JobSeeker Help From Centrelink
The Commonwealth Government provides a range of payments and service to help you while you are looking for work. These are mainly provided by Centrelink and, if you have never dealt with them before, it can seem a bit daunting and confusing.
Since you have worked for all these years and paid tax, you might as well get some support not that you are in need. So here is a high-level guide to some of the main benefits and services that Centrelink can offer you.
The main type of payment that you can receive is the New-start allowance. This is the basic unemployment benefit. In general you will have to enter into an Activity Agreement that includes a programme of job-hunting and possibly training. You need to be between 21 and 55, looking for work and not involved in industrial action. The payment rate is $453.50 per fortnight ($490 if you have dependent children) if you are single or $409 each if you are partnered. There is an asset test and income test – having too many assets or too much income reduces the payment.
There are crisis and child-care payments available but these generally will not be applicable to professionals.
Centrelink also has employment services to help you find work. These are generally aimed at blue-collar and low-skilled jobs, although there are some professional categories covered. You can search for jobs on the JobSearch page.
A word of warning – and this may not be terribly politically correct, but we think you need to know – is that Centrelink is generally geared at helping low-skilled people find work. The benefits are at a very low level and aimed at people in crisis. If you are from a professional background, you are much more likely to find suitable jobs on the commercial job boards. Also, you will find an odd paradox that the agency is at the same time highly bureaucratic and simplistic. You may well feel that the level of intrusion they want in your life may not be worth the assistance you can receive. It’s a personal choice, but it is worth persisting.
Centrelink support is most definitely aimed at the low and semi-skilled end of the market. Unless you are like me (in desperate need of the money), if you’re a mid- to high-level white collar professional, the “support” actually gets in the way.
For example, I’m required to apply for 10 jobs per fortnight to maintain my benefits. This is extraordinarily difficult to do if you’re looking for, say, Government work where you have to address up to 8 selection criteria in detail. Also, while there is a lot of Government work floating around, a lot of it is out of my reach simply because I was too senior in Canberra. I have been told quite blunty by two recruiters “No point applying, our client won’t even look at your resume. They will be too worried that either you’ll be bored, frustrated and disruptive or that you will leave the first chance you get a better offer.”
Of course, there’s no point trying to explain this to the staff at Centrelink (who generally are helpful and ultimately are just doing their job). They have guidelines they have to abide by and no discretion to change things. In my experience it’s a system that is aimed squarely at the lowest common denominator and the further you are away from that point, the less the system is able to cope with your needs.
Hi Shane
There are two trains of thought regarding the recruiter comments.
1. They have such a close relationship with their client that they understand their requirements intimately and therefore are qualified enough to filter and screen candidates on their behalf. That said, their comments should be a little more diplomatic.
2. Given the economic climate, their client has a real opportunity to secure great talent that they may not have had an opportunity to do so previously, so they should send your details to the client and allow the client to make up their own mind.
My advice is be professionally persistent.
Regards,
Riges.
Hi Riges,
I was paraphrasing a little I admit, but not much. “bored, frustrated and disruptive or leave the first chance you get a better offer” was verbatim from one though.
I was professionally persistent with both recruiters. One eventually agreed to be in touch with their clients to see if they could put my resume forward. I never heard from them again. I don’t have an ongoing relationship with this recruiter so I have no way of knowing if they actually did proceed and other (eventually unsuccessful) applications took precedence at the time.
The other recruiter agreed to put my details forward but continued to be very negative about my ability to see out a mid-term contract at a lower level. In the end I gave up on her. I don’t want or need my professionalism questioned in such a way, particularly if I want that someone to be recommending me to their clients. I won’t be working with that recruiter again in a hurry.
It’s a tough market and after nearly 6 months of unemployment, the situation doesn’t appear to getting any better (at least not in my areas of expertise).
Leave your response!
The Job Search: Your Guide to Success
This text provides step-by-step guidance for creating the necessary documents to find a job.
In addition to helping students land their first job, the text also provides students information on the importance of staying flexible and marketable throughout their working lives.
Visit The JobSeekr Store
Polls
Who's Online
Most Commented
Site Wide Blog Tags
Behavioral interview benefits branding career corporate recruiters cover letters employers Facebook Finance how to write a resume Interviewing Introduction Jeremy Samuel job hunt Job Interview Job Interviews Job interviews Job Interview Tips job loss Job Search job seeker jobseekr Linkedin Michael Specht Networking online brand Personal Brand Personal Branding Recruiters redundancy reputation Resume resume content resume how to Resumes resume sample resume template Riges Younan Seek EI social media social recruiting tips unemployed Unemployment video resumes