Smelly Cat

Hi all

We have just booked a weekend away to the London Expo at Earls court on 31st of March 2007 and wondered if anyone has ever been to one before and if so if you can give any advice it would be gladly received.

Many thanks in advance

andy&georgina

Good question - as we are looking to go too.

I have seen the EMIGRATE SHOW advertised, so which one do people suggest?

bainser

Nope haven't been but I am heading to the Edinburgh one the week before, is it generally worth going to both days? I've emailed the organisers to try and get a exhibitor list to work out what companies to speak to first but no joy so far.

helinuk

It depends on what you expect to see or achieve.We were looking at OZ at the time -
We were disappointed having paid £10 to get in, there were a few stands for engineers, plenty for teachers/nurses, a few info stands and relocation, IMHO the Sandown expo is much better. There are plenty of stands covering everything you might want to ask about OZ and a few for NZ as far as I remember. To be honest though I have found as much out by talking to people on this forum and googling. Going to an expo was an important step in seeing my hubby take an interest in the idea of emigrating.

P2L

We went in October & found it very useful.

Lots of recruitment going on as the O.P. said esp. for techers and nurses, but also for I.T and construction. It's a good idea to take a few copies of your C.V with you and include contact details. Kiwi agencies are suprisingly good at following up IMO

Also there was NZIS, PSS ( removals) and Bayleys (EA).

Most of the banks were there too and if you want to, you can open an account with them, just remember to take your drivers licence or passport


Every region has its own stand too promoting it. Only other thing I would have liked was something from NZ education dept.


Not a good idea if you have kids in pushchairs cos it's quite crowded in there and also very hot!!

HTH

Sarah

Am Loolah

Tis a long way from Cornwall, think someone mentioned to you before we live in the same Godforsaken County as you and we're off to NZ in March!! Originally from London, and are lucky enough to have somewhere to still stay up there, so we made a weekend of it! Which meant catch Friday nite train from Cornwall, arrive London, dump bags, hit Salsa Club, fall out of Salsa Club to ChinaTown, get in at 4am. Feet hurt. Sleep. 10am, "GET UP!!!", Horrids (Harrods for the uninitiated) shop, "Taxi" Earls Court (ish) Expo, hot, crowded, Rude, feet hurt. Loads of "stuff" and property details, back to Cornwall, all involved convinced looks a better prospect than Cornwall?!

eeagles

I've done heaps of research (including all the negatives) on www and talked to many people, but still think it's worth going... I went to one a few years ago and it made the whole idea of emigrating seem much more 'real'. So with all your research you can take plenty of questions to have answered, rather than just going and being told all the glossy things.
I'm going to the one in March too - considering NZ now.
Going to Wellington, NZ in Feb to check it out, as my company has office there which I can transfer to, then onto expo in London and decision time.

simonmarkellis

I went to the one last year and one the year before that. Last years wasn't as good as previous as they didn't have as many stands there nor lectures to go to. Mostly recruitment companies. Everyone there is very helpful and informative, and will tell you how it is. The immigration service put on a great 1/2 hour conference running about 5 times during the day which was very helpful with a question and answers session at the end. What you get out of the show depends on when you are ready to go. If your in the researching element, then you'll get less out of it than you would if your EOI was in and you were ready to get going.

Smelly Cat

Thanks all, really looking forward to it now and looks like its just a lot of questions and plenty of CV copies and we will be fine.

Fi & Rich

Smelly Cat

We are going tofly up from Newquay only round the corner but jes that another thing we had to consider as it costs enough just to get out of cornwall to go to these things, but we think (and hope) its all going to be worth it!)

Thanks

Fi & Rich

Theweekshousehold

hI

Yes we went to one in September there and it was very interesting, cost a couple of pounds each to get in but we got lost of information on migration agent and opted for one call thisisaustralia which we are using and they have been great so far, we are awaing the ok for our Trade Assesment and hopefully things will starts moving.

Good Luck

Jules & Danny

We went to the October Expo at Earl's Court (well.. the IBIS hotel round the corner to be precise). From that I (I, being the Danny part of the username) was eventually offered a job and even given a choice of locations (Auckland or Wellington) - Wellington was always going to be our destination, so things have worked out well. I start early March. I feel lucky to have that pressure lifted before we go.

Tips for the expo.

Prepare some CVs, but don't expect to be handing out loads. Bring electronic copies too (CDs you're happy to give away, or on memory sticks to copy). Most stands have learnt that it is costly and inefficient to take back suitcases full of CVs, so many will direct you to their website to apply online or to send it to them by email. Especially the stands that don't have a lot of reps on them, and the agencies.

Expect lots of people to be there. It's busy and getting there early and trying to do it all at once doesn't guarantee anything. It's not huge, but perhaps do a few stands in the morning, take some time out, go for a walk, grab some lunch and do the other stands in the afternoon. It can get hot and stuffy too. Bring some water.

The companies seem to be pretty evenly split between IT and engineering, with a few local government, health and education. I was interested in the IT & Consultancy sector, which is well represented by IBM, EDS, Synergy, Telecom amongst a few others. There are a couple of agencies as well. Be prepared to queue to talk to the representatives - they do a great job in faking interest, especially after the number of people they must have heard say "I'm thinking of moving to New Zealand...", but a lot of the stands aren't well represented and so you'll have to wait your turn.

They won't hand out job offers there and then, but some stands do want to progress matters before they go back to NZ, so make sure you're presentable, articulate and are able to discuss your skills and experience. Also make a point of saying you can make yourself available for discussions after the expo, or during the following week etc if they sound interested.

Don't assume the expo is the answer to your prayers. You could get a real sense of anticlimax as the weeks go by and you haven't heard or received anything. Remember that most of the people on the stands do a week somewhere else and then often take vacation after the Expos. By the time they have gone through the thousands and thousands of personal details and tried to match them up with what they want, it could be a couple of months before you hear anything.

Certain companies or regional organisations will be also be delivering seminars during the week of the expo. Hawkes Bay (Napier, Hastings), Priority One (Bay Of Plenty) did a couple this year and they are a great way to meet some of the driving forces within those regions and learn about their areas. They also have stands at the expo, but with the amount of people that attend the expo, you'll just be another eager beaver in a long line filling in your details and receiving a carrier bag with some regional details in. If you opt for a seminar, you could end up having a pint or two with some of the speakers in a local pub after, which is where you'll get decent information. Even if you're not thinking of relocating to those areas, they are a valuable way of getting into the NZ psyche and could easily influence your final destination.

Find out what companies are attending. The NZI or the expo-newzealand.com site often gives an indication of what companies will be there. Make sure you target the ones that are suitable to you, but not forgetting the larger corporates or local government orgs that have might have multiple positions.

Hope this has been useful, sorry it's a bit wordy.

southerner

We went back in 2003, and on balance it was worth it. The best bit for us was that there was an Otago/Dunedin stand, and it was good for my wife to learn a bit more about where we were likely to move to.

The venue is not the best in the world, it can be tough with young ones in tow, a bit crowded and sweaty. If you can leave them somewhere I would recommend it (you can still probably grab some 'lollies' to take home to them.

If your PR relies on getting a job offer, and there is a possibility that somebody from your industry might be there, you would be mad not to give it a go. Whether or not they are recruiting for a role that suits you, how many other chances do you get to talk face to face with somebody like that?

Smelly Cat

Thank you for your replies they are very helpfull and we will be taking all your advice with us...... lets just hope we do meet some in the pub after too!!!

P2L

just remembered!!

Bay of Plenty region offered Kev the opportunity to do a video interview whilst there!! which he turned down as he felt unprepared for it, but worth knowing before hand.

Good posting by Jules & Danny. Especially worth remembering that most of the stands are here for the Manchester Expo so may well follow up on your details the following week