[Elainep]

Hello, I've just applied online for a job with a city council in NZ, who are an accredited employer - hoping to go down the Work to Residence route. Have just had an email back asking me to call them. Does anyone have any experience of whether employers are likely to do a telephone/skype interview FIRST before asking for a face to face in NZ? Or whether they just prefer face to face in the first place? I have called them back by the way (I AM keen!) but have missed the person I need to speak to, so waiting to call them back. Thanks.

[Janey]

yes plenty which council? I had a teleconference interview with Wellington last autumn, also a skype interview with my current employer and also a telephone interview with Ministry of Health none of them expected me to get on a plane!

[TonnyTessa]

I had a phone interview first too, before the future boss (University of Canterbury) flew me out. So yes it does happen. Good luck!

[Elainep]

thanks for the quick replies! that helps, my OH keeps saying stop worrying about situations I can't control. It's just not knowing that drives me mad! Now that I understand how some of them work (telephone -v- face to face) I feel a BIT better. I am fully prepared to get on a plane for an interview and almost would prefer that to a telephone one. This one is with Auckland City Council.

[Elainep]

Just got off the phone, turned out it was a screening call (19 minutes of interview-type questions) which I wasn't entirely prepared for and I will find out next week if I've made the list for an interview proper. It will be either skype or telephone; they apparently get a lot if international applicants. Now I am going to attempt to forget about it all until next week (some hope!)

[mmcguire2020]

Good luck :nice1

[Elainep]

thanks! Still no word and we are 3 complete days into the week - not that I'm even counting of course!

[marybelle]

Hubby has just got his job after a telephone interview. Whole interview lasted for just shy of an hour. The really good thing is that they will hold the job for him until the immigration process is complete. They want us to tell them when he will be ready to start!

Good luck:nice1
Marybelle

[Spudgun]

Most employers here are completely geared up for recruiting from overseas. No one ever mention a face to face when I applied

[bjtb]

Hi The general approach is that a tele conference call/interview is acceptable.I notice you are from Lancing.I lived there until I was 18 and family still reside there.

[M-Squared]

Hubby has just got his job after a telephone interview. Whole interview lasted for just shy of an hour. The really good thing is that they will hold the job for him until the immigration process is complete. They want us to tell them when he will be ready to start!

Good luck:nice1
Marybelle

Just the one interview? Lucky so-and-so! :laugh I had 4 such interviews. Still worth it! The contract took just too long to arrive so we came as visitors and got permits, then PR a half-year later. :nice1

[Elainep]

Thanks for all the posts guys. Thought I'd post an update, I had the telephone interview on Monday 1st Dec. It was about 80 minutes, there were a few issues with the telephone line but they kept calling me back. It was a panel interview, 3 people, one from HR and two managers. The questions were mainly based around the competencies defined for the job, although there were a few questions about what support we had family wise for the move, what our son thought of moving (he's 10) and whether my husband had a job yet. I asked a lot of questions and definitely felt more relaxed towards the end. I can never really tell if interviews have gone well or not, but I got the much wanted email yesteday (Friday) to say that they wanted to progress my application to the next stage which is psychometric testing, they've also asked for my referee's contact details so they can take up references. So next stop: online tests. Will keep you posted :uhoh thanks for all the tips.

[clairelouise]

Woo Hoooo!!!!

Yey, and well done on getting this far! Good luck with the next bits:nice1:nice1:nice1

Claire

[marybelle]

Congratulations Elaine :clap:clap

Looks like all your preperation paid off. Good luck with the next stage.

Marybelle

[dusk]

that all sounds very positive, best of luck - hope you get things sorted before the xmas shutdown! :)

[JandM]

All the best!:nice1:cheers

[welsh_italian]

Just the one interview? Lucky so-and-so! :laugh I had 4 such interviews. Still worth it! The contract took just too long to arrive so we came as visitors and got permits, then PR a half-year later. :nice1

Ah so the PR took about 6 months? That's interesting as I'm going for a job under the talent visa with an accredited employer and will apply for PR when I get there for my wife and daughter. I could apply for separate visas for them to begin with, but this way is cheaper and my daughter (who is a baby) hasn't got one of her passports yet (she's still a baby) as her birth certificate takes a while to come through. It seemed easier just to wait a little and go for PR even if we're apart for a few months. Thanks though as it's good to hear how long PR takes from someone with a job.

In my case, I had 2 skype interviews, once with the manager (a competency-based interview being asked to offer situations where I had used a particular skill), and another with the manager and a future colleague. There was also a written practical test between the two interviews which formed the basis of most of the second interview's questions. Both interviews took over 1 hour each. Prepare for them as you would a normal interview - if the interview is just a "chat", then it won't hurt your application if you can ask intelligent questions and display knowledge and enthusiasm for your field.