My hubby and I are planning to start our application process in February this year.

Currently, we both have 120 points with no job offer, but that is only if our work experience is accepted:

I am a Sales Administration Manager (degree in History), and he is a Data Analyst (degree in French and Russian).

Without our work experience, we are both at 100 points, and there wouldn't be much point in putting in the EOI.

When I asked the NZIS whether our jobs would count, their response was:

Work experience is recognised and qualifies for points if it meets the requirements set out at (a) and (b) below:
A visa or immigration officer must be satisfied that work experience is:

relevant to the principal applicant's current skilled employment in New Zealand or offer of skilled employment in New Zealand (see SM7); or

relevant to the principal applicant's recognised qualification (see SM14); or

skilled, because it required, or enabled the principal applicant to gain specialist, technical or management skills and experience relevant to an occupation that is included in the lists of occupations held at Appendix 11 or Appendix 12.

We could both argue that our jobs vaguely fit items in the list of occupations (my hubby could be a Policy Analyst;

I could go into ICT Sales or Sales and Marketing Manager, but they would both be fitting a round job into a square occupation, if you see what I mean.

A quick job hunt on various NZ websites has brought up a lot of Sales Support roles which I could do standing on my head;

however, given that Sales Support isn't on the list of occupations, and all of the sites said that I couldn't even apply without having a visa, are we stuck in a chicken and egg situation, where we can't apply for a visa without having a job, and we can't have a job without having a visa?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!