It's done. It's finally done! And because it's really happened, I can at long last tell all of you formally that I've ended my almost 13-year employment with my ex-company and moved on to my new job as a site-based Process Engineer in Papua New Guinea (PNG) on a fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) rotation, a location which I'm very familiar with from my previous 2-year stint there. The current COVID outbreak in PNG and the Brisbane lockdown are factors that will impact when I actually arrive on site but I'll leave that subject for a subsequent post but in this one, I'll detail the timeline of how this major career change came about. Before that, let me first share with you the best error message ever—I've never been more glad to be locked out of the system!
15/09/2020 - Received a LinkedIn message from a recruiter asking if I was interested in the role. Despite my gripes about LinkedIn, it's really a good way to get noticed.
17/09/2020 - A successful phone interview with the recruiter was conducted and a formal interview with the company was organised. It sure feels good to be "head-hunted" and not having to apply for a job and then wait for a reply that never comes.
30/09/2020 - The panel video interview with the company took place with most of the interviewers known to me due to my previous stint there. Lots of homework and preparation was done because I've been yearning to leave my then company for a long time and since Melbourne-based opportunities were rare, when this FIFO role came up which didn't require me to relocate, I knew I HAD to get it!
07/10/2020 - Provided information and referees as part of pre-employment background checks which were initiated as the job application progressed to the next stage. Background checks typically mean that you've been shortlisted already and will get the role if the checks all turn out fine. My time and performance in PNG from 2014 to 2016 must have contributed to this positive development. Asking my then colleagues to be my referees was awkward but that's a reality of life we all have to face at some point.
26/10/2020 - Received the email from HR that I've been offered the job. HAPPY DAY!!! Signed the site-based employment contract which will only take effect when the PNG visa is granted (visa is valid for 3 years). Think the visa application process is easy especially since I've obtained the visa before? Well think again. The recruiter wasn't aware that this was a 2-year term and I only realised this when I saw the contract. Although that was an unpleasant surprise, this would still be a great career move for me. Based on my previous experience, because getting the visa takes so much effort, it'll likely be at least a 3-year term i.e. until the visa expires. That's if I do a good job of course.
27/10/2020 - Applied for an Australian Federal Police check and obtained a "clean record" outcome on 09/11/2020. This is required for the PNG work permit application.
05/11/2020 - Couriered the completed work permit application forms and documentation to PNG's Department of Labour & Industrial Relations.
10/11/2020 - Commenced application for certification as a Professional Engineer with the Institute of Engineers Papua New Guinea (IEPNG). This is the biggest change since my last application. PNG now requires all practising engineers to obtain this certification to ensure quality in engineering designs. This is an extremely involved process and I was told it's much more onerous than the equivalent Australian certification.
13/11/2020 - Received the all-clear from the company doctor after the pre-employment medical checks and vaccinations. A subsequent follow-up check was also done on 03/12/2020. This is one of the requirements for the PNG work permit application.
19/11/2020 - Full application and associated documentation were sent to IEPNG which included references from two more then colleagues (i.e. more awkward conversations). The process normally takes 90 business days with the bulk of the time spent by technical assessors to come up with a decision. These assessors are doing this pro-bono and so it all depends on whether they can afford the time. It's beyond 90 business days to date and I still haven't attained the certification. Although this is a work permit requirement, it's not strictly required which will be explained further below. And get this—all visa-related applications were put on pause for the end-of-year period from 20/11/2020 and the office did not re-open till 14/01/2021! This was really bad news for me as I've already moved on mentally from my then company and hence my days there were increasingly tough. The lack of work and job insecurity due to COVID was also making things extra difficult.
25/01/2021 - The work permit support letter was released by IEPNG once they received the application payment from the company. This is a provisional approval for the certification so that the work permit application can progress. Although I'm really thankful they allow this, I'll leave it up to you to interpret how important this certification is to the PNG government. Even people in the know had admitted that routine "rubber-stamping" is definitely happening.
09/02/2021 - Work permit was granted (3-year validity) and this must happen before the PNG visa (entry permit) application could be lodged (on 15/02/2021).
25/02/2021 - PNG visa (entry permit) status was progressed to "Authorised" which meant that my passport had to be sent to the PNG Consulate in Brisbane for the visa to be affixed. There was a conflict between HR and the Consulate with regards to a negative COVID test result requirement. Although I got a negative result from my first-ever COVID swab on 01/03/2021 less than a day after the test (20 hours to be precise—how efficient is that?) and included that in the documentation pack sent to the Consulate, it was later confirmed that this was not required contrary to what HR initially thought.
07/03/2021 - PNG visa (entry permit) application was approved and is valid till 10/02/2024. This means that the employment contract I previously signed comes into full effect. However, it has been decided that my back-to-back would go on site first and so I'd need to sign an interim maximum 3-month Australia-based contract so that I can start the on-boarding process and be able to hit the ground running once my rotation starts.
17/03/2021 - The Australia-based employment contract was signed. To allow me to work remotely, I was sent my work laptop which I received on 26/03/2021. It's a sleek HP model with Bang & Olufsen speakers, not the run-of-the-mill Dell crap. I love it!
29/03/2021 - Officially started my new Process Engineer role. YAY!!!
As you can see, I took quite a bit of effort through more than half a year (!) between being contacted for the role and my official start date but I'm very happy that everything progressed in the right direction, including my first three days in my new role notwithstanding typical teething IT issues. However, this is not the end as my actual role is site-based and a lot of factors affect my actual commencement date on site not least because of how quarantine measures keep evolving along with the viral strains. I'll talk about the quarantine requirements for this new role in a subsequent post.
