The Job market in NZ
 

As we are seeing some conflicting information on the prospects for employment at the moment I thought I would post here and ask in general what the experience is of those of you in NZ or currently searching for a job.

On the one hand, reading the NZ Herald the economic forecasts look very grim indeed with unemployment heading for 7%. I have read that employers are far more likely to employ New Zealanders than prospective immigrants, especially (as in our case) for jobs not on the skills shortage list.

On the other hand the migration agency we have been talking to (which of course will be parting us from some cash if we go ahead) is painting a very rosy picture of the situation, telling us that the current "tightening of belts" is normal at this time of year and insinuating the NZ is not being badly affected by the global problems.

As we need a job offer to gain sufficient points and (for various reasons) want to use an agency, I just though some opinions of the situation from the real experts (i.e. normal people) would be helpful.

We are regularly checking the various employment websites but understand that a lot of jobs go unadvertised and having a more specialist occupation (Analytical Chemistry Technologist) we are not having much luck at the moment.

Thanks for any opinions.

A

Re: The Job market in NZ
 

Hi

We used a migration agency and would say 'never again', really not worth the money as you can do it all yourself with the help of people here and immigration.
Most of it you do yourselves anyway, like getting all the paperwork together and form filling in.

We really regret using the agency, as the money we spent could have come with us and they weren't forthcoming with information or help. Even New Zealand house, London asked 'why' were we using an agent.

Save yourself some money, do it yourself.

Jill and Rob

Re: The Job market in NZ
 

Hi

We have been living out here for 2 years now

It took me 5 months to find my job, which isn't my normal profession and my partner just had to take a average mechanical job even though he is a qualified maintenance engineer / welder .

Our experience here is that you have to network and have a big social thing going on to get a job and it is a case of who you know not what you know .
70% of jobs are acheived via word of mouth and they always favour family members or friends of current employees, even if you have a pile of qualifications and experience , the more people you know the better you will find that you will get a lot of interview offers and they will want to know everything about you and they will ask about your partner and if you have any family here and they will want to know about them as well , which comes across as being more nosey than informative.

Recently the new government have brought in new empoyment laws here that after 3 months the employer can get rid of the employee if they are not up to scratch in the employers eyes . You would think this would make it easier, but the employers are very fearful of trying to get rid of anyone that they are not happy with. Which has been a big problem in the past.

My partner has just been made redundent from his job, so we are living off my wages, which is about $600 a week which does'nt cover our overheads here, so we went to WINZ and they have only offered $29 per a week, which we fall short of about $200 per month less to cover our living expenses (for the two of us).
The job situation is looking very tight at present , and with over 30% of your earning going in tax you need to be carefull how little you will accept , pay and wages here are very low , and usually long hours are normal , dont even think you will get a 40 hr week , thats a pipe dream .

I wish you all the luck finding employment, but it isn't easy

you can try the following websites:

Winz ( work and income NZ )
Trade me
Seek NZ
Search 4 jobs nz

I wouldn't bother with recruitment agencies, because a lot of the jobs probably don't exist .

Nahb

Re: The Job market in NZ
 

I would agree with much that Nahb says, especially with many positions seeming to be filled by word of mouth, which I would imagine will increase as the employment market struggles.

It is widely reported that many NZers are unsure of job security in the present climate. That is partly why the housing market hasn't seen an increase in volume of sales despite lower prices and lower interest rates - job insecurity.:(

However, many employers use recruitment agencies to find them employees, it is more the norm here it would see, so I would recommend you keep an eye on their sites and send copies of your CV's to them.

I've applied for 3 jobs in the last week and haven't heard anything ... yet!

HTH

Re: The Job market in NZ
 

Thank you all for the replies.

I heard about the "word of mouth" way of finding jobs. Does this make finding jobs from the UK difficult? This is where I thought an agent would come in handy. If we were to ditch the agent do we really need to get on a plane and find the jobs or is it possible from the UK?

By chance when looking for something else I came across a job on a UK specialist recruiters website so that's a start.

A

Re: The Job market in NZ
 

My husband met with several agencies in Wellington when we went over for our reccie which gave him and them an opportunity to meet face to face which was incredibly helpful. Subsequent interviews were then done over the phone/Skpe.

Is a reccie something you're considering? We figured that although it was expensive in the short term it would pay in the long term to get a true indication of what was out there!

Re: The Job market in NZ
 

Well if we ditched the idea of using an agency then this would be a possibility and maybe the better option. Interesting idea - Thanks

Re: The Job market in NZ
 

yes i think that there is a bit of job insecurity going on here at the moment.

There still seems to be plenty of work needing to be done , i have 6 months of work on my desk at the moment.
but certain sectors are being hit, primarily the construction industry and associated trades, due to the housing crash.

but

if you're in the right industry then its still a job seekers market albeit not as hot as it was say last year.

my own firm has just employed another member of staff due to increased work loads. However this was a word of mouth appointment.

I don’t think "its not what you know but who you know " is any more specific to NZ than the UK. Quality experienced candidates will still be sought after, just as long as you realise that a reduction in pay or position will probably have to be taken to secure the job ( i took a step down in both to get my first job here and after 6 months of doing so was back to where i originally started from).

My experience is that its very hard to get employed straight from the uk in general. Like most people.. NZ employers are taking allot on faith when they hire "sight unseen".

However once you have landed, then that’s a different story. We managed to get work within 3 days of landing.

Re: The Job market in NZ
 

Hi, I came over from the UK in October 08. I managed to find a job really easily before I left the UK, I emailed my CV to Hays overseas recruitment in May 08 and was contacted a day later to line up interviews... a month later after a lot of late night telephone interviews and early morning video conferences I had 2 job offers - one from a firm in Auckland and one from a firm in Wellington - I went for the Wellington one.

If you are looking to get a job before you come over then I would email your CV to all the recruitment agencies - it can't hurt your chances!!!

I'm an auditor and my job is listed on the skills shortage list so we came out on the back of my job offer - I was granted a 5 year temporary work visa and my husband was granted the same even though he had no job offer.

We didn't use an immigration agent, did all the forms ourselves and had no problems - New Zealand House were really helpful - you just have to be super organised! :p

I will say that I do visit a lot of firms around this area and many of them especially in the housing/development market have had to lay off staff but other areas (such as my firm) are growing and still taking on staff.

Basically it's not all doom and gloom - send your CV off and see what happens. :D

Re: The Job market in NZ
 

Anyone know how the rail industry is jobs wise over there?

Re: The Job market in NZ
 

hi there
we did the job seeking when we got here, albeit in 2005 when job prospects weren't so tight.
I initially applied for health positions through an agency and got nowhere. I then applied to the same employer, different job independently. they made a point of checking that I was applying independently from the agency and I got the job - and these were roles with major international shortages.
You might want to PM Wiz'n'Ton - they are away at the moment but Andy (Wiz) works in an employment agency so will be able to give you some info from his rpespective.