snowball05

Is it just me?

Have been here with PR for 7 months (OH main applicant)
and despite sending out my CV and the obligatory covering letter to around 10 advertised Secretarial/Admin/Reception posts, have not even secured an interview for any of them!!!

I have over 10 years experience, a degree and computer qualifications, so where am I going wrong?

Most of the jobs that I have been applying for fall into the minimum to low wage bracket also.

I never had any problems in the UK, what's going wrong?

Littletoe

I'm sorry, it must be a real blow to your confidence. You know what's really 'sucky' about it here, companies don't always bother to reply and say thanks but no thanks either. If its any consolation I think we've all been there. When my husband returned to NZ his response was a little slower than we expected and he's got a Masters from this very country! I sat down and changed his CV though, quite dramatically and his cover letter and it seemed to generate more response. Have you considered changing the format? When we relocated to Wellington my cover letter changed to sentances like, 'I am the ideal candidate for this position because...' 'I am a true asset to any company..' The confidence got a lot of attention and resulted in interviews. For all of its downfalls, NZ does recognise people that stand out from the crowd. Have you contacted recruitment agencies? If you do some temporary assignments, that might get you in the door, plus they can recommend ways to change your CV and letter and accordingly. Good luck! And hang on in there, the perfect job will be around the corner

kwprwn

Have you registered with any agencies, this is what I did. I dont mean this to sound condescending but maybe they think you are a little overqualified for them if you are applying for the jobs you say, and they may think you might try to wangle more money from them, and they can employ someone with less experience thus paying less to them

Littletoe

Most of the jobs that I have been applying for fall into the minimum to low wage bracket also.

PS: Don't under sell yourself. Apply for what is essentially your level. Don't just get whatever your given, this smacks of a lower self esteem and won't help in the long run. Aim higher

Kiwiprincess

It’s you. But don’t worry – it can surely be worked through!!

Firstly, my comments are from a Wellington perspective but I see no reason why they wouldn’t apply in Tauranga. Heck, they applied when I was working in the UK (as an NZer) and they apply here too.


Firstly, have you been able to find any work here? Assuming you haven’t then I would really really suggest applying to a few temp agencies. Drake is a pretty big firm and they have an office in Tauranga www.drake.co.nz

At the very least, there is nothing stopping you registering with a few agencies and using their knowledge. They can help you with your CV (and they will tell you if your CV is a strange format for employers here), any skills you may wish to promote.

I would definitely suggest going through a couple of temp agencies. I listed drake just as an example...not sure of the other agencies that are around Tauranga.

Sorry, this is a bit of a brain dump here:

Have you got your visa status listed very clearly? If you haven’t been working, someone who doesn’t know all the ropes may assume you are on holiday and seeking a visa. For an administration role they are unlikely to ask that.

I see you live in Tauranga/BoP. If you live rurally then some people may wonder whether you have the commitment required to actually drive to the job! I know that sounds silly but it is a relatively realistic problem – my workplace hired someone who lived on the Kapiti Coast (about an hour north of wellington on the train) for a part-time 30 hour a week position . In the end the person left because she found the commute a bit tiring for a part time position. Not saying all employers think this, but I have since found out that for part time positions it is a real concern – I just hadn’t thought of it! So, again if you live rurally figure out a way to say that you are looking for work in the cbd – I honestly don’t quite know how you would do this, but like I said, apparently it is quite a concern.

Are you applying for jobs that you are overqualified for? Notwithstanding any comments about the fact that you are willing to work and thats what should count etc – if an employer thinks you are likely to leave very quickly due to boredom they probably won’t consider you.

This is nothing to do with not recognising your skills or qualifications, but rather, just a reminder that a huge number of employers are small businesses here. If a person leaves it does put a huge dent in the company. I think you should apply for work that you are qualified to do – if you need to start a step down (financially, statuswise, whatever) then do so but don’t move too far down. Again, they will think you will be bored. That’s why I am so in favour of temp agencies. You get work experience (and cash!) but you also get to show an employer that you are able and willing to do the job. I got my current job through a temp agency – the employer was looking to hire someone permanently but wasn’t quite at the stage of hiring when I started. Within two weeks they could trust me and employed me. They did have to pay the agency though

Can you drive? If so, advise it on your CV. If not, then don’t. Someone once said to me that a driving licence doesn’t need to be mentioned – I disagree. If you are applying for a job where you could be quite likely to be the office manager type person then being able to drive the car to get pick up stuff is really helpful.

CV Format – can’t stress this enough. So important. I get so many CV’s and it is quite interesting to see which ones are successful. Invariably, wherever I have worked it comes down to readability/laziness. I am too lazy, I admit that. If I have to search through a CV then I can’t be bothered with it. I don’t mean I won’t look at it and read it. But if certain things aren’t obvious (eg contact details) then it will annoy me. I wouldn’t say no to someone simply because they hid their contact number, but, in the same way, I wouldn’t be too happy with them.

Are you applying correctly? Sorry I know this could sound rude – but I didn’t realise how many people applied for a job without a cover letter or a CV. They often did one, but not the other. I didn’t even think of that. So, if they want an application form, covering letter and CV then send them that. Don’t send them a covering letter with instructions for them to contact you if they want to know more about you.

Match your CV and cover letter to key competencies and tasks. If they have a list of competencies then show how you meet them.

Photos – some people swear by them. I don’t personally like them because I can’t recall seeing a decent photo come through recently. One application I dealt with recently had a picture where you could see the guys friends holding a bottle of beer behind him. I guess they are very very good in some instances. I just think it is a bit of an iffy one.

Ask for confirmation they received your application. Lots of spam filters are working overtime and simply deleting things. Grrr

Like I said, sorry, that was a bit of a brain dump. I don’t work in recruitment but have to deal with a lot of recruitment with my current employer and have done for other employers in different jobs (again, NZ and UK) and this is just what I have picked up. I would never be able to say “oh you should be doing your CV this way or that way, but I can advise where you could be going wrong.

I have my own pet hates – I hate pdfs because they slow my computer down, I hate people referring to themselves in the third person (eg Sue has great media, communications and networking skills), I hate Microsoft word cv’s that aren’t adapted in any way to NZ, (eg still referring to college when they mean university), people who put an overseas cell phone number to call them on.

But they could be just my pet hates


Good luck with your job hunting. Like i said, i suspect it could be the way you are presenting the information to people rather than you. You will be fine!!

oh, and I don't have much experience with permanent recruitment agencies but i suspect that your chances of obtaining full time permanent employment would probably improve if you get some nz local job knowledge. And temp agencies are a great way of doing that. Use the knowledge and skills they provide, even if in the end you find a job off your own bat.

Browner_

Pretty much the same thing happened to me when I arrived. Had to start way,way way too low.

Get your CV checked. NZ employers seem to expect their CVs to be in a very particular format (and very long compared to the UK) , and many wont even look at it if is not formatted correctly.

hazeandsteve

Despite being perfeclt suited to the jobs I'm after, and even visiting the chief engineers I need to talk to, I found that my biggest step so far to the job I'm after is meeting the recruiting boss socially through my local biker's club.
Odd, but door knocking, personal referral or word of mouth seems to work better than qualifications and experience.
Can't be just Taupo, but I suppose a small town will get this more than you big city types.

whitesand

I think there is more networking here than in the UK and even if you did all the above things, it still comes down to supply and demand in the long run.

Don't give up, as you'll eventually be at the right place at the right time.

shirl

ME TOO pain in the arse isn't it. I have registered with a couple of agencies, they could not find anything wrong with me or my CV but when they submitted my CV for a role recently the company didn't even want to interview me. I never had any probs either back in the UK. I am Legal Secretary and would prefer not to have a legal job here so am applying for all types of office work etc. May have to resort to shelf stacking soon in New World just to get some exta dosh. I have applied for loads off my own back and sometimes never even get a no thanks. I think they are sometimes racist in that its jobs for kiwi's first. However, saying that I had an interview this week and they said they had 60 applications and only interview 6 of which I was one of them and I am still waiting to hear on that one so fingers crossed.

You need to bullet point all your good points I was told. Condense it rather than submit a long long list of jobs. They don't know who your companies are from adam in the UK so all they are interested in are your skills and qualifications. ALso if they see pages and pages of employers it could put them off, they like people to go the distance I have been told and not keep swapping jobs. Good luck. Hope something turns up soon.

snowball05

Wow thanks a bunch..... some great advice guys!

Will look into the agency thing and report back on my progress - cheers xx