Tips For Working Holidays

Finished school and still not sure what you want to study? Why not broaden your horizons with a working holiday in another country? Australia has a partnership with a bunch of countries that allow you to go work abroad, earn some money, gain work experience and see the world. These countries include most countries in Western Europe, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.

Some things that you need to be aware of before you set off:

• You usually won't be allowed to work for the full twelve months while you abroad. You work to 'supplement your travel funds'.
• You will be required to have some cash to fund your trip until you find a job.
• You will not always have direct access the public medical aid in foreign countries. So make sure to get yourself some travel insurance before you set off. The UK is pretty good as they offer free medical service to residents, i.e. people that intend to stay over 6 months (make sure to register with the NHS when you get there).
• Hostels can be just as expensive as part-time rentals and you will have to share your room, however they are a fantastic way of meeting people in a similar situation. Instant friends are always great and you could find yourself some travel buddies in the process!
• A 'share house' will likely be where you end up (sometimes with some of the people you met in a hostel). Be prepared with your deposit, you will need between 2 to 4 weeks rental deposit wherever you go, so your first rental payment will be up to double that of any subsequent ones, so just be aware. P.S. Hostels don't require deposits ;)
• Don't be dumb and spend your money on things that don't matter! A nice big rented house may be great but you'll struggle to save money for the 6 months when you can't work and would like to travel! Look for savings everywhere. It's worth it to live a little rough and then travel like crazy as it makes for the best stories later ;)
• Once in your country of choice, you may want to hop over the border to check out some of the neighbours. Bear in mind these countries may require different visas, which you can usually get from that country's embassy (usually located in capitals of the country you are in).
• Consider getting the flu shot when you get there, you immune system is going to get a bashing from all the foreign bugs it is going to encounter in your first winter. Give it all the help it can get.
• Finding work can be challenging, if you can find work in a profession that interests you that's great, but be prepared to do farm, hotel, factory, shelving, bar keeping, waiting or similar work to pay your weekly accommodation bills and more importantly eat. :) Don't be too picky, the best thing about these kinds of jobs is you can usually give them 24 hours or a week's notice and then at least you have something on your CV. Believe me, no matter what job you've done, local work experience especially at non-professional level always trumps anything you've done at home, and some agencies won't even help you before you've got it.
• Having a local bank account is useful, but don't get hung up if you don't have one. And many companies claim they'll help you set those up when you get there, mostly it is just talk. What you need to do, is get a permanent address and get a bill from that address with a letter from someone who has been there a while to confirm that you are staying there, or your rental agreement with your landlord. That is all most banks require. Hostel addresses usually don't work so you may need to go register with an employment agency (be prepared to get turned down by a couple) and try and get a bank account organized through them. Also won't hurt to just walk into a bank and ask!
• Last piece of advice is to just relax! Loads of people do this, you can figure a lot of it out when you get there. Don't waste too much money on companies selling you easy solutions here for when you get there! You'll get way better advice from people in hostels that have just gone through the same thing a week before!

Check out the Australian Department of Immigration working holiday site for more information about which countries you can visit and their specific requirements.