Currently the mining sector is powering ahead, with many experts predicting it to continue for years, if not decades, and there are many jobs that need to be filled.

The question is are you able to put yourself forward to get that mining job and what can you do to enhance your prospects?

Make Sure You are Suited to the Job You are Applying For

It sounds obvious, but surely no one would apply for a job they would find themselves unsuited to?  Apparently not so; engineering graduates quite often lean toward a totally different career path. Some find themselves in banking where their organisational skills are valued, while others find a niche in developing their own businesses – businesses totally unrelated to their field of study such as chiropody, commercial interior design or café proprietor, even if it means going back to study.

Maybe it would be a good idea then to at least consider if the career path you have chosen is for you. You may even find it beneficial to consult a Career Consultant, who can independently assess your attributes and wishes, before you make some serious applications or decisions.

Prepare a Good Resume

So much is written on this subject, but the people to listen to are surely the people who sift through resumes to find candidates for a short list. Check out the current style, keeping in mind some basic concepts:

• Keep it short – 3 to 4 pages at most.
• Make sure it reads well and spells well.
• Ask someone else to read it.
• Tailor the resume for each application, omitting irrelevant details. You only need to usually change a paragraph or two.
• Get professional help if you think you need it (or even if you don’t!)

Add Useful Attributes

Get some useful attributes to put on your resume that would be helpful in the mining job you want – a First Aid Certificate, a MARCSTA Course, a course in Project Management. Any attributes can put your application into the “ones to look at pile” instead of the bin. 

In the early days of women in engineering, one young woman included on her resume that she had a “Shot Firers Ticket” for explosives. Although not required for the position she was applying for, it demonstrated that she would be cool under pressure. This attribute got her onto the short list and into a job interview.

The mining industry in Australia is still in a relative boom, and with the downturn in job vacancies outside the sector perhaps job-seekers might reflect on what’s available and if there’s something waiting for them.

Now not all mining jobs are considered to be full-on mining. There are many support roles, as each mining job can generate up to two more in the general community, and not necessarily at the mine location. Miners, after all, have to get to work, eat, see a nurse, send their kids to school, etc.

So what jobs are out there?

Mining and mining related jobs vary from the professional through to service oriented and support – not in the order of importance!

Professional

Not all professionals in mining are Mining Engineers. Almost every facet of engineering can be represented: Civil, Mechanical and Electrical. And then there are geologists, geophysicists and surveyors. Not all professional staff are required to work at a mine location of course, with many carrying out their duties at a head office in a capital city.

Allied Professional

Every mining project needs tertiary qualified accountants, project managers, human resource managers, computing and information technologists – just like any workplace in a major company in a capital city.

Direct Mine Workers

Those personnel that directly mine materials and effect transport to finished destination, as well as process workers, are invariably employed at or near a minesite location, very often living in company accommodation on a FIFO (fly in fly out) basis. Many major mining operations need the expertise of railway workers to get their product from site to customer. Mechanics and electricians are needed to make sure everything works effectively.

Support Personnel

Like any company, secretarial, administrative and nursing staff are needed. The only difference being that both women and men have fewer options in fashion footwear, being required to wear safety workboots!

Peripheral Community Personnel

Some mining areas are so developed and the surrounding community so large that nurses, teachers and so on are needed, as in this example seen on an employment website:

“Qualified Childcare Professionals – Newman”

“We deliver professionally designed recreation, childcare, accommodation and youth programs … above industry award rates paid, subsidised housing, ongoing professional development ….. Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood learning … degree or diploma in early childhood”