[zippygoblet]

Hi All,
This is the first time I'm posting! It's really great to see so many people as passionate as I am about moving to NZ! I've assessed, I think, almost all possible routes to gaining a work permit/pr and the best bet is that I get a job relevant to my work experience so far, which has been in magazine publishing. I've looked through Seek.co and netcheck and there doesn't seem to be many jobs for writers/journalists! What do you think I should do? Can anyone recommend any sites/companies looking for writers/sub-editors/reporters?

Also, I am planning to go to NZ in January to look for a job. It would be great if I could have interviews lined up so here's where I need your advice! Should I start the process of sending out resumes in earnest a month before I arrive or should I start once I am there? If I start now, I'm afraid it's too early as employers would not want to wait 2 months before they can interview me. So far, I've sent out about 10 applications and all have been turned down as I don't have a permit and also I am not in NZ. Yes, the classic Catch-22!

Thank you all so much in advance, would really appreciate all your help and advice!

Cheers,
zippy

[SharpBlade]

Hi,
I can`t remember exactly what it was, but I think I saw an add recently (a month ago) in The Press, career section, they (The Press, Chch) were looking for a journalist (written press), I will try to find that add again (but I am afraid, the newspaper is probably gone to the recycling bin..). Anyway, might be worth sending your CV to them .
Good luck.
Laura

[zippygoblet]

Dear Laura,
Thank you so much! I've seen that ad and have sent a resume in already...I just hope they can wait that long or they haven't found anyone by end Dec! :)

Really appreciate your help (and willing to go through the hassle of finding it!) That's so nice of you! If I do manage to get to NZ, definitely let's meet up for coffee and some Bailey's! :)

zippy

[Bailers]

It's worth looking on Search4Jobs for this type of opening since APN (my current employers - until next week anyway) own The NZ Herald, NZ Woman's Weekly and a whole host of regionals and freebies (they also own Search4Jobs).

Example: http://jobs.nzherald.co.nz/texis/jobsearch/details.html?id=45465d0648d850&q=journalist&qField=All&qSort=date&qMatch=all&pp=25&view=1&page=1

Good luck with the search.

Mark

[Singel]

I know a British lady journalist who came here as a tourist and got a job offer from a company publishing magazines. It took her 2 months to find the job and she is now on WP, hoping to apply for PR eventually.
:cheers

[zippygoblet]

Hiya Mark and Singel,
Thanks for the great tips and encouragement! Will definitely check out the link. Well...I think I will go ahead with my plan to go to NZ in Jan, so *cross my fingers* that everything will work out. I have been wanting to go back to NZ for ages but it's only since my recent trip in Sept that had me as convinced as ever to go back...I miss the open spaces! I just hope my son likes it too :)

Will keep you all updated as soon as everything is confirmed and leave a tel no. so we can all really grab that cup of coffee (or speights!). :)

cheers,
hp

[Moorf]

You can also check out www.guru.com (http://www.guru.com) if you want to do some freelance work from home - I've managed to get a couple of writing contracts from that site.

;)

[zippygoblet]

Thanks for the tip! Well, I'm not worried as much about freelance work, it's more about getting a permanent job offer, without which I can't get a work permit. Whether or not employers are willing to go through a labour market test or get accredited is another story! As we Malaysians like to say, "see how lah!" :)

Say if I get a job offer, what are the things that I have to prepare to submit the work permit?
These things at least, right?:
-job offer letter and description
-approval in principle/accreditation of the employer
-police cert
-health cert (which I can do in NZ)

Say if I get really really lucky and got an offer as a journalist/reporter, what are the things that I have to prepare to submit a residence application? I went through the immigration site, and so far, I've only been able to uncover that I need supporting evidence to support the application for residence. (Assuming I get to the ITA stage!) Well, from the quick check assessment, I think I only have to provide evidence for my work experience. That means reference letters and my employment contracts, right? In Malaysia we have a compulsory Employee Provident Fund which goes towards our pension, I suppose I could use that as well. Hmnnn..I think I better call up immigration on Monday to ask for sure! :)


:cheers
hp

[wiki]

Hi there I'm a journo from NZ and living in the UK until my partner's residency application is approved.

try http://www.fairfaxnz.co.nz/careers/index.html

which is the job site for all the fairfax papers in NZ. They own titles all over the place, including most of the large regional dailies.

If you go to stuff.co.nz and the regional papers section you can see where their big titles are based. Most of these papers also have weekly or bi-weekly community papers/freebies that may offer positions. The bigger papers tend to want a recognised qualification and lots of work experience, which you can always pick up on a smaller title.

Best of luck.

[jo-and-jeff]

zippygoblet,

If your January visit is not set in stone, I would recommend that you wait until late February to come. Pretty much everyone in New Zealand takes vacation in January (it's like July in the Northern Hemisphere), and things here all but shut down as far as hiring is concerned.

Whenever you do schedule your visit, I would recommend sending CVs about 3-4 weeks ahead of time with a cover letter making it clear exactly what dates you will be in New Zealand (you might say something like "I will be arriving on XX Month 2006 on Air New Zealand" so that they know you have tickets and are serious). Bear in mind that if you come in February, your letter and CV will be arriving during the January vacation hiatus!

*** Before you send it out, be sure to have your CV modified to suit New Zealand "standards" (don't even get me started on this), because migrants often face a bit of an uphill battle in the hiring process -- especially if they don't already have PR or WTR -- and a non-conforming CV may just get binned.

As far as applying for Residence, you will want to get documentation of your education credentials (diplomas, degrees, certifications, transcripts, etc), because just having job experience may not be enough to qualify.

Jo

[zippygoblet]

Thanks guys!

Thanks for the link to fairfax, Wiki. Have checked it out, and yes, they do have lots of papers! From what I gather in this forum, seems like there are two huge companies in NZ controlling all the media....APN and Fairfax, well, that makes my job of hunting for a job easier ;)

Hmnn...I think you're right Jo..I was banking on people quitting after their Christmas bonuses but my friend says that kiwis don't quit because of financial reasons (I should've known Kiwis are not as money-minded as us Asians hehe). Late February would be good too, 'cos it means I can spend Chinese New Year with my family before going off. Although I have to admit I'm very impatient and would love to get to NZ asap, especially the summer time. It's so lovely to walk through the parks or cycling through the streets in summer...*sigh*

As for the NZ CV format...yeah I know, it's a bit of a headache 'cos it means I'd have to rewrite the whole thing :)

Thanks again, guys! :)