[ck38]

Thought I would ask how people got on at the London or Leeds expo. Was it what they expected, anybody get job offers or was it a let down?

[925dancer]

I went to the London expo and for me it was a bit of a let down. Mostly because they didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know, it was quite south island focussed and I'm unskilled.

As a source of information for the completely uninitiated I imagine it was quite useful and looked like some good employers there for the skilled lot.

The hall was baking hot though, I know we need to climatise but wow it was very stuffy.

[StuAndRen]

We went to Leeds, and like 925dancer we didn't find out anything new, or anything that you couldn't find out from browsing this forum for an hour or two. £15 each for two of us seemed a bit steep for what it was, especially as there were only about half a dozen employers there. (I wasn't expecting millions of employers and to leave with a job offer, but it would have been nice for there to be more than 1 I.T. company there to talk with).

But then if we hadn't of gone, we would have always wondered if we had missed something vital! :)

[YouMeAndThree]

But then if we hadn't of gone, we would have always wondered if we had missed something vital! :)

Very true :yes

Lx

[NZ Hopeful]

Thanks StuandRen, we were going to go to Leeds but the weather that weekend was quite nice so decided against it, glad we didn't miss anything special. :nice1

[benrus]

Is there any chance that New Zealand Job Expo will also happen in Asia? Perhaps in Singapore, Thailand, or the Philippines?

[b&k]

IBM were there and I found them to be very helpful and honest. Plus the HR lady I was talking to was a former Dancing with Stars professional dancer and judge.

[castleclan]

We were pleased to go and to talk to humans rather than a computer screen about things. My hubby who is not skilled either did get to sign up with one agency that would help him when we have a date. I got some questions answered and NZIS said that in the last few draws, people with over 115 points have been selected. So those of you in a position to go, get those forms in.

[Mamee & Co]

We went to Leeds, after hearing about it from a recruitment agency I had spoken to Chch. Unfortunately that chap was off to London but couldn't get there due to childcare probs. Found it really good to talk to people face to face rather than just email and phone., Got lots of useful information. Also enjoyed speaking to firm of CAs who were there about what was happening in the profession in NZ.

[gbFunk]

Hi All,

I went to London on the Sunday. I had free tickets after bitterly complaining about the one in April that I felt was oversold. In April, I was expecting to turn up and talk to loads of companies and recruiters - and it wasn't like that at all!

I therefore went this time knowing what to expect. I felt it was actually a better fair - there were more recuitment consultants (spoke to at least 4), and IBM being there was a real bonus. We also had specific targets on this one, and since the fair, we have;
1) opened a HiFX account to transfer currency
2) got a Westpac bank account to put the NZ dollars in
3) arranged 2 removal companies to come and quote
4) Applied for work at IBM

I think the fair is really useful when you have made a definate decision to go, and are trying to sort the logistics - we move in Jan and now feel like we are getting somewhere. Without this focus, we got no value from our first trip.

Just my opinion...

Cheers,
gbFunk

[victoria24]

we found it really helpfull too, deffo worth the trip. still trying to find out if an nvq2 in office procedures will get extra 20 points for the mrs tho!

[PeKaJoSa]

I went on the Sunday, and was there for a couple of hours in the afternoon. By 3pm there was almost nobody talking to the NZIS team, so you could get advice from 3 of them at once! The marketing of the Expo makes it sound huge event, but it's not really a very big venue. Actually I found it far more useful to talk to the staff on the stands about their personal opinions & experiences in NZ rather than whatever they were 'officially' there to promote!

I got useful information, so for me it was worthwhile. However there were far fewer 'real' employers at the show than the website was implying, so if you attended with the intention of talking direct to employers rather than job agencies then I think you would have been sorely disappointed. (IBM was the only real 'big one' there).

Would I go to another one? Maybe - but only if I saw that one or more specific major / interesting employers were attending the show, as it would be so much more convenient to be interviewed in London rather than in NZ...!

Cheers!
Pete

[Toonster]

Thanks for the info :-) Really helping hubbie and myself decide whether to attend the one in March next year (we had aimed to, but had thought that it was a major event - slightly bigger than it seems to be!)