netts03

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to get a job in NZ. And what the job prospects are like for my husband and I?

My husband is a Chartered Accountant (did work for PWC now works for a multinational defense firm) and I am a Secondary Teacher. We lived in NZ for a year as students and would love to return now that we have had our children (2yrs and 5 yrs).

We are at the beginning of this whole process and would appreciate any advice people who have been through it.

Many thanks x

MrsFychan

welcome to BE

Your best bet would be to look on Immigration website

have a look at the Visa options
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/

or look on the skill lists
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...ls.htm?level=1

and see if either of those jobs are on the list for people required in specific fields. if either is then you can fill out an EOI and see what points you gain to see if you can apply.

There are other ways to gain a visa without being on the skilled wanted lists but there are factors like age etc to take into account.

netts03

Thank you. My husband's job is on the skilled immigrant immediate shortage list. He is now applying for jobs. Should we wait and see if he gets a job offer first or still completed a IOW without one as we have enough points? My job is sadly not on any list. Should I still look for work too, if I am not the main applicant?

Would potential employer's expect him to fly over for interviews? We are hoping not as we would rather save the money for the expense of moving us over (if we are successful - fingers crossed).

I know this question is very subjective, but how long does it generally take from applying for jobs to actually going? We have given ourselves a year to apply for jobs if nothing happens we might try Auzz. A kiwi friend recommend applying to both countries, is that a good idea? We MUCH prefer New Zealand but would try if it meant we could in the long run get to New Zealand.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the differences of working as an accountant in nz compared to the UK?

Trying desperately not to get my hopes up about getting into nz, but would love nothing more than for the kids to have a chance to grow up in such a wonderful country.

MrsFychan

how many points do you get with your husband filling in the EOI?

Your would apply with your husband being the main applicant and you and the children will come on the back of his successful ITA. You won't be able to work until you have a valid visa to do so.

Not sure on how well you can do being outside the country and gain offer of work being an accountant. some careers you can, like nursing or teachers but others its boots on ground that makes the difference.
Our case my husband came over for a couple of weeks between jobs in the UK, stayed with friends attended an IT Expo, got talking to some people, got a couple of offers to go for coffee. spoke to some agents got an interview and was hired so he never returned to the UK as he started the day after he got the job offer on a Temp Work Visa.

Persephone

Had a quick look and chartered accountants are on the Long Term list not the Immediate list as you have written-it does make a difference!

By IOW do you mean EOI? How many points do you have without a job offer? You may be able to submit an EOI without an offer in place but that does not necessarily mean you stand a good chance of that application going further, all depends on the total number of points.

If your husband has to be the principal candidate then there is probably little point you looking for a job now. Unless you would have enough points with a job offer to apply of course

Timescales vary so much as well so it would be impossible to give you an estimate. Some jobs can wait for a SMC application to go through, other employers want you there asap. Also others are happy to do interviews over Skype whereas others want to meet you in person. I cannot comment about chartered accountants specifically.

P

netts03

Hi, thank you for your replies.

If I applied myself, without a job offer I would only get 105 points. My husband would get 160 without a job offer. I have looked at the immediately shortage list and chartered accounts are listed under "finance / business (chartered - senior positions)". So I can only assume that he could get points from that category (?). They list external auditors under the long term list, my husband did work as an external auditor but not for a number of years.

My husband plans to start applying for jobs now, through the job sites like seek etc.. as well as contacting recruitment consultants like Hayes etc...and applying directly to the "big four" accountancy firms. He does not want to apply without a job offer (as we couldn't afford form him to quit his UK job without a guarantee of work).

Sorry yes I meant EOI.

Persephone

105 points would not be enough to get you selected so it would be a waste of money you being the main applicant unless you had a skilled job offer.

Anything over 140pts is an automatic selection so that would mean your husband's EOI would be selected at the next draw if you submitted it. No need for a job offer for you to gain residency. You can be given a jobsearch visa in place of residency but I get the impression that this is offered under certain circumstances only.

I had searched for chartered accountants which are on the LTSSL hence the comments. You said that your husband's profession is not on this list but is on the ISSL. What this means is that you cannot claim any bonus points for a profession that is in absolute shortage, only those on the LTSSL can claim these bonus points.
The ISSL allows an employer to recruit from overseas without having to prove to NZIS that no NZers are available. The list is concerned with temporary work visas only and not residency/SMC.

How much does this affect your points total? If you are still over 140 then it would be worth applying without a job offer-you can always add one to the application if one comes along at a later date. It may help with the job hunting if you mention that a visa application is being processed. It does take longer to go through without a job offer but you can inform NZIS if you get one and they will prioritise the application. I came over without a job offer and with a resident visa already in my passport!

If under 140 then a job offer may be your best option, if you have a look here you can see what is being selected at the moment: HistoryOfSelectionPoints Gives you an idea of what is likely to be picked out.

Glad you clarified the IOW, was wondering if it was some weird visa I hadn't heard of

netts03

Thanks for advice. We are going to submit the EOI shortly (currently on holiday) at the same time my husband has been making sure his CV is in the correct format etc...for the NZ jobs market. He will start applying for jobs soon. If he gets nowhere then he will fly out in September and see if 'feet on the ground' can help.

Did you tell friends/ family you were applying for work in NZ? We are sure ours will all be supportive but I guess not sure if there is any point until my husband had a job offer. Would be interested to get other people's experience of this.

TommyLuck

I didn't tell them until it was done, at the time figuring that I wouldn't want to go through the conversation on the basis that nothing was certain.

Had I had my time again I WOULD have told people I was seeking to apply, but that nothing was definite.

The "nothing is definite, yet" would have been my polite and short response to anyone trying to engage in conversation about my intentions.

As it was my PR was confirmed and I told people "we're going" and that approach simply served to shock people more than anything, clearly shock isn't a positive response.

I haven't had the negative responses from family that M_and_M has had for instance, but I think I could have handled the situation better had I fired off a warning shot first.

As it is, what's done is done, no lasting damage done - but it was probably more painful for everyone than it needed to be, which was my doing.

Persephone

I agree with Tommyluck, give people some warning that you might be going. Put it out there as something you're looking into, you don't have to say how far it's gone all at once. They need to get used to the idea as well and people [though not all] react better if they feel involved in your journey.
Of course it all depends on how they take it; you may be increasing the amount of grief you get and for a longer period of time or you may find they are supportive and appreciate being privy to your plans. I would also feel guilty about not telling them about my plans until it was all finalised.

Put yourself in their position, how would you feel if a close friend or family member suddenly came to you and said I'm moving to NZ, we have a job and visa already in place and we're leaving on xx/xx/xxxx. I know I would feel shocked that someone close to me had been planning all this, was so far down the emigration path and yet had not said anything to me. It would make me feel unimportant and maybe having to re-evaluate our relationship, it is a kind of grieving process. Add to that that NZ is so far away, it's almost a different world. Not like a parent or child moving to France for example, you can realistically meet up regularly if someone moves to a European country. It's a big thing for someone to have dropped on them! They know that there'll no longer be regular meet ups.

I told everyone, but my situation was different- I had met a kiwi on holiday and I think everyone realised that I'd probably end up moving to NZ. I kept everyone involved of how the visa application was going as it went along. I didn't need a job offer as I had enough points on the SMC so there was less 'drama' in a way [I couldn't apply under partnership]. I was going and the visa would be issued in time-no need to rely on something out of my control [ie job offer] to get here.
I also told everyone at work though this all depends on your situation and how you think it will go down. My job was safe and I was friendly with everyone there anyway so I wasn't concerned about telling them.

Everyone is different in how they'll react. I only got positive reactions even though no one wanted me to leave obviously.
Ooops I seem to have waffled on a bit here! You must do what you feel is right

Persephone

Forgot to ask- have you still got >140 points?

netts03

Thanks for advice, told our parents & immediate family. Positive reaction, but they are the kind of family who would support us if we said we wanted to immigrate to the moon. Few comments about Oz being closer (...just). Helped they have all been to NZ (to visit us as students). Have a feeling if we go others may follow (or at least try to).....

Yes still got 160 points (without job offer). Been contacting mates and a few colleagues my husband worked with who all live in NZ. Been recommended a few agencies etc... Auckland looks the most likely focus to begin with (appears to have more jobs in my husband's line of work). Equally been told to advoid Auckland ( the JAFA joke has come up). Frankly we would go anywhere, keeping an open mind.

Persephone

Good luck
You should have no problems. That's a lot of points without a job offer!

Engel

Well, it was third time a charm for me. I had two unsuccessful Skype interviews before landing a 1 year teaching contract in Auckland.

A few tips:
1) Register with a teaching agency. I went with Education Personnel Ltd www.edperson.co.nz

Ask for Mel, she has been great with me.

2) Unfortunately, most first time roles are likely to be LTR, Long Term Relief. It will get you a visa and then you can start to hunt for something perm. Also, there are far more jobs in Auckland than the rest of the country put together. No cheap, but a somewhere to start.

3) Dig out all your paper work. ALL YOUR PAPER WORK.

4) Qualifications. I had to contact old universities for transcripts and even a prospectus. You will need all your qualifications checking with NZQA; Carey was great and responded to my emails quickly. He even arranged to have document copied and cerified (I had forgot to do a spare for the Teaching Council). Carey took only about 10 days to process my qualifications.

5) Registration with you professional body. Teachers Council. Get a new Police check. As a teacher, I had a current one, but by the time I was getting my paper work to the Teaching Council it was a year old; too old.
Fortunately, I was friendly with the admin staff at my old school and we rushed one through. Got it back in two weeks. N.B. You can't arrange a full police check yourself.

6)