[Singel]

Don't get me wrong, it is not that I am looking for a job again. I am very happy with my company and my job.
It is the thought that immigrants faced when looking for a job, except tradespeople or those on skilled shortage list, ie. SORRY, YOU DON'T HAVE NEW ZEALAND EXPERIENCE - it is this that irk me (catch 22 is foreign job seeks' nightmare).

This week, the employment agency that I have been temping before, came to see me and to find out how have I been doing so far.
BTW, I got my present job by responding to my company's advertisement.

I took the opportunity to have a heart-to-heart talk with the agency, to find out how to go around the Catch 22 situation.

Here are the advices :
Go for a voluntary work without pay and this will be considered as NZ experience.
I remember my first week of arriving here, a recruitment agency offered me the opportunity to work for them without salary except getting the commissions for successful placement of jobs. In fact, it is a golden opportunity to get NZ experience, however, my circumstances at that time could not allow me to except this offer.

Alternatively, diversify by changing profession and start from bottom, hopefully climb up the career ladder again.
It is this route that I am taking except that I have been working my butts out for so many years, it's time to take a laidback job which is my goal of emigrating.

Hopefully, this will give you some insights of job searching here.

SUCCESS & GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE HERE. :nice1

:cheers

[Jon]

Singel

Was you able to get in to NZ without a job offer?

It makes it much harder for us needing the job offer to get the points to be told you need NZ work experience.

Would you be able to accept an unpaid job if you are over on a visitor visa, I'm not sure the NZ version of the HSE (Health & Safety) would be too happy with that?

Cheers
Jon

[Singel]

Hello Jon

We entered NZ on tourist visas at calculated risks because my hubby is in IT (on critical skills shortage list) and he got a job offer on the 3rd week of arrival.
Yes, basically you can enter the country without a job offer, on tourist visa and allow to stay up to a maximum of 3 months with the proof of returned air-tickets.

It is harder for those who have general or administration skills, however, I circumvent the Catch 22 situation by applying for temping job after we got the WTR. While we are waiting for NZIS to process and approve our PR application, I apply for the permanent position in my present company and I have to assure my boss that we will get the PRs. It is so important to do this because my company are quite reluctant to hire someone on a 2-year work permit (I'm not sure about other companies). My boss also contacted the company that I have been working as a temp, for reference check, before he decided to hire me.

You definitely cannot work if you are on tourist visa, including voluntary job.
What the recruitment agency advice is for someone like me who has a valid work permit and looking for a job.

There is a list of companies that has been pre-approved by NZIS to hire foreigners, it is found in the NZIS website. Maybe, you could write in directly to them for a job.

SUCCESS with your job searching. :nice1

:cheers

[debnjohn]

Yes, good advice (as always Ivy :nice1 ).
Some agencies are better than others, and some are downright appalling (I applied for one specific vacancy through an agency-who shall remain nameless-to get a response saying that they would not process my application or put me on their 'books' until I could prove I was resident in the area for at least 3 months!).
So the best way is to approach the companies direct. The easiest way of doing this is to regularly scan the local papers.

John.

[Annierobrigado]

hello all

if you had to get a start-from-the-beginning job, just to get nz experience, would it be easy to do? we from the philippines have to answer the question in our interview with the visa officer: if you can't get a job in your field or approximate the employment you had in your home country, what would you do? this is one of the important questions that we need to answer convincingly so that we can be granted visa. if you had to do volunteer or community work, (without pay), how long would you have to stay in that job before you can apply to a paying job?

those living and working in nz already, are your companies hiring asian immigrants? have you observed any differences with getting them and getting the westerners?

need to ask coz we need to know how long we can afford to survive in nz without a steady income yet. :no

annie

[Singel]

Hello Annie

IMO, involving in voluntary work will keep me occupied so that I do not sit at home (facing the 4 walls, feeling desperate and depress) while I continue to search for a paid job.

To get a job, depend very much on individual :
* personal traits such as communication skills, self-motivation, enthusiasm, etc.
* thinking outside-the-box, explore and research the various ways of job searching.
* preparedness - developing a good CV
* flexibility (e.g. not fussy with the type of work)

As for the duration of getting a job, there is no rocket science on how long it will take (how I wish I have a crystal ball to help you with this).
:roll: :uhoh

As for the financial part, personally, I will bring in monies that could last at least a year or more (survive on basic things only) - that is the reason, why we sold our house before coming here.

Recently, the local newspaper mentioned that Asian people such as Indian and Chinese, find it harder to get a job here. Personally, I take this information as a pinch of salt.

I also feel that luck also play a part - knocking at the right door at the right time.

sooooooooooooo.................SUCCESS & BEST OF LUCK :nice1

:cheers

[baboonworld]

I know it is gettnig late - but I dont understand the problem. Why cant you just get a normal job.

unemployment is so low in NZ that u should get our pick.

i would avoid the agency and sort it yourself.


I had a problem when i got to UK. I got turned down for the first job i applied for (bar maid)- due to lack of exp. - (well, exp on wrong side of bar).

Second job it was down to me and another - but hey thought i'd bogg off back to NZ so got turned down (job was admin at an agency).

Got 3rd job - walked into agency and got the form to fill in - only they rang me that afternoon and employed me to work for them.

Since then things have gone up and up and in the last ten yrs i have taken on so much responsibility that i need a break (back in nz).

Anyway - i digress - the point is that no one wanted to take me on as they thought i'd flit - 10 years later....!

[Singel]

Hi baboonworld

You have proved my point on FLEXIBILITY, thank you. :clap

:cheers

[Annierobrigado]

hello guys

if unemployment is low in nz, then that's great news for us migrants, isn't it? we can be flexible anyway, and a dose of humor won't hurt.

thanks for your inputs and good luck too.

annie

[miep]

Singel is correct; NZ companies are always looking for people with recent NZ work experience. In my case it was quite hard to find a job because I'd been overseeing the building of our house for a few yrs and even though recent and NZ this kind of experience didn't count.
I found my first job (contracting Business analyst) via a friend and it took me about 2 days to get back into the swing of things. TBH I did expect it to take much longer, but work here is really not all that different to what I was used to so I'm not sure what all the companies are worried about.

After 5 months in that first job and the market being what it is I could pretty much choose my next job and for a much better salary than the recruiters initially thought possible.

Since I've joined this company a month ago, they've hired an Irish girl, a Filipino (Specially for you Annie!) and an Australian. All of these are fairly high level jobs and for a Government agency in central Wellington.

A month ago some friends came over from Holland to see if they would like to move here and be able to get a job here. He's in a faily specialised field of IT and got a job offer within a week, they're moving here next month.

So I guess the message is even though they prefer NZ work experience as long as you have recent experience you should be able to find a job relatively easily in the current market. Being Asian doesn't seem to make any difference (we have all kinds of nationalities where I work) and in general volunteer jobs are looked upon favourably.


:cheers Miep

[Annierobrigado]

hello milika

nice to hear that about a filipino getting a good job. hope i'll have as good a chance as she did!

cheers
annie

[Singel]

Here are 3 letters written by the Kiwis to the Careers Editor, and published in today's NZ Herald...................

Letter no. 1 by Jeremy Andrews from Christchurch
Having suffered almost exactly the same experiences (as last week's letter writer) since returning to New Zealand after a successful expat stint of seven years - I can only echo their sentiments.

Despite relevant and documented success in marketing and sales in 3 European countries, the failure to be even shortlisted here is driving me to despair, so much so that a decision to leave again seems inevitable.

I, too, have experienced appalling service from various recruitment companies whose only interest is their placement fee.

Of all the agencies I've dealt with, only one resisted the temptation to send a standard rejection letter and instead addressed matters which came from our telephone conversation.

Another issue I find galling is the disregard for experience gained overseas, and its apparent irrelevance to New Zealand requirements.

Despite what I'd humbly describe as notable achievements, agencies and employers alike seek "relevant tertiary qualifications" when selecting suitable candidates, rendering those of us with generalist degrees and quality experience the "also rans"

As of now I'm looking to escape the narrow-mindedness of the New Zealand employment market and focus on those countries where substance counts - a loss to both myself and New Zealand. I reckon.

Letter no. 2 by Liz Nichols
My partner is living in London after 2 years of searching unsuccessfully for work here. He graduated from Otago and became well qualified in the banking industry in London and Austria. He is meeting other Kiwis in London, trying to get back home, who find the same barriers.

The problem is being discussed often without any final solution, except possibly to return to Europe and exploit the high wages in an affort to come back and retire while still in their 40s. This is such a waste of experience and knowledge.

Letter no. 3 by unknown name and address
My husband is an honours graduate in science and chemical engineering and we returned home after 14 years overseas.

While overseas he had positions in management, at CEO level, and was vice-president for a large multinational Swedish company. On returning to NZ, he could not get a job and was given only one interview. Consultancy companies were useless. Eventually he got a job after five months by "someone knowing someone who was looking for someone.........."

During his time of job-hunting, he frequented the golf course and came across other NZers in exactly the same boat. One such man had worked for a Dutch company and had managed 2000 staff. This capable man, when last heard, was still hitting golf balls. He is in his early fifties.

As a teacher, I have found the same thing. I am top of the scale and hold a masters degree. I have applied for more than 25 jobs and have been rejected from them all. I have come to the conclusion my days in teaching are over, which is sad as I love it.

[jo b]

That is very depressing that they can be narrow minded.

Although the positive side of me things there is a big gap in the recruitment agency market. That is sitting down with employers asking them skill they are looking for and matching them with the right skills not from where the person is from.


Jo

[Diny]

sitting down with employers asking them skill they are looking for and matching them with the right skills not from where the person is from.


Before I gave up work to be a full time mother I was a rectruitment consultant. I worked for Brook Street in Aberdeen.

Although I was responsible for supplying temp staff to companies (they did in fact work for me and I contracted them out) - I still had to make sure that the person and vacancy matched 'to the letter'. I have had occasions where I couldn't find a suitably skilled temp worker so I would call my client and tell them so.

I would say that 99.999999999999% of my job was applicant/job matching, that's what an agency is for :roll: The client would employ our services to carry out the leg work. All they wanted was a reliable, honest worker who would turn up on time and be able to set about their job with the minimum instruction.

I specialised in finding staff for the oil industry, both onshore and offshore which meant that I really had to know the clients requirements inside out and also be able to recognise outstanding qualifications and experience when I was faced with them.

From reading the postings on this thread I would say that it's no wonder that recruitment/job agencies have such a bad name .... only one up from estate agents :eek

Diny

[Mildred]

Is that how you found PB?

[Singel]

I have been working as a Recruitment Manager in 3 countries with 20 years of experience. All the time, I am sitting on the other side of the table i.e. the employer. Here are my personal views :

1) Lower your expectation e.g. salary or career progression
NZ has a very small economy compare to Europe and US.
There are many small and medium-sized businesses and only a handful of multi-national companies. Most of them have no hierarchy, just flat organisation.
Today, the newspaper reported that one million dollar could only buy one house in North Shore compare to 10 years go, with the same amount of monies, you could get 2 houses. Yet, Auckland average salary is $35,000 p.a.
Unfortunately the businesses could not depend on locals and it must export its' goods and services overseas. If the costs of NZ products and services are high, it will lost it's competitiveness and resulting in job losses. 10 years ago, China compete on providing low costs goods and now, China compete on low costs and quality (continuously updating their technologies).

2) Start your own business, may be in consulting, to share your valuable overseas working experience with the local businesses. If you do not have enough capital, talk to the local bank about your business plan. I understand that it is very easy to set-up a company here.

3) Location also play an important part. For example, if you have overseas experience in banking and you might get a better chance in Wellington or Auckland.

4) If running a business is not your cup of tea, then diversify to other profession and start from the bottom.
This can be very hard especially when you have reach middle age with a family to feed unless you have substantial equity to bring from overseas.

Alright, just my thoughts......................
SUCCESS & GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE

:cheers

[Soon2baKiwi]

I'm not a 'top flight' person - just a PA/Administrator who's worked in three countries and got on in them all. I sent my CV to a contact from the other main forum who works in a multinational company in Auckland. She put it into HR and they are now processing it as a full-on application because they reckoned it was 'strong'. They said nothing to her about NZ experience and neither has my brother in law when we've talked about work for me. I don't expect to start on the same level of salary as I'm getting here, wherever I get a job, but I will get there, and above, eventually. I think everyone's experiences are going to be different and what will be true for one will not necessarily be true for another.

[Diny]

Is that how you found PB?


Oh lord no !!!! We met in a gold mining town in Western Australia !!

Diny

[Hannah-NL]

Ahhhhhh, wonderful! ;)