12 March 2009

A good time to job search in Canberra?

| notmuchtosay
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Recently I have been toying with the idea of looking for a new job, but with all the doom and gloom I’m greeted with in the daily news, is this the best time for job hunting?

I check out the usual web haunts, Seek and www.apsjobs.gov.au and the numbers of jobs seem pretty good but I’d like to hear what your experiences are if you have been job hunting recently.

What’s the Canberra job market like a the moment? Is Canberra somewhat sheltered with all the Govi work available?

I work in IT as a Manager at a private company, I suspect IT may not be effected as much as some industries but that’s not to say the number of job applicants won’t rise making it harder to get a job. Should I just be appreciative that I have an income right now?

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private ent is finding it pretty tough too. But there are some companies bucking the trend. And I am fortunate in that they are my clients.

canberra bureaucrat9:40 pm 12 Mar 09

“I think Canberra will be pretty sheltered from the GFC.”

Though do remember that the 09/10 budget is going to be VERY tight for the public service. Departments will be doing everything they can to keep their staff, and consultant/contractor budgets will be pruned well before staffing. Also, new projects will be canned, delayed, or downscaled (with the exception of those that are “stimulating”, in the $42bn stimulus sense). I don’t want to appear overly gloomy of course, but Canberra will have a better sense of GFC implications (whatever they are) when the budget is out in May. So watch this space…

notmuchtosay3:47 pm 12 Mar 09

RandomGit said :

I never ceases to amaze me how many people can tick all the boxes on a programmers job spec, but couldn’t rub two peices of code together to save their lives. I suspect everyone lies on their resume.

I suggest you keep your income until after September. Don’t take a risk now.

I guess thats the beauty of Private Ent. There are no guidelines for recruiting, we can test them as we wish. After September you say, why September? I’ve heard that things are going to continue downhill til’ 2011.

el said :

Clicks IT (PeterH mention them above) do ICT contracting stuff. The contracting market has kinda crapped itself recently, though.

depends on where the contracts are. with the gershon report of doom and gloom, contractors are looking elsewhere. there are several IT companies who have laid off staff, but there are others who are putting more on. Jan will know what is available.

Clicks IT (PeterH mention them above) do ICT contracting stuff. The contracting market has kinda crapped itself recently, though.

notmuchtosay2:00 pm 12 Mar 09

Is there a specific IT recruitment agency, or are they a dime a dozen? Seek has always been my resource.

farnarkler said :

My god Gumby it would be 1.2 million badly dressed Canberrans.

200% LOL

farnarkler said :

My god Gumby it would be 1.2 million badly dressed Canberrans.

…especially if you see the kind of thing that wins racecourse fashion competitions!

My god Gumby it would be 1.2 million badly dressed Canberrans.

have a chat to jan wills at clicks recruitment. Jan has been around for a long time and has usually got a few specific jobs on the books….

http://www.clicksrecruit.com.au

I think Canberra will be pretty sheltered from the GFC. The more initiatives the Government comes up with the more staff they need. There will be some cuts, but they will be made up for elsewhere. Wasn’t there an article in the Canberra Times a few weeks back about how Canberra has enough retail shopping for a population of 1.2million?? We must only have about 350,000!!

SOS recruitment helped me and quite a few other people I ended up working with, DMD. What sort of work are you looking for?

Notmuchtosay: Depends which department you work for. Defence can seemingly continue to spend as they wish, while smaller departments/agencies are really feeling the squeeze.

DMD, my favourite agency is Cantlie. They are quite refreshing to deal with. Also Hudsons are getting good raps again (I used to like them, and they’ll be my 2nd option if needed).

notmuchtosay11:10 am 12 Mar 09

Thanks peterh, thats very kind. I’m kind of just kicking tyres at the moment…I might just be just having a bad month *shrug*
In my current position/workplace we havent seen any changes, i.e. the ‘GFC’ has had no impact thus far.
I recall an older post of a Canberran Public Servant losing their job recently due to these factors, not something I have heard a lot of?

Deadmandrinking11:04 am 12 Mar 09

Realityskin, it’s down 40% in Victoria…believe me!

I just moved back up here in the hopes of finding something to put me over till I move back down. Can anyone recommend a good employment agency? I’m trying Manpower because apparently they specialize in temp contracts, which I’m interested in (although I’ll pretty much take anything atm!). Anyone else know anyone?

I’m looking too, and there are jobs around, but I don’t think employers are quite as desperate as they were…. that’s just gut feeling mind you, I haven’t approached anyone yet. Last week’s jobs bit in the CT seemed a lot thinner than usual.

Seek is down 40% apparently

Notmuchtosay, there are jobs around, both in private and the public service, but you need to provide more info re what you are looking for. I have had a couple of clients searching for specific requirements, in the private sector, and have managed to place one or two people – one from the RA Community, into their open positions.

Good luck with the searching, if you need assistance, let me know what you are looking for. My email is peterdotholland98@gmaildotcom – I am not a recruiter, but i do hear of jobs from time to time…

I never ceases to amaze me how many people can tick all the boxes on a programmers job spec, but couldn’t rub two peices of code together to save their lives. I suspect everyone lies on their resume.

I suggest you keep your income until after September. Don’t take a risk now.

If you do, be prepared for a lot of buttering up and applying but not too many interviews.

I’d agree that there are some jobs about. I too am looking for a change but I am also looking for a really well reasonably specific relocation based on my skills and interest. Much of my thought process about changing jobs also relates to family issues as well. Good lcuk with the seraching.

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