Najju struggled to find work in Australia because she didn’t have one crucial thing

Najju Ranjit was in a bind.

For a long time, the Brisbane-based mum-of-two had gone from strength to strength in her career.

She had done everything “right”. She’d received her PhD before moving overseas to complete further studies and work for a series of biotech companies in Southern California.

But after almost a decade in the States, Ranjit was ready to return home. What she never expected, however, was how difficult it would be to find work straight away.

READ MORE: Robert Irwin leaves almost nothing to the imagination in racy new move

She soon realised the problem was not that she didn’t know enough or have enough experience. It was instead grounded in who she knew – she did not have the networks or connections she needed to land a job.

“It was definitely disheartening,” Ranjit said.

“I’m not, like, a fresh graduate or anything … [I just didn’t] have the connections and my industry in Brisbane is quite small as well … not like in California where there’s a tonne of biotech companies”.

READ MORE: Simple reason one in two Aussies have cut back on café trips

Having a network is a key – but often overlooked – aspect of the job search process.

According to a recent study by Forbes, 70 to 80 per cent of all jobs are never posted and over three quarters of job seekers find work through their networks and connections.

It was at this point, while frustrated and unsure where to turn next, that Ranjit stumbled across an advertisement for the FW Jobs Academy.

FW Jobs Academy is a nationwide program, funded by the government, that helps women find meaningful, secure and flexible jobs.

Hundreds of kilometres south, in Sydney, another woman found herself in a similar situation to Ranjit.

Maria Yevtushenko had spent almost a decade in “very stable” work, employed by large oil and gas companies.

She had decided to migrate to Australia and for a brief while put her “career on pause” while helping her family settle into their new home.

“[When] we got our Australian permanent residence visa, we moved here and started everything from scratch,” she said.

After a while, Yevtushenko was ready to return to work. But, despite her lengthy career history, with no network or connections in Australia she struggled to land a job.

READ MORE: Powerful DIY cleaning combination stops mould coming back

She soon came to the realisation all her experience was “not really helping”.

Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic has spoken about the economic benefits that skilled migrants, like Yevtushenko, bring to Australia.

“We want to ensure Aussie firms have the workers they need, when they need them, so they can scale up and grow their businesses,” he said.

Like Ranjit, Yevtushenko also stumbled across Jobs Academy by change.

Jobs Academy was exactly what she was looking for. She was “so surprised” by how quickly it helped boost her confidence and has found work with global infrastructure company Acciona.

READ MORE: I gave in to the Hoka hype, and these are my honest thoughts

For Ranjit, the concrete and practical nature of the Academy was particularly helpful, especially the sessions centred around resume writing and networking.

“Especially for me … [changing] from academia to industry, like, what the different expectations are, how you present your resume, how you network, is completely different … that was something that I didn’t have much knowledge of [before Jobs Academy],” she said.

For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.

Time Magazine reveals the 2025 Women of the Year honourees

Only a few months after she started Jobs Academy, Ranjit received a job offer. She used the networking skills she learned in the program to reach out and find her new role as a quality assurance officer.

Ranjit now hopes she can use some more of the skills she learned to “try and move up the ladder and land a more senior role”.

Jobs Academy is a FW initiative supported by government funding. It’s a free, fully virtual program designed to boost women’s workforce participation and economic security. Find out more about FW Jobs Academy here.

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.