I immigrated to Australia about 5-1/2 years ago. My daughter had entered a private college in the states, an intensive programme that would have her ready for vet school in four years and although she had scholarships, grants, and the lot, it was not nearly enough. I came here to make money.

I knew nobody to ask. Therefore, I used the internet to see what was out there, what they called things like social workers (ex: in the charity organisation circle, they called them Welfare Support Workers) I then cleaned up my resume, using Australian words for certain tasks so that they would translate more smoothly, and the first place I went to asked me, “Are you Christian.” in the interview. I said, “No. I am Jewish.” The interviewer answered, “Then you know what Christian values are. Good. What if a resident was having a spiritual crisis?” I replied, “I would direct them to the chaplain or, as I see, you have plenty of copies of the bible here. If I was not able to get in contact with the chaplain, I would direct them to psalms and help them find some comfort from them.”

I was then asked, “When is the soonest date you can start?”
I replied, “Today?”
The interviewer stated they had to have me fill out some paperwork to check my immigration/work status and would then put me on the roster.

1. I spent an hour on the internet/computer in an internet cafe and printed out a new resume. Cost = $10.00 plus .50 cents a copy for printing.

2. I walked to the closest service to my house, which happened to be the first on my list. Cost = a bit of shoe leather.

3. I spent one hour in an interview and one hour filling out the necessary documents. Cost = + $60.00. They PAID ME for my time!!!

4. In two weeks I was working my desired days, had Shabbos off, as I had inisited upon, and still work at the same place, over 4-years later.

Your post is exemplary. Employers get thousands of online applications and resumes for one small advertised job. They get many more queries when they do not even have jobs available. No longer do most offices store resumes and applications. They don’t have the room.

Pounding the pavement is an excellent way to find a job. Greeting others who show an interest and telling people you meet what you are doing is an excellent way of networking when you are new to an area or have exhausted your existing network.

Actually getting dressed for an interview and showing up with resume in hand is often the best way to get an actual interview without having to stand in a queue of over 1,000 other, possibly equally qualified individuals. To me, that would be so disheartening.

Congratulations on your new job. And thank you for the mitzvoh of sharing the good old fashioned way of searching face to face for a position.

Our parents might not have a blackberry, but they always seemed to have jobs – they just might be smarter than they appear.

Cheers from Australia,

Leeba