International graduates are struggling to find a full-time job related to their ideal future career path in Australia.
An international graduate, who would like to remain anonymous, paid an agency $3,000 for an interview for an unpaid internship. She got the internship ten months after graduation. Months later, as her internship ended, she started to look for a job again.
“Finding a job is easy; but finding an ideal job is difficult,” she said. “If you want to get a job and stay in Australia, you should try harder and perform better than the locals.”
She had worked for about two years in a part-time retail job, as well as five years in several other casual jobs in hospitality. Despite many years of customer service and working experiences in Australia, the journey to seek a full-time job relevant to her degree is still not easy for her.
A Grattan Institute report published in October 2023 titled “Graduates in limbo: International student visa pathways after graduation” found that international graduates find it hard to find a skilled, full-time job that matches their ideal career. They also tend to earn less than the average domestic graduate.
Before their graduation, it is also hard for international students to get ideal internships and casual placements. University of Sydney student Vaishakh Subin is in his final semester of Master of Digital Communication and Culture. Hoping to find a casual job to support himself and an internship relevant to his degree, he has sent job applications as much as he can through online platforms in Australia such as Seek and LinkedIn.
Subin said he was also “in limbo” as an international student. He said it was frustrating that companies only reply after months or don’t reply at all, leaving him hesitant to plan his next step. He said the companies should be more “proactive” in responding.
As the companies don’t respond to Subin, he can only imagine the reason why he was not given a chance. He said the companies may prefer candidates who are more experienced, more qualified, and more culturally aligned with the group.
Another international graduate believes the problem is that many students often have higher expectations about their future jobs. “You can’t expect the companies to hire you just because you’re a graduate from a top university. University graduates are everywhere,” she said.
Some international students worry that the company may consider it to be extra risky and costly to hire them. Students worry that they may be rejected just because they have no permanent residency — companies may assume that they would go back to their home country because of visa issues or change of future plans. It is also hard for international students to gain more work experience and become more competitive in the job market before graduation, as the student visa has a restricted working hour cap of 48 hours per fortnight.
The Grattan report suggests poorer English, weaker local networks, and discrimination as other reasons.
Many international students and graduates consider online applications as their main approach to seek a job, rather than networking. Subin said he once found a volunteering job through his friend, but he doesn’t consider networking as playing “a major role” in his future job seeking.
Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association (SUPRA) President Weihong Liang said universities should stand together with international students and graduates for their fair working rights in Australia, as well as providing more units that offer internship opportunities rather than a list of information for students to get hands-on experiences and prepare them for their future careers.
The Group of Eight (Go8), a union of eight universities in Australia, highlights the data from a report by the Treasury that only around 16 percent of international students got permanent residency between 2000-01 and 2013-14.
In their submission to Australia’s 2024-2025 Permanent Migration Program, Go8 states that international graduates are “a significant untapped resource”.
“These graduates are already onshore in Australia; have invested significant time and experience within their community and have skills and capabilities that have been verified to Australian standards, ” they wrote.
The Submission also stated that when the graduates become more experienced, they help “ensure a workforce pipeline of talent” and address “workforce shortages in critical industries”.
Australia has reduced the eligible age for temporary graduate visas from 50 to 35 years old and raised the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold to $70,000 a year. Facing more restrictions while chances for growth remain limited, where would the future be for international graduates?
Liang mentioned that universities should also help international students who would like to pursue their future career in their home country. Universities should maintain a good global reputation, monitor graduates’ competitiveness in various industries, build connections with local alumni and local companies, as well as hold more industrial events.
