[robertrippon]

Hi all

Just thought I would drop a line and say we have just been to Expo 07 at London Earls Court Hotel.

We found it very interesting and it was our first meeting with Kiwis and they were great, what a nice bunch of guys that really welcome you and actually want you to come on over..:clap

There was a lot of different stands and loads of helpful brochures and advice from pet relocation / banking / houses and JOBS !!

Had my c.v. taken by a couple of interested recruiters which gave me a boost because so far trying to land a job interview over the internet is impossible... ( any advice welcome ).

My Trade is as an Electrician but run my own business in home renovation also so it is difficult trying to find the right career to apply to, OH is a registered Childminder taking time out with our one year old.

we are looking to relocate to Whitianga any suggestions there would be welcome....

Good luck any one and go to an Expo show if you can.

cheers Rob & Jo + 4 boys

ps, London was horrendous we are country folk and rarely visit the city, but it was worth the 4 hour journey home, 2 hours travelling and 2 hours stuck in traffic......

EOI selected 13/09/07
waiting for ITA

[lockstock]

Thanks for that Rob. We're going to the Manchester one next weekend - we couldn't face London (for the same reasons you weren't keen on it) and it's easier to get to Manchester from here. I hope it's worth going to. At least it feels like you're doing something constructive in finding out as much info as you can. And we're going to open a bank account too.

[RamblingPaddies]

just back from the london expo adn i didnt find it as good as i thought it was going to be ...
only 3 IT companies and although there were lots of stands, most were to help you move as opposed to help you get a job, which was more important for me. NZIS was very useful and it helped put a human face on the bureaucratic monster that lies before us all ...

i suppose for people just starting out in the process or just thinking about thinking about new zealand then it would've been much more informative ...

[Al_Clark]

I went to London on Friday (train and tube - almost stress free - still as many people lacking manners in London as there ever were) and stayed in the Ibis overnight. Found that I could get into the Expo on Friday & Saturday by getting the program stamped.

Friday afternoon was spent talking to I.T. people (Alcatel-Lucent, IBM, EDS, Telecom N.Z/Gen-I). Also spoke to Annie Hill with Priority One from the Tauranga region (priorityone.co.nz). They told me that the region is the fastest growing in the country and salaries are on a par with Auckland and Wellington. They have 160+ companies in their 'job cluster' - could be worth getting your CV in to them!

On Saturday morning, an hour was well spent going to the Immigration presentation. Questions were fired at an Immigration representative and a Skilled Migrant Case Officer from N.Z. House in London. After that, until mid-afternoon, I talked with the remaining exhibitors: banks, FX people, relocation services etc.

I left there with a far more positive feeling about the job market (than just looking on jobsites had given me) and the signifcant need for I.T. staff. Positive noises about my years of experience were made; my relative lack of paper qualifications didn't seem to phase anyone.

I was impressed with the genuine enthusiasm all the recruiters had for N.Z. In all, I spoke with 6 direct employers (a couple of the banks asked for my CV even though I only went over to talk to them about an account) and gave my CV to 4 agencies. Calls should start next week once the CV's have all been processed.

In summary, the Expo was good; far better than I thought it would be beforehand. Well worth the time, effort and money involved.

Alan.

p.s. By far the best giveaway was a 115 page hardback book of landscapes from Westpac. Best pen (if you're at all interested) was from Pension Transfers, but they didn't have much competition to be frank.

[nickydwuk]

We have just come back from the London Expo and found it better than the March one. We weren't job hunting as I already have a job offer :yes but we were looking for as much info as we could find on areas to live, banking & pensions. As we are moving to Christchurch we found the Christchurch District Council stall very helpful. they gave us lots of info on the area and some suggestions of where OH can look for part time work when we arrive. The banks were very similar so it is just a matter of who was more helpful on the day. We came away in a very positive frame of mind and I am now ready to start working on my 'to do' list ready for putting in my EOI & planning the move.

[bobbyj]

We went to the expo despite having already had job interviews, set up bank accounts, researched property and got our visa (so not much point really)...but it was great. I got to meet our NZIS case worker, then bank manager we have been speaking to by email for months (he was over from Westpac) and managed to set up another interview for a job (we are in recruitment and as luck would have it, have managed to have a few interviews in the UK and, fingers crossed, may get offered a job over here which would take the stress out of our arrival). All in all, it was well worth going in the end.