Ever applied to a job, and been knocked back only to hear something like this…

“We need someone with local experience”.

Chances are if you’ve moved to Australia and searching for a job, you have. And possibly more than once. Local experience can mean different things to different people but generally these are candidates who’ve done a similar job previously in Australia, and almost always Australian citizens or permanent residents.

If you’re an employer who’s had the view that local experience is essential, have you ever asked yourself why?

Of course there are genuine reasons that local experience is an essential pre-requisite for some jobs, and some companies aren’t approved to employ people with particular working visas. But in my recruitment career I’d often find out that, despite a hiring manager initially demanding candidates with local experience, after some enquiry and open discussion it really wasn’t necessary at all. The initial request for local experience was never due to prejudice or anything untoward. Simply put, it was seen as the easier option. A safer bet, less risk, to “hit the ground running”, and lower cost. But is it really?

If you’re an employer, consider this scenario. You’ve been trying to fill a vacancy and have two applications which meet your requirements on paper. Both applicants essentially have the same credentials and working history however one has all their relevant experience in Australia, while the other has all their relevant experience overseas. Who poses the most risk if you were to consider hiring them?

• Is it the overseas applicant who may have taken on a lower-level job since arriving in Australia, and/or may take some time to get up to speed with localised methods, standards and industry knowledge to effectively do the job?
• Is it the local applicant who, in a candidate-short market, may have great interest from your competitors, reject your offer for others (including counter offers), command remuneration above your budget, or be a target for head-hunters into the future (who are also seeking “local experience”)?

You can find risks in every kind of candidate if you look hard enough. So from a different angle, which candidate would take on your role with everything they’ve got to both meet and exceed your expectations?

It could be either one of them, or both. But it shouldn’t be a newsflash to realise that a person who’s migrated to Australia, struggled to find a job at their level of expertise, and done whatever it’s taken to keep the wolves from the door over a period of time will give you their absolute best effort and loyalty in repaying you for giving them a shot. And while sponsorship of employees can be a significant cost, so too can having a vacancy for an extensive period of time or paying an inflated salary to tempt/attract the “ideal candidate”.

In a recent interview with the ABC, I saw the CEO of Engineers Australia (Dr Bronwyn Evans) convey that there are tens of thousands of migrant engineers in Australia who are currently not employed, or underemployed, within the engineering sector. Yet vacancies for engineers in Australia have soared by 97% in the last year, with massive investment in government-funded infrastructure projects. As of December last year, an estimated 47% of migrant engineers looking for engineering positions are unemployed in the sector. And of those who are employed in engineering, one-third are underemployed (i.e. in positions beneath their level of expertise). And the preference for “local experience” is the major reason (Source – www.abc.net.au/news – “Migrant Engineers overlooked for work and jobs, report says” – 12th December 2021).

So, of all the migrant engineers currently in Australia, almost 65% are currently under-utilised. 65%!!

In my career it’s been quite common to see the CVs of overseas candidates where their local experience was far beneath their credentials and experiences they bring from abroad. People such as long-term professionals and senior managers in major companies overseas who’ve since migrated to Australia with their families, only to be driving delivery vans, working in restaurants, or even working in trade assistant roles on a factory floor. In conversation with candidates like these, the circumstances were overwhelmingly similar. Despite vast amounts of applications over a long period of time, getting an interview was rare, almost impossible. And when they actually did receive any feedback on their application the most common reasoning was, yep you guessed it, “we need someone with local experience”. They desperately wanted a shot to prove themselves, but it was rarely (if ever) given.

Migrant engineers (and other professions) may not have local experience, but they have a number of other attributes that can be attractive to prospective employers. The resilience to keep moving forward despite getting knocked down, the hunger to prove themselves, and the enthusiasm to make the most of every opportunity afforded to them. But ultimately – many of these candidates CAN and WILL have all the necessary attributes to do a fantastic job. If only they were given the opportunity to prove it.

An interview is no obligation to employ someone. It’s the opportunity to understand how someone may be able to fulfil the needs of, and add value to, your business. If resilience, hunger, enthusiasm, and the attitude to succeed are valuable to the success of an organisation then reconsidering the need for “local experience” could be the best move any company can make.

– Guy Wilson

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• www.sellyourself.com.au