Mentors and mentoring for Engineers in Australia

A mentor is a personal coach who can advise and support you while you are settling in, looking for work, and establishing your career. Engineers arriving in Australian from overseas have to learn how to survive and prosper in the Australian workplace.

Settling quickly is too important to try and make it alone. The guidance provided by a mentor will help you learn the Australian customs and work practices faster, and land an engineering job sooner.

The best choice for a mentor is an engineer in your discipline and line of work, but this is not essential. Your mentor could be a family member or friend who has already settled here, or anyone else with suitable knowledge and skills.

You can discuss your plans with your mentor, get guidance on matters such as likely employers, job applications, job selection criteria, finding contacts (networking), planning, Australian standards and business practices, interpreting regulations, schools, house hunting, practicing business English and so on. A mentor can assist by helping you focus on what is important and provide moral support.

In choosing a mentor, look for someone you can talk easily to and feel relaxed with. If your relationship with your mentor does not seem to be working, find someone else.

If you cannot find a suitable mentor in your immediate support group, go to technical functions run by engineering groups such as Engineers Australia. You do not have to be a member to attend these functions. If you find some one you can talk easily with, ask them if they would be prepared to assist you by being your mentor. Contact your local Engineers Australia Division office if you cannot find a mentor. They may be able to help you find some one.

How mentoring works

It is usual to meet with your mentor at about six weekly intervals. The meetings should be about an hour and be outside the workplace, such as in a coffee shop. The meetings should be informal, but structured. Your mentor should assist you by providing guidance. There may be phone calls and correspondence in between these meetings. This will depend on what is happening. For example: if you wanted advice on a job application, you would not wait for the next planned meeting.

You and your mentor each keep a notebook to record what happens. This is purely for a personal record. You do not keep formal minutes that you check, and the mentor does not look at your notes. Your notes are your own personal record. You take written notes to ensure you remember advice the mentor may give and the actions that you each plan to do; so you do not forget, and so you have a greater commitment to the agreed actions.

It is important to plan the meeting times and keep to them. The meetings with your mentor are an important part of your engineering career management. Give them the priority you deserve. If something important comes up which clashes with an agreed meeting time, reschedule the meeting straight away. Do not just let things lapse.

Kick start your engineering career in Australia; land an engineering job quickly with the support of a mentor.

This post is taken from Project Australia: Land That Engineering Job in Australia by Ian Little

©Ian Little. All rights reserved, no part of this may be reproduced without permission rights from the publisher. Contact us www.tribuslingua.com.au

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Australian engineers get jobs by networking

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Finding Australian Jobs

New Migrants may find that getting an Australian job may be more challenging than they expected.

The first place to start is by tapping into the hidden Australian Job Market. Given that Australia’s economy is made up of small and medium sized businesses (over 70%) many jobs are not advertised visibly.

What are the top tips for New Migrants Finding Australian Jobs?

• Write an Australian style CV/resume and cover letter. This is essential. Australian employers generally expect three or four pages with a clear, detailed history of your professional experience.

• Most Australian government and public organisations expect job applicants to complete “selection criteria�. Selection criteria describe the qualifications, knowledge, skills, abilities and experience a person requires in order to do a job effectively. They are divided into:

· essential criteria

· desirable criteria.

You must meet the essential criteria to be considered for a position because without having the relevant qualifications, knowledge, skills or experience you would not be able to do the job. If you do not meet the essential criteria, you will not be shortlisted for interview.

It is not necessary for you to have the qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience described by the desirable criteria, but your chances of being shortlisted are better if you do. Where there are several applicants who meet the essential criteria, the selection panel will shortlist on the basis of the desirable criteria.

Most new skilled migrant’s even native English speakers find it difficult to address Australian Selection Criteria correctly. We recommend you find someone to help you or get professional assistance as it will save a lot of time and frustration

• Adopt Australian-style interview techniques and approaches. A delicate aspect of this is the need to promote yourself without overselling. Australians don’t take kindly to over-confident or boastful people―but you don’t want to undersell yourself either.

• When finding an Australian job it is important to understand the relevant employment conditions, law and documentation so you know your rights in the context of what employers offer. More than a quarter of Australian employees work on a casual basis, and casual workers can be especially vulnerable if they don’t know their rights.

• Gain local experience through volunteering. A comparatively large proportion of Australians do volunteer work to contribute to the community, meet people, learn skills and improve their career opportunities. Volunteering may not be a normal part of your own culture, but it has more benefits than you probably realise. People from all walks of life in Australia including Top Executives consider it an essential part of their culture to volunteer. Many Australians volunteer as a natural part of building their career and to improve their chances of finding an Australian job.

• It won’t take you long to notice that taking an interest in sport is a fast lane to the centre of Australian culture. Knowing your “footie� and cricket is good for networking; it’s a much more potent ice-breaker than the weather, for example. And joining a sports club has many benefits, not least the inexpensive facilities and activities they provide.

• We highly recommend finding a local mentor who can give advice and help you stay positive and motivated. They can also act as a referee (likely to carry more weight than a referee from your home country).

• Manage your expectations. It typically takes 6-12 months to find a job, and an estimated 50% of skilled migrants accept positions that don’t make use of their highest qualifications. Having the right information about the job market is the surest way to reduce your job-hunting time, and the associated stress and frustration.

• The more people you meet the better - Get out and mix with Australian’s who are highly approachable and friendly and you will quickly find yourself on the road to finding an Australian job through networking. The majority of migrants find this the biggest key to success in Australia.