Hi all,
My wife is looking for a job in a new country and city, and has a valid working visa that is unconditional. Should she disclose information about her visa on her cover letter or resume, and should she state that she recently moved to Brisbane or why she is here?
Similiarly, she has been given a conditional registration as an occupational therapist by the regulatory board here. She will need to be supervised by another OT for her first 6 months of work. Should she state this anywhere on her cover letter or resume?
We moved to Brisbane together for my career and she is now looking for work. Her visa is attached to my visa and is unconditional for number of hours, types of work, or anything else! All of her experience is in Canada.
Australian laws are very
Australian laws are very particular in relation to employing persons with the correct Visa and qualifications. Canadian qualifications are generally well respected here.
In my experience, I would state on the Resume that she has a valid visa (specify the visa type - i.e. the number).
In relation to the conditional registration, again it is very important that your wife practices within the conditions. I am not sure of the Queensland legislation, but in NSW we have the Health Care Complaints Commission, and if there was a complaint and she was found not to be operating within the conditions, that would have a serious impact on her career.
I would think that most health focused employment agencies would be able to find a role with the appropriate supervision, possibly in a hospital or a large OT clinic.
Hope that helps.
Hi
Hi Fizzagan,
Coincidentally I am working as an OT in Brisbane in a management role.
I would suggest your wife include in her cover letter that she has an unconditional visa as the prospect of needing to sponsor a worker may be a deterrent for some employers.
I would also recommend that she specify that she has conditional registration and a requirement for 6 months of supervised practice. Employers should check registration as part of the recruitment process and disclosing the conditional registration status will put your wife on the front foot. Obviously she should provide a resume and cover letter highlighting her experience and transferable skills. OTs are generally in demand and the need for supervision/practice audit is not a deal breaker - my experience with this situation is that usually the OT can see patients/clients independently without having the supervisor physically present during treatment sessions.
In terms of addressing the move in her cover letter, I would keep it brief, but include information that indicates how long she would be in Brisbane to reassure employers that she is not going to start a job and leave soon after.
Best of luck with your move to Brisbane, I'm sure you'll love it!
Cover letter visa declaration
I'm a US citizen who's been living in Melbourne, Australia for the last fifteen years. I've long since learned to mention my citizenship and visa status in the very first sentence of all of my cover letters -- if it's not there prominently, my interviewers tend to get a brief panicked look in their eyes when they hear my accent for the first time, and I have to waste the first few minutes of an interview reassuring them that yes, I do have the proper visa to legally work in the country.
My experience has been that being up-front about it on the cover letter defuses the issue entirely, and keeps it from becoming a discussion point at the interview, which is where every minute really counts.
hi, I've recently changed
hi,
I've recently changed countries and i've found a great deal of success by stating i'm available immediatley and have a valid employment visa.
Also coming from Australia it is a pain in the **** to get visa's for potential employees your wife should definitely state up front that she can work as it will be one less reason for the hiring manager to say no.
cheers
Stephen
DISC: 7511