The Green list, Straight to residence and highly paid residence visas are great for people with a good job offer in a Green List occupation or those with high remuneration. If the general requirements are met and the job is stable then these can be smooth residence pathways. There is a misconception that the Green list is the only viable pathway to residence and that if you have a job on the Greenlist that you are almost guaranteed residence. Both of these are wrong of course, but this is a good option if you are eligible.
Congratulations, this is great first step, but there are still requirements to be met by both applicant and employer. Once these are all set and you have worked for 2 years in most cases, a residence application will be possible. The most important thing to remember about these residence categories is that once you have established eligibility, you need to prove it clearly, and prove all the other standard residence criteria including, English, health, character and so on.
The common pitfalls of any skillled residence application relying on the Green List is that not only do you need a job on the Green list, you need to meet the specific Green List criteria. This includes things like qualifications, pay rates and work experience. Without meeting the specific criteria of the occupation, merely having a job or job offer will not be enough.
Some people despair when they find their job is not on the Green list, but in reality most successful residence applications are not Green list occupations. The SMC is the logical alternative and even if you do not meet the criteria right away, it is often posisble to plan so that you do meet the criteria. For the SMC you still need to have a skilled job and be paid at least median wage though.