[Hamakide]

Hi all,

this question is highly irrelevant in that I am as usual worrying about several things too far ahead :)

Since we are considering leaving this country, I have been thinking about it extensively ( probably too extensive... ) and I would like to ask this excellent forum about the following :

if and when we are actually going to relocate, we will both have to work. For my husband I suspect that won't be a big problem, but I have been wondering about myself !

Here's my situation :
- finished secondary education
- no tertiary education / diploma / degree
- compared by co-workers to Speedy Gonzales when it comes to keyboard handling ( or as one co-worked said : is that smoke coming from your keyboard ? )
- English has become a second language
- have worked for 3 years as a secretary/clerck for lawyers
- am working since 1991 as a bookkeeper for 2 and later 3 companies simultaneously without a diploma to back it up, but monitored by an accountant
- experience in monitoring financial client accounts
- extensive experience with computers and multiple software programs
- experience in designing/creating/maintaining websites
- used to being precise
- used to team work
- used to working alone.

I guess that about sums it up.... now the thing I am curious about, is how difficult it will be for me to find a job ? I consider myself to be multifunctional, would like a job in a library as well as in a retail situation.
But that kind is obviously not on the POL.. I am also willing to study again, but then the question is : study for what ?

I know, it's difficult to predict these kind of things, especially since the actual moving will take place in about 3 years from now... but I still would very much appreciate some pointers !

Thanks :)

( Edited to add : I just noticed I got my first plane !! Yay ! )

[Lizelle]

Hi Hamakide,

Now I am not in NZ yet, but have done extensive research, and hubby just got a joboffer there, so here are my few pearls of wisdom :)

Try to see if the job you want is on the occupational shortage list (OSL).
This is changed from time to time, but the BIG bonus in this is that the employer does not have to show that there are no NZers that can do the job. The immigration guys just assume that, and a work visa then takes about 2 weeks (presumably, we are starting that now, so will keep you posted on how long it really takes).

Then, ensure that you have a job that is on the list (I cannot remeber the name now, but it is a list with all the jobdescriptions that is accepted. If you are not on the list, things can get tricky)

After all that, look at how many jobs are advertised that you can/want to do. This seems to be a good indication. There were lots of jobs advertised that hubby could do, and he got a joboffer on the first interview.

Sites that I have found helpfull:
www.nzherald.co.nz
www.stuff.co.nz

The last thing, if it is at all possible, go to NZ when you are looking for work. People seem to be a lot more accomodating when you are there. It makes sense, though, I do not know if I would appoint someone that I have never even seen. I think it also shows that you are serious about going there.

Anyway, that is my take on things. Obviously things can change a lot in a couple of years, but hope this helps.

Cheers
Zelly

[Lizelle]

Just thought about another thing:

If you qualify to send an expression of interest (EOI), with your husband as principle, it might also help.

Then you can look for other types of work, even if it is not on the list. (This is as I understand it, anyway)

Cheers
Zelly :nice1

[Hamakide]

Hi Lizelle,

thanks for your reply ! The coincidence is that yesterday I mentioned to my husband your post about the job offer with the first interview... Congratulations ! But I must admit I was a little jealous when I read that :D even though our situation is so different from yours i.e. far more loose ends to tie up. If we were in the position to drop everything and leave we would have moved long ago ;)

As to your answer, I have checked the OSL extensively but I do not have qualifications that would fit the occupations, so no points for me there. So I figured there maybe a chance to study for a OSL job ( it's amazing how you start thinking about your future when emigration comes up and you try to fit your situation to your possible new life, it's like putting a puzzle together ! Fortunately we have lots of time to prepare ).

As to coming to NZ, be it for possible interviews or just a general visit, we were planning to go in the Christmas school vacation but the cost of the airline tickets have almost doubled for that period and since our kids are 12 and 14 they are considered to be adults with the matching prices, so we will have to wait for the summer of 2005.. :(

My whole issue is purely academic really because we are aiming at moving in 3 or 4 years ( hence the title of the topic ) , and ofcourse a lot of things will have changed by then, but exploring our possibilities extensively is just a way for me to escape a little from the situation we are in at the moment.

And yes, hubbie will be the principal when we are going to send the EOI, his occupation is on the OSL ( or was it the POL ), so no worries there.

Have a nice day !

Margo

[Lizelle]

Margo,

Yip, I am still struggling to believe the good luck myself, but I am not complaining one bit. :mrgreen:

Well, I am a big fan of studying, so that might be a good change to do something you always wanted to do, but just never got round to. Perhaps if something on the list catches your fancy... :hopeso

Don't even get me started on the airline tickets!! I am just going on my own, and that is a lot already. Ah well, I guess that is the price you pay for starting a new life (not that much, considering)

On the OSL: If you have a joboffer, it does not matter (that's how I read it, anyway), so if you find a kind employer it helps. Also, if you qualify for EOI, this all becomes very academic anyway.

Hope that this all helps (I have found that reading this forum helps a lot for the confidence, also seeing someone else in the same shoes as you - and seeing someone in worse shoes - gets everything in perspective)

Have a good day, thanx for the well wishes (me, I am jealous of Moorf, already there, settled in a house, bought a car, everything - and in Christchurch! I would love to go there, but the university is a bit lacking in my discipline, so we can only move there after I finished my studies :wah )

Cheers
Zelly