Jobless and Looking for Pointers

illegal on 15/10/2019 - 14:42
Last edited 15/10/2019 - 16:18

Hello

I'm a Permanent Resident, living in VIC. A software tester(with dev skills) by profession. I was working till the end of May 2019 and my contract finished. I am unable to find a software job ever since I lost my last job and I am really tensed. I am applying almost all the jobs I think is at least 70% relevant to my profile (on seek) but I hardly get any calls. I have worked in telecom domain (wireless/4G LTE) as a tester/developer and have worked as a firmware tester for a security device company. I am a great performer and never had a black mark in my career. But this uncertainty of not having a job keeps me tensed. Even today I got up early to apply jobs on seek, but I'm sure I'll get an automated email saying that the position has been closed.

Are there any other ways to get interview calls? I've been informed that many jobs in Australia works on reference basis. Unfortunately I have no big contacts who can provide me a software job. Approaching recruiter directly didn't help either as I understand they need to have relevant opening so that they can send me to get interviewed.

If anyone can point me out to something relevant or can give me advises on how to get myself some interviews and eventually find a job, I'd be very thankful. I'm a software/firmware tester with enormous experience in Manual testing. I'm good at Python, C++ and C. Good at team leading, mentoring, and everything else (or even more) a software engineer with 9 year experience can do.

Attaching my resume: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ulo44th2icvj6l3/sample.docx?dl=0

Education & Work

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2019 - 15:20
    +3

    Upload your CV and blank out the confidential details so we can see where you're going wrong

    • illegal on 15/10/2019 - 16:20

      Hey there! Thanks for the suggestion. I have uploaded the resume in my original post. I've been updating the same resume over the years and have managed to find jobs relatively easily. May be it's not appealing anymore, Idk..

  • HardlyCharly on 15/10/2019 - 15:36

    Sounds like you're doing everything you can, as with everything in life starting with what we're born into, it comes down to chance.

  • AssamLaksa on 15/10/2019 - 15:57
    +4

    Do you use LinkedIn? I recommend using LinkedIn if you don't. Make sure you have a polished LinkedIn profile when applying for roles.

    • illegal on 15/10/2019 - 16:21
      +1

      I do use, but not as extensively as I use seek.. Thanks for the tip, I will give more attention to my LinkedIn profile as well.

      • HighAndDry on 15/10/2019 - 20:05
        +2

        LinkedIn has basically replaced normal professional contacts for job search purposes. I'd put 70% of my job hunting effort into there instead of Seek.

      • POSITIVEVIBESONLY on 16/10/2019 - 15:14
        +1

        recruiters are browsing linkedIn constantly, setup a profile and put in all your experience and education. I'm sure recruiters will hit you up, there's heaps of opportunities to connect with people in your field also.

  • wizzy on 15/10/2019 - 16:03
    +5

    Try not to feel discouraged. It can take a long time to find a new job. Lots of people are in the same position as you.

    If you are applying online in writing, then it might be a good idea to get a friend who is a native English speaker check over your application. This may improve your chances. Based on my own experience of hiring people, correct grammar and punctuation can make a big difference in a written job application.

    • illegal on 15/10/2019 - 16:23
      +1

      Hey Thanks for the tip. I usually apply on seek with my prefilled profile. Same happens with LinkedIn as well. Though I'm good at English grammar and can write good English, I'll get someone who is a native English speaker to revisit my profiles..

      • wizzy on 15/10/2019 - 16:25
        +12

        Your English is very good, but there is room for improvement. I can tell that you are not a native English speaker from your writing.

        Good luck!

        • illegal on 15/10/2019 - 16:30

          Thanks wizzy. I'll get someone to review my profile, resume, cover letter and all other necessary docs. :)

      • brad1-8tsi on 16/10/2019 - 09:07
        +3

        Though I'm good at English grammar and can write good English,

        Reading your original post, there is room for improvement. Sorry, but there's no point being delusional.

        • illegal on 16/10/2019 - 16:19

          I agree, and thanks :) I'll work on it.

  • pyramid on 15/10/2019 - 16:08

    Most of the contracting jobs happen via networking and connections. How many years did you spend with your client? Do you have any connection/link with them who can help you?

    • illegal on 15/10/2019 - 16:28

      With my last recruiter, I worked for an year. I was expecting an extension of contract as I knew I performed really well. As a tester, I raised and fixed almost 250 bugs over an year, wrote so many Python test cases, modified a lot of test tools on Python to suit the need and did all sorts of out-of-the-box stuff. The customer managed to release the product in the market for which I was hired for and to cut the cost, they decided to terminate my contract along with few other contractors.

      The contracting manager was a nice guy and he was really impressed with my performance and couldn't do much as the decision of terminating my contract was done by someone sitting somewhere in the US as a part of cost cutting.

  • dasher86 on 15/10/2019 - 18:02
    +3

    Chuck your resume through grammarly and fix up some minor mistakes.

  • original15 on 15/10/2019 - 18:08
    +3

    Last page isn’t required surely?
    I’d also work on your “objective”
    And remove your academic marks/%
    I’ll read again later when on PC to better present some feedback/tips

    • illegal on 15/10/2019 - 18:54

      Thanks, that helps :) I’ll make the changes what you’ve suggested right away. Objective - yes, I’ll edit it too and fit in something appealing and honest.

      • original15 on 20/10/2019 - 00:03

        Sorry I didn’t come back to you, my wife has taken our PC abroad but looks like some sensible advice in many of the other comments so think with a few tinkers you’ll have a bit more luck

  • firestormx on 15/10/2019 - 18:53
    +7

    Some quick suggestions:
    - See if you can trim the resume down to 2 pages.
    - Personal information and everything on the last page is not needed.
    - The formatting doesn't seem consistent, some of the gaps between headings are different.
    - Redo your objective/statement.
    - Add some spacing between your bullet points. They are all squashed together and hard to skim (for the person in HR).
    - Address isn't needed.
    - If you don't have an English name, consider using one.

    • illegal on 15/10/2019 - 18:55
      +1

      Thanks for the suggestions. Working on it right away :)

  • The Wololo Wombat on 15/10/2019 - 19:13
    +1

    Use visualCV.com to make your resume stand out.

  • thatonethere on 15/10/2019 - 19:19
    +1

    I'd log your CV with recruiters (multiple) as they like having someone on the bench to sell with a quick start.

    • illegal on 15/10/2019 - 20:56

      Thanks, I’ve forwarded my resume to multiple recruiters I met on job sites/telegram groups etc. No response yet :(

      • TheGiantTomato on 15/10/2019 - 21:45
        +1

        As others have said, polish up your LinkedIn profile (take a good picture, list all your jobs, skills, qualifications etc - LinkedIn runs off key words in searches) and there's a good chance a recruiter will contact you.

        • illegal on 15/10/2019 - 22:11

          Haven’t explored LinkedIn much, I’ll look into it. Thanks for the tips, means a lot to me. :)

  • holdenmg on 15/10/2019 - 19:42

    Look on:
    https://au.jora.com/

  • dasher86 on 15/10/2019 - 20:12
    +2

    Before you start applying for any more jobs or contacting recruiters fix up your CV.
    As they may just ignore it if they think they have seen it before and it didn't make the cut.

  • dasher86 on 15/10/2019 - 20:17
    +3

    Remove VISA status and Nationality.
    It's not important, if you they like you you can fill them on in the details later.

    • kittymtd on 16/10/2019 - 13:12

      Agreed, they shouldn't need to know your Date of Birth either.

  • No and then on 16/10/2019 - 07:45
    +4

    Sites like Seek use a robot to sift out thousands of job applicants. Every time you're reading a job ad, copy the keywords into your CV. Don't use the exact same CV every time. I'm guessing that is one of the reason you're not getting noticed. The recruitment industry love using fancy words and glorifying job titles. But usually they all mean the same. So just copy the words they use onto your resume.

  • Whisper Quiet on 16/10/2019 - 09:07
    +1

    Sometimes you can't always get the job you're after. Maybe look for other roles in a company you want to work for and then you can work your way up or get the desired role afterwards

  • blackstarzes on 17/10/2019 - 05:43
    +1

    As many have said, brunch up your LinkedIn profile and label yourself as open to new opportunities. You do need to brush up on your grammar too - in the software field, managers are looking for attention to detail - as a tester, you should QA what you’re sending out, and get another pair of eyes to sense-test it too. Remember that your cover letter and resumé is an advertisement for yourself.

    One thing about the coding community is that you have to be involved with the community. The best way to do that is to go to meet-ups - I go to a bunch in the Sydney region and it’s a great way to learn more about the tech you are passionate about, meet like-minded people, and, of course, to network. If you’re in the Melbourne area, a simple search of “python meet-up Melbourne” yields a couple of popular ones.

    Good luck!

  • ZippyRoo on 19/10/2019 - 12:14
    +2

    Are you still looking? We're trying to fill a couple of software engineer positions and they might be suitable for you. We're a medium sized IoT company in Melbourne CBD, can you send me a private message and I will send you the link to the job ad on LinkedIn and Seek.

    • illegal on 19/10/2019 - 18:02

      Sent a PM! Thanks!

  • megaalc on 19/10/2019 - 19:12
    +1

    hey, try to post it here :
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/pn.it.australia/ - Australia | IT programmers, QA testing | Russian Network

    • illegal on 20/10/2019 - 00:54

      Hey thanks, I will :)

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