[nickydwuk]

I went to the recent expo in London following an interview with Tonix. I also spoke to ACCENT whilst I was there. I have been in touch with Geneva & Medacs as well. Can anyone give any insight as to which agency is the better one to go with. What do each one offer regarding help with relocation, jobs and immigration? ACCENT claim to offer a weeks free accomodation, a weeks free car hire and a mobile phone - does this come at a price? Good and bad experiences are welcome.:yes

[westies]

Don't quote me on this but I think if you work for an agancy you can only work for them, so if you worked in one spot and they asked you to come back on there terms you can't... would defo check everything out first. Have you thought about applying directly to the DHB's (District Health Boards). They don't offer any relocation package as far as I know, but I would guess there will be some catch with some of the agencies that do. On saying that you may get a better rate of pay through agency work if you are not looking for a permanent post.

Good luck

[nickydwuk]

I am looking for permanent work and the agencies all say they will be able to place me in a permanent position. I have contacted a few DHB's and they don't seem to offer anything different to the agencies. The only benefit I can see from applying for work through an agency is that they can apply to a number of DHB's but I only have to make one application to them. The big question is - which one?

[piningforthefjords]

We had discussions with one of the agencies you mentioned and would strongly advise that you don't bother. I appreciate for some they may be very useful, but to be honest agencies are in business to make money at the end of the day and so are more keen just to place you than find the right place and job for you. If you are prepared to do the leg work, I think it would be much more sensible to check for jobs yourself. Where DHBs use agencies, they will have to pay them a markup, which in theory you can use to negotiate a better deal yourself, such as some sort of relocation package etc.

From my wife's experience as a specialist nurse we were initially advised that there would be no likelyhood of getting a job in her speciality, but we found 2 roles advertised on the Seek website and she is now in post in Auckland. This was direct with the DHB and the agency in question never mentioned either one to us!

Best advice would be to contact the DHB's yourself and organise a look round the hospital (My wife was virtually offered ward jobs on the spot when doing the rounds on her reccie). Also, get registered with the Nursing Council of NZ ASAP, as this is the major hurdle when applying.

Hope this helps....:yes

[Karen]

I used an agency when we moved out as i also work within an area which trains very few nurese. I used Healthlink and a woman called Lee saw me through all the various steps l needed to cross prior to NZ registration as well as helping me with my immigration paperwork. She was able to offer a few DHB's with openings and l eventually interviewed with 2 of them, choosing eventually to settle in Dunedin.

Although Healthlink are based in Auckland, they appeared to have contacts with all or most of the DHB's and had valuable local information on the 2 areas l looked into. All the assisstance from Lee was either online or via the phone (at their expense!!).

When l arrived l had 2 weeks free accomadation (prior to starting work) and they also paid my airfare. Think some DHB's may offer better relocation terms if you approach them directly but as the agency took all the stress out of the application process l was more than happy with my lot!.

Good luck

Karen