ini. Karena lagi2 saya harus memulai dengan berita kalau saya ditendang lagi dari cafe terakhir tempat saya kerja. Kali ini alasannya karena kafe sepi, dan saya adalah satu2nya casual staff disana. Memang sih, beberapa hari terakhir saya sering dipulangkan lebih cepat 1-1.5jam karena sepi pake banget! Tapi sebenernya dari awal ketemu sama owner kafenya somehow saya udah ada feeling kalau dia kurang suka sama saya. Dia British btw. Waktu cafe manager hire saya, si owner nya ini lagi overseas, dan setelah si boss balik dia ngerasa business lagi slow jadi harus cut staff dan turun langsung ke lapangan.

Jadi, dengan muka nggak enak hati, si cafe manager yg hire saya itu bilang kalau dia terpaksa harus cut saya. Dan waktu itu dia udah siapin recommendation letter buat saya. Diapun bilang ke saya kalau kapanpun saya butuh personal reference, dia siap ditelpon untuk kasih saya rekomendasi. The manager thanked me and hugged me goodbye. I worked there for only 3 weeks. I already tried to do my best, but still couldn’t keep the job.

Trying to snowboard at Thredbo

After losing this last job, I was lost. I didn’t know what to do. I was thinking about going back to Jakarta, but I didn’t wanna do it before securing a job offer from a company.  I took a few days to think about it. I also went to Snowy Mountain and had some fun there before applying for jobs again. This time I also contacted my agency. I had actually signed up to an agency that provides Brand Ambassadors or Beauty Advisors for consumer brands a month after I arrived in Sydney. But, I think they forgot about me so they never gave me a job.

My first shift as BA in Priceline

No matter how messed up my life was, God still loves me. One day, the agency invited me for a promotion in Priceline. I was promoting Olay brand for one day at Priceline Eastgardens and had to take some in-store photos as part of the reporting. Fortunately, this is something I’m familiar with. Well, basically when I was in Indonesia, I was the one asking the Beauty Advisor team to take pictures and report to me. I think I was doing pretty good. Without experience as beauty therapist or makeup artist, the agency invited me again for product trainings. I got trained for Elizabeth Arden cosmetics and Kate Spade Perfume. Ever since the training, I keep getting shifts at Myer and David Jones. I mostly work for Arden, but sometimes I also work for Prada perfumes. So far, I’ve worked in quite a few Myer and David Jones stores in Sydney for Arden, Prada perfumes (Trimex group), Shu Uemura, Dior and SK-II. I like this job and the people I meet in DJ and Myer. Most of the staff there are really friendly and helpful. I’ve also worked in Sephora for Benefit Cosmetics once. Well, I really am grateful for what I’m doing right now. I keep getting more hours and requested by the brand. After all these odds, I finally have the chance to do what I can do. *sigh!*

My counter at DJ

Now what? Am I thinking about extending my stay in Sydney? The answer is still no, unless I get a job with sponsorship. For me, the beauty advisor job is such a great opportunity to sharpen my communication skills and gain Australian consumer behavior insights. But I know I want to be that person behind the brand who designs the strategy to create demand and sales. I only have less than 5 months here but am not very actively applying for jobs anymore. So Australian company, I guess this is your last chance to hire me 😀 Make sure you choose the right person to team up with you to grow your business 😀

If by the time my visa expires I don’t get the sponsorship, I will still leave Australia happy. Of course I will miss Sydney. I love how good the life standard here is, how polite and warm the people are, and the beautiful view on train from North Sydney to the CBD. But I know I’m not the same person I used to be when I first came here. I am more confident than I was, and I don’t let myself be bullied. I stand up for myself and make myself heard. Being an Indonesian doesn’t mean I’m less smart and capable than people from other nationalities.

Cheers,

Ariesa

How to Get a Decent Job in Sydney – Tips & Tricks

Hi guys,

Sebenernya saya bukan WHV warrior yg punya pengalaman paling bagus soal mencari dan bekerja di bidang hospitality di Sydney. Seperti yang sudah saya tulis di postingan sebelumnya, saya punya beberapa pengalaman pahit dalam pekerjaan2 saya sebelumnya disini. It takes me a lot of courage to share my bitter experience from my jobs here. It’s such a shame that I couldn’t do the things that, I thought were simple and easy jobs, well enough. I’ve also read some other Indonesian WHV warriors’s amazing experience telling how fast they could learn to do their jobs in such a short period of time and even finally became a supervisor. Tapi biar bagaimanapun juga, saya tetap ingin berbagi tentang apa yang sudah saya pelajari dari pengalaman2 pahit saya disini. Somehow I believe bad experience is actually a better teacher, right?

Disclaimer:

These tips & tricks will be most relevant for female WHV warriors who are looking for hospitality jobs as wait staff, customer service or any customer facing positions. Not applicable for kitchen hand/chef/cleaner etc. Lol :p

Jadi, kita mulai aja dengan kisah saya di restoran Itali kemarin. Long story short, I was again, kicked out! Anyway, in the last few weeks saya juga sudah tidak happy kerja disana karena chef2 Itali yang ganteng dan suka ajak saya ngobrol juga sudah dipecat oleh head chef nya. Jadi saya tidak punya teman ngobrol lagi karena yang lain cuma suka ngobrol dengan bahasa mereka sendiri. Saya pun sudah beberapa minggu kepikiran ingin quit dari resto ini, namun saya agak santai dan picky dalam mencari pekerjaan baru karena biar bagaimanapun juga, pekerjaan di resto Italy ini lumayan simple dan gajinya juga cukup OK. Dan karena supervisor nya juga baik, saya jadi agak bingung bagaimana caranya saya mau ngomong quit. Tapi ternyata Tuhan memang punya rencana baik buat saya. Seperti gayung bersambut, akhirnya saya dan salah seorang waitress Itali lainnya ter-eliminasi dan digantikan oleh orang yang akan dijadikan supervisor baru di restoran ini. Saya tidak perlu bilang quit dan somehow saya merasa lega keluar dari restoran ini 🙂

Terus, kenapa koq saya sekarang PD banget mau sharing tips & trick getting a decent job in Sydney? Karena job hunting saya kali ini agak lumayan, guys. I was jobless for 10 days but this time, being jobless was not as bad as before. I got a lot of interviews and trials almost everyday and I actually became more picky in choosing which one I want to do. And the most memorable experience in job hunting this time was getting an interview and trial with Merivale group! Merivale is one of the most prestigious companies that owns various restaurants, bars and clubs across Sydney. Walaupun akhirnya saya tidak berhasil mendapat job di Merivale group, saya merasa belajar banyak dari interview & trial selama 2 jam di salah satu restoran mereka. Saat ini saya sudah bekerja sebagai waitress di sebuah cafe yang sangat cosy dengan gaji $22/hour nett.

How did I look and apply for jobs this time?

1. Apply online/SMS

I have to admit that 99% of the job interviews and trials I got in Sydney (including in hospitality) is from applying online. I use either email or SMS/MMS to send my resume. Seperti yang sudah diceritakan oleh teman2 WHV lain, website2 yang kita gunakan untuk mencari pekerjaan di Sydney adalah: Gumtree, Seek dan Indeed. For casual jobs in hospitality, you can always rely on Gumtree. There are also hospitality job ads on Seek and Indeed and usually they would offer better salary since the ads are paid so the companies that post the ads are bonafide. I think I only got one trial from Seek for a Cafe All-rounder position at Bourke Street Bakery. The other ones I got, including the one with Merivale, are from Gumtree.

2. Walk-in/drop resume

I would say this method does not work well in Sydney, unless they tell you to do so in the job ads. I only got one call from drop in resume which was from the Italian restaurant I worked at before.

How does my resume look like?

Write a short headline to describe about your strengths, qualities and visa status. Write what most employers want to look at, i.e.: friendly, strong customer service skill, good English (and any other languages), etc.

How to land a trial from the interview:

From my experience doing interviews with some potential employers and especially Merivale, these are some of the characteristics they look for in wait staff:

1. Confidence

Speak clear English with lots of confidence. Work on your intonation to create friendly and happy voice. You have to at least look like an outgoing person who’s not afraid to chit-chat a bit with customers. This is what the Merivale & my current cafe managers told me when they interviewed me.

When I was going through a group interview with Merivale, I was with 20 other interviewees from many nationalities. There were only 2 Asians, but the other Asian girl was actually a New Zealander. So, basically I was the only one that comes from Asian country. They asked us to introduce ourselves: name, age, nationalities, hospitality experiences and if we were a drink (alcoholic drink), what we would be and why? I said I would be a red Sangria because of its daring colour, its sweet and refreshing taste and it’s made of mixed of fruits which represents lots of passion in life. I believe I gave a good answer since the interviewers responded me with enthusiasm and of course, invited me for a trial at one of their prestigious restaurants, Mr. Wong 🙂

2. Be happy and friendly

SMILE A LOT! Like, really a lot when you talk with and serve customers. No matter how grumpy the customers may seem. You still have to put on that happy smile on your face whenever you interact with customers. When my current manager interviewed me, he asked what my strengths were. One of the strengths I mentioned was that I am friendly and he was happy to hear that. He said, most people would say they are hard working and diligent. So, he was glad that I mentioned something different and thus he invited me to do trial on the next day 🙂

3. Flexible availability

Most of the time, the employers want to hear that you are available during any day of the week and ready to start immediately. Unless they already state in the job ads that they only need you on certain days and time of the week. But still, ready to go ASAP is crucial.

Trial Time

Based on Australian law, the maximum period for unpaid trial is 2 hours. If trial takes longer than that, you actually have the rights to get hourly pay. I usually will be flexible if the trial is 3 hours but won’t take it more than that. My trial at Mr. Wong took 2 hours + 30 minutes training and they paid me $50 🙂 Sedangkan di cafe tempat saya bekerja sekarang, trial nya 2 jam unpaid. If the trial takes you 30 minutes or even less, most likely you don’t get the job.

Formal outfit for trial at Mr. Wong

When you’re on a trial, of course you just need to listen well to directions. Ask lots of questions whenever you forget or unsure about something. Ini yang saya suka dari pengalaman saya bekerja dengan Westerners. Mereka mau sering ditanya dan maklum kalau kita masih agak lupa2 kalau baru 1-2x mengerjakan. Mereka selalu bilang: never assume, just ask clearly. Ask me or anyone else in the team. Ask a lot even though you think it’s a stupid question!

In some trials, directions will be clear and you just need to do whatever the senior/manager trains you to do. Some other are not that clear. I personally don’t like it when I’m not given a clear direction of what to do. So, I will just do whatever I can and not care about the outcome.

After the trial, if you get the job most likely they will ask you to come and start working the next day or the next few days. They have you on schedule right away! If they tell you they would send you the roster tomorrow or call you back, it’s a strong sign that you don’t get the job.

After my trial at Mr. Wong, I really liked that they gave me evaluations and feedbacks. They are really professional. They told me that I already had the confidence and style they looked for. Unfortunately, it seems that I didn’t have enough experience as a floor waitress, because I previously focused on handling the till and only took orders for takeaways. And Mr. Wong is a big deal, guys! Restoran mereka punya 2 lantai dan di masing2 lantai ada sekitar 100 meja. Di hari-hari sepi seperti Senin, rata2 mereka kedatangan 500 customer. Waktu melihat ukuran restoran dan mendengar load pekerjaannya, terus terang saya sudah agak menciut dan nggak yakin saya akan sanggup kerja disana. Yah, saya memang punya tekad setiap saya berganti pekerjaan disini, saya mau pekerjaan saya makin mudah dan gajinya makin tinggi. Karena saya takut visa saya judulnya berubah jadi Working too Hard Visa 😀

Dalam hati saya yakin, pekerjaan itu juga jodoh2an. Pada waktu saya datang untuk interview di cafe tempat saya bekerja sekarang, saya suka sekali dengan tampilan cafe ini yang luas, terang dan cozy. Di saat saya masuk ke dalam cafe, saya sudah memantapkan tekad saya untuk bisa mendapat pekerjaan disana. Et voila! Yes, I got the job just right after the 2-hour trial. They put me on the roster straight away and asked me to start working the next day.

The cafe layout

Jadi kira2 begitu tips & trik buat kamu yang pengin keluar dari jeratan Asian employers atau underpaid jobs. Communication skills and confidence are the keys to open the door to a better opportunity. Jangan selalu mengeluh western employers itu rasis karena sebenernya kita semua memang pada dasarnya rasis. Just try to think and act like them, maksudnya dalam hal outgoing, friendly dan polite nya yah. Supaya mereka merasa kita akan bisa beradaptasi dengan team member lainnya. Keep trying and good luck!

Cheers,

Ariesa Lie

Things People Don’t Tell You about Working Holiday in Australia

Hey guys,

It’s been a while since my last post, hasn’t it? 🙂 I have been wanting to write another post SO DARN BADLY! But I was quite busy trying to find a new job (YES, you got it right! A NEW JOB!) So, what happened with the Italian restaurant I worked before? Well, I will tell you about this in the next post since it’s not very relevant with the topic I’m going to talk in this post.

Recently, I have noticed that there are actually loads of positive experiences and reviews from working holiday makers about Working Holiday in Australia (WHV). It seems like 99.9% of them talk about how much money you can earn and save when working in Australia, and also how easy it is to get jobs here, and so on and so forth. I don’t think it’s healthy to only give sweets and candies to kids, as it is not fair to only give sweet dreams to all WHV prospects (people who are interested in WHV Australia) without letting you guys know the downside of WHV. Guys, believe me, EVERYTHING comes with PRICE! By writing this post, I don’t mean to discourage any of you to come for working holiday here. I just hope you will be more prepared (mentally and of course physically!) than I was before. Here we go!

1. That so-called “accommodation”

Most working holiday makers, especially Asians, want to live in the city. And of course as the result of high demand, accommodation in the city center is very expensive. If you want to have a private room in the city, you have to spend around AU$300-400/week. Can you calculate how many hours you have to work only to afford your accommodation? For the sake of saving money, many of us (including me right now), must be willing to live in a shared room. And most of us usually have to share a room with 3 to 4 other people. Sometimes even 5! Trust me guys, it’s not the most comfortable accommodation we live here. Here’s the picture of my current room.

 

For just a triple room, we pay AU$190/week. However the price may vary. For a triple room, it usually costs around $150 to $190 pp/pw depends on the building and location. Those accommodation that costs AU$120-140/week are usually shared between 4-5 people with bunk bed.

I currently live in the master room of a 2 bedroom apartment. FYI, there are 9 people living in our unit! So yeah, some people live in the living room. Here’s how it looks like.

 Yes, you got it right! Those people live just inside those curtains! Even living inside the curtain can cost you around AU$150/week, guys! Sometimes the landlord also rents out the sunroom in the apartment. It’s the small place with glass walls and ceiling where you can hang your laundry to dry it. Even this sunroom costs about $200 a week! (T_T”)

Now I believe you can start imagining how ‘clean’ you can keep an over-crowded house. Personal space is so damn expensive in Australia, guys! We have sold all our privacy and personal space in exchange for a few bucks.

2. Hourly wage in Sydney: EXPECTATION vs REALITY

From the rules set by the Australian government, standard hourly wage in Australia is about AU$18 before tax. OK then approximately we can earn about $15.3/hour after tax or maybe even $16. The former working holiday makers might have shared that they earned around $20 an hour and well, this actually made lots of people (including me), think that getting $20 an hour job is soooo easy peasy!

In reality, we never really know what kind of jobs they had been through before getting that decent-paid job. Right now there are just TOO MANY backpackers and also foreigners coming on student visa competing in Australian job market. Lots of our working holiday friends from Indonesia (and even from other Asian countries) work for $11-14 /hour cash jobs. If we don’t take the job, there are still many other job applicants willing to do it just for the sake of not being jobless.

It is even more challenging for us, girls. Our friends who claim they earn $20/hour mostly work as a kitchen hand. At least as far as I know, in Australia, employers prefer male workers to do this kind of jobs since it is SUPER exhausting! Selain itu, kalau menurut temen2 saya yang kitchen hand juga, biasa orang bule gak mau kerja jadi kitchen hand karena capek dan berat banget gilak! Jadi otomatis di kategori pekerjaan ini kompetisi nya lebih sedikit karena cewek2 dan bule2 gak ada yang mau atau mampu kerja sebagai kitchen hand.

At the end, jobs that are available for us, girls, are waitress and cafe all-rounder. I’m not saying this is the only job we can do, I’m just saying that this is the kind of job that is mostly done by female working holiday makers or students. And also the most common job advertised on Gumtree.

Nah, kalau ngomongin gaji sebagai waitress atau all-rounder cafe itu tergantung employer. Kalau boss nya orang Asia, kisaran gaji sekitar $11-15/jam. Walaupun pasti ada aja yang beruntung dapetin boss Asian yang baik dan murah hati dan dapat gaji sesuai minimum salary yaitu $18/jam. Sedangkan untuk western employers, biasanya sih sudah sesuai standard minimum salary, bahkan di atasnya. Buktinya, temen2 waitress saya waktu di restoran Itali kemarin bilang kalau gaji kita yang $19/jam di restoran itu tergolong kecil. Karena menurut pengalaman mereka, masih banyak restoran, kafe dan bar disini yang menggaji lebih dari itu.

Untuk job di bidang lain saya nggak bahas yah guys. Maklum pengalaman kerja saya disini terbatas cuma sebagai all-rounder dan waitress aja. Saya bukannya gak mau eksplorasi, tapi memang saya suka dengan bidang pekerjaan yang mengharuskan saya ketemu customer (salesman alert!). Saya happy bisa belajar ilmu barista, dan mau banget belajar bikin cocktail. Tapi saya gak bisa kerja di dapur dan cuma ketemu si kentang, bawang dan tomat tiap hari. Ughh, gak rela banget saya kalo gak bisa liat customer bule2 ganteng satu hari aja! :p

3. A casual job in hospitality actually requires 2 years of experience!

Or at least, that’s what is commonly written in job ads on Gumtree. At first, I was shocked and couldn’t stop thinking WHY do I need years of experience just to apply for a job as a waitress or cafe all-rounder (atau bahasa kerennya: babu serabutan kafe!). But after working in the industry for a few months, now I understand why. Hospitality is a very fast paced industry in Sydney. Customers only have a few minutes to get their takeaway coffee and an hour for lunch break. This is why rush hour in Sydney cafes and restaurants is very crucial for the business. Every cafes and restaurants want to get as much as possible and so they push their staff to the limit during these peak hours. And they really can’t bother to give extensive trainings to new staff for a very good reason too! Because most backpackers (including working holiday makers), won’t stay long term with them. Most backpackers don’t really care about doing the job well, and working holiday makers can only stay for 6 months to a year. So, why risk losing customers only for the sake of training inexperienced staff?

Sample of common job ads on Gumtree

4. That never-ending working hours

To compensate the low salary, most employers would give long working hours to the staff. Many of our friends are also very happy to take a second and even a third job to earn more money. You may have heard these friends can earn up to AU$1000 a week in Australia. But, have you ever wondered how many hours and how many jobs do they actually work? What time do they get up to work and when do they come back home from work? Time is money in Australia, the more hours you work, the more $$$ you make.

Once again guys, I’m writing this post NOT to DISCOURAGE you to come for a working holiday in Australia. I just want to give you another perspective on this and hope you to be better prepared than I was. I mean, I was of course prepared to do a waitress job in here. But I just wasn’t prepared to do a long hour work and save money by sharing my room.

Thanks for reading, guys. If you want more article on working holiday in Australia, please leave comments and tell me what you want to know. Hopefully I would be able to answer in my next post. Ciao! (^-^)v

Berakit-rakit ke Hulu Kemudian Terombang-ambing di Lautan (Pengalaman Mencari Pekerjaan di Australia)

Hi guys,

 

As I’ve promised earlier, I’m going to share my corporate job hunting experience in Sydney, Australia. The purpose of this post is to answer questions on how possible it is to land a corporate job in Australia through a working holiday visa. When I write this post, I have yet landed any corporate jobs successfully in Australia and am still actively looking for opportunities through professional recruiters or directly to companies. Due to cultural backgrounds and nationalities, my experience might be more relevant to people with Asian backgrounds from developing countries. Wait, why Asian backgrounds? Are the employers here racist? No, it’s not about the race. It’s just about the culture. We Asians are usually less vocal in expressing and defending our ideas.

 

Back in Indonesia, I worked in consumer goods companies in sales department. I was lucky to have worked in 2 large global companies and with AMAZING people. I learned a lot from my AWESOME managers and mentors in these companies and couldn’t be grateful enough to have worked with them.  My job was my passion and I enjoyed it so much. So, WHY on earth did I decide to leave the job? Because ever since I was a kid, I’ve always wanted to work and live abroad. So, I took the chance and the biggest risk by coming to the land down under.

With my super AMAZING team, mentor and manager ^o^

I arrived in Sydney on 1st February 2017. Even before arriving in Sydney, I already started applying for corporate jobs online and have received constant rejections. However, also before arriving in Sydney, I had been contacted by headhunter for job opportunities already.

The first company that gave positive response to my job application was a large UK based FMCG company. I applied online and received an email to an online numerical test. After I completed the test, the company did not contact me until I arrived in Australia and gave them my new phone number. So, after 2 weeks of my arrival in Australia, I got my first face to face interview with a company.

How does the job interview look like in Australia?

In general from all the interviews I have been so far, it’s basically similar to the job interviews I have gone through with FMCG companies in Indonesia. They’re asking detailed questions on technical things. Of course they give common questions as well like my career plans in 5 years, my organisational skill (how I manage priorities), my achievements at work, the most difficult task I have come across and my strengths/weaknesses. They also ask lots of behavioral questions on how I handle certain situations because they want to see how independent and strong I am in expressing my ideas and defending my thoughts.

How many interviews and what kind of companies I have been interviewed with?

2 face to face & 1 phone interview with 2 FMCG companies; 1 interview & business presentation with market research agency; 1 interview with marketing activation agency.

Kenapa semua belum berhasil? Yang ini saya sengaja tulis dalam bahasa Indonesia karena saya nggak mau hiring managers nya baca tulisan ini. Lol!

Di FMCG company pertama saya berhasil di interview pertama tapi gagal di final interview. Di interview pertama, mereka fokus bertanya soal teknis pekerjaan dan pengalaman yg sudah saya lakukan di Indonesia. Interview hanya berlangsung sekitar 30 menit dan besok sorenya saya sudah ditelpon lagi untuk interview final. Sayangnya, di final interview saya gagal, karena menurut mereka saya kurang strong dalam mengutarakan pendapat dan meng-handle challenge dari senior. Seperti yg kita tahu, biasanya di Indonesia kalau orang yg jabatannya lebih senior biasa akan menghadapi orang yg selevel utk bicara, diskusi atau debat pendapat. Nah, di Australia ini walaupun kita masih junior, kita harus kelihatan berani dalam berpendapat dan ber-argumen walaupun lawan bicara kita adalah orang yg jabatannya sudah lebih senior dari kita. What I admire from the hiring process in this company was that the hiring manager still gave me a phone call to give feedbacks on my interview, even after I failed the interview. She first asked how I felt about the interview and then gave me clear understanding on why they decided not to proceed with me.

The second FMCG company that interviewed me by phone was a US based company. It was for a position in Brisbane. After 20 minutes of talking about my experience, she realised that I only hold a work and holiday visa. The company doesn’t sponsor so it had to finish there 😦

Di perusahaan berikutnya yg merupakan market research agency yang datanya paling dipercaya di retail & FMCG industry di Australia, saya harus melakukan case study dan presentasi hasil case study nya menggunakan power point. Presentasi hanya berlangsung sekitar 15 menit namun secara total durasi interview selama 1.5 jam. Mereka fokus bertanya soal pengalaman kerja saya dan cara saya mengerjakan case study tersebut. Mereka juga bertanya bagaimana jika client meminta saya mengerjakan berbagai project dalam waktu singkat dan tidak memungkinkan utk dikejar semuanya. Dengan bodohnya saya jawab akan saya iyakan semua karena saya biasanya tidak pernah menolak pekerjaan. Dan benar saja, beberapa hari kemudian headhunter yang mengenalkan saya ke perusahaan ini mendapat feedback dari interviewer saya yg mengatakan kalau mereka tidak akan melanjutkan proses dengan saya karena saya tidak mampu meng-handle client yang demanding.

Perusahaan berikutnya yg mewawancara saya adalah sebuah marketing agency. Durasi interview hanya sekitar 20 menit. Disini saya gagal karena saya tidak bisa menjawab pertanyaan: personal development (not career related) goals within 12 months? Personal achievements (not career related) that you’re most proud of? I was too focused thinking about my career experiences and achievements that I didn’t expect such questions. Saya tahu kalau pertanyaan2 ini yang membuat saya gagal karena di akhir interview, mereka mengatakan kalau mereka suka dengan orang yang punya kehidupan di luar pekerjaan.

Apa yang saya pelajari dari job interviews yang sudah saya lakukan selama di Australia?

1. Be independent and vocal. Don’t hesitate to express your ideas and thoughts in forums and in front of people of more senior positions. Also be prepared to defend yourself and your own ideas.
2. Be sensible about taking the tasks. If the timeline is too tight for all the tasks, manage with customers or your manager to give more time in order to give better results.
3. Relax! Your career is just a part of your life and you still have some other parts to enjoy and have fun!

Jadi sebenernya apa sih yang penting untuk bisa dapetin office jobs di Australia?

EXPERIENCE EXPERIENCE and EXPERIENCE, guys! Belum pernah ada company yg interview saya menanyakan saya kuliah dimana, mereka cuma mau tahu saya punya gelar bachelor’s degree. Saya pernah tanya dengan seorang profesional headhunter yang meng-interview saya apakah kuliah master di Australia akan membantu saya utk mendapat employer yang mau men-sponsori saya kerja disini? Dia bilang tidak juga. Karena dengan master degree biasanya itu hanya akan membantu saya mendapat gaji lebih tinggi. Tapi soal employer mau sponsor saya atau tidak, itu semua tergantung company dan government policy yang berlaku.

So, what’s next? What am I doing now and what if I don’t manage to land a job with sponsorship here?

Well, just let it happen. Right now I’m still actively looking for the job that I want while working at the Italian restaurant. I quite enjoy doing this job because I get to learn barista skills and also look forward to learning how to make cocktails, I guess 😉 I just wanna do and learn things I can’t learn in Indonesia. I am also improving my English of course, since I work with Italians, French and take care of customers in the restaurant. Kadang2 masih ada aja professional headhunters yang telpon saya untuk approach saya. Sayangnya banyak yg tumbang di tengah jalan karena memang susah mencari company yg sponsor di bidang pekerjaan saya, yaitu di sales. Kemungkinannya adalah mencari temporary jobs tapi bidang sales biasanya adalah permanent jobs. Jadi susah juga deh. If I don’t succeed landing the job here, I think I’ll make another leap to another continent and get my master’s degree, as I planned initially 🙂

Kira2 begitulah perjalanan saya yang masih juga belum berakhir. Jujur, saya agak lelah guys. Saya sempat menyesali keputusan saya untuk datang kesini kalau mengingat kehidupan dan pekerjaan saya di Jakarta. But surprisingly, I also learn a lot from my casual jobs here! Somehow my experience working in the restaurant helps me know myself better and I want to improve myself here and there! Dan apa yg terjadi di restoran juga mengkonfirmasi alasan2 perusahaan2 tadi menolak saya. Tapi ini akan saya ceritakan di postingan berikutnya. Karena udah malem yah ini. Sudah waktunya bobo karena besok siang saya kerja lagi sampai closing jam 10 malam 😦

Meanwhile, this is the song that best represents my current life journey: The Fools Who Dream

Good night guys (^_^)

Cari Kerja di Aussie: Berakit-rakit ke hulu, berenang-renang ke tepian…

Hey guys,

Well, ini pertama kalinya saya nulis blog ini dalam bahasa Indonesia. Alasan saya nulis post ini dalam bahasa Indonesia adalah karena postingan ini akan bernada sedikit negatif tentang pengalaman selama working holiday di Australia (terutama Sydney, karena saya baru pernah tinggal disini aja). Dan saya nggak mau calon employer disini membaca keluhan soal pengalaman saya selama mencari kerja di Sydney. Dan sejujurnya, saya pun punya sedikit rasa menyesal datang WHV kesini 😦

Wait! Nyesel? Pengalaman negatif? Bukannya tinggal dan kerja di Aussie enak banget gitu? Kotanya bersih dan rapi, gajinya tinggi, transportasinya teratur? LOL! Yah, tadinya saya kira juga begitu sih. Tapi ternyata, semua memang gak seindah impian! Sejujurnya saya pun gak pernah terlalu banyak ekspektasi tentang Sydney. Dalam bayangan saya, Sydney itu kota metropolitan yg crowded dan modern seperti Singapore or mungkin juga NYC or LA (walaupun saya gak pernah ke NYC dan LA). Saya cuma membayangkan gedung2 nya modern dan langitnya sepertinya cerah 🙂

View from Sydney Tower Eye

Tapi pada kenyataannya, langit di Sydney tidak selalu cerah. Begitu juga dengan job hunting disini. Ternyata semua jauh lebih sulit dari apa yg sudah saya bayangkan. Sekarang saya tidak mengerti bagaimana dulu saya bisa membayangkan bisa kerja keras dan mendapat gaji $1000 per week. Atau at least, bisa menabung $2000 per month. Kalau tau sesulit ini, mungkin saya tidak akan pernah meninggalkan pekerjaan impian dan karier saya di Jakarta utk mencari kerja casual disini. Tapi di post ini saya nggak akan cerita soal alasan saya kesini. Itu akan saya tulis di post berikutnya. Karena di post ini, tujuan saya adalah utk membagikan pengalaman sulitnya (dan pahitnya) mencari pekerjaan dan kerja di Sydney.  Bukan utk discourage teman2 yang sudah planning utk datang WHV, tapi untuk memberikan gambaran yang (hopefully) cukup realistis dalam pencarian pekerjaan dan pastinya $$$.

1. Chinese food restaurant, Mascot

Saya mendapat job pertama ini dari housemate saya. Dia engkoh2 berumur sekitar 40 tahun dan sudah lama tinggal di Sydney. Dia kenal banyak orang di sekitar Mascot dan ngenalin saya ke boss restoran Chinese food ini yang ternyata orang Chinese-Vietnamese. Gaji pertama saya $15/hour dan saya kerja part-time disini. Sayangnya saya cuma kerja seminggu disini karena tiba2 boss saya SMS saya dan bilang kalau saya tidak cocok kerja disana. Yah, saya memang geraknya agak lamban sih kalau dibandingkan dengan orang Vietnam. Selain itu, di awal2 kedatangan saya di Aussie, saya cukup berjuang untuk membiasakan telinga saya dgn Aussie accent. Jadi sering kali saya minta customer mengulang-ulang pesanannya berkali-kali karena saya gak paham mereka ngomong apa (^_^”) . Disini saya merasa nilai IELTS saya yg 7.5 (di bagian speaking) jadi seperti 3.5 (T_T)

So, first lesson guys: jangan kaget kalo kamu tiba2 dipecat sama boss via SMS!

2. Salad restaurant, Kogarah

Lagi-lagi saya dapat job ini dari teman setelah jobless selama 2 minggu. Kali ini saya dapat dari teman di grup WHV Sydney. Karena owner nya orang Indonesia, saya cuma SMS, kemudian boss nya kasih tau jam kerjanya dan suruh saya langsung datang utk training besok paginya. Kali ini even gaji saya turun jadi $13/hour, guys! Dengan jam kerja cuma 25jam per-minggu. Tapi saya nggak punya banyak pilihan waktu itu, karena dengan pengalaman kerja minim, resume saya nggak pernah dapat respon dari employer.

Kerja di resto salad ini bener2 mengguncang batin saya karena salah satu teman kerja saya bener2 gak asik orangnya. Sialnya, dia itu adiknya owner restoran ini. Gimana gak asik nya? Yah, dia nggak pernah senyum sama saya. Dan kalau saya lupa cara ngerjain sesuatu lalu tanya lagi, dia akan bilang: “kan udah pernah diajarin? harus berapa kali diajarin baru ngerti?” Saya bener2 gak habis pikir, kenapa owner resto yang super baik ini bisa punya adik perempuan yang super bitchy kayak dia???

Setelah kerja selama 6 minggu disana, akhirnya saya berhenti. Berhentinya pake drama donk biar seru! Jadi ceritanya jam 11.30 pas deket2 lunch time, saya disuruh ngisi botol2 dressing salad sama si adiknya owner itu. Nah, saya kan belum pernah kerjain ini sebelumnya. Jadi saya nanya ke kitchen hand, dimana tempat salad dressing nya? Tiba2 si adik owner ini datang ke kitchen dan bilang ke saya dimana tempat dressing nya. Terus dia juga bilang gini: “Kalo mau tanya apa2 tanya nya ke gue aja. Tanya ke kitchen hand percuma karena dia jg gak tau apa2”. Saya yang udah kezel karena udah dari pagi dijutekkin sama dia akhirnya capek juga. Saya jawab dia: “udah kelar marah2 nya? Kalau masih mau marah2 lagi gue pulang aja deh. Gue berenti aja sekalian biar lo ga usah marah2 terus”. Dia cuma bilang: “gue bukannya marah2. Tapi lo udh 1.5 bulan kerja disini masih ga tau apa2. Kalo lo mau pulang ya pulang aja. Gue tinggal telpon koko bilang lo pulang”. Yah begitulah akhirnya saya langsung ambil tas lalu keluar dari resto.

Please donk, sis! Kalau mau dapat karyawan yang zuper pinter dan kerja cepet yah jangan kasih gaji $13! Kalo gue udah pinter juga gak mau lah digaji $13 perjam! Saya juga sering denger pengalaman gak enak dari temen2 WHV yang baru datang dan dapat teman2 kerja yang sesama Indo. Hello temen2 sesama Indo yang suka bully anak2 baru yang belom berpengalaman! Tolong yah ngaca, kalian juga awalnya gak langsung pinter kan? Kalian disana sama2 kerja apa udah jadi boss? Kalo masih sama2 kerja jadi babu, gak usalah bully2 temen2nya. Emang kalian merasa hebat cuma karena udah dateng beberapa bulan ato beberapa tahun lebih awal dari temen2nya?

Tapi walaupun dengan berbagai pengalaman pahit, saya tetap bersyukur bisa kerja 1.5bulan disini. Karena disini saya akhirnya membiasakan telinga saya dgn Aussie accent dan nama2 minuman kopi di Aussie. Selain itu saya juga belajar buat jus, smoothies dan menggunakan POS system & EFT Pos. Semua ini yang sering diperlukan utk melamar kerja resto/cafe di Aussie.

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Setelah quit dari resto salad, saya jobless selama 2 minggu. Selama itu saya terus kirim2 resume via email ataupun walk-in. Dari begitu banyak resume yg saya kirim, saya cuma diundang ke 2 trial: yg pertama di cafe di daerah Ashfield dan yang kedua di Bourke Street Bakery. OMG! Saya PENGIN BANGET kerja di Bourke Street Bakery ini karena kerjaannya gampang cuma jadi counter hand di bakery aja! Selain itu, bisa di training jadi barista juga! Saya trial 2 jam di bakery ini. Di akhir trial, manager nya cuma bilang kalau Senin atau Selasa depan (karena hari itu sudah Jumat), HRD nya akan call saya utk kirim roster. Yeah, Bourke Street Bakery memang lumayan bonafide, guys! Tapi ternyata hari Minggu itu saya dipanggil utk trial di Italian resto yg kemudian langsung terima saya apa adanya dan segera kasih saya roster utk 33jam per week.

3. Italian Pasta & Wine bar, Sydney CBD

Thank God akhirnya saya keterima kerja di resto ini. Sekarang saya sudah jalan 4 minggu kerja dan saya paling happy kerja disini! Kenapa? Karena lokasinya, jam kerjanya, teman2 kerjanya, job desc nya dan yang pasti gajinya! (^.^)

Me in the uniform

Karena ini Italian resto, semua chef nya udah pasti Italian! Siapa yang gak tau kalo cowo Itali itu ganteng? Hahaha.. tapi yang paling penting sih karena mereka friendly and chatty! Mereka sering ngajak saya ngobrol dan bercanda karena saya satu2nya wait staff Indo disana (even saya satu2nya Asian). Selain chef2 nya, salah satu supervisor saya (cewek Itali) juga sangat friendly dan asik diajak ngobrol dan bercanda. Selain itu, dia sering bilang “good job!” ke saya. Kalau negur karena saya salah, selalu dilakukan dengan cara memberi training dan bukannya mengkomplain. Dia selalu bilang, “I’m not complaining about you, I’m just giving suggestions on how to do it”.

The Resto

Secara job desc, dibandingkan dengan job sebagai all-rounder di resto salad, kerja di Italian resto ini jauh lebih menyenangkan dan mudah karena efisien! Kenapa menyenangkan? Karena disini saya belajar ilmu barista! Sejak hari pertama saya kerja, saya langsung ditraining jadi barista. Memang order kopi di resto ini tidak terlalu banyak karena lokasinya yang di food court mall, membuat orang hanya sempat datang di waktu lunch. Setelah saya merasa cukup percaya diri, saya langsung diperbolehkan melayani orderan kopi dari customer. Kenapa saya bilang kerja disini mudah dan efisien? Karena supervisor saya most of the time during peak hours hanya minta saya stay di counter utk take order dan jadi kasir. Sedangkan pekerjaan preparing food and salad di back counter akan dia handle karena chef2 itu lebih terbiasa berkomunikasi dalam bahasa Itali supaya lebih cepat. Intinya 1-2 orang khusus handle counter dan 1 orang di back counter. Tujuannya supaya yg di back counter tau orderan mana yg sudah diproses/dikirim dan yg belum. Jadi nggak ada pekerjaan yg overlap ataupun missed!

More lessons learned! Sedapat mungkin kerja sama Western employers karena standard salary yg lebih tinggi dan biasanya mereka lebih “laid back”. I mean, how could I forget this basic theory after years of working in western companies? 😀

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Yah so far baru segitu pengalaman saya disini, guys. Belum banyak karena saya memang selama ini masih butuh spare time 1 hari weekday utk interview corporate job (yang akan saya share di post berikutnya). Tapi sepertinya saya sudah akan cari second job disini utk full time casual dan save money utk studi saya di negeri lain 🙂 Saya belum merasa lebih betah di Sydney daripada di tempat tinggal saya sebelumnya, Taipei karena banyak alasan yang tidak akan saya ungkapkan satu-persatu disini. Semoga tulisan saya hari ini berguna buat teman-teman yang baru merencanakan utk datang WHV kesini. Ingat, bukan utk discourage tapi utk lebih mempersiapkan mental teman-teman sebelum kerja keras disini 🙂

Have a good day and God bless (^_^)v

Working Holiday Australia – How Much You Need on Your First Arrival

As I’ve promised earlier, I’m gonna write another post on how much budget you need to bring for working holiday in Australia. Since the living cost, especially rent fee, varies across cities, this is probably most suitable for people who want to land in Sydney as their first point of arrival. Although in the visa requirement we are all required to have AU$ 5,000 in our bank statement, many of working holiday visa makers, as far as I know, don’t actually bring that amount of money on their first arrival, including me!

So, how much do we actually need to bring when we first come here? Hmm, before giving you the answer to that question, I think it’s best that you answer this question yourself first:

What kind of accommodation do I want to stay and where?

This is a very crucial question since accommodation will contribute to a significant (if not most) part of your first expense. Some people want to live in the city and some others don’t mind living at outer CBD area. Some people need to have a private room while some others don’t mind sharing with a few friends. It all depends on your preference and of course, your budget. Now, here’s the budget you’re looking at when you make your choice.

1. Private room, shared bathroom – CBD area –> min. approx. $300-400 pw
2. Room share (2 person), shared bathroom – CBD –> min. approx. $200 pp/pw (per-person/per-week)
3. Room share (3-5 person), shared bathroom – CBD –> approx. $125 – 150 pp/pw
4. Private room, shared bathroom – suburb –> min.approx. $200-250 pw
5. Room share (2 person), shared bathroom – suburb –> approx $120 – 150 pp/pw

My room in Mascot

List of CBD area: Ultimo, Darlinghurst, Central, Chippendale, Pyrmont, Surry Hills, Haymarket, Redfern, Newtown, Darlington, Glebe, Potts Point.

List of suburb areas preferred by backpackers: Mascot, Ashfield, Marrickville, Leichardt, Eastern Suburbs (Bondi, Maroubra, Coogee, Randwick, Kingsford, Kensington) .

Residential area in Mascot

Check on Gumtree and Flatmates to browse for accommodation. Some people also find accommodation through Facebook group, including me.

So, have you made up your mind yet? Don’t forget to budget the deposit you need to give to your landlord upon moving in. It’s usually 2-4 week of rent and refundable when you move out, given you’re well-behaved, of course!

SIM Card

Now, when you arrive in Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, you can immediately get your prepaid SIM card on the way to the exit. There are Optus and Vodafone’s counters that sell and help you activate your SIM card. I bought the Optus one for $20 (which worth $40 recharge voucher). With $20, I get a new phone number, 6GB internet data, unlimited calls & SMS to Australian phone numbers, and 90 mins international calls to selected 20 countries (the sales assistant will explain to you everything on this) for 28 days use.

First transportation to your new house

Ok, you’ve got that SIM card and now you have these big and small luggage and bags. Are you sure you can take bus or train with all these luggages? I couldn’t! So, I decided to take Uber instead. In Australia, you can only pay Uber with card (debit/credit). You don’t have your debit card yet, so it’s best to keep your old credit card active and use it in such emergency. I took Uber from the airport to my rent house in Mascot (near Rosebery) for $17. If you think you can carry all your bags and take the bus, the bus stop is not far from the arrival gate. Just ask some officers in the airport where it is. They’re very helpful.

Public transportation

OK, how about transportation budget during your first exploration days in Sydney? The transportation in Sydney quite expensive. For detailed information on Sydney transportation, check out: http://www.transportnsw.info/  . They don’t charge you for the new card, just how much money you want to deposit in the card. I put $50 for my Opal card balance, which lasted for a bit less than 2 weeks. I don’t hang out everyday, so I don’t spend too much on this. But if you hang out everyday, you’re probably going to spend around $40 a week for transport.

Groceries shopping

After you put all your luggage in your room, you might want to to a little bit of groceries shopping. My first groceries shopping at Woolworths cost me about $40 for rice, veggies, fruits, Greek Yogurt, canned fish, etc. And I also did a little shopping at Daiso for some household tools. Daiso’s one price for everything in Australia is $2.80.

My first groceries shopping in Australia

Here are some groceries’ price examples:

Rice (1kg) : start from AU$ 2

Sugar (1kg) : AU$ 1.00

Chicken egg (6pcs) : AU$ 2.99

Milk (2 Litres) – homebrand : AU$ 2.00

Pasta (500 gr.) : start from AU$ 1.00

For more info, check out Coles & Woolworths websites.

Summary

To wrap up everything I’ve mentioned above, here’s the list of expenses on your first days in Sydney (with examples on value):

1. Accommodation :  $800 (2 week deposit + 2 week rent)
2. SIM card : $ 40 (for 28 days)
3. Uber : $ 17 – 30
4. Opal card : $ 120-150 (for 4 weeks)
5. Groceries : $ 100 (for 4 weeks)
6. Home supplies & tools : $ 40
7. Meals (when you eat out) : AU$12-15 per-meal

Those add up to around AU 1,500 for the first 4 weeks of your stay in Sydney. And I believe that’s the minimum amount you will spend in your first month, because many people spend more than that. That, of course, depends on your lifestyle and how long you want to relax without working.

So, I hope this helps you plan your budget to move to Sydney and don’t hesitate to drop a comment if you have anymore questions.

Cheers,

Ariesa