Aussies pick top jobs in London

Anna Kurnuszko

Forget the backpacking pub worker, today’s young travellers want more.

Bags packed, tickets, long flight – destination London. Once there, it used to be take any old job until the money was gone, then come home with your tail between your legs.

Not any more. Thousands of young Australians travel to England and Europe, but they no longer take a backpack.

Instead, many have a packed suitcase and either a job to go to or have plans to get one, and it’s not pulling pints in a pub.

These young Australians are looking to take up professional positions and advance their careers while overseas.

Link Recruitment Global boss Jason Cartwright says many of today’s Australian expats have finished university and have a few years’ work experience.

“They go overseas looking for professional positions that will advance their career in the long run, rather than a job that will just pay the bills,” he says.

Joining the exodus is Blair McNamara, senior account executive (program design and placement) at Aon, a global company that deals with risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage.

For the next 12 months McNamara will work for Aon in London, spending most of his day at Lloyd’s.

“About 60 syndicates are based at Lloyd’s and each one is basically a different insurance company,” he says. “It is like going to Victoria Market and buying fruit — you are going to different underwriters and getting the best deal for your client.

“An insurance contract might be for $1 million and each underwriter might say they will have 5 per cent at Lloyd’s.

“In Australia they like to take the whole lot, but at Lloyd’s it’s common to take a small percentage and spread the risk around. It diversifies the risk and they have to pay only a percentage of the claim.”

As a trader, McNamara says he analyses a client’s insurance risk and goes out to the market place, meets the underwriters of the insurance companies and negotiates on behalf of the client.

McNamara is no stranger to London. He was there last year as part of an international program for brokers run by Aon.

“The pilot program got brokers like me to London and taught us how to operate at Lloyd’s,” he says.

It also gave him the chance to meet people he had only spoken to on the phone and to discover what it was like to work in London.

McNamara says Australian brokers often travel overseas to place a client’s business.

“London is one place you do it. So is Europe, Bermuda and New York, but London is the international hub,” he says.

In Melbourne, McNamara’s job involves securing professional indemnity for lawyers, doctors and accountants, but specifically lawyers.

He says most of his focus is on lawyers and accountants. That is where his legal background comes in handy. It enables him to understand the types of services they need.

McNamara has almost completed a part-time combined degree in banking, finance and law at Victoria University, and has taken leave from his course to take his overseas posting.

In London he’ll still be dealing with professional indemnity, but it will be for global corporates and the legal departments of big corporations.

He sees his time in London as a big stepping stone for his career.

“Lots of opportunities will spring up as a result of the time and experience I will gain in London,” he says.

“One of those things will be working with older, more experienced traders and building relationships while there,” he says.

“Relationships are important in insurance.

“In London, I’m told, you just can’t do anything if someone doesn’t know you – they don’t trust you.

“For a long time I will be introduced to other insurers by someone else. Once I build my own relationships and have the contacts, I can get the best deals for my clients.”

Job lot

Working overseas
BE ABSOLUTELY sure you are allowed to work overseas and get the correct visas and documents
MAKE sure you have copies of all your qualifications
ALLOW plenty of time to get the necessary visas and work permits. Age and the type of job you want to do can make a difference to your application
IF YOU are going to try your luck, take enough money to see you through for the first few weeks of job hunting
BE PREPARED to accept work you normally might not do, you never know what it might lead to
FOR MORE INFORMATION
www.careerone.com.au

Herald Sun, April 12, 2008