Anyone here from Australia? What’s the job market like, who are the major players in the financial industries, and do you knowof what the placement process would be like for an American citizen?
Are you trying to get out of the states?
I mainly want a job, but I’m young and mobile, so AUS doesn’t sound terrible.
Im in Australia right now… The market isnt pretty…but it isnt as bad as the US… Most of the big banks operate here (UBS, GS (thru its JV with JB Were), Citi, JPM, MS and Merill)…Im not sure if Lehman has a big presence here. and then theres Macquarie as well… Im not sure what the process is for an American citizen…If you are not eligible for a working holiday visa… you’d need to be sponsored by the company you want to work for
Dwight Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Are you trying to get out of the states? any ideas?
I’m in Sydney. Just to touch on the financial job market here. Bad is the word I’ll use. Look through pages and pages of job ad, mostly looking for ops contractors. Hardly any decent position available. The only industry is hiring is financial planner (some private banking dealer group is recruiting) but then local complaince (PS146, RG146) is always prerequisite.
Perennial is a good firm. I used to deal with them a little (sending client reports). In addition to the big firms already mentioned check out the Supers (Sunsuper, Visionsuper, Healthsuper) etc. They are equivalent to the major pension funds in the US and have top notch investment teams.
Hi Black Swan, I moved from New York to Sydney about a year and a half ago. The major banks here are UBS, Macquarie, Goldman, Citi, Merrill, Morgan Stanley, JPM, Investec, Caliburn and Lehman are here as Grange Securities. Like Syd_Re said the market isn’t great here, but definitely better than New York at the moment. Merrill and UBS just let go a lot of their IB staff, but a couple of banks are hiring. The big 4 four accounting firms also have corporate finance positions. Company sponsorship is definitely the way to go, I came over on a work holiday visa (3 months work and 2 months holiday) I worked at Macquarie in margin lending in a temp posistion while I was looking for full time work / sponsorship. I’d recommend setting up a job from the states before you come over. It’s pretty nerve racking trying to find a job in this market in just a few months. Also you’d want to get a 457 working visa. (allows you to work here for 4 years with the same company and you pay a lot less taxes that way)
thanks guys, good stuff. Looks like I’ll probably have to get into a firm here, then transfer after a year or two
Good answers from the guys above. Job market is somewhat depressed. I’m in Melbourne. Maybe also check efinanialcareers, seek.com.au, mycareer.com.au & the CFA Jobline to get a gauge on things.
BS, also for list of brokers check out asx.com.au - under asx participation - find a broker.
Anyone know much about Brisbane for investment management? I realise it’s not a hub, but I did see a couple of investment firms: QIC, suncorp etc - but is much done up there?
Black Swan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Dwight Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Are you trying to get out of the states? > > > any ideas? No unfortunately. I am in a similar position - young and mobile. I am interested in the responses here, but too comfortable in the US to really move. It’s nice to think about the possibilities though.
Haven’t done any research but by the number of headhunters that approach me for a job in London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam I can’t imagine the market there is very bad.
Yo Black Swan. I was out there for a year and have some friends that live and work out there, both Sepo’s and Oz’s. A couple of my American friends haven’t come back. Best way is to get sponsored and transfer, but if not my friends will have some good advice on how to best get your work visa. They went the hard way and said it’s a pain in the @ss, but once you learn some of the tricks can definitely be done. If you get serious about it give me a shout out and I’ll get their take on it. Easiest way is go there on vacation, find a hot super model similar to a hot Elle MacPherson (younger though) with a lot of business connections and get married.
GMofDen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Easiest way is go there on vacation, find a hot > super model similar to a hot Elle MacPherson > (younger though) with a lot of business > connections and get married. I did this. But sadly she doesn’t have any business connections 
I’m sold, booking a flight now. GM, I will certainly take you up on that around February.
Get on good terms with management and senior management in your US company when you jump on the boat. After you have established that you are a good worker, start looking for opportunities in Australia through your firm and communicate that you want to transfer in your quarterly or semi-annual reviews with your manager. My friend Chris started in Oct. 06 at my company, worked a solid year, established himself, communicated to management about AUS, got the approval in Jan. 07 and moved to AUS in June 08. Good thing was that he negotiated his salary in AUS currency when the dollar was not completely bombed, and when he transferred, was a pretty good deal. I work in consulting - but I am sure it is similar with the big banks around the US. Maybe easier for the banks as most of the top people seem to want to go to NY rather than the other way around.
- IBs are laying off - CBs are laying off - Local independent IBs are laying off - PE & HF not hiring but not laying off either (could be some exceptions here) - Big-4 accounting firms are hiring up to 500 fresh recruits each year - still. Not all accounting grads. So if you’re coming from eg US you have a chance if you have something extra to add - eg post-grad, good experience, etc. Best plan would be to get transferred from your existing firm. - Fund managers are hiring still - but not in the numbers of previous years - brokers need resources skills - Canadians have good skill sets - the big growth sector is pension fund admin - all roles from clerical, product dev, IT, accounting, admin, sales (financial planners, advisors), asset consulting, etc - but most roles require local knowledge of the specific rules - but can pick up fairly quickly + do local compliance courses quickly. Economy still strong - unemployment only 4-5% will rise slightly, inflation about 4%, real GDP growth will be 2% - 2.5%-ish for next couple of years, then resume to 3%-3.5%-ish long term path Sydney & Melbourne are the main financial centres Perth is centre of mining/resources sector (and home to thousands of black swans - literally) Brisbane - big country town - but it’s the centre of the huge migration of retirees to the sun - so lots of service industries - health, lifestyle, etc - but not much serious financial sector roles good luck!