How to get an Australian Big 4 job as an International Student

Disclaimer: The article reflects the opinion of the author and does not reflect the views of PwC as a firm. 

Over the weekend, I came across an article from a fellow Malaysian on getting a desirable job here in Australia. This reminded me of my time as a university student, looking for some way to get a job here in Australia. I remembered this phase of my life pretty well.

I wanted a job bad.

It was the ultimate Malaysian dream – get a decent paying job, settle down and live a happy life in Australia. Happy days. But how many Malaysians actually get jobs in Australia post-university life? I can count with my two hands (based on the friends I know).

Why is it so hard?

Two things - jobs here normally have “PR required” featured on their job ad. Also, I’d imagine that most Malaysians think that faring up against the locals, we are no match for them (is this really true? Depends on how you look at it, more on that later)

But, is getting a job in Australia without a PR really impossible?

I definitely don’t think so. Is it hard? Sure it is.

How do you find an edge in a market where even the locals find it hard competing to get a job?

Having been through the process and eventually securing a role at a Big 4 firm, I thought I would share my thoughts and maybe be that beacon of hope for all international students trying to land a job here in Australia. While I don’t think my way is the correct way or in any way will guarantee you a job, I truly believe that it set me up strongly where I eventually landed two Big 4 job offers here in Australia.

1.    Get your pre-requisites in place.

You need a well-balanced CV. Do you need to be a Cristiano Ronaldo/Lionel Messi in each field? No, you do not. But that being said, you need to have results with a certain level of substance in each area.

Grades – I hear people say grades don’t mean everything/matter. This is the real life and they do matter – why would you want to disadvantage yourself by slacking off?  H1/H2A grades should suffice if you have substantial positions in the other areas below.

Internships – leading up to your application, you should have hopefully gained some work experience in a relevant field back in your home country. It demonstrates your ambition and that you actually are proactive enough to spend your holidays learning.

Extra-curricular activities – take up a leadership role with any organization of choice; make a significant contribution. Corporates love people that can demonstrate leadership and impact. You will also have an easier time coming up with interview responses (cue “tell me about a time….”). More importantly, you will make many friends and have lots of fun in the process.

At the end of this, you should have a CV that they have no reason to ignore. A side note on this - the earlier you start, the better you set yourself up for the long term.

2.    Network – Coffee, Coffee, Coffee!

This is probably one of the most underutilized tool that international students are not using. Almost everyone I know that landed a job in the Australian corporate sphere has had coffee with someone from the firm leading up to their interview.

How? Linkedin and student club events are great ways to meet industry professionals. Send them a message and chances are they’ll agree to have a coffee with you.

Reaching out for coffee does three things – you show that you are proactive and interested enough to learn about the person’s role. Second, you might get valuable knowledge that you are able to use during your interview (“Oh I know that you’ve worked on project x….”). Third, you might be having coffee with a team you want a job with, and this is a great way to make an impression. Because the person might go back and tell his/her office mates: “Hey I had coffee with this student, seems keen and likeable, we should get HR to shortlist them for an interview” Does that happen every time? No, but hey who knows right!

What’s the most that can happen? You get ignored. Life moves on. No harm in doing so!

During my time, that’s exactly what I did. I had heaps of coffees, learnt about the skills I needed to possess, about the team that I was interviewing with, and even got introductions to people that could help me out. Did I get ignored by people? Yes I did, but life moves on.

3.    Put yourself out there.

Constantly put yourself out there, keep attending networking events, or workshops that student societies organise. Meet recruiters, meet industry professionals.

Get recruiters to notice you because most of the time, they are the initial gatekeepers of graduate programs that you might be aiming for. Once you go enough, they’ll remember your face. Of course, this includes having a chat with them and showing them that you’d be a great fit for the firm (i.e demonstrate your interest, have a good laugh with them rather than just creepily staring at them)

Be good friends with them, because chances are they’ll share with you information that might give you an advantage (e.g how to position your application, how many spots are available for certain roles, other alternatives to get a job with the firm)

Funnily enough, I was made aware of a specific STEM program within my current firm through coffee with one of the recruiters. I still had to go through the same application process but if it wasn’t for the person, I probably wouldn’t have been aware of the program.

4.   Lacking confidence? Fake it till you make it.

This is a tricky one.

Having coffees, putting yourself out there can be overwhelming if you lack the confidence. But just pretend you do! This is a way of tricking your brain to feel good about yourself and that you are capable of doing it.

Will you have bad coffees where you completely make a fool out of yourself? Yeah. I’ve fumbled over my words, that I sounded like a three-year old trying to form a coherent sentence. But pretend that you do.

After 3,4,5 coffees and networking events, you start to develop this confidence that will carry you a long way.

Ok – real talk - are locals actually better than international students? IMHO, I believe that they are much better at presenting themselves with confidence, something international students tend to lack. Locals generally tend to be more chatty and outspoken too. But does it mean international students are not worthy of jobs? Definitely not, I truly believe that there is no significant difference in level of intelligence. But international students need to put themselves out there more, get comfortable with presenting themselves better and painting themselves in a more colorful light. (Of course, this is a sweeping statement and doesn’t always apply.)

5.    Tenacity

Seemed like I had it easy right? Applied, interviewed and….. BOOM job offer!

Behind the process, I actually attended 7 failed interviews before landing a role.

It sucked big time! I remember the same recruiter calling me time and time again to tell me that I missed the boat. How awkward was it for the recruiter to always be breaking the bad news to me. It was awfully painful.

But when you wake up the next day, it’s a new day. All that matters is that you keep your chin up high and trust the process. Keep what works and change what doesn’t.

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There you have it! All the best to your journey should you choose to embark on it.

Always happy to share my experience if you have any questions.