Career FAQ-1 Should I work as a contractor?

Q: I have just finished my postgraduate studies in the UK after working in Asia for five years. I hold a PSW (Post-Study Work) Visa valid for two years until Feb 2014. Should I work as a contractor for a couple of months now? Is it worth it? What are the benefits?


A: I have had many conversations with graduates in the UK or expats new to Australia on this. Our consensus is that, when you have no evidence of work experience in a new country, it is always better to start with SOMETHING rather than absolutely nothing and having to keep jobhunting, waiting for news, incurring living cost with no income support, especially if you are hoping to stay in the big cities like London. If you have been actively looking and applying for jobs for 2, 3 months now, but still haven't found the perfect match, maybe it is time to consider contract work for a couple of months. 


Some of the benefits are:

1. Gain experience in the new culture, have a feel of what it is really like working in this country. Sort of reality check for yourself: is this what I expected? How do I feel working in this new culture? How am I adapting to the work environment? What are the barriers or difficulties if any? What support is needed to break those barriers down? Am I able to converse, socialise and integrate with colleagues and locals at ease? What do I find different about that culture? What can I do to improve myself in this situation?
2. Prove that you can do the job. Work experience in this country is crucial. Of course there are transferable skills you bring from your previous jobs overseas, however, employers tend to be more willing to hire you if they can see clear evidence and convincing demonstrations of your skill sets. Adding valuable experience to your CV/resume instead of leaving a gap between your last role and this one.
3. Get referees/references. Doing some initial contract work exposes you to some local managers who are able to work with you, evaluate and comment on your performance, which would add credibility to your work in that country.
4. Networking. More than 4/5 jobs are not advertised? You could explore job opportunities through speaking to people at social functions or professional networking events about any vacancies they may be aware of in their organisation. Or they simply know there is another job vacancy somewhere else. It may be make a list of your friends, classmates, university alumni, all contacts: is there anything you would like to update them with? Do you have any questions in a particular organisation or industry they work in? What do you want to know? Is there anything they can help? Generally people are nice and willing to help! :)

Contract work may not be your ideal match (in your case probably both a challenge to yourself as well as a transition phase) but you might be able to learn something different, something new in this completely new environment. So you that you could learn more about industry insights, rules of the game, but more importantly, use it as a platform to demonstrate that you can learn quickly the new systems, new ways of working. 

On top of that, you have a 2-year visa. Even if you use your visa to work as a contractor for 6-9 months, you will still have one year for a job that you really, really want, which you will find as you carry on jobhunting and exploring potential opportunities while you're working and developing yourself in this first role you have. You need to start somewhere.

Best of luck with your jobhunting! Work hard. Work smart.

1-year old Hairy Cow Honey :) met in the Highlands, Scotland (April 2012)