A lot has been going on these past few days...I must admit I've been quite lazy with the blog updates, sorry!
Firstly, as promised, here are a few pictures from Australia Day - My friend Ines and I walked around Circular Quay and the Rocks all afternoon, I must admit we were slightly disappointed by the street concerts around there, I was expecting it to be much busier. We headed to Darling Harbour in the evening for the fireworks...the long wait was definitely worth it, probably the best firework display I've seen in my life! I can't even imagine what it must be like on New Year's Eve!!!
I also experienced my first proper night out in Sydney last Friday (I'm sure there will be many more...) - Went to a pub in Surry Hills to meet Ines's colleagues - she works for a door-to-door sales company and they basically organize a team party every Friday. Met plenty of lovely people there and we all went clubbing to Soho in Kings Cross - awesome night overall ;) I really needed that!! I guess I'll be going to their parties on a regular basis, it's a really good way to meet new people every week.
Other than that, the job search and persistence definitely paid off :)
Here's what happened last week:
Tuesday: first group interview with ITS Management for the incoming customer support position - successful
Wednesday: interview with Cox Purtell recruitment agency, and follow-up with Quay Appointments
Thursday: second individual interview with ITS Management - successful; interview with the HPCA (Health Professional Councils Authority - through Quay Appointments) for a receptionist/secretarial assistant position - successful
So I basically got to pick and chose my job that very same day, and started on Monday this week!
I decided to go for the HPCA because it's very well paid (30 dollars per hour - therefore over double what I used to get paid back in France...for a receptionist job!!!), it's very close to where I live (it takes under 20 minutes to get there), the hours are good (8.30am to 4.30pm) and I'm working for the government, so I guess it looks better on my CV! The job is pretty basic, nothing very exciting - but at the end of the day it's only temporary (3-month contract) and at least I'm
making good money for my roadtrip :) Plus they assured me that it would be easy to find another position afterwards because they always need temps in the various government departments, so I'm not too worried. Here's the website (if you're interested, ha! http://hpca.nsw.gov.au/)
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| Shopping spree ;) |
I actually also got another job offer from the Law Society of New South Wales today (through Cox Purtell) - which is a real shame because I was in touch with them on a regular basis during my time at the Union Internationale des Avocats, it would've been awesome to work there...Who knows, they might have another position available in 3 months' time...Fingers crossed!!!
I definitely recommend getting in touch with recruitment agencies for temp and casual jobs here - I found that all the consultants I met were really helpful, personable and enthusiastic, they actually take an interest in you and make a real effort to follow up (they're still doing so even now that I've started working!) Plus the guy from Quay Appointments told me I could always get in touch if I needed any kind of professional advice in the future, which is good to know! (he's British). I'm so glad I put myself through the whole job search ordeal once again...I got excellent feedback on my CV and my communication skills after every single interview, which is very reassuring for me because I was kind of doubting myself at this stage. Taking the recruitment agency tests also made me realize I was going to have to work on my Word/Excel/Powerpoint/typing skills (in English) for when I start looking for a job in London next year. So I might just sign up for a course while I'm here!
Looking forward to this weekend because Doro is spending a few days in Sydney before jetting off to New Zealand for a month!!! Will try and take a little more pictures this time ;)
;)
Love,
Laura xxx
