[Kalla]

Hi there

i know in this current economic climate, things are pretty bad all over the world with unemployment and job losses.

As we approaching the time when we will have our settlement interview for our skilled migrant visas we've been going all out to try and see if we can find a job from the UK. I Know it's an almost impossible task but we thought what have we got to lose. We've blitzed out several hundred CV's to companies, recruitment agencies etc etc and have got some okish responses from some helpful people who you can see want to help but also some very negative responses.

I realise that some of the negativitiy comes from the fact that they probably get hundreds of CV's every week from people just 'dabbling' in the immigration process and not really committed to moving - I get that!!!

However, I feel that some of the agencies are just fobbing us off without even bothering to read our cover letters and see what our situation is like. One agency responded with information on how to immigrate to NZ via the skilled migrant route which clearly indicated to us that they hadn't bothered to even read our cover letter which stated in the first paragraph that we had already applied and were awaiting our visas!!!!!!!


So anyway, I guess I'm just feeling helpless. How do you get agencies to take notice of you!!!! OR . . is it impossible unless you have already booked your flights. Should we not even bother to look for work until we've got arrival dates because from what I gather, no-one will take us seriously until we're committed!!! Although, we are committed, but we are powerless to do anything until we have our visas in our passports! AHHH chicken and egg again!

So is the employment situation that bad in NZ? I am really worried that we won't be able to find good jobs in NZ now? One agency replied to us saying that 1) you have to be in NZ 2) you have to apply to very specific agencies connected to the work you are wanting to find and 3) you have to be the VERY best candidate for the job in order to be given a chance. That makes me worry!!!! Because when there are so many of us trying to find work, I'll bet competition is stiff and there will probably always be someone with more experience or more qualifications!

Anyone have anything positive?

[lizzyplop]

We have been advised to hold off applying for anything until we have a date of arrival in place. As we are now on plan B which is to hold off moving over for at least a year we are at stage where its not really worth doing anything, we still look at the job pages and send CV's over to any relevant contacts we find along the way.

Good luck in your search

[Kim39]

It all depends on what line of work you are in and where you want to be. Having been made redundant last week i have spent this week trying to sort something out but to no avail. I'm here as a trucker and the amount of work in that employ is severely thin in the area that i am in. However there seems to be plenty of scope on South Island for my kind of work. Unfortunately we are all settled in the place we want to be, so we are hanging out as each day passes for something to come my way.

I can see why employers are being a bit cagey. Only last week a friend of mine had an offer pulled from under his feet as the company claimed they couldn't guarantee he would be hauling fuel six months from now. There are jobs out there, but unfortunately not for my scope. In fact i know somebody who is a fully qualified plumber who ran his own business back home. Well he is now packing in the local honey factory!!

Kim

[Ana&Steve]

It's a bit expensive, but calling the recruiters and trying to develop a relationship that way will help get your CV looked at.

[cathgates]

Hi Kim, is it really bad for hgv drivers at the moment? I have been talking to a guy at the transport forum on and off for about a year and asked Him last week if the haulage industry was suffering, He felt that the jobs were still there very similar to a year ago. How do you feel the industry is doing?

Cath XX

[BkyMonster]

We didn't get any interest until we had solid arrival dates in hand, then it was a lot of either 'see you on this day' or 'call us when you get here'.

[gil]

This is a perennial question - how to get a job from UK, and I note, JK&A, that you are very aware of the convential wisdom in this matter, so I won't reiterate it.
There are still plenty of job ads in the Herald, ion Seek and on TradeMe Jobs, so there are people recruiting. In my experience, most of the folk who seem to land a job before physically arriving here are in the healthcare/specialist engineerign and scientific sectors. Organisations/agencies who are dealing in these sectors are deliberately set up to recruit from overseas and it is something of a standard practice for them. Of course there are exceptions, including some banks and some retailers and plenty I don't know about, but it does seem that the majority of organisations want to see you in the flesh.

Given the stiffer competition for jobs (ie more people applying for the same roles), recruiters (internal and agencies) are having to make sure their recruitment processes are more robust than ever. That may mean more early stage screening to the required competencies in the job/position description, more assessments (psychometrics and assessment centres), improved behavioural interviewing (including motivational and cultural fit to the organisation, as well as qualifications), more reference checking etc.
The message in there is to make sure your CV and letter are targeted to the role in question. You need to see the Position Description for that.

Sheer volume of applicants also means your CV and cover letter need to stand out. A colleague of mine received over 300 CVs and more than 50 phone messages for one role advertised in the Herald. So when you are sitting waiting and thinking "why haven't they contacted me?" there is sometimes a good reason! It's hard to say how to make it stand out, but again, ensuring you are targeting a role rather than appearing to apply for everything going with a general CV, is better.

Yes, there is a slowdown but yes, organisations are still hiring. Just hang in there and stay positive (we had to, and I know it can be not your first reaction!)

Good luck with the hunt and I am certain you will find the right job - just can't say when!

Gil

[Kim39]

Hi Kim, is it really bad for hgv drivers at the moment? I have been talking to a guy at the transport forum on and off for about a year and asked Him last week if the haulage industry was suffering, He felt that the jobs were still there very similar to a year ago. How do you feel the industry is doing?

Cath XX

Tell me where they are Cath and i'll go hunting. Obviously he must be elsewhere in the country. I can say that i have been seeking everyday with the resources i have and i can't find much.

Kim

[Kalla]

Hi guys

thanks for all your wise responses and advice - all gratefully received.

I never thought finding a job was going to be easy, I knew it would be a tough process (especially from the UK) and we may well have to end up going to NZ first without a job and finding one once on NZ soil, but it still struck me with suprise when I got some of the responses that I did.

I guess the way they advertise for migrants gives you the impression that you are desparately needed (especially when you have a skill on the Long term skills list) and then to not even get my cover letters read was a bit of a slap in the face. Back to the drawing board.

[broadsword08]

my ten cents...

unless you have a very niche skill set or are looking in a very remote area you might as well not bother with recruitment companies or job fairs/expos... like gil said those that manage to secure employment from abroad tend to be in specific select sectors...

dont forget that these recruiters are not interested in you other than the fee you represent... being unable to attend face to face interview at short notice will never help in getting you noticed... they want the most suitable candidate skill wise in the most suitable position location wise

personally, I think a lot of these 'emmigrate to NZ' expos and jobfairs are not worth the entry fee and are really just money making exercises in themselves

I secured a formal job offer from the UK because my level of experience and the location in which I wanted to be put me in great demand... I decided where I wanted to be, what I wanted to do and targetted the companies I would consider working for in the area... to find out more about them initially, rather than just 'gis a job mate'... dont forget what a big committment it is from an employer, particularly a small one, to take on someone from afar and then make it work in practice... a lot of english come here and walk away from their first job pretty swiftly and that perception really doesnt help

down here in the rural south of the south things are not really hitting yet in terms of this 'global economic slowdown' thingummy, we are seeing more trades from the towns looking further afield for work and the number of new construction projects is slowing up however rurally the situation remains that most young people want to go to the towns or abroad and the people with the real skills are ageing so round here companies would still consider the right kind of person from afar who wants to live in this area for all manner of different jobs from tractor/digger/truck driving through mechanical engineering, trades etc... some farmers still find it hard to get people milking who they can rely upon

so dont be down on your bad responses, put yourself in the shoes of the people who you fling your CV at and try not to fling it... be clever and targetted in what you do... you are selling yourself (and your family) after all :o)

[Flutterby]

well from our experience so far the NZ employers really like a personal touch, to hear your voice and know that you have done your homework about the company etc.
Plus they are recruiting with caution, its ok to pick up somebody suitable who can start next week, but they are not making any promises for 6 months down the line (even for those that do have a date)
We have had positive responses from various employers (including those in the HGV industry) but at the end of the day it is still 6 months away and nobody wants to make a promise that they can't keep!

[gil]

well from our experience so far the NZ employers really like a personal touch, to hear your voice and know that you have done your homework about the company etc.
Plus they are recruiting with caution, its ok to pick up somebody suitable who can start next week, but they are not making any promises for 6 months down the line (even for those that do have a date)
We have had positive responses from various employers (including those in the HGV industry) but at the end of the day it is still 6 months away and nobody wants to make a promise that they can't keep!

I just heard today of an organisation who had selected graduates and are now saying to them "Here's $15K, go and do something else for 6 months and we'll review the situation then" :eek:

[james&amy]

we have been pretty luckyto be honest, we had files the EOI and just as we submitted it, i got offered a job with an accredited employer, all phone interviews and they got all references from previous employers...

employment can be obtained before you go out there, however, it seems that its on a rare occassion..

[dusk]

So is the employment situation that bad in NZ? I am really worried that we won't be able to find good jobs in NZ now? One agency replied to us saying that 1) you have to be in NZ 2) you have to apply to very specific agencies connected to the work you are wanting to find and 3) you have to be the VERY best candidate for the job in order to be given a chance. That makes me worry!!!! Because when there are so many of us trying to find work, I'll bet competition is stiff and there will probably always be someone with more experience or more qualifications!
That wasn't Hayes was it? That is exactly what one woman from that agency told us 18 months ago and we managed to get here with 2 good jobs, admittedly we were reasonably lucky but we are not better than everyone else in NZ at our role ;)

[BkyMonster]

I think the NZ job climate has changed quite a bit in the past 6 months.
When we came out there were more advertisements for jobs than there are now (I know this because I'm looking for a job still). At least in this area. Not sure how much more, but there is certainly an impression of less available. The last job I got shortlisted for (I can try but I don't think anyone will take me seriously until I get PR, but that's just my skills and this area) they told me that they had over 40 applicants for the position which the interviewer told me was a lot more than normal as they had expected 10-15.
Regardless there are companies and industries that are still growing and looking to hire people. The company OH works for interviews people nearly every day and manages to hire maybe one per month.

[Pebbles]

Just a thought ... could it work to our advantage that many kiwi's are now afraid of loosing their job (see http://www.stuff.co.nz/4858467a13.html ) ?
Could mean that fewer would take the risk of switching jobs, so fewer applicants...?

[cappuccino]

Just a thought ... could it work to our advantage that many kiwi's are now afraid of loosing their job (see http://www.stuff.co.nz/4858467a13.html ) ?
Could mean that fewer would take the risk of switching jobs, so fewer applicants...?

.... and fewer jobs due to many organisations putting a freeze on recruitment!

[IanW99]

.... and fewer jobs due to many organisations putting a freeze on recruitment!

and higher unemployment so more people needing jobs...

Ian

[Pebbles]

Thanks, just knew that theory wouldn't hold up ... you really know how to cheer a girl up :wah

[Kalla]

Hi everyone

since my last rant in original post, I have had a few more positive responses from agencies who deal more regularly with migrants and so seem a bit more open to accepting applications from us here accross the ocean.

One agency wants to put OH's CV forward for a job in South Island that fits his skills set. I am in no way excited because he hasn't even been offered an interview yet and it could all come to nothing at the end of the day, but it's better than the other responses I was getting last week so I am feeling a lot more positive about this whole thing.

Just wondered how often job offers are getting retracted. Are these isolated cases from small companies or regular occurences from major employers?

Some of the stories horrify me. Giving up good job in UK, well paid, moving to other side of the world thinking you have a good job secured and just about to get on the plane only to find that job offer is retracted!!! It seems that even a formal offer letter of employment nowdays doesn't stand for much if the company can't afford to employ you anymore.

I guess ultimately you have to take the risk otherwise we'll stay in UK forever, but in this current financial climate I guess I'm more worried than usual about our ability to sustain ourselves in NZ. AND . . . . . terrified that even if offered a job, the carpet will be pulled from under us.

[Scibby]

Even though we already have PR status, we're holding tight to our current jobs for now and plan to start officially searching for jobs in NZ in the late spring or early summer. We're hoping, perhaps naively, that the world economy will begin to turn-around.

The U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, predicts that the recession will subside in late 2009 and begin reversing in 2010 which should help the world economy, if his prediction is accurate. Keep your fingers crossed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/24/AR2009022401271.html?hpid=topnews

[Farhandxb]

Hi everyone

since my last rant in original post, I have had a few more positive responses from agencies who deal more regularly with migrants and so seem a bit more open to accepting applications from us here accross the ocean.

Greetings JK&A - hope it turns out well for you. Can you divulge which agencies these are? may be in a PM if you feel it might compromise things.


Cheers,

Farhan

[Farhandxb]

The U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, predicts that the recession will subside in late 2009 and begin reversing in 2010 which should help the world economy, [/url]

BAH! wouldnt count on it-Bernanke hasn't got a single thing right (not that Greenspan was any better) and he probably is way off the mark on this one too.

[jjthefridge]

Hi,

Been finding things have definatly changed, when i was applying last year, companies were offering jobs, when i was out in nz last april every where i went to came a job offer (i'm a refrigeration engineer).

I withdraw application september due to personall reasons, i'm settled and living with new partner, planning on reapplying next year when we've lived together for 12months,so i'm looking into jobs, just to get things moving although one company is still offering me a job, i've found that e-mailing companies, they either don't reply, or e-mail a couple of time then all dries up, spoke to one emplooyer couple of weeks ago, they would of given me job,if i was comming over straight away, but it won't be this side of christmas.

But when i was talking to the guy out there he said most copanies are not taking on although things like supermarkets are booming, people are tending to eat in more.

but i'm sure things will turn up before long, well hope so.:bluebanana

j.j.