Australian Diaries 11 - The story of International Experience

Over the last few weeks, I have had opportunity to interview prospective Project management firms for some of the projects I handle. Part of the interview involved assessing or rather getting to know the prospective team members the Project Management firms propose to allocate for the projects. During one such interview, I came in contact with team members who were perfectly marketing themselves. Not to forget the fact that these team members were ably supported by the Directors. Nothing bad in this; except for the interesting fact that the team members had been in Australia for only a couple of months, having been transferred internally from UK.

The team members made a small little print out of the presentation, as part of the impression process. One particular slide said we are proud to bring in International experience to Australia and specifically for the projects we were discussing. The irony for me was that all the companies that I was interviewing were the same ones who had rejected my applications in one way or the other for the so called ‘lack of local experience’. But then here I was witnessing an altogether different perspective of the firms to an individual who was from the Queen’s country. It didn’t matter about the experience the individual had, all it took for people to look at was his mere nationality and the ability to add “Pluff” to the constant artificially created conversations, with no REAL content.

Moral of the story was that – In Australia, only ‘UK” experience is being considered as International experience and the remaining of the “International” experience is considered as ZERO experience.

What a feeling indeed! I was broken to the core at this reality.

Post Script: Somebody is gonna hit really hard J

Australian Diaries 10 - Foreword to the 'Reality Check' Series

Five months has elapsed since I permanently migrated to Australia. These five months have been spent getting to know the country and the systems in this country, at a relatively slow pace – like a Chinese proverb – moving inch by inch.

The undeniable greenery and the nature’s landscapes provide an opportunity for melodramatic pictorial impressions of the not so photogenic individuals like me. In this age of digital and virtual world, I sometimes relish posting some of these so called ‘melodramatic’ snapshots in my Social media space. Ironically, the rest of the world always reckons that feeling of ‘the grass is greener on the other side’. Mind you, I take no offence. As I believe every individual believes that the other is having a good time, just by noticing ‘smiles’ on those snapshots and I was no different until some while ago.

Over the past couple of months, I have had friends communicating and enquiring with me about the ‘Australian Life’, all with a view to apply and go through the immigration process as they plans to move to Australia (just like what I did).Practically, my first stint with Australia was in May 2015, when I come in for a first landing to activate my Permanent Residency in Australia. I went back having gained and understood the realities. As it happens, upon return I was flooded with friends and colleagues enquiring about Australia. Probably, I was the only one who was giving a reality check feel in my feedback. People were surprised and shocked to hear stuffs from me, as deep inside all they heard or knew was a “Rosy Picture” about Australia with no thorns at all. How I wish it was true to have no thorns at all?

I believe some of them reckon that I give them false pictures of Australia as if I don’t want people to come into Australia. Well to set the record straight, I have no impact if have my friends migrate down under. On a positive note, I migrated having no friends or relatives here. So it’s a plus if I have friends in Australia and bring back the old memories. The only rationale behind giving a realistic feedback is to ensure people don’t expect Australia to be a bed of roses and are well aware of what to expect.

As a soft spoken, genuine and honest individual, I only express and convey my personal opinions with intent that there are lessons learnt from my experiences that could be useful for others. All my blogs do, is sometimes express my personal opinion on the daily activities in ‘this world’ (Australia) and compare them with ‘my world’ (India and/or some other country).

Stay tuned!

Not to forget ‘Jai Hind’, which echoes more loudly than ever in my ears, with every day I am away from ‘my world’. Looks like this is one long distance relationship that is working wonders J what say?

Australian Diaries 09 - Sydney Diaries 03 - An Overview of my personal opinion on Australia

AUSTRALIA, as a country: The more I am away from INDIA, the more I have been appreciating and valuing my country. Most of things here are marketed very well, but has very little content. In fact, I personally am of the opinion that India is far more developed / ahead than Australia minus the (a) Cleanliness (b) Orderliness. Looks like I am being a good brand ambassador of India, because I keep sharing with people the positive experiences of India in comparision with Australia and let others know how we have developed much beyond the imagination of being a country of snake charmers and Cows J

WORK: Well, been around 3 months now since I have been employed in Sydney. I now work with the State Government in the Department of Education, as part of the PMO team. I have been assigned projects up to $200 million. The value of projects is much less than $1 billion, I was assigned in the Middle East. But, new country, new culture, new people and new ways of dealing with issues/variations. Sometimes I am surprised by the lack of expertise in this department in a so called ‘Developed Country’. But then I guess that’s how these guys been working. In fact I am told the department I work is considered the most efficient department in the Government. Hmmm…J Most of the people here keep self-boasting about their achievements, which is sort of weird for me but I understand is the norm here.

WORK-LIFE: The only thing people take seriously is the Barbeque, Beer and Beach. Work comes last to the majority. People are hell bent on the so called work-life balance. Nobody stays a minute extra to the 7 or 8 hours of work. I have never heard anything as Urgent is my last 3 months here, whereas Urgency was a norm every minute in the Middle East. Another interesting aspect is people don’t like travelling more than 30 minutes to work from their homes. Well, for someone who is used to travelling a lot to go for work this was amusing. Everyone is relaxed here. No shouting, no tensions, stress free for me. The stress handling capability levels are diminished for people here. I sometimes wonder how they would react if those guys were to work in India J

HOUSE CONSTRUCTION: None of the houses (except Apartments) are built with RCC. Bricks are used for external and the entire interior walls (gypsum partitions) including the roof are made of timber (battens and cement tiles-similar to Mangalore tiles). Some of the guys do ask me what is the use of RCC? And are these better than existing mode? J For the expensive prices, doesn’t interest me in buying a house here.

Australian Diaries 08 - Sydney Diaries 02 - Marketing, Selling....

26 Nov 2015 – 75 days since I landed in Sydney and time is flying. The one great news is I am now employed in Sydney. It has been five days joined since I joined my new employer. I have been analysing people about the way they act; project themselves and the actual capabilities. On the first count, looks like you have to really sell and market yourselves remarkably well, irrespective of the actual content that exists with individuals.

Marketing, Selling and creating dramas has never been my cup of tea. I am already beginning to wonder how to cope with these requirements. Success seems to be dependent on these traits. For someone with a laidback personality yet works with agility, sincerity coming over other aspects of work, the environment here seems to provide a challenge. Mind you, I only said, the environment not the work.

An example in the recent five days has been evident of my thoughts and apprehensions. A colleague assigned me a task (indirect assignment by an indirect manager). At first, I was asked if I was good at excel. I only replied downplaying my skills to – ‘Decent’. A couple of email copies served as the information and the task was assigned. Two hours later, with the task completed and issued back to the assigner, I only had admirations and positive feedback directed to me. All good things come to an end. Yes, this point ended my good times. For the next four hours, all work Mr. X performed was to keep staring at the excel sheet I had provided, make cosmetic changes and present it to the manager as ‘their’ work. I heard it over again and again, but alas as a new member I could not do anything. Well one man’s pain was another’s gain.

I am wondering if my way of working would indeed be successful. For someone who does not possess the traits to be successful in this environment, the struggle begins. All I remember now is the famous saying, Survival of the fittest!

Time to search a new one?

Australian Diaries 07 - Sydney Diaries 01 - The curious case of "Local Experience"

02 Nov 2015 – 50^th day in Sydney today. An incredible journey so far, with disappointment superseding all other positives. This disappointment has been on a professional front. Yes and as everyone must have guessed it by now, it is all owing to my ‘not employed’ status.

The picture you see on the internet is lot more different to the reality in Australia. I did get an intrinsic feeling of the unlimited jobs that were available when I found them on job boards. I was so engulfed in the outer picture that my brain ceased to work on the details. It was only when I landed here and understood the way recruitment works; I realized the real depth of job availability. Well, I should say, the depth was very shallow. The reason being, one job, is advertised by many recruiters in different styles. Alas, I was blindfolded, apparently by the effective marketing capabilities of the innumerable recruiters.

I have always believed that my profile, skills and talent was commendable by any knowledgeable industry professional. Whilst this may have partly played part in the recruiters picking up the phone and enquiring additional details, the one common question I am asked is – “Do you have experience working in Australia”. It is a lethal question indeed, to crash and diminish the hopes of a candidate like me. No matter what you have done elsewhere, people are very concerned about your local experience, in an era of globalization. More importantly, even though they know I am a new / legal skilled immigrant in line with the very policies of the federal government to address the so called 'skill shortage' issue.

I have tried to answer this question in many realistic ways. I had drawn comparisions with Australia’s demographics and explained the far more multi-cultural environment I come from, say, middle east. I have tried explaining people that people skills takes lead in people management and is not a concern irrespective of the location. But, well, all said and done, these have fallen into deaf ears. I have had a recent experience wherein the recruiter was highlighting the fact that the construction methodology was different. I only had to ask him, if the roof was laid first here, before the foundations? Understandably, I had no answer on this point.

Just as I am writing this piece, I receive yet another call from a recruiter, asking me if I have a local experience. This time, I had to be brutal and straight. I responded by stating that, well – all the callers, like you, have only been asking me if I have local experience. But everyone seems to forget that unless someone gives me an opportunity, I will continue to have NO local experience. A deafening silence and a typical smile followed from the other end. All I get to hear later on was the routine closure dialogue – Thank you and we shall come back to you later. 50 days and I now know, nobody does!

Australian Diaries 6 - Melbourne Stay - Part 2

21 June 2015: My personal journey in Australia ended and it was time to return back to Qatar. I have encountered many events, analysed the place, people, situations and the services in general what Australia had to offer. Whilst there may be many more intricate details available or to be explored in the future, I have written and shared my thoughts below based on my stay of nearly one month in Australia.

 

Government Services:

Our first trip mandated that we register and enroll ourselves in various government services. Contrary to my experiences of visiting government offices in India and the Middle East, Australian experience was “EXTREMELY POSITIVE”. Everybody listens to you, treats you with dignity, accords respect and most importantly gives a sense of belonging. At first, most of the government offices we visited were paperless. Ipads were the norms for personnel working in the reception area. They carefully enter the purpose of visit, enquire the details and request you to be seated for the name to be called up. Then, a courteous government official coming out of the chair, calls up your name and greets you with respect. Subsequently, we are escorted to his seated area and ensured that all requirements are completed. What drew me was the fact that these officials went out of their way to help, assist and ensure there were no hassles in domain areas not related to them as well. We could have easily been directed to another department, but then as we lay seated, the official went up to altogether a different department, enquired the status and was worried that we were not onboard the medical system despite being 3 days since submitting applications. The official finally had a sigh of relief when he was told that the centre in which we registered for medicare was very busy and had a lag of applications that were supposed to be entered on the system. A week later, we were up there on the system. I could have easily cribbed and complained about the slow system, but this is a testament of the fact that human touch in customer service overcomes any minor negativity. Lack of adequate staff is visible and, therefore, everyone is encouraged to enroll online for the services that are offered online. An interesting notice board on all government offices is - “Aggressive behaviour is not tolerated”.  Wow!!! Good for me atleast J else I would have been lost amidst aggressive humans.

 

Banking Services:

By now, we got to know courtesy and politeness are key in dealing with people in Australia. Please, sorry and thank you are very common words used, for very basic and simple things. The process was easy too, as I had opened my bank account from overseas. All I had to do was activate my account and grab my debit cards. The debit cards experience seemed creepy. Not going further, considering the security aspect for banking in India and especially the Middle East, I guess Banking security in Australia needs a lot of improvement.  So, my personal rating for this service is – NEUTRAL. Unlike in other countries, banking is a very costly element in Australia. Account holders get charged (monthly) for maintaining accounts in Banks (apart from one bank which doesn’t charge the account holders). There are no free transactions for with drawls from ATM. Every transaction is charged. Interest rates are very low for savings accounts. I was wondering if this is the reason for the ‘no saving’ culture J

 

Shopping Malls:

Shopping Malls in Australia is an interesting subject of my Australia visit. As a Middle East resident, I am used to shopping malls being open till 1am (late night!). However, Shopping malls in Australia are shut down by 5.30pm in the evenings. I was surprised to note that the malls are open for only two days till late night, that too, the late night being 9pm (on Thursdays & Fridays only). The reason I have been told by some Australian Residents is that it is part of the Health & Safety Culture (read – Crime Prevention). Oh, gosh! It took me a week to took me out of this shock. Whilst I still cannot come out of this weird mall culture, I guess I will have to leave with it.

 

Entertainment:

As an avid cricket fan (former), I have heard that Australia is known for Beer. Rather, Australians are known for their love of Beer, BBQ and the Beaches. Summer times in general are known to have beaches crammed with people sunbathing, surfing, swimming and many more! We were there in winter and obviously the beaches were empty. I guess not the right place to be when temperature hovers in the range of 0-12 deg Celsius during the day. The little penguins though were a sight to watch.

Well, all that is left for the entertainment is the scenic natures beauty, pubs and the clubs. I am wondering if there is anything else for entertainment except for seeing, eating and drinking. A paradise for the tourist and avid nature followers, I must admit.

 

Society:

Australian society in general encourages people to be ‘Independent’. Nobody bothers about what you do, as long as you don’t come in others way. They are helpful when you seek help though. The numerous helps we received when we were lost in our navigation to the desired destination was an example.

For those, especially from India, who are often used to hearing that beggars exist only in India. Well, be aware that they do exists in Australia too. Again, they are classified in different terminologies. If I am not wrong, they are called as ‘Buskers’ in Australia. I have witnessed talented buskers with impeccable  acting skills, street dances, musical abilities – drums, guitar, saxophone, key boards etc performing in an effort to seek money into the hats they place in front of them. I guess the singers on the trains or the street performers in India are equally talented. The only difference lies in the way people behave. The request for money is not assertive or forceful in Australia.

The homeless exists too, often accompanied by the trusted dogs. Many of them have their names and reasons for begging written on cardboards and placed in front of them. These guys do not perform or even open their mouth. All they do is show the cardboard expecting a few coins in their hats. I did notice though few gentlemen offering them food and exchanging words with these homeless people.

The other jobs:

The lure of the dollar often encompasses the human feelings and strives to strengthen necessity of earning to sustain a living. Australia, in general, does not alter the respect to human kind irrespective of the nature of job you perform. BE it laundy or the cleaning jobs or the waiter jobs in pubs, clubs or hotels, you are respected in the society for being human. This in the basic reason for people to take up these jobs irrespective of the education background possessed.

Competition is intense, irrespective of the nature of jobs. Voluntary jobs are equally fierce, as these serve as a stepping tool to gain local experience for the often job hunting immigrants who are skilled but lack local Australian experience.

 

Conclusion:

The first personal opinion is that it is not AUSTRALIA. It is just Australia, another country in a different hemisphere on this planet Earth. From an Indian perspective, Australia offers a diverse range of options just like India. The cleanliness and the orderliness apart, the only difference between touring Australia and India would be the Kangaroos. I guess India has Royal Bengal Tigers in lieu of the Kangaroos. Jokes apart, Australia has varied versions of flora and fauna, true to its regional existence in the southern hemisphere.

One major factor noticeable in Australia has been the existence of “Human Values”. I guess most of the world has seen human values being diminished. But for some reason, Australia still possesses in my personal opinion a very high respect for human values.

The value of dollar is very high in Australia. Every dollar is highly valued. I guess this is related to the fact that dollar is actually drying up in the hands of people, with not enough jobs and of course not being paid enough. The cost of living is noticeably high, but the salaries are strikingly low. This makes me feel scared though!

Finally, what did I achieve out of my Australia trip? Well, I seem to love India the more I explore the world (Incredible, isn’t it!) Second, I have begun to love Qatar for what it has to offer (Yep!). Third, I did decide though, irrespective of all my observations and opinions, the ten thousand dollar bill spent immigrating to Australia can only be recovered by accomplishing the ultimate objective of Australian Citizenship (Hurray!!!)

So……well; the Australian journey continues!

 

 

 

Australian Diaries 5: Melbourne Stay - Part 1

18 June 2015 - It has been 20 days in Australia. These 20 days has given me an altogether different insight of Australia. I am pretty sure that if not for this on the ground visit, my illusion of Australia would have been contrary to the reality that exists in this part of the world.

Let me take you through the journey I have had since landing on 29 May 2015. Whilst my previous post detailed my observation on the landing day, this post blazes through my eyes, brain and heart.

30 May 2015 : Our landing was on a Friday, so the weekend (Sat & Sun) was planned as the time to search for our accomodation for the remaing duration of our stay in Australia. Strolling around in Melbourne without local mobile phone and cellular data was difficult for someone new here. So our first stop - Local mobile phone service providers. We discussed options with our hosts, had a rough idea of the route and the proceeded to our journey. As always, we were lost. Fortunately, we found two Indian guys walking on our way. Understanding our enquiry, they lead us through the desired destination. Exchanging of info revealed that they were from Bangalore. Namma kannada overtook all emotions. We also accepted their advise and knowing were less than 14 hours in Melbourne, they personally took us to the Railway station, made us purchase local public transport cards for easier movement in Melbourne. They also showed us the service provider after some suggestions. There you go now, we were at it all alone again. But this time in the right direction and at our destination quickly.

We chose, Telstra, as our service provider. Telstra is similar to BSNL in India. Uncertainity in our final destination made us pick this option. Easy number portability at the back of our minds, we chose our respective plans. So, finally secured our local phone numbers. It seemed as though we would have our tasks easy after securing our local phone numbers. Actually, it did in reality.

We chose to go back, register on local classifieds, use our local phone number and identify spaces for rent. All done, a couple of hours later, we were their at one of the spaces for inspection. One shot, One view and our accomodation for the remaining duration of my stay was accomplished. I guess, target well achieved. I bet nobody else would have even dared to think of taking up a search in an unkown country with unknown people at this quick pace. Not even 24 hours since we landed in Melbourne, we closed a deal.

In the midst of all the above, our stomachs were scramblling with emptiness. A visit to an indian restaurant was mandated by brain and heart. A $25 bill for 2 thali's seemed a good deal. But all we had on the plate was half naan each, a small cup of rice (read so called Biryani) and 2 curries. Well, this was not what we wanted. Our stomachs remained empty and we were on a seach for some vegetarian respite. Ever wondered who the saviour was? Well, it was SUB-WAY. I first tasted subway in Doha. Good that I did in Doha, else we would still be searching for our vegetarian option in the streets of Melbourne.

31 May 2015: Our planned targets achieved, we had the almigty to thank. Thats when we decided to visit "Hare Krishna Temple" (ISKCON). This also gave us an opportunity to move in Trains, Trams and walk around the city. Heading to South Melbourne, crossing through the downtown (CBD area) gave us an insight into what Melbourne offered. I must admit, for a tourist, the weather, place, people would have been heavenly. As a job seeker, this did not matter much. Probably the enthusiasm and zeal would only be reflected once we accomplish the objective of securing jobs for ourselves, however small it may be.

ISKCON had australian priests. A small but beautiful place in a posh locality. Most of them would not know it exists, barring Indians. They provide free food. We did have it along with the many Indians who gathered in the temple vicinity. A noteable observation was we also saw many local homeless families / people queing up for this free Indian food. Our thoughts wandered on seeing this plight. But I guess this is something that we did not expect.

All done, in the cold afternoon, we headed to South Melbourne beach. The winds surpassed our walking pace, making us go back and get into the tram service to the downtown. In downtown area,, we visited National Gallery of Victoria (Museum). A stroll outside on the road, we saw roadside hawkers and buskers. India seemed reflected here, just that here it is orderly and sensible with no shouting. The Arts precinct, GPO, Yarra river and the buildings made a good view. A mall on the south bank of the river gave us an opportunity for window shopping. Across the river, crossing the railway station, we had an insight into the interior spaces of downtown.

A recce of our destinations, based on the planned tasks, was also executed. We surely did make use of technology. GPS was our best friend, guiding through the streets. The locals were very kind and helpful. Making sure we understood their directions correctly. On the way, we found one more vegetarian option. The middle east famous "Falafel"   was our companion to satisfy our hunfer. The falafel rolls, french fries, subway sandwiches made sure we were alive and kicking in Melbourne.

It was an interesting two days. The week may have ended, but a new start in our life was already made. No matter the place, all kinds of people exist everywhere. These two days made us love INDIA more and more, for as the saying goes, there is no place like INDIA. Infact I can strongly say, now, there isn't a better place than INDIA.