[willow]

Hi

I have looked at this web site many many times and now as we begin the process of getting all the paper work sorted to make the move I felt it was time to ask a few questions and get some support (which everyone on the site seems increadibly good at giving).

we are using an agent and so far we cannot fault them for speed of response, guidance and professionalism, lets hope it stays that way!

The nurse registration bit is already doing my head in! I began nursing in 1989 and getting human resources departments in the various places I have worked to meet my requests for evidence is a test of patience. I suppose it is just part of the process and obviously they have many more things to do other than writing letters of support from staff that worked there 10-15 years ago or more!

Many questions have already been answered by the fanastic resource this site provides, and I am sure more will be answered as we go throught the process. Hopefully, further down the line we can recipricate and help others too.

No one, not even kids (other than NHS human resources!) knows we are planning to do this, that is stressful in itself. Family is not a problem for us, so that is one benefit and a recurring theme on the site we don't have to worry about.

Willow and co

ps would love to put smiley thing on end of message but don't know how!

[StevieD]

welcome to the forum willow - try using the standard : colon and ) end bracket, that should work :)

[castleclan]

Welcome and good luck with a smooth journey.
:) From what I have read you should be fine with your nursing background.

[JandM]

Hello, and welcome.:)

About smileys - there are two ways to get at the site's selection. First, if you have put your response in the Quick Reply box, you can hit the Go Advanced button below it, and you'll find your words are then in another screen with the smileys alongside it. Secondly, you can get directly to that box by hitting the 'Reply' button below any thread, then it will open straight away for you to start typing in.

The more advanced reply box has other features, too, controlled by the buttons above it, e.g. fonts, size, colour, bolding - hover the cursor over the buttons, and they explain themselves.

[shakyle2906]

Welcome to the forum!

Sharon
x

[AndyR]

welcome to the forum and good luck! Any thoughts to what area you wish to settle in? have you been to new zealand before?

[JayBee]

Welcome to the forum - you'll find loads of help, advice and support on here. Best of luck with your plans.

[nickydwuk]

From one nurse to another - welcome to the forum and your journey. Where are you hoping to settle? Do you plan to get a job offer before you submit your EOI or do you have enough points already? I would recommend Geneva or Tonix for agencies to contact regarding getting a job. :yes

[Leanne]

Welcome aboard! :D

[stevied20]

Hi
we plan to move to Christchurch Aug, my wife who is a nurse has secured a job offer, we both recommend Accent Recruitment agency for all their support.
Throughout our visa application they have emailed, phoned and even met up with us in Oxford, their friendliness, help and moral support have help through the year of application.
As for HR they do get back to you in the end.
Steve & Julie

[peebles16]

Welcome along for the ride from us too :D

Karen

[Kiwi-In-Texas]

Hello and welcome.

[dusk]

hello :)

[snailandthewhale]

Hello and welcome!
If you haven't committed to anything, be aware that you can apply for jobs direct to the DHBs, without going through an agency.
Either way, I'm sure you'll love nursing in NZ.
There's so many nurses on here, I think we should have our own board!
Good Luck!
K

[willow]

Hi

could you let me know why we are unable to apply for jobs directly to the dhb's. I have applied for a couple and spoken to their HR departments and no one has mentioned that!

as this is a complete shock (I am left wondering when they were going to tell me my application and cv was void).

any help on subject from anyone please

[willow]

sorry about above message! got my knickers in twist! i thought you said I COULDN'T APPLY TO DHB! must learn to read accurately for residency application or will fail English test!!!!

As you can tell in my inaccurate rant I have applied direct to DHB with good responses. our agents suggested this rather than using their job finder sister company because we are very specific about the area we want and my speciality is very specific.

going to bed early to rest eyes so can see better tomorrow!!!

[tea drinker]

Oh Willow...have you recovered from your little panic? Hope so:yes

It can all get a bit confusing at times...no worries... someone will be along to sort us all out before too long.:laugh

[snailandthewhale]

Whoops! sorry, Willow.
Didn't mean to panic you! I only mentioned it as most of the nurses I meet here who came over with an agency did so as they didn't know they could apply direct.
I hope you have recovered from the shock!
Regards

[Mrs B]

Hi Willow,
I am also thinking of applying directly to DHBs. Looking around, I can't see what an agency can offer that I can't arrange myself. This website has such great info as well.
Just heared today that my EOI has been selected!! Very excited... :raebanana

Good luck :nice1

[willow]

HI

SORRY FOR CAPITALS LAP TOP HAS JAMMED CAPS LOCK ON (KIDS!)
MY SON JUST TOLD ME WRITING IN CAPITALS IS EQUIVALENT OF SHOUTING ON FORUMS ETC!


HOW EXCITING MRS B THAT YOU EOI WAS SELECTED. WE DREAM OF GETTING TO THAT STAGE! OUR STUFF IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEEN PULLED TOGETHER BY OUR AGENT, AS YOU CAN SEE IN MY EARLIER POSTS NHS HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENTS ARE DRIVING ME MAD! TODAY, AN HOSPITAL I WORKED AT FOR A GOOD LENGTH OF TIME HAVE TOLD ME THAT THEY CAN'T PROVIDE ME WITH EVIDENCE AS THEIR SYSTEM ONLY HOLDS RECORDS FOR 7 YEARS. SO, NOW I AM HOPING THE INLAND REVENUE COME UP TRUMPS WITH MY NATIONAL INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS TO USE AS EVIDENCE.


RE DHB'S, ( yippee caps lock just came off!), I can't see the benefit of using agents to get a job if you are in nursing etc. I would advise nurses to look at District health board vacancies if you want a specific area. I just kept going onto dhb site in the area we want to settle and eventually my specialist role came up several times.

It is a sad sign of the NHS when so many nurses are moving to nz and au. my work load is unbelievable in uk. I was midwife in uk til a few years ago. used to start shift at 7 work until 4-5pm (should have finished at 3) without a drink (not even water!)or food, not once, but nearly every shift. I used to not need the loo as no fluid had gone in so none to come out! my current role is much better than this, but the NHS are losing nurses and midwives because of things like that and feeling unappreciated too. the nhs trust i worked in used to owe me masses of over time pay or time off, but had the cheek to ask me to work 15minutes extra when we worked nights as the shifts meant we were working 15minutes short compared to day shift. i remember my jaw dropping in disbelief that they had the nerve to do this when every midwife was working unpaid overtime to ensure women were safe because of staff shortages. Roll of New Zealand, please be better than the NHS!!

A good moan is so healthy!

[IanW99]

...
RE DHB'S, ( yippee caps lock just came off!), I can't see the benefit of using agents to get a job if you are in nursing etc. I would advise nurses to look at District health board vacancies if you want a specific area. I just kept going onto dhb site in the area we want to settle and eventually my specialist role came up several times.
...


I assume you mean nursing recruitment agencies such as Geneva Health, Tonix etc.

If so, then there are lots of benefits of using agents e.g. they are specialists in employing immigrants and know the processes involved and can offer help, support and advice at all stages of the process.

As they don't cost you anything, my advice would be the opposite i.e. why wouldn't you want to use them?

The only issue that I have with these agencies is that they imply that they are the only way to get a job, and they know about all the available jobs in the area. They are not the only way as many here have found out and they can only offer jobs that they are involved with, so there are many jobs that don't go through the agencies.

So my advice would be to use agencies, and also look at DHBs direct.

Ian

[nickydwuk]

I used an agency and although I could get a job direct from the DHB they organised the interview and acted as a go between between the two of us. They have also given me lots of help & advice and are arranging an airport pickup & possible accomodation too. They chased the NZNC too. However I think if you go direct to the DHB's you may get a relocation package. I know the agents advise you to either register with them or a DHB but not both, I did register with more than one agent and contacted the DHB's too. The choice is yours :D

[snailandthewhale]

I went straight to the DHB and they were very knowledgeable re immigration, they recruit so many staff from abroad. They contacted NZIS & NZNC for me. Also arranged airport pick-up and our accommodation for the first few weeks.
I know some agencies offer a similar relocation package to the DHBs ie flight and few weeks accom. paid for.
I think if you don't have a straightforward EOI then the agencies would be a good bet as they are the experts in getting people in to NZ.

However, some of my colleagues took jobs at MercyAscot after an agency told them there were no jobs available in the public sector, they arrived here and realised it simply wasn't the case. I know someone who rushed over, leaving her husband and unsold house as the agency said the DHB were going to withdraw the job offer, the DHB in fact keeps job offers open for 2 - 3 years, but the agency were going to lose money if she didn't get there. Another girl was under the impression she was being paid at a higher rate than everyone else as the agency had negotiated a better deal for her, turned out to be the same rate of pay that everyone starts on.

All purely anecdotal of course and I work with lots of people who were happy with the agency they used. I'm also sure that people have heard similar tales about the DHBs.

It's all worth bearing in mind. Buyer Beware and all that!

K

[willow]

snailandthewhale.

i have also heard stories like that. i may be wrong as all of this is new to us, but the dhb for nursing recruitment seems so easy. even our agent who has a recruitment sister company told us so! of course not everyone will find jobs on the sites if they are in a very specialist area, but from my experience the dhb have many nursing jobs that are just open, unfilled for ages. the same jobs are indeed advertised on agency sites, but why pay for something you can do yourself. as nurses we are used to doing that in the uk. i am not sure about the relocation packages they offer in comparrison to agencies, but i bet the dhb pay the agencies for any relocation package they offer clients, making it look as the the agency is the good guy!

anyway, main thing is hopefully i will be getting out of nursing in the uk, yum yum!

[sirmamac]

Hello,Willow and welcome to the forum!
Good luck with everything!
Glad to meet onother NHS employee on the forum(one myself,but not for long):D

[Asli&Mark]

Hello Willow and co

Welcome to the forum and good luck with the immigration process

Asli

[homertonian]

Know what you mean about the registration it is a pain isn't it and everyone wants money off you, university, NMC etc etc. Flying out myself on a recce to Auckland in a couple of weeks ans set up my own interviews. What do the nursing agencies actually provide you with. We are going on a job offer with my husband that includes residency. Was wondering if worth me involving Tonix or Accent.:confused:
Regads
Karen

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

hello and welcome. Only advice I can offer at this stage is you'll need a : followed by 'raebanana' to get a
:raebanana
We use those a lot on here :)

[IanW99]

Know what you mean about the registration it is a pain isn't it and everyone wants money off you, university, NMC etc etc. Flying out myself on a recce to Auckland in a couple of weeks ans set up my own interviews. What do the nursing agencies actually provide you with. We are going on a job offer with my husband that includes residency. Was wondering if worth me involving Tonix or Accent.:confused:
Regads
Karen

As it doesn't cost you anything to use a nursing agency and they can offer you help and support should you need it, then it wouldn't be a problem if you did use them.

We found the main benefits were that they are familiar with all aspects of the employment process so could offer help and support with everything nursing related from finding the jobs, interviews, nursing council etc. We even used them for a contact address until we were settled.

Of course, you don't need to use an agency and not all jobs are advertised with the agencies anyway, so if you are happy going it alone then sure it won't be a problem either.

Ian

[homertonian]

Thanks Ian

Will get back in touch with Tonix. Nothing to lose.

Regards
Karen