ianwells

Our family is emigrating to Christchurch in a few months. Our visa process took over 2 years I am a US and UK and Canadian citizen.

I'd prefer to have a job in hand before I leave for Christchurch.

My field is computer software and I have been busy applying for jobs as I see them on the web and Manpower in Christchurch is helpful in matching my skills to open jobs. It is tricky to apply for jobs at a distance.

I'd appreciate advice from those who have gone before, on job search strategies for Christchurch.


Ian W.
Fort Collins CO USA

Apple12

Don't expect to get a job before you arrive. It will be nice if it happens but expect to have a Plan B. If you think about it from an employers point of view, if they have someone in ChCh willing to start tomorrow and you able to start in two months time then it is likely they will not choose you.

If you say that your experience is such that your skills are in demand then you may have to wait for the job to come up. In a city of 400,000, it can take time for the your perfect job to become vacant and be advertised. There may be only 10 or 20 jobs for which your skills are perfect, it is a small job market.

Be patient and expect to take low paying jobs at first just to get some money rolling in. It took my husband and I six months to find career jobs in ChCh, which seems to be the experience of others too. Don't worry about your first job - take anything at any salary to get yourself local referees and a better understanding on how things work. It will then be easier to score yourself the better second job. Besides, it is not all bad to have a cruisy job when you are settling in to a new country, it gives you one less thing to stress about.

Don't forget to doorknock.

By all reports the software industry in ChCh is running well, if you give us a few more clues on your experience/skills we might be able to suggest places to try.