[Tate6]

February 25th could be our day!!! It all started when......
Mike (hubby) met with his best friend from high school (MANY years ago ;) ), who owns an international beef jerky business with a plant in Auckland. He was hoping he could finagle some sort of job opportunity out of it. Unfortunately, his buddy just owns the plant in NZ and does not run it. I was deflated when he came home with that news, as I thought we would be putting out the for sale sign and packing!! :wah
Although, this friend kept asking what else he could do to help get us there. And, he mentioned he could put us in touch with his good friend who runs a hunting guide business in NZ. Then, in parting, he said that the CEO of the NZ beff jerky plant just happened to be coming here for a business meeting the end of February and would Mike like to meet them for a beer. So I went to work, sending out an email to make contact with this CEO. I sent Mike's resume and a brief letter. Got a response today asking if Mike could catch up with him while he is here. So, I am assuming he is somewhat interested or why waste his time? Right???
:hopeso :hopeso :hopeso
So wish us luck!!

My stomach is doing flipflops!!

Terry

[veronica]

Its all about networking..... or as it used to be said. its not what you know, its who you know. hope it comes through.

[Kim39]

You just need that lucky break, and this could be it. So :hopeso for you. As quite a lot on this forum seem to be http://tcwozere.co.uk/smileys/banghead.gif for that offer. Just go with the flow and who know's what might drop onto your lap. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Kim

[Diny]

Sounds promising to me too Terry - like you say, if he wasn't interested why would he bother asking for a meeting.

Veronica is right ..... it's networking - the old 'pie and a pint' routine. Many a job offer has been made over a drink down the pub.

Fingers crossed.

Diny

[kiwidollie]

Good luck from me too!

Hope this is the break you need.

:hopeso

Keep us posted

[Tate6]

Thanks for your good wishes!

Have sent out hubby's resume to about 11 wood processing companies and have gotten a handful of responses. Some saying they would take a closer look when we are in NZ. Others, saying they have nothing available yet. The ones that have not responded, I think I am going to resend them with a request to at least reply saying they received it.

Then, there was one who was so promising!!! They were in the process of opening another operation and were in need of a supervisor!! Yeah!!
He was very nice and asked questions like where were we wanting to live in NZ and when would we be there. He then went on to describe the operation of the plant and final question was.....
"What is your salary level expectation in NZ ?"
I answered with a letter describing our situation and that we were wanting to secure employment before heading over. That the area of NZ would depend on where hubby found employment. And that we still have to sell our house, which can be done by family.
Then, explained that with family of 6, we felt we needed to get what he makes now--which in NZ dollars is $70,000....... :eek
Will that be the downfall???
Just sent it yesterday.........waiting for a reply.
I also said he could call and speak to hubby this evening if he still had questions........
Hope that didn't end our chances!!! :wah


Anyone else with experiences like this?? How did it end up??
Terry

[cloudboy99]

The salary question is always a toughie, especially pre-interview. I always try to redirect the question by asking "Well what do you believe a person with my qualifications should be paid?" Sometimes that works, but you really have to feel out the situation. Also be sure that you are in a "sales" mindset. You have to convince them you are a hard-working, dedicated, experienced individual who functions well in a team-oriented environment and enjoys challenges.

[jesselyn]

good luck! http://tcwozere.co.uk/smileys/pinkthumb.gif

[Tate6]

Thanks all for your wishes of good luck. I am counting down until the 25th!!

On other job possibility, we emailed the CEO back and then told him he could reach hubby by phone on 21st his time. We later decided to call him ourselves, but got only voicemail. Hubby left a message with our phone number. THEN.....we sent another email saying that we were very serious about our move and would be willing to negotiate the salary depending on benefits offered.......Still nothing.
It is driving me nuts!!! :wah

Terry

[Tate6]

Well I resent some resumes that I had not heard anything on and here is part of one I got a reply on:

"Immigration can be a hassle and will typically take months & even years to conclude - for a work permit & visa or the next step of permanent residency. You would need to complete this before we would look at employment as it is costly and there needs to be real need to fill a specialist role. We would not get involved on this process."

Needless to say, this was NOT one of the promising responses!!! :wah

Still waiting for any type of response on the one that sounded like a great possibility.........
But we still have the meeting with the CEO from a plant in Auckland on Friday. As Diny said, being that it involves having a "few", maybe something will come of it.
This is so frustrating........Don't know how you all are doing it waiting from PR!! :(

Terry

[wilson182]

Hi Terry

Was that reply from a company? It just goes to show how out of touch they are with the immigration process. Once you have the job offer, you can get your work permit the same day. We were in nz when hubby got the offer and he went down to immigration early in the morning with all the paperwork and was issued his pemit on the spot. I'm sure I've read of people who have done the same thing in England. Also, once you have the permit and job, Immigration are now making it easier to go through the residency process. We went to a seminar, held by immigration, a few weeks ago and they told us in christchurch it was taking approx six months for PR (depending on how quickly you got them the info they needed)

[Tate6]

Wilson182-
Thanks for the positive remarks.
I thought the same when I read this. Either they really don't know the process or they are full of s**t and don't want to put any effort toward finding someone outside of NZ.

What are your thoughts on some employers' ulterior(sp?) motives to discouraging immigrants from applying??


Is there alot to an employer getting the paperwork to hire someone that is not an NZ resident?

Thanks
Terry

[wilson182]

From memory, all they had to do was supply Hubby with a copy of his contract, which has to state specific things like: Job description, run down of his duties and the term of the employment. I think they need to know the term of employment so they can judge how long to give you on the visa/permit. They did orginally tell us that they would give Paul a three year permit, because he is a welder, but in the end we got a two year permit. Once your hubby has his permit, you will be able to get one for the same period (should you want one of course). It didnt cost Paul's employers a penny. I will double check with him thats all we needed and let you know if it is different.


I dont think they have any reason not to want to employ migrants, I think they just assume that it will be a difficult process, any thoughts anyone?


Debs

[Moorf]

As with Wilson182, Woz simply had to supply his employer-to-be with a form provided by the Immigration Office - they filled this in within a couple of hours - handed it back with a copy of his Contract and that was sufficient for him to get a Work Visa the next day.

I guess it really depends on how educated the company is with regard to employing immigrants - the company Woz works for has been through this process a few times so they are used to it. Perhaps some companies aren't aware of how easy it can be.

[Hannah-NL]

Maybe those companies need some help as in a small (NZIS perhaps?) document, which states what an employer needs to do so he can hire an immigrant? If I read all this, they need some education :roll:

[Tate6]

As hubby is meeting tonight with the CEO from a jerky plant in NZ, I received this email from another company in Tauranga that we were so excited about. First let me set this up by saying, I first sent hubby's resume to a contact at this company, who forwarded it to the CEO of company. The CEO then sent this email:

"Couple of questions first up. How did you hear of us ?

Where in NZ are you planning on living and when do you plan to be here ?

I have just established a pallet component plant which we are taking to a shift operation in the very near future

Our intention is to run 4 day on 4 day off with 10.5 -11 hour days running between 7am and 7 pm so we are in need of a second shift supervisor who is familiar with timber industry and machine operations .

Plant consists of kiln operation , auto stacker and destackers , pack saws , multihead bandsaws sorting tables and quality check lines , all of which you would be familiar with I am sure .

One further question , what is your salary level expectation in NZ ?"
We responded, answering questions. Stating that we were wanting to secure employment before heading over. Then, after 2 days of not hearing anything, we called the CEO, to ask questions. Left a voicemail. No response. We then sent another email saying we were serious about our move and were willing to negotiate the salary depending on benefits.
No response after 5 days. Then, this email from the original man we sent resume to--not from the CEO.
"Thanks for your resume . We currently don't have any openings for employment but I will keep this on file and let you know if we have anything to offer . I can tell you that there are many job opportunities in New Zealand at present as we have the lowest unemployment figures for many years so you will have no problem getting eemployment . I suggest you also contact the nearest New Zealand embassy in the States who I am sure will be very helpful re: your proposed relocation .

All the best for the future ."

What to make of this??? I am thinking, they thought about it after finding out we were not coming until AFTER being hired. They don't want to have to fuss witht the paperwork--Yes???
I am confused.............
:uhoh :(

And after re-reading this...all of you probably are too!! :eek

Terry

[Moorf]

I'm afraid to say that I do think they have replied as such because you are not currently in NZ and/or have no firm commitment to do so as yet. This is a very common problem here (except for some professions such as nursing / teaching). Or perhaps your salary expectations were unreasonable? Obviously without knowing what you put I can't comment....

It really is best to come over and have face to face interviews lined up / agency interviews etc - this may mean your husband has to stay here whilst you go back and arrange the move etc, or you could come over on a visitors visa, as we did, and sort it out from there.

Sorry I can't be more positive but this is a problem many on the forum have already faced.

Moorf

[Tate6]

Well, the meet with the CEO of NZ plant in Auckland was a success!! He wanted to talk to me after talking to hubby. So we met with him Friday afternoon. In his experience, of helping families move to another countries, it was the wife that ended up wanting to move back. In one case, it was an teenage child. He wanted to give the negative aspects of moving to another country and of NZ. For example, in Auckland, the gangs and minorities. He had some very good points. Then in closing, he said we had to make a trip over before deciding and that he would set up interviews for hubby in his areas of skill with companies that he knew would be good to work for and that are in locations good for families!!
And that if we decided to move there, if hubby needed to temporarily work for him until he found a job, he could. Or if he wanted to work there permanently, that would be an option also. :clap :mrgreen: So.........


We are now planning for a trip in June for just hubby and I. Have to figure out how to come up with the money for that AND money to get house ready to sell. :wah
But all positives!!

Terry

[wilson182]

Good News Terry, Well done :nice1