UK expat Megan Grimshaw never wants to leave Australia, but she’s panicking right now because she’s jobless.
The 23-year-old has been in Australia for two years and she “absolutely loves it”. Her goal is to live here forever.
She is in Brisbane and has been trying to find a marketing or social media job, which is difficult when you don’t have a degree.
Ms Grimshaw has experienced some recent bad luck when it comes to work. She landed one administration job but was let go with no warning because her police check didn’t eventuate in time.
“I just randomly got let go on a Wednesday and I was like, ‘oh my God’, because I can’t afford to be without a job,” she told news.com.au.
Ms Grimshaw was working in that role for eight weeks before she was dismissed, a situation that was unexpected and stressful.
Thankfully, she then landed an entry-level marketing job, but after three weeks, she realized it was “toxic” and quit.
“It wasn’t the best. The staff turnover was high, no one knew what they were doing, and there was no training. I wasn’t getting trained. No one taught us about the business,” she said.
The 23-year-old sent an email to resign and stated that she wasn’t returning because she hadn’t received proper training. She claimed she never received a response.
“I’ve been through toxic work situations before and there’s no point putting up with it and being miserable going to work,” she said.
Ms Grimshaw said that, ultimately, she’d be “easily replaced” and she was concerned the company was treating her poorly because they assumed she was desperate.
“It felt like I’d been sold a dream. I don’t know whether they see people on working holiday visas as people that will put up with anything or what,” she said.
Right now, Ms Grimshaw said that, even though she’s glad she quit, she’s under “big stress” because she’s jobless.
“It is scary,” she said.
Ms Grimshaw said she’d previously had savings, but they’ve “gone down the drain” because she couldn’t find long-term employment.
“I’m on SEEK every day and reaching out to recruiters. It takes time,” she said.
Right now, she is focusing on paying rent, which is $350 a week, and has picked up some hospitality shifts to tide her over in the meantime.
The 23-year-old said that her job search can sometimes feel even harder than average because she feels like employers don’t always want to take a chance on someone on a working holiday visa, which can limit her prospects.
Even when they are willing to hire someone on a visa, it can often only be for a short-term, three-month offer, and she hopes to eventually find somewhere that will consider sponsoring her.
At the moment, Ms Grimshaw is just grateful that she has a great support system around her that is helping her get through this rough patch. However, at the end of the day, she wants to be independent and excel in her career.
“You want to be able to stand on your own two feet and do your thing,” she said.