So you are applying for the jobs in Australia but you’re not getting any response back or getting a rejections in all the job applications.

You might be wondering what are you doing wrong in your job applications that you are not getting a job here.

We went and did some research and we found there are 7 main reasons you are not getting a job in Australia as an international student.

In this article, we are going to talk about all these seven reasons and how to address them as well.

1. Poor Resume

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One of the first reason we identified that the students are not getting a job is because of poor resumes.

Resume is the most important part of your job application in Australia and you could be doing some of the mistakes in your resume that you probably are not aware about.

Some of the common mistakes that international students make in their resume includes:

• Not following the correct format

Australian style resume could be really different then the resume is used in your home country. In Australia, we don’t include some of the personal information in our resume like:

• Date of birth
• Gender
• Religion
• Race
• Photo

It is vital that you follow Australian style resume when you’re applying your jobs here and making sure that your resume looks professional all times.

Generally, an Australian style resume will follow this pattern:

• Contact details
• Key Strengths
• Work expereince
• Education
• References
• Skills
• Availability

But it can vary a bit based on the whether you are applying for a part-time, casual or a full-time job.

You can download a free resume template here and see how it looks likes. You can and should customise this resume for your job applications here.

We also got this quick video on how to write an Australian style resume for part time and casual jobs in Australia.

• Same generic resume to all the job applications

It is very tempting and easy to send the same resume again and again because let’s be honest it saves you heaps of time.

But in reality if you customize your resume before sending it for your job application, you actually have a higher chance of getting an interview rather than sending a same generic sort of resume.

In order to address this situation, all you need to do is make sure that you customise your resume for every job application.

So let’s say if you’re applying for a job in McDonald’s or supermarket or for a job role in reception area, the resume should look different for job application.

• Spelling errors and grammar mistakes

Another mistake that a lot of students make in the resume is not checking the spelling errors and grammar.

We completely understand that English might not be your first language but sending a resume which has lots of spelling errors and mistakes doesn’t help you cause of getting a job.

To address this situation, if you’re not confident about your grammar and English then we suggest you to get someone else to have a look at it before you submit it.

So get someone else to proofread your resume before you send it for your job application. You can get support from your institute or student bodies. Some government agencies like Gold Coast Student Hub also can help you to check your resume.

• Unprofessional email address

Believe it or not but your unprofessional email address like ([email protected]) does not impress your prospective employer.

Now think about it for a moment, if your resume looks really great and the recruiter is really impressed with your resume and work experience and they’re about to send you an email and if your email address does not look professional it might put them off.

So you could lose a job opportunity just because of your email address. You certainly don’t want that happen to you.

So make sure that your email address looks professional. It is very easy and free to get yourself a new email address if you don’t have one that looks professional like ([email protected]).

2. Poor communication skills

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Although, there is no official language in Australia. English is most commonly spoken language.

But we do understand that your English may not be up to scratch when you come here for the first time. Apart from English language, other reason could be understanding the Australian accent.

Obviously, Australians love to use their slang and they like to shorten everything they say.

To address your communication problems, it is recommended not to hang out too much with your own community when you are here.

We’re not saying that you should completely disconnect from your own community but try to maybe find a accommodation where you can stay with the people from other countries or cultures.

In that way, you won’t have any option other speaking English with them and you will be forced to learn the lanaguge.

Another way to address this situation is by watching English TV shows or English movies and making sure you are watching them without captions.

Other ways to improve English includes reading newspapers, reading information online, reading books.

Also, we suggest you to go out meet as many people as you can so that will not only increase your network but it will also help you to improve your communication skills.

If you want to learn some Australian slang we’ve got you covered in this video:

3. Lack of local work experience

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You might be applying different sort of job roles in Australia but if you don’t have any work experience at all and you haven’t included that in your resume then it can be very difficult for you to get a job in Australia.

Lot of employers actually prefer if you have a local work experience in your resume.

To address this, we suggest you to look for some volunteer opportunities around your work areas if you don’t have any work experience.

There are many volunteer organisations that always look for some volunteers to help the community with various tasks.

Even though it’s not a paid job, you still get some work experience that you can include in your resume

Volunteering, not only helps you to get a work experience but it also helps to improve your overall personality.

You can also learn other soft skills like teamwork, communication, organising, management and other interpersonal skills. So we highly recommend you to do that in order to address this lack of work experience in your resume.

4. Lack of references

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As mentioned in the first point earlier, you need to include some work references in your resume and if you have no work experience it becomes really difficult for you to first of all get any sort of work references.

To address this situation, we suggest ask your teachers or professors or lecturers if they can become your reference for your work.

If you can show to your lecturers or tutors that you are a good student more likely they are going to give you a reference.

So make sure to have a good relationship with your tutor trainer and demonstrate or show that you are a good student.

Again, volunteering can help here again, if you work with specific supervisors or managers, then they can become your referee’s.

We do not suggest you to include any fake work experience or any fake work references in your resume.

5. No Cover Letter

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Part of the job application usually will require you to send a cover letter along with our resume.

If you’re not sending any cover letter at all then that could be the reason you are not getting a job in Australia or

The other reason could be that you are sending a same generic cover letter for all your job applications.

To address this, we suggest sending a customised cover letter for your job applications.

If you customise your cover letter along with your resume, then you have a high chance of getting a job interview than the other job applicants.

Even if the job application does not require you to submit a cover letter, we actually suggest that you send a cover letter with your resume.

The main reason for this is that many other job applicants will not be sending their cover letter so if you do send your cover letter, you actually have a better probability of scoring that job

If you don’t know how to write a good cover letter, we got a free template for an Australian style cover letter here.

Please customise your cover letter before you send it to any employer basically every job you apply you need to customize your cover letter and your resume as well.

If you want a guide on how to write a good cover letter, then we suggest you watch this quick video:

6. Lack of networking

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Most of the jobs these days are advertised online and you are required to apply for them online as well.

But that doesn’t mean that you should not go out and meet people and do networking with our peers and professionals in your industry.

One of the common reason for international students not getting a job is because they are not going out and meeting the people and creating their network within Australian community.

Networking is still one of the most popular way of scoring a job in Australia. It might be surprise for some of you that 70% of the jobs are never advertised as people get hired due to references or their network.

To address this situation, we suggest you to join some student associations, english speaking clubs, sports clubs, industry bodies or other organisations.

These clubs and organizations usually organise events every week or monthly. So make sure you attend these events and network with the like minded people.

Also make sure to check the calendar of activities that your college, Institute or university is planning for the next few weeks.

Especially if you don’t have any other job to do, we highly recommend you to attend as many networking sessions as you can.

There are many apps like Eventbrite, Meetup where you can find local events happening around your area.

We highly recommend you to join some Facebook groups in your local city or community and be part of their Facebook group and attend some of the events that these Facebook groups organise.

Again, volunteering is one of the other way to network with people from all walks of life.

Networking is one of the most important way you can score a job here in Australia. So don’t hide behind the closed doors, don’t be shy, go out and meet people.

7. Lack of availability

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The last reason is the lack of availability especially if you are applying for a part-time jobs in Australia.

In your resume, you will usually need to include availability.

So let’s say you’re looking for a job in a hospitality industry, if you are not giving enough availability during the weekends or during the evenings to the employers, then that could be the reason why you’re not getting a job here in Australia.

You might be wondering how on earth I have no availability if I don’t have any job at all.

As per your study schedule, you will have to study for around 20 hours per week here in Australia on a student visa.

And some time a timetable from your Institute or University spreads out on 4 to 5 days or it spreads out in the evenings that can certainly affect your availability to work.

To address this situation, many institutes and universities give you a chance to choose your own timetable when you start studying here.

So the ideal way to handle this situation is to choose your timetable nice and early because usually there are very limited time slots available in each classroom.

So instead of studying over 4 to 5 days you can choose a time table where you can finish all your classes in 1 to 2 days and then you can provide an additional availability to your employers.

Well these are the 7 main reasons why you as an international student might not be getting a job in Australia and we hope the strategies can help you to fix these issues.

All the best with your job applications.