So, you want to go to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa

Im seriously thinking about heading out in september or october. And iv a few questions.
- Do they check that you have the AUD5000 before or after you buy the visa and pay for a flight over there?
- Do you's know what the cheapest form of accomodation would be?
- What cities have a good balance between goo craic and good employment ops?

Thanks,

How long is a piece of string? Ultimately, you will need to thing about how long you will work for (you should be able to earn significantly more than $300pw), where you will live, how much travel you want to do and what sort of activities you want to do along the way.

I generally spent $300pw, plus what I spent on 'big ticket' items such as my bus pass, skydiving and Fraser Island.

PS If you don't go home skint, you've not been doing it right

- They never actually check that you have the $5000 - whilst they could, in theory, I was never asked for proof and I don't know anyone else who was. In fact, I know one person who went there with £500 to his name.
- The cheapest form of accommodation depends on how long you're going to be in a location. If it's short term, then a hostel ($20 a night, give or take). If it's long term, then working for accommodation in a hostel gives free accommodation, or alternatively you might be able to find an existing house share with a spare room (one friend moved in with a group of Aussie students).
- For a balance between fun and employment opportunities, your best bets are the state capitals - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Darwin, Perth and Adelaide. Other towns tend to be far, far smaller and either so far off the backpacker trail that there's nothing to do, or flooded with other backpackers who also want jobs.

When you say that you can earn $300pw is that in a full time or PT job?

That's the best news iv heard all day lol.
Do you think it would be possible to hold a paid job while working for free accommodation in a Hostel?
I have heard that Perth is quite expensive, do you think this is true.

I managed to hold down both - most of the shifts in the hostel were 10am-1pm, and they organised the rota around other jobs that we had. Because most of the work was done in the morning, and most of the work in the hospitality industry (where almost all of my experience to date is) is done in the evening, it worked quite well.

However, if you're doing the 9-5 five days a week, then it's not going to work so well.

I've never been to Perth, but I've also not really heard anything about the living expenses there. That said, it would make sense that it costs more to live there - it's the world's most isolated modern city, which makes getting supplies there more expensive.

- They never actually check that you have the $5000 - whilst they could, in theory, I was never asked for proof and I don't know anyone else who was. In fact, I know one person who went there with £500 to his name.
- The cheapest form of accommodation depends on how long you're going to be in a location. If it's short term, then a hostel ($20 a night, give or take). If it's long term, then working for accommodation in a hostel gives free accommodation, or alternatively you might be able to find an existing house share with a spare room (one friend moved in with a group of Aussie students).
- For a balance between fun and employment opportunities, your best bets are the state capitals - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Darwin, Perth and Adelaide. Other towns tend to be far, far smaller and either so far off the backpacker trail that there's nothing to do, or flooded with other backpackers who also want jobs.

X

Is that not a bit dodgy, arriving with just £500? Was he so sure that he was going to get a job straight away and not struggle with money at any point?

Also, I think you mentioned before that it's vital to have experience for jobs like waitressing and bartending - is this true? I have no experience in those fields, although I do have some retail experience so would that translate in the same way?

I have a question, where do you get the confidence, and self-assurance to do something like this?

Very dodgy! He did find a job, but he came home after three months. I'm not sure why he came home after three months though - it could have been money (although I doubt it because he had a job), but it could have been that he just wanted to go home.

The hospitality industry is bizarrely keen on people having experience - goodness only knows why, because people pick it up all the basics in a day anyway. If you want to get some hospitality experience, then I'd suggest going to an agency (I know Off to Work operates in London, for instance), as they're invariably willing to take on people with no experience, and you let them know when you are available to work, so it doesn't interfere with anything else. Plus, because you might not work for them for a couple of weeks (or months) at a time, it allows you to give off the impression that you've got a lot more experience than you really have - you might only have done two shifts with them, but if they're six months apart then it looks like you have six month's experience on your CV! However, as you've got retail experience, then retail may be a better option for you.

I might be wrong (I can't check now because I've deleted a load of my private messages) I think it was you who private messaged me some hospitality agencies some months ago, and I did end up joining all of them. Don't recall getting any contact from them though . I think the job market in the UK is pretty ****ed no matter what I try

It might have been me - I have a vague memory of sending someone the details of a few agencies, but I can't remember who to, so it probably was you.

Did you ever ring them up afterwards to chase the applications?

I can't really remember, as I've been trying a lot of places in the past so many months. I might give it go again soon then.

Are you absolutely sure though that every hospitality job in Australia requires direct experience? That's quite absurd to hear, considering the fact that how is one supposed to get experience if they've not even been given the chance in the first place? Especially coming from a country like the UK, which isn't doing too well in the recession, which is of no fault of its citizens. Surely there must be some places that give newbies a chance?

Well no, it's just that experience is a great help in finding a job - especially because they realise that backpackers will be moving on sooner rather than later, and so they don't want to invest a lot of time and effort in training you, and then discover that you're leaving all of a sudden.

They're not going to be worried about the UK's economy / fairness - all they want is the best outcome for their business (harsh, but true).

OK. What if I were to pretend on my CV that I did have hospitality experience? Would they bother ringing up companies in the UK to find out?

Highly unlikely that they are actually going to check out any UK references - they certainly never did for me.

However, it'll show if you don' know how to carry three plates at once or pour a pint - find a friend who has worked in the industry to show you how to carry three plates (and practice, with frozen peas on the plates, so you can see they're not wobbling!), and find a friend who's a barmaid who can talk you through pouring a pint whilst you watch. Don't claim to have coffee / cocktail / silver service experience if you don't though!

Aha, good points. Thanks for the tips . Well, if I never manage to get any hospitality experience before I go, then maybe I can still easily get a job in a different field?