Office Work

Our guide to using your office skills on a gap year or career break.

Working holidays in don’t have to mean glass collecting or fruitpicking. If you have office skills then use them! If you are in Australia then bear in mind however that on a working holiday visa you can only work for three months with any one employer, so you are unlikely to appeal to many employers who would prefer to have long term staff. For this reason temping agencies are your best bet. In all larger cities there is a well-established supply of, and demand for, temporary staff with working holiday visas.

If you’re thinking of taking time out to go travelling, you are probably going to have to work whilst you are overseas. Although there are more backpackers in Oz than ever before, and the economy has seen better times, experienced staff will always be required by good agencies.

A copy of your CV can be saved on your email. This means you can simply print it off when you need it, without getting it crumpled up in your backpack. Take a smart outfit for interviews and work, or you can always budget to buy a suit and some shoes while you're travelling.

Generally speaking, at Christmas and New Year there are considerably less office temp opportunities. Offices close for the holidays and businesses are winding down. A better time of year is around May/June, when the tax year is ending and businesses are doing a lot of bookwork.

Office Admin & Secretarial

Office agencies are looking for people with the full range of secretarial and admin skills. If you know how to use Microsoft applications and have a typing speed of 55wpm or over, then contact an employment agency.

IT & Accounting

If you are a qualified accountant then you should not need to pick fruit or be a lap dancer on your travels (unless you want to!) Along with accountancy IT is a sector where skilled people are in demand. Experience in programming languages, operating systems, databases and internet technologies are especially sought after.

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