[The Dales]

Hello everyone,

Firstly, thankyou - this forum has been a great source of information to us already as we have been browsing it for a few weeks now and have just decided to set up an account and join in.

We (my wife Lianne and I) are currently living in Bridgend, South Wales and have recently had our 'Residency' visa's accepted without any job offers. The plan is to start job hunting almost as soon as we arrive. We will be making the move to Auckland (initially) in early September. Can't wait!!

I have loads of questions, which I won't bore you with straight away, but there is one question that is burning me right now that I must ask regarding employment:

I have been working successfully in the UK (in various locations) as a Multimedia Designer (with an emphasis firmly on Web Design) both in employment and most recently as a Freelancer. I have done a little research into job prospects in this field and so far have been fairly encouraged by the numbers of jobs available. However, my question is this: Are there any larger scale Creative Design companies in New Zealand? So far my searches have found relatively small companies. The creative industry in New Zealand seems fairly fragmented - is this a fair assumption?? None of this really matters as far as job prospects are concerned, it just helps to know a little better what my expectations should be.

I am currently putting my portfolio together as well as finishing a few last jobs here in the UK. So, in about 4 weeks or so, I will be making a full scale search for work in NZ, has anyone got any tips on where I should be looking for employment in Multimedia/Web Design?

We don't yet have children and are looking more in terms of lifestyle so we aren't really all that fussy on location as long as it offers a reasonable work/lifestyle balance.

Ray Dale

[kanatakiwi]

welcome to the forum. lots of help here for all your questions. I can't offer any info or advice on the scale of Creative Design companies here but I am sure there will someone who can.
Have you thought of putting out some employment feelers while you are still in Wales. Lots of people on here have done that and had several interviews lined up for when they arrive. In some cases, people even got job offers while still in the UK or North America or wherever.
Good luck

[gil]

Hi The Dales! We came to Auckland from Cardiff last November. It's proved to be a great move for us.

Something staggering like 96% of NZ businesses are in the SME category, with 20 or fewer employees, so "big" is unlikely. I'm afraid I don't have any specific info on those sorts of organisations.

Please shout if you need answers!

Gil

[The Dales]

Thanks for the welcome Kanatakiwi! Yes, we have thought about seeking employment for when we get to Auckland, however, we also wanted a bit of a holiday (around 4 weeks or so) as we have been saving for this for 2 years without any vacation. Though, I am reluctantly coming around to the fact that we cannot afford to miss any employment prospects if a good job comes along. I think as soon as I finish my portfolio I will start applying or at least putting feelers out.

Hi gil, nice to meet somebody else who has moved from our neck of the woods recently. Yeah, that's roughly what I thought, though 96% is quite a statistic! I have been thinking about actually adding to that statistic by setting up on my own as well.

I do have another question: We are initially staying in an apartment in Newmarket / Parnell for the first 3 weeks with a view to extending our stay in Auckland. Where are the best places to search for good quality, yet reasonably priced rented accommodation in Auckland??

[andrewandjane]

waitakere council Auckland seem very into promoting the creative industries and are really trying to get more business into their area so may be worth looking there.

[Slipsurfer]

Hi The Dales,

We Live just outside Bridgend...just had our EOI selected without Job Offer. Like you at the moment far too many questions. Good Luck.

Slipsurfer

[The Dales]

waitakere council Auckland seem very into promoting the creative industries and are really trying to get more business into their area so may be worth looking there.

Thanks for the tip.

[The Dales]

Hi The Dales,

We Live just outside Bridgend...just had our EOI selected without Job Offer. Like you at the moment far too many questions. Good Luck.

Slipsurfer

Thanks Slipsurfer... have you thought were in NZ you want to be yet? We have been through all the EOI and application stuff so feel free to ask any questions. Got any location in particular you want to be in NZ, or are you like us still researching locations??

[H & Rick]

Hi The Dales & Slipsurfer

Nice to hear from somone in our area, we are currently living in Newport and hope to head for Christchurch in November/December.

Good luck with it all :)

[The Dales]

Good to hear from you H & Rick. Good luck to you too.

[Bruckner]

Welcome Lianne and Ray!

Emily