It takes the right mindset!

Relocating can be the most wonderful experience ever with great new opportunities or it can be a nightmare. Some of it is out of your control but some of it is to do with mindset. When I was a little girl my grandfather drew a chalk line on the ground and asked me to walk along it. I did it easily. Then he took me to a wall and asked me if I could walk along the top. The bricks’ width easily allowed for my feet but up a few feet I was much more cautious and a little unsteady. He told me that what he was asking me to do was really just the same but because it was not familiar I was getting doubts in my mind. Relocating to a new place is a little bit like walking along that brick wall: if you start doubting yourself and worrying about what ‘might’ happen you will not have an easy time.

When you relocate many of the things you are fearful of you have probably done before: applying for jobs, finding a suburb to suit you, finding a home, opening a bank account, buying a car and making friends. You know you have done these things before but do yourself a favour and do all the research before you arrive. Spend time understanding what your options are, how you go about it, make a file of resource sites to assist you. If you need to find employment , for example, check out all the employment sites listed on the Elite Executive Services helpful links. www.skilledmigrantjobs.com costs you nothing to post your CV and takes only a few minutes. If you need to find a suburb, then look at the maps and information  on the www.eliteexecutiveservices.com.au Relocation Guides. If you want information abut education then check the same Relocation Guides or look at websites such as www.aussierelocation.com which also has a wealth of other information. Keep focused and don’t get too distracted with a lot of the ‘noise’ you find on forums. Use information which has been presented by experts.

There is no guide for finding new friends but if you find yourself in a suburb with likeminded people who enjoy the kind of activities you value, and you throw yourself into what is happening in the community, you will find those friendships do develop naturally. Put yourself out there and know that people respond to a friendly smile and a willingness to embrace a new culture.

The Melbourne Cup: why it succinctly underlines what it means to be Australian.

Newcomers to Australia are often a bit bemused by the celebration and festivities that surround the Melbourne Cup or ‘The race that stops a Nation’. If you have not experienced a Melbourne Cup Day before then you are in store for a treat. It is so much more than the outstanding field of 24 horses pounding the turf: it is really a race which succinctly underlines much of what it means to be Australian. Like Australia itself, the race which was first run in 1861 is steeped in history and  also like Australia, the race is not so much about where competitors hail from but more about celebrating their prowess. 

Over the years international horses have been worthy winners: 40 New Zealanders, 5 British,4 US, 2 Irish and a Japanese horse have been successful! Like the Australian dream itself,  there are rich prizes up for grabs for those who are willing to strive for success and take a risk. The Melbourne Cup has among the richest prize money in the world and is indeed a World Class event. Australians thrive on competition and as well as being a nation that loves sport, competition of any kind is encouraged in any walk of life. 

Australians love to support an underdog and among the many underdogs that have been winners of the Melbourne Cup, the story of Gala Supreme who won in 1973 stands proudly. The horse was originally written off as not having a strong heart and the jockey, Frank Reys of aboriginal heritage, was dogged by injury after injury but despite everything was given a chance by the trainer Pat Hutchins. Drawing barrier 24, which was really not a great start, Reys rode the ride of his life and brought Gala Supreme home for a fine win. 

The Melbourne Cup is not a race which is attended only by the wealthy, as in some other countries. The Melbourne Cup is the people’s race where everyone is swept up in the romance and emotion of the race. Australia prides itself on its egalitarianism and this race is a strong example of that. Australians think of themselves as courageous and as the jockeys brave what is possibly the most physically demanding race of their lives thousands of onlookers hold their breath in awe at their courage! 

More than anything, Australia is a fun loving nation and the Melbourne Cup is a great excuse to let down your hair, enjoy mateship, take some risks, and party. Good Luck!

Our Australian relocation business - Acknowledgments, accolades and appraisals: why they matter

The service industry is built on people who are prepared to go the extra mile: people who do their job because they want to make a difference. For the most part the work they put in is unseen but if it is not performed well is always noticed. So with providing destination services. Much of what we do is unseen: the preparation before someone arrives is enormous but if we do our job well it will seem seamless. Our consultants are caring, committed individuals who are perfectionists: they want everything to be right. Our office is staffed with the kind of people who answer emails at 11pm at night, ‘just check’ at weekends and public holidays and who genuinely care about things going well. How wonderful then for all of us that a text from one of the staff at 7.30am on Good Friday is not about a delayed flight or a client who is facing some difficulty but that we have been shortlisted for an award! Re:locate, the magazine most  relocation specialists and HR professionals read  announced the shortlist for the prestigious international awards for  relocation companies. Elite Executive Services were shortlisted in the Best International Destination Service Provider category.  This is amazing news and Elite is the only shortlisted Australian destination services provider. To be shortlisted for such an award is recognition of all the hard work our team puts in day after day throughout the year and such recognition is important. It reminds us all why we do this just as the appraisals which are returned after each completed assignment remind us that people appreciate what we do and know how difficult it would have been without us.

This is not the first time we have received this kind of recognition. In 2012 Elite Executive Services was  shortlisted for the Asian EMMAs which are the Forum for Expatriate Management Awards. The Categories were: Destination Services Provider of the Year, Best Family Support Programme and Most Innovative Use of Technology in Global Mobility  . Again we would not have stood a chance without our suburb team! And then there was the Mobile App Awards 2012 where we were so excited by the shortlisting of our app in the Australian Mobile App Awards. The competition was huge so it was doubly sweet that that Applocation Australia had been shortlisted.

Awards, accolades and wonderful appraisals are great for keeping our course steady and remind us why we do what we do!

Easter in Australia

We get a four day weekend in Australia because of the Christian celebration of Good Friday when Jesus was crucified and Easter Sunday when he rose from the dead. The majority of Australia is Christian and many of those will be going to church to celebrate. Not all Australians will know, however, that the festival at Easter comes from the festivities in honour of Eostre the Scandinavian goddess of dawn. Her name derived from the word for 'east' which was the direction from which the sun arrived in the morning and her special festival was the spring equinox which was the beginning of the sun's reign in the northern hemisphere year. Pagan tradition had it that a human victim, the Tear King, was sacrificed as winter turned into spring.  He was buried in the fields and would come to life once again with the grain that was sown and grew to make bread. By eating the bread everyone was sharing in the Year King's rebirth. Christianity combined their own celebrations with something familiar and that is why they chose the Easter celebrations on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. In Australia part of Easter celebrations are the hot cross buns which are sold at every baker.although the cross on top of the buns represents Christ's cross it is again the pagans we must thank for the buns where the cross represented the four quarters of the moon. It is  believed that in 1361 a monk called Thomas Rockcliffe began giving the buns to the poor of  St Albans on Good Friday. The tradition persisted and the sweet spiced hot cross buns are a firm favourite at Easter. 

So where should you go for the best hot cross buns. If you are in Brisbane you might try Bannetons in Ashgrove or Wooloongabba see www.banneton.com.au. Alternatively you might try Hawthorne Garage in Hawthorne www.hawthornegarage.com.au. If you are in Perth then try Lawley's Bakery in Mt Lawley www.lawleys.com.au

or Chez Jean-Claude Patisserie in Subiaco www.chezjeanclaudepatisserie.com.au. People in Adelaide might want to check out Glenelg's Orange Spot Bakery or Darwin residents might try Out back Bakery in Fannie Bay. In Hobart, Jackman and McRoss are worth trying and in Canberra Ngunnawal Bakery. 

In Melbourne it is worth a trip to Candied Bakery, 81a Hudsons Road, Spotswood candiedbakery.com.au or Phillippa's, 1030 High Street, Armadale (and other stores)

www.phillippas.com.au. In Hawthorn, Melbourne you will enjoy the offerings from La Tropezienne, 780 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn www.latropezienne.com.au and for a trip outside Melbourne then La Madre, 18 Milton Street, Geelong www.lamadre.com.au.

Finally Sydney. Get your hot cross buns from Bourke Street Bakery, 472 Gardeners Road, Alexandria (and Marrickville, Potts Point and Surry Hills. www.bourkestreetbakery.com.au or Rise Bakery, 257a King Street, Newtown or Adriano Zumbo Patisserie, 296 Darling Street, Balmain (and Pyrmont and Manly) www.adrianozumbo.com. If you want to travel further afield then try Hominy, 185 Katoomba Street, Katoomba for some deliciously wicked hot cross buns!

St Patrick’s Day in Australia - what to see and do

St Patrick’s Day is celebrated enthusiastically in Australia as the  Irish and their Australian friends celebrate the Irish culture and their patron  saint St Patrick. St Patrick is Ireland’s patron saint who died on March 17 around 493AD. St Patrick was a missionary in Ireland and it is believed that he banished “snakes” from the country.

The Irish were some of the earliest Europeans to settle in Australia. Many were convicts but in the years that followed so many Irish migrated that it is believed almost a third of Australians have some Irish ancestry. Many pubs and restaurants around Australia hold St Patrick’s Day  events where patrons can enjoy Irish music and where sometimes green drinks are served. St Patrick Day parades are also popular and you will see traditional Irish costumes and people dressed in green or pretending to be leprechauns. Green is a colour associated with Ireland as is the shamrock leaf and the harp. There will be plenty of these symbols around as well as the Irish flag with its colours of green, white and orange.

In Sydney  on Sunday 17 March 2013 from 10.15am - 11.45am  there is pre-parade entertainment on George St followed by the parade itself which starts at the corner of Bathurst and George St. From 1pm there is a family day in the Hyde Park including food, entertainment, children’s activities, rides, petting zoo, face painting and of course lots of music!  See http://www.stpatricksday.org.au/

In Melbourne  revelers can use the Guinness St Patrick’s Day Black list to help them and this can be found at www.guinness.com.au

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In Perth  the City of Vincent have a free community event will combine a St Patrick's Day Parade and a Family Fun Day starting with St Patrick's Day Parade at 10am on the corner of Richmond and Loftus Streets. It will then meander through the streets finishing Leederville Oval, to join the Family Fun Day  which offers live music, bands and dancing on the main stage, plus displays, food, drinks, market style stalls and lots of excitement!

In Brisbane  there is a wonderful parade on March 16, 2013 10:30 am to midday starting at the corner of George and Elizabeth St . It will include Irish dancers, red setters, Irish wolfhounds, pipe and brass bands,  antique cars, clowns, and other entertainers.

In Adelaide St Patrick’s Day Parade will start at 10am from The Irish Club, Carrington Street and includes live music and dance displays. Celebrations continue until 5pm.

In Canberra the Irish Club will start with an tremendous Irish breakfast at 7am and wonderful Irish food throughout the day. Irish dancing, pipe bands and live bands will please the crowds!

In Darwin the Waterfront is the host for St Patrick’s Day and Fiddler’s Green has Irish food, dancers and music from 8am.

How easy is it to get a job in Australia?

We are often asked about how easy it is to get a job in Australia and of course so much depends on your experience, your skills and where in Australia you want to be. The resource sector is still booming although less demand from Asia and lower commodity prices have certainly slowed demand down. Within the oil and gas industry, there is a huge demand for the right people, particularly for engineers and those skilled in technical trades. Western Australia and the Northern Territory are keen to accept newcomers who can assist with their skills shortage. With a background in finance and particularly insurance there is a general feeling that there will be forthcoming opportunities. If your background is in IT, again there are always opportunities here.  There will also be opportunities which would be utterly unexpected. The Australian Government is apparently looking for a thousand taxi drivers from Greece to come to sort out the taxi driver shortage in Melbourne! To get some ideas about applying for jobs in Australia check out the free app Applocation Australia in the section on Employment or look at www.aussierelocation.com

Australia Day - what happens and why

It is Australia Day this weekend and Australians will be enjoying the long weekend but also all the free entertainment in every state including marches, aerial displays, musicians and performers and especially the fireworks. In every state there will be citizenship ceremonies and reflection on how lucky we all are to be here. Australia is a surprising nation which punches above its weight in so many ways. Most of the world would acknowledge Australia is a nation where our sporting achievers stand alongside the best but few know that Australians are also renowned inventors. In fact, Australians have been inventing things for thousands of years including the aboriginal invention of the woomera which gave spears extra thrust. Few would know that Edward Sutton from Ballarat , invented a number of ‘firsts ‘including a device in the 1880s which was an early form of television , the telfane, and able to transmit the running of the Melbourne Cup to Ballarat thirty five years before Baird declared his invention.. Sutton also assisted the Australian navy with radio transmission some months before Marconi, invented types of telephone and vacuum pumps.  Other Australian inventors came up with all sorts of things including: the black box flight recorder, mechanical sheep sheers, ultrasound, the electronic pacemaker, the bionic ear, multifocal contact lenses, spray on skin, the surf ski, powered flight and the baby capsule now used to take babies in cars. Australia also produced the first feature film “The History of the Kelly Gang”. The list could go on and on.  All countries have their inventors but Australians are renowned for being creative and the Australian education system encourages that creativity. When you think of it, there is a fair bit to celebrate on Australia Day!

Great New Relocation App

As 2013 begins it feels as if there is a new spring in everyone’s step! The last few years have been tough, even in Australia, the land of promise but finally it feels as if the  corner has been turned and there are new opportunities. As the world is moving quickly and there are all sorts of technological advancements so Australia is supporting entrepreneurs and start ups as well as established businesses taking new directions. This is encouraging for those who wish to emigrate to Australia and there is certainly the feeling that new starts can be made. The digital age is taking business in new directions: everyone seems to want to conduct business on their mobile devices. In Australia people are embracing smartphones in particular and are doing their banking transactions, paying bills, shopping and researching from their phones. Apps are available for almost everything and it seems that many businesses are also exploring the opportunities apps afford them. The Australian Government has a list of free apps at http://australia.gov.au/news-and-media/social-media/apps. The Applocation Australia app which is free from you app store for iPad and iPhone gives you all the information you need on your move, helps you budget, set tasks and calendarise those tasks. Download it and have a play.