Anyone who works in recruitment will know there are certain techniques we can use that don’t work for individuals looking for jobs, approaching a CEO in a pub you know he drinks in or attending industry events gives us a major advantage. We also use LinkedIn but I’m not sure how well that would work for individuals, that said we do see business pages searching for workers fairly regularly. We have also found great success with techniques anyone can replicate, our Head Of Recruitment Tom Little has some top tips for you.

The 88th Day app on iOS & Android is the place to start, its free to download and we have put 1000s of hours into making it the most convenient way to browse through almost 3000 eligible employers in all 6 states plus the Northern Territory. You can access the phone numbers, email address, websites, locations and information regarding the different types of work and when its best to apply. Everything you need to secure yourself work that leads to a second year visa here in Australia. We worked through the entirety of the governments rural postcode policy, so you can apply to employers safe in the knowledge they are based in rural postcodes. You will notice the huge green region marked on our map, this is area in which we provide share house accommodation. If you are willing to move to South Australia then take a look at our accommodation page and we can make sure you have a nice place to stay while you complete your farm work.

Yellow/White Pages - Type the correct terms into these pages and you will find a long list of businesses in the industry. I find most of the pages contain at least an email but what you’re looking for is a phone number. Call the number and you will likely find yourself speaking to a receptionist, find out how the factory/farm does their recruitment. Often they will use a recruiter or a labour hire company, ask for their details and contact them. Sometimes though these businesses can be quite old fashioned and will rely on CVs that are handed over in person, if this is the case get yourself down there with an updated version of your CV.

Directories - Many farms and factories can be difficult to find using conventional methods, often they have very poor websites and search engines wont find them. These are the ones you want to find, while the average backpacker browses Gumtree and Facebook you can get on the phone to these businesses directly. Use broad terms to describe food, if you know the area produces tonnes of lemons, oranges and limes find the directory for citrus producers in that area. Most producers will be part of a group, find the website for the group and on there you will find details of individual companies.

Aussie Farms - This method is a little unethical I will admit, if you are unwilling to work with meat then this will not interest you. Some of the best hourly paid jobs you can complete your specified work with are in the meat industry. Vegan activists have done me a huge favour in creating this repository listing over 3000 farms and packing facilities, we have mined it extensively to find jobs for backpackers. It’s free and open source, use the details on the site to contact the companies directly, but I probably wouldn’t let on where you found them.

Use these methods correctly and you will find yourself a good job, my advice would be to get off Gumtree and Facebook, it’s easy to apply through these links and often farms are inundated with responses. Get off your arse and meet the employers face to face, you aren’t applying to work in a tech firm, consider what farmers are normally like and what would make you desirable to them.