[24] He worked in various low-level mining jobs in the Sierra Nevada Mountains until persuading prominent mining engineer Louis Janin to hire him.[27] After working as a mine scout for a year, Hoover was hired by Bewick, Moreing & Co. ("Bewick"), a London-based company that operated gold mines in Western Australia.[28] He first went to Coolgardie, then the center of the Eastern Goldfields, receiving a $5,000 salary (equivalent to $162,860 in 2021). Conditions were harsh in the goldfields; Hoover described the Coolgardie and Murchison rangelands on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert as a land of "black flies, red dust and white heat".[29][30]
Hoover traveled constantly across the Outback to evaluate and manage the company's mines.[31] He convinced Bewick to purchase the Sons of Gwalia gold mine, which proved to be one of the most successful mines in the region.[32] Partly due to Hoover's efforts, the company eventually controlled approximately 50 percent of gold production in Western Australia.[33] Hoover brought in many Italian immigrants to cut costs and counter the labour movement of the Australian miners.