balancingact

Hello all

I've been in NZ with family for over 4 years and generally enjoying life here, however, just recently I have started to become increasingly fed up with the career options here and I'm having pangs of work-sickness for my old job back in the UK! I guess in particular the people, the humour, the 'way' of working, the opportunities, the use of my skills (I am working here but its not quite the same in many ways and I have made many changes to try to improve this...). I've not really suffered from home-sickness as such (apart from missing certain shops!) so this has come as a bit of a surprise to me.

So I guess I'm just having a rant and asking if there are other people out there who are struggling with that aspect of being here years down the line.

I should add that I am not in a major city so the career prospects are even more limited, but most other things in life are great (family life, opportunities for children, outdoor activities etc.) - I am accepting of the fact that I have chosen to stay where we are for all the other reasons; I'm just wanting to share some of my feelings and get them out into the open!

Snap Shot

I can relate to missing things. I've been trying to find work since January of this year when my most recent short term contract ended.

I've had interviews but no job offers. This seems to be the norm for me. I'd like to go back to Britain to at least look for work. I doubt that will happen for a few years yet.

So I'll continue to mark time / tread water for the time being.

Sparkleydiva

Hi there

Your thread could have been written by me. I've been here for 5 and a half years now but over the past 3-4 months or so I've been feeling frustrated with many aspects of life and work and I live in Auckland.

I am so over qualified for the role I have but there are simply no opportunities to progress as the country is so small.I miss the way we worked in the UK too, but we make our choices etc.

I don't have any suggestions to be honest as I'm just working my way through even more study and looking to move on/back home in 18 months or so for opportunities broader than here.

I also miss shopping, and I mean real all day buying clothes and shoes shopping. The mall is ok, but I'm done in 20 minutes

But nice to know I'm alone either

At least summer will be here soon

pippalonghorn

Hi. I havent been here that long but I am also missing the work side of things. The opportunities here are limited for me. After applying for job after job and getting no where you start to feel defeated.

I miss my work friends. I miss the job satisfaction. I think its normal for me as I have not settled here. But you guys have been here for a long time. I wonder what has triggered them feelings.

Oh the shopping! Bring on the Metro Centre and Ikea.

Tom1983

Some parts of the work I miss but generally I prefer the work way over here

Least here I can have a laugh and a joke with staff, especially with the females

If you say "nice dress" back in England now, thanks to the lowlife disgusting please put 100,000 bullets in them before dumping them in a pool of burning hydrochloric acid ambulance chasers, I'd probably get my backside sued by the person I made the comment to

Office jokes in the UK, not on - we can't have that. Just sit there and work how we tell you to

And the commute - oh lordy!!!!!!!! 4 hours to get to work thanks to a tube fault, or being stuck on the M25 because of 'congestion', or due to a signal failure! Pah, i'll take the 15 minute stroll thank you or the option of an hours walk.

bourbon-biscuit

Have you tried volunteering, Snap Shot? It might make time pass more quickly for you, as well as looking good on your CV.

Sparkleydiva

Hi Pippalonghorn

The feelings for me have been triggered by a feeling of 'not belonging here'. May be it's just my age - 50 in a few short months and so it may just be my need to return home and settle with new roots.

Snapshot, good luck with the job search. It is very difficult out there. I have mainly worked in casual roles until last year and it has taken me 5+ years to secure a permanent part time role! And it's not as though I'm not sufficiently qualified, and I have several NZ qualifications too. That's quite depressing when generally my profession in the UK welcomed part timers.

Volunteering is a good option just to keep you busy, as Bourbonbiscuit suggests, but easier said than done at times. I tried that in my first year here and even with all the experience I have, several of the charities didn't even bother getting back to me when I applied But worth a shot at least as the job market window closes again in December for at least a month when we are all on holiday. I say we, but I will be working the festive period again, for the 4th year running

pippalonghorn

I think not feeling as if you belong here will describe how a few of us on here feel too. You're not alone Hun.

Sparkleydiva

Good to know

Snap Shot

I'm way ahead of you there BB. Thanks for your encouragement and experience sparklydiva.

I volunteered in an administrative capacity last year because I thought that would be better for my cv. The work was at my level, but I still got bored. Within four weeks of starting I was offered a few months paid employment elsewhere. So I made my apologies and stopped the voluntary work.

When my paid employment finished, I returned to volunteering. I didn't go back to the admin job.

I went back to the 'social group' voluntary role that I was doing at the same time as the admin role as they were both part time. I can still get a reference from my voluntary role which will confirm how I've spent my time not in paid employment. Excellent.

For instance, today we went to a local 'farm stay'. It's spring and there were a couple of orphaned lambs to be fed. There were a couple of calves being hand reared. The group was allowed to give them some milk. We fed the donkeys, we saw the farm pig.

We petted the family dogs that were owned by the farmer and were given a tour of the farm and it's history as it has been owned by the same family for over 100 years.

The farmer's wife who conducted the tour offered us herbs and silverbeet to take away. She also offered us some rhubarb which she picked there and then.

We had morning tea which is provided by the voluntary organisation for people with memory problems i.e. Alzheimers and other types of dementia and I also help to serve this.

It might be coincidence but I'm getting more interest in my cv this year than last year when I had done next to no voluntary work. Even though my voluntary work is totally unrelated to my proper job. By more interest I mean more interviews, still the same amount of turn downs though !

At an interview I remarked of my voluntary work, 'it's still a team effort with a common goal', one of the interview panel said quietly, 'of course.'

I drive the diversional therapist to collect each member of the social group. Help each person get on/off the transport. Guide them to and through each activity i.e. today it was a farm, next week will be something different again e.g. going to see a local 6 woman choir sing some well known tunes, or we have had an accordion player to entertain the group, or we'll play bingo using our own stuff with a chocolate fish for a prize !. Then I help to get the group members back on the transport and we take them home.

It's once a week. It just seems to take the edge off my week. I'm more motivated to do other tasks i.e. gardening etc. Plus any other errands that need to be done. Without that feeling of going round in circles until I disappear up my own backside. I at least feel useful and that calms my anxiety.

For the record, I'm still looking for paid employment.

bourbon-biscuit

Sooner or later it's just got to work out for you, then, Snap Shot; hard to see what else you can do! I've started doing a course to teach English to migrants (mainly refugees here in Hamilton) and started tentatively looking for some part time work in a related area. Bit daunting when you've been out a while, so I can only imagine how disheartening it must be after several knock backs.

DC10

I thought I'd dip my toe back in the NZ job pool (from Australia) this month after a completely unsuccessful attempt to settle back there and find work in 2011. I'm amply qualified for the job, and it would probably have represented a good 40% pay cut for me to take it. Nope, I still have a big fat zero as far as NZ interviews go.

Whenever I've applied for jobs in the UK or Australia I just know I am suitably qualified and will be interviewed and very possibly offered the role. Those rules just don't seem to apply over there. It's a bizarre place as far as I can ascertain.

And why are they the only country in the world that thinks mentioning salaries in ads is completely taboo? Is that just a minor consideration of interest to very few people? Would they rather just harp on about those Kiwi faves of "cultural awareness" and "team-building"?

Tempted to cut up my NZ passport and send it to John Key - not that he'd care, he's only interested in protecting the wealth of the over-60s.

M_and_M

New Zealand work market is a funny old place. Looking at it as balanced as I can, I left the UK for a reason, I didn't like the education system any more, in fact decided I didn't want to be a teacher any more.

We had considered emigration for several years, so NZ was an opportunity I wasn't expecting.

The result? I still don't like the education system, I am still not sure I want to be a teacher any more. This isn't a decision I make lightly, I have been a teacher for 17 years.

Moving here has fixed one thing for me: more space, better quality of life, more outdoors sporting opportunities, many that I just wouldn't get in the UK. It hasn't fixed the work thing though. I have just transported all my work related issues into a new workplace, in a new country, but I still have the same problem.

There aren't any opportunities to change or move, there just isn't the labour market.

The jury is still out as to how I will decide to solve this problem.